Scan barcode
riverjuniper's review against another edition
3.0
This book was pretty good. I have a theory that James Patterson puts genres into a hat and just writes whatever he pulls out
lennatheunicorncat's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted something that would entertain me between calls and not be super long. Something short but sweet. This wasn't a worthwhile investment. It's like going to Walmart and getting some clearance undies that you think are good and will flatter you. But when you get home, cut the tags off and try them on for size, they're just a tad too small, itchy, and ride up in all the wrong places. This book could have been interesting, but once I got to those last chapters, I was disappointed I wasted my time with it. I could have used my time between calls looking up which cities to move to in Canada to escape trump (#notmypresident). Instead I was left with a shallow story that didn't even keep me invested enough to really care. I just wanted to see what these short books were about since so many people were requesting them at my library. Not worth it. Meh.
canada_matt's review against another edition
3.0
James Patterson joins forces with Hilary Liftin for this quasi-romance BookShot that remains at least somewhat digestible for the reader who does not fancy the gushy genre with Adonis-like men affixed to the cover. A billboard appears in Los Angeles, sporting the following message: “WILL YOU MARRY ME FOR $10,000,000? CREATIVE, OPEN-MINDED BUSINESSMAN WITH LIMITED TIME AND DESIRE TO PLAY THE FIELD. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROPOSAL.” The story focusses Suze Lee, Caroline Fried-Miller and Janey Ellis, exploring their individual interpretations of the proposal and roles they play upon agreeing to participate in the process. Cynical, they each bring their own flavour and perspective as the screening moves forward, none of whom are sure they have what it takes. When all is said and done, surprisingly, they end up as finalists vying for the heart (and wallet) of this mystery man, which has helped them all boost their egos, while remaining true to their own beliefs. The final process moves away from a competition and towards a heightened degree of honesty as the reader can only watch until the final 'rose' is handed out. Perhaps a winner for some, but I would not propose anything like this for someone looking for a thrill-filled BookShot. The only use your left hand will have is to strike your forehead repeatedly or wave to speed-up finishing the story.
Truth be told, I knew what I was getting into when I read the title of the book. I did not expect anything high-impact or thrilling, nor did I feel I would leave this book feeling uplifted or enthralled to look for more Patterson-Liftin collaborations. I needed something to bridge my time between novels and this fit the bill. The story has 'reality show' reeking from it and even one of the characters posits that the idea would be perfect for the small screen. The three 'main' characters had enough of a backstory to give them a little depth, but I was not drawn to any of them, nor was the collection of secretive antics enough to make me want to know too much about this 'Mr. Moneybags'. The narrative was decent, though when I compare it to many of the Patterson BookShots I have read up to now, it dragged and got tiresome quickly. What started out as something full of curiosity turned into a sappy mess the further I read. By the final chapters, I think Patterson and Liftin expected the reader to have an epiphany about the importance of finding that person to love. Alas, it got too hokey for me, but, as I mentioned above, it served the purpose I knew it would going into this experience. For that, I cannot fault the writers too heavily.
Well done, Mr. Patterson and Madam Liftin for succeeding in what your sought to do. Not my kind of story, but I hope there are those out there who love this kind of thing. The entire BookShot Flame genre attracts a certain type of reader, which may be the demographic that flocks to this.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Truth be told, I knew what I was getting into when I read the title of the book. I did not expect anything high-impact or thrilling, nor did I feel I would leave this book feeling uplifted or enthralled to look for more Patterson-Liftin collaborations. I needed something to bridge my time between novels and this fit the bill. The story has 'reality show' reeking from it and even one of the characters posits that the idea would be perfect for the small screen. The three 'main' characters had enough of a backstory to give them a little depth, but I was not drawn to any of them, nor was the collection of secretive antics enough to make me want to know too much about this 'Mr. Moneybags'. The narrative was decent, though when I compare it to many of the Patterson BookShots I have read up to now, it dragged and got tiresome quickly. What started out as something full of curiosity turned into a sappy mess the further I read. By the final chapters, I think Patterson and Liftin expected the reader to have an epiphany about the importance of finding that person to love. Alas, it got too hokey for me, but, as I mentioned above, it served the purpose I knew it would going into this experience. For that, I cannot fault the writers too heavily.
Well done, Mr. Patterson and Madam Liftin for succeeding in what your sought to do. Not my kind of story, but I hope there are those out there who love this kind of thing. The entire BookShot Flame genre attracts a certain type of reader, which may be the demographic that flocks to this.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
katlynduncan's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first experience with James Patterson's Book Shots. I really loved the premise of the book and I was immediately engaged with the mystery surrounding the contest. The girls were very well-rounded and different and I had no idea which one (if any) were to be chosen. The one thing that kept me going was the mystery and when it was revealed, I kept looking for more, but was disappointed. Overall, the story did what it was supposed to and kept me captivated for an hour though at the end I wasn't satisfied. This won't turn me off to future Book Shots though!
debrasbookcafe's review against another edition
1.0
connorslibrarycorner's review against another edition
3.0
This was a interesting premise.
The idea of this proposal being used to find love was an interesting idea and felt like a game show
I think it was a short fun read, but I think the ending was building up to something more so was a bit deflated near the end.
It was a good read, nothing mind blowing but good!
The idea of this proposal being used to find love was an interesting idea and felt like a game show
I think it was a short fun read, but I think the ending was building up to something more so was a bit deflated near the end.
It was a good read, nothing mind blowing but good!
missymay's review against another edition
2.0
It has taken me a while to get this review out because I truly didn't care for it. I picked it up with the intrigue that it was about 100 pages long and romance, hoping that I could get my romance kick, which I occasionally have, fulfilled within a couple of hours. Ironically, I think that was one of the reasons I didn't really like this book. I felt like I had no time at all to get to know these characters at all and by the end, I didn't really care who the guy ended up with (even though I pretty much knew who it would be). The whole point of reading a romance book is to enjoy the relationship that develops between the two characters and there's none of it here. The only time the "winner" and the guy actually talk to each other is in the last chapter or two of the book! No joke!
Secondly, I didn't like the stereotypical, bland character stories for the three women in the first place. One is made out to be extremely smart with technology and shows a complete disinterest in getting attached. So...she's obviously not an option. The second is a TV producer who's show just flopped and can see the potential of making this same scenario into a TV show that could put her back on top. She's written in a way as if she's just in the running to scam the guy and make money off of him. There are a couple of times where it seems she genuinely wants to find a guy, but the author makes it BLATANTLY in your face that she's all about her job, as if it's a bad thing.
Then, we've got the social worker who still lives with her mom and has huge problem with her self-esteem.
-.- *deep breath*
When describing her job, she states that all the kids she works with are so happy to talk with her and feel like their voice is heard in the midst of the foster care system. Now, I worked with social workers and I've worked with at-risk youth and I can tell you now that most of those kids didn't have a good relationship with their social worker. There would be some days that they want to talk to them and some days that they don't. Every social worker I worked with was extremely pleasant, but overly exhausted. These people are overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. There's no way that this character would get satisfaction from the kids alone because sometimes their reactions to life are the most heart-breaking of all. I'm not saying that social workers don't get some reward from their kids. Sometimes they are glad to see them and sometimes the social worker is able to pull through for their kiddo and make things work. Those moments DO happen, but not often enough. I'm glad her job title doesn't take too much of a spotlight in the story because it's one of the character developments that pissed me off the most. It also irks me that she's still living with her mom, as if someone with her personality couldn't live on her own. The story does state that she's having financial and previous roommate problems, but still. They make her out to be incredibly needy instead of having her be a strong woman. Because believe me, if you're a social worker, you have to have some backbone in you.
Okay, off my soapbox there. Like I mentioned earlier, not much of the story actually has interaction between the millionaire and the ladies in the story. There's multiple stages they have to get through and there's a few times where the ladies are talking to a man, so we "wonder" if that's the millionaire or not. I closed the book not feeling satisfied with it at all. The relationship wasn't there, the romance wasn't there, and I couldn't relate to any of the characters at all. I do have to say that one positive aspect of it was that I did keep turning the page to find out how things ended. I was curious about how they would reveal the millionaire and if there would be side romances with the other two ladies who didn't get the guy. So, I didn't put the book down and I did keep turning the page, but it had no payout at the end.
To check out more of my reviews, go to: https://missymaysreadingnook.blogspot.com
Secondly, I didn't like the stereotypical, bland character stories for the three women in the first place. One is made out to be extremely smart with technology and shows a complete disinterest in getting attached. So...she's obviously not an option. The second is a TV producer who's show just flopped and can see the potential of making this same scenario into a TV show that could put her back on top. She's written in a way as if she's just in the running to scam the guy and make money off of him. There are a couple of times where it seems she genuinely wants to find a guy, but the author makes it BLATANTLY in your face that she's all about her job, as if it's a bad thing.
Then, we've got the social worker who still lives with her mom and has huge problem with her self-esteem.
-.- *deep breath*
When describing her job, she states that all the kids she works with are so happy to talk with her and feel like their voice is heard in the midst of the foster care system. Now, I worked with social workers and I've worked with at-risk youth and I can tell you now that most of those kids didn't have a good relationship with their social worker. There would be some days that they want to talk to them and some days that they don't. Every social worker I worked with was extremely pleasant, but overly exhausted. These people are overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. There's no way that this character would get satisfaction from the kids alone because sometimes their reactions to life are the most heart-breaking of all. I'm not saying that social workers don't get some reward from their kids. Sometimes they are glad to see them and sometimes the social worker is able to pull through for their kiddo and make things work. Those moments DO happen, but not often enough. I'm glad her job title doesn't take too much of a spotlight in the story because it's one of the character developments that pissed me off the most. It also irks me that she's still living with her mom, as if someone with her personality couldn't live on her own. The story does state that she's having financial and previous roommate problems, but still. They make her out to be incredibly needy instead of having her be a strong woman. Because believe me, if you're a social worker, you have to have some backbone in you.
Okay, off my soapbox there. Like I mentioned earlier, not much of the story actually has interaction between the millionaire and the ladies in the story. There's multiple stages they have to get through and there's a few times where the ladies are talking to a man, so we "wonder" if that's the millionaire or not. I closed the book not feeling satisfied with it at all. The relationship wasn't there, the romance wasn't there, and I couldn't relate to any of the characters at all. I do have to say that one positive aspect of it was that I did keep turning the page to find out how things ended. I was curious about how they would reveal the millionaire and if there would be side romances with the other two ladies who didn't get the guy. So, I didn't put the book down and I did keep turning the page, but it had no payout at the end.
To check out more of my reviews, go to: https://missymaysreadingnook.blogspot.com
jayvall's review against another edition
3.0
A little weird as a short story, but the premise of these bookshots is weird in general. This was only about 100 pages, and it was easy and fast to read, but not really *good*. I don't think there was really enough story here to make it worth it. Maybe the people who like the bookshots concept would like this because it's low investment - it's not really much more than reading a longreads article - but as an avid reader this was kind of like, why bother?