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The Billionaire's Bidding
Scrambling to save her family's company,Emma McKinley was shocked when billionaire hotelmagnate Alex Garrison tossed her a lifeline—baited with an heirloom engagement ring anda pre-nup an inch thick. It was a textbook marriageof he calls off her creditors; she giveshim half her company.
But the elaborate game of make-believe soon becamemore intoxicating than either of them expected.Could a marriage built on a lie withstand the test oftrue passion?
But the elaborate game of make-believe soon becamemore intoxicating than either of them expected.Could a marriage built on a lie withstand the test oftrue passion?
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
21 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Dunlop
465 books149 followersBarbara Dunlop is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over sixty romance and romantic comedy novels, including the new Paradise, Alaska Romance series for Berkley and the recent Gambling Men series with Harlequin Desire. Published in multiple languages across a worldwide market, Barbara’s books have received numerous awards with a number of her stories optioned for film and television.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 25, 2018
4.5 stars ⭐️
Recommended.
Recommended.
July 18, 2012
“No. Not my lawyer. My housekeeper.”
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Meh. It was only 200 pages.
High Points.
The heroine got angry at him! Yay!Kind of anyways... Tension. The guy falling first. Character realism in Emma.
Low Points.
Predictable. Cliche. Plot holes. Katie. Boring smut scenes.
Heroine.
I liked Emma, I'll forget about her in two seconds but she wasn't bad for me. I liked how she stubbornly refused to acknowledge his affections, right until the end, despite her attraction to him. Poor girl got quite the rep with her appearance though. Damn those genetics.
Love Interest.
“I wonder what else I can make you do.”
Oh Alex. You were okay. Nothing exciting but nothing terrible. I liked how you realized your mistakes and actually attempted to fix them, unlike other male characters I have been reading in books as of late. However, you lack something important and that was chemistry.. you were kind of a snore-fest. I would also like to point out the fact that the title of this novel pisses me off because it is not really relevant to the story. A more appropriate title could have been selected.
Theme Tune.
Simply Falling - Iyeoka
Angst Level.
1/10.You get a 1 for effort! Actually, you get one for Emma handling the conclusion well. And when I say well, I mean that she was actually hurt and that she didn't just shrug it off because she loves the male and he can do no wrong like the idiot women I've been reading as of late. *is jaded* Shifty eyes
Inspiration
The Billionaire's Bidding Cover
Recommended For.
People who are tired. People needed 200 pages to blow some time. People who can read it for free. People who aren't reading a Desire Silhoutte for the smut.
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Meh. It was only 200 pages.
High Points.
The heroine got angry at him! Yay!
Low Points.
Predictable. Cliche. Plot holes. Katie. Boring smut scenes.
Heroine.
I liked Emma, I'll forget about her in two seconds but she wasn't bad for me. I liked how she stubbornly refused to acknowledge his affections, right until the end, despite her attraction to him. Poor girl got quite the rep with her appearance though. Damn those genetics.
Love Interest.
“I wonder what else I can make you do.”
Oh Alex. You were okay. Nothing exciting but nothing terrible. I liked how you realized your mistakes and actually attempted to fix them, unlike other male characters I have been reading in books as of late. However, you lack something important and that was chemistry.. you were kind of a snore-fest. I would also like to point out the fact that the title of this novel pisses me off because it is not really relevant to the story. A more appropriate title could have been selected.
Theme Tune.
Simply Falling - Iyeoka
Angst Level.
1/10.
Inspiration
The Billionaire's Bidding Cover
Recommended For.
People who are tired. People needed 200 pages to blow some time. People who can read it for free. People who aren't reading a Desire Silhoutte for the smut.
October 13, 2008
This is exactly the kind of book you should read at 11PM the night you had your cat companion of 15 years put to sleep and you're suffering from insomnia and you can't help but think you're hearing her voice over and over down the hall.
Two rich white people - Emma and Alex - enter into a marriage of convenience and find out they're lustily attracted to the other's "creamy cleavage" or "steel gray eyes." There's the beautiful sister, the British housekeeper, and a French caterer.
It's a sweet little bit of brain candy - maybe not Godiva, but a good, cheap chocolate like Hershey's. And it's a lifesaver when your eyes are puffy from six hours of crying and two glasses of wine.
Two rich white people - Emma and Alex - enter into a marriage of convenience and find out they're lustily attracted to the other's "creamy cleavage" or "steel gray eyes." There's the beautiful sister, the British housekeeper, and a French caterer.
It's a sweet little bit of brain candy - maybe not Godiva, but a good, cheap chocolate like Hershey's. And it's a lifesaver when your eyes are puffy from six hours of crying and two glasses of wine.
April 22, 2011
Does anyone know what the next book in this series is? I want to read Katie's story (I assume she's going to hook up with Nathaniel!)
November 8, 2020
2.25 stars. No hate, no shade with this rating. I mean, let’s face it, this IS a Harlequin romance book. That being said, here we have the noble sister/business woman (Emma) who strikes a marriage bargain with the titular billionaire (Alex). He is basically threatening/blackmailing her into a fake marriage in order to quasi save her familiy’s hotel business.
The heroine is not completely juvenile nor stupid but she does have her moments. For example (MILD SPOILER) Emma is headed into a business meeting in which she may be able to save her business and not have to fake marry Alex. Alex finds out about the meeting and quickly arrives and inserts himself into the meeting thus shutting down any possible negotiations that would benefit Emma. She merely nods and walks out with him believing that she simply wasn’t savvy enough to understand the nuances of the offer. No Ma’am!! No real woman would allow herself to be walked out/talked out of a business meeting!!
The usual tropes happen (misunderstandings/revelations of intent/sex yadda yadda yadda) and then everything resolved itself and they all live happily ever after.
What keeps this book above a 2 star rating is 1) they used a condom when they had sex!! And second, there was some actual real estate shenanigans that were explored. So yeah, real world occurrences in a Harlequin.
The heroine is not completely juvenile nor stupid but she does have her moments. For example (MILD SPOILER) Emma is headed into a business meeting in which she may be able to save her business and not have to fake marry Alex. Alex finds out about the meeting and quickly arrives and inserts himself into the meeting thus shutting down any possible negotiations that would benefit Emma. She merely nods and walks out with him believing that she simply wasn’t savvy enough to understand the nuances of the offer. No Ma’am!! No real woman would allow herself to be walked out/talked out of a business meeting!!
The usual tropes happen (misunderstandings/revelations of intent/sex yadda yadda yadda) and then everything resolved itself and they all live happily ever after.
What keeps this book above a 2 star rating is 1) they used a condom when they had sex!! And second, there was some actual real estate shenanigans that were explored. So yeah, real world occurrences in a Harlequin.
December 23, 2024
Ajaviiteromaan- Emma McKinley näeb vaeva, et päästa perefirmat , kui miljardärist hotellimagnaat Alex Garrison viskas talle päästerõnga – peibutades perereliikviast kihlasõrmusega ning mitme sentimeetri paksuse abieluvaralepinguga. See oli klassikaline mõistuseabielu: mees kutsus tagasi naise võlausaldajad ning naine annab talle poole oma firmast. Ent üksikasjalikult väljamõeldud avalikkuse veenmise mäng muutus peagi uimastavamaks, kui kumbki neist oli oodanud.
July 2, 2017
Leído el 03/12/2012
2.5 estrellas
Una historia normalita y predecible de esas de Harlequin...
2.5 estrellas
Una historia normalita y predecible de esas de Harlequin...
August 20, 2019
It was a fun read!
March 28, 2015
By page 71 I came to like the male protagonist--Alex--less and less. He's overbearing, patronizing, controlling, egotistical, arrogant and chauvenistic. He lacked any charisma towards Emma until they spent more time together. He's disrespectful towards her. At this point, I was thinking that he should have just bought her business out right away, and then he wouldn't have had to worry about being inconvenienced by marrying her for her business or worrying about having a "celibate" marriage, and she wouldn't have had to deal with a jerk of a husband. He slowly improves, but right before the ending he pulls the rug right from under Emma's feet, but the situation does recover.
August 4, 2016
2.5
Mi yo cursi sabe de lo planas y absurdas que pueden ser estas historias cortas, pero de vez en cuando disfruta leyendo estas tonterías xD
No hay mucho que decir más que la otra hermana era una bitch
Mi yo cursi sabe de lo planas y absurdas que pueden ser estas historias cortas, pero de vez en cuando disfruta leyendo estas tonterías xD
No hay mucho que decir más que la otra hermana era una bitch
December 20, 2009
had time to kill waiting for oil change and tune up.
October 22, 2011
Good story, well written, LOVED! the bantering humor, and sexual chemistry between the main characters
December 6, 2014
Sparkling and an entertaining tea time read.
September 2, 2015
usually this type of book never develops the story.however i found a lot of thought was put into the plot which was unexpected and pleasing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews