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jackiehorne's review
1.0
Definitely made a mistake when I requested this one from NetGalley. One of the more un-feminist romances I've read in quite some time.
Wall Street broker Cara Michal falls asleep on the couch at a party, and wakes up to find a handsome hunk standing over her. The two end up kissing, despite Cara's reservations, but Cara insists on leaving before anything too hot and heavy can happen. Next day, turns out that the kissing hunk has just bought the brokerage firm where Cara works. No way can she burn up the sheets with her boss, can she?
Hunky financier Branden Duke (lord, had to laugh when I first encountered that cheesy name!) is not only a rich guy; he's working with the FBI to track down brokers gone bad. Of course, buying an entire company is the way to ferret out the one or two bad guys working there...
Branden knows it's bad policy to pursue an employee, but he can't seem to control himself around the empty placeholder/stand-in for the reader that is Cara. Seems he's never felt this way about a woman before, she's just so unique, he can't stop himself, etc. etc. For her part, Cara does the annoying "no, no"/"yes yes"/"no no" dance—refusing Branden, then giving in to him, then finding another reason to refuse him, which leads him to insist on having his way with her again, which leads to her caving in again...
We also have the annoying "she's a good person because she's nice to/self-sacrificing for her mentally ill sibling" thing; the inattentive/weak mother thing (times 2); the "she's good because she comes from the wrong side of the tracks" thing; the "I can't love anybody, it's too big a risk" thing; the "overprotective (i.e., overbearing) hero" thing; the "proving my masculinity/love by beating up the guys who insult my woman" thing; the woman who tells him no but then gets angry when he doesn't chase her down thing; and the gross "let's read the diary of a madman so we can experience his sexist ravings," even after he's been caught and poses no more threat thing.
Oh, and the bad guy comes out of nowhere, and is dispatched just as quickly, so we can get to more flat sex scenes.
I won't even go into the poor writing, since this is, after all, an ARC...
Favorite (not) line: "He'd heard her when she'd argued against being controlled. He'd known, somehow, that her arguments had been a subtle message that she'd in fact wanted to. To be taken care of. To have someone else take control and let her simply be. I should protest. Shouldn't I? But she didn't." (Kindle Loc 2794)
Wall Street broker Cara Michal falls asleep on the couch at a party, and wakes up to find a handsome hunk standing over her. The two end up kissing, despite Cara's reservations, but Cara insists on leaving before anything too hot and heavy can happen. Next day, turns out that the kissing hunk has just bought the brokerage firm where Cara works. No way can she burn up the sheets with her boss, can she?
Hunky financier Branden Duke (lord, had to laugh when I first encountered that cheesy name!) is not only a rich guy; he's working with the FBI to track down brokers gone bad. Of course, buying an entire company is the way to ferret out the one or two bad guys working there...
Branden knows it's bad policy to pursue an employee, but he can't seem to control himself around the empty placeholder/stand-in for the reader that is Cara. Seems he's never felt this way about a woman before, she's just so unique, he can't stop himself, etc. etc. For her part, Cara does the annoying "no, no"/"yes yes"/"no no" dance—refusing Branden, then giving in to him, then finding another reason to refuse him, which leads him to insist on having his way with her again, which leads to her caving in again...
We also have the annoying "she's a good person because she's nice to/self-sacrificing for her mentally ill sibling" thing; the inattentive/weak mother thing (times 2); the "she's good because she comes from the wrong side of the tracks" thing; the "I can't love anybody, it's too big a risk" thing; the "overprotective (i.e., overbearing) hero" thing; the "proving my masculinity/love by beating up the guys who insult my woman" thing; the woman who tells him no but then gets angry when he doesn't chase her down thing; and the gross "let's read the diary of a madman so we can experience his sexist ravings," even after he's been caught and poses no more threat thing.
Oh, and the bad guy comes out of nowhere, and is dispatched just as quickly, so we can get to more flat sex scenes.
I won't even go into the poor writing, since this is, after all, an ARC...
Favorite (not) line: "He'd heard her when she'd argued against being controlled. He'd known, somehow, that her arguments had been a subtle message that she'd in fact wanted to. To be taken care of. To have someone else take control and let her simply be. I should protest. Shouldn't I? But she didn't." (Kindle Loc 2794)
shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review
4.0
3.5 Cocktails
I liked the story. You don't see many romance storylines that deal with Wall Street, so I was all over this one. I liked Cara and Brendan and how their relationship progressed. Even the suspense portion of the storyline kept me intrigued and I never saw the villain until he was revealed. What made this a 3.5 cocktails read was how the book ended. Cara and Brendan had a bit of emotional baggage fallout to deal with at the end and it just seemed to fall by the wayside and everything was fine when they finally get to take their vacation. They didn't talk about what happened, her distance or anything. Just go away, have sex and magically everything was better.
I haven't read a Virna DePaul book before, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for more. Even though I didn't like the ending, the majority of this book was enjoyable and kept me entertained. For me, that means I'll be looking forward to seeing what the author has in the future.
I liked the story. You don't see many romance storylines that deal with Wall Street, so I was all over this one. I liked Cara and Brendan and how their relationship progressed. Even the suspense portion of the storyline kept me intrigued and I never saw the villain until he was revealed. What made this a 3.5 cocktails read was how the book ended. Cara and Brendan had a bit of emotional baggage fallout to deal with at the end and it just seemed to fall by the wayside and everything was fine when they finally get to take their vacation. They didn't talk about what happened, her distance or anything. Just go away, have sex and magically everything was better.
I haven't read a Virna DePaul book before, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for more. Even though I didn't like the ending, the majority of this book was enjoyable and kept me entertained. For me, that means I'll be looking forward to seeing what the author has in the future.
yvireads's review
2.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 Stars
Filthy rich is an standalone romance novel by Virna DePaul.
Cara hasn't had an easy life. Her father died young and it seemed that after this her family fell apart. Her mom never recovered from the death and her brother was diagnosed to schizophrenia. She the one who has to keep it together and make money to take care of her family.
When she meets Brandon Duke she's spellbound and immediately drawn to him.
Brandon is a self made billionaire on Wall Street. When he buys D&M it's not his first concern to earn money with it. He's helping the SEC to investigate.
When he meets Cara he wants to get her in his bed.
When they get closer to each other a stalker makes their life a living hell, but even though they're both concerned they stick with each other.
To be honest I don’t know what to think. On one hand I really enjoyed the story, on the other hand I didn't really know what to think. There was so much I didn't need to know, kind of as a filler to make the book seem longer. Both of them have their fair share of too long monologues, that was kind of exhausting.
3.5 Stars
Filthy rich is an standalone romance novel by Virna DePaul.
Cara hasn't had an easy life. Her father died young and it seemed that after this her family fell apart. Her mom never recovered from the death and her brother was diagnosed to schizophrenia. She the one who has to keep it together and make money to take care of her family.
When she meets Brandon Duke she's spellbound and immediately drawn to him.
Brandon is a self made billionaire on Wall Street. When he buys D&M it's not his first concern to earn money with it. He's helping the SEC to investigate.
When he meets Cara he wants to get her in his bed.
When they get closer to each other a stalker makes their life a living hell, but even though they're both concerned they stick with each other.
To be honest I don’t know what to think. On one hand I really enjoyed the story, on the other hand I didn't really know what to think. There was so much I didn't need to know, kind of as a filler to make the book seem longer. Both of them have their fair share of too long monologues, that was kind of exhausting.
peggyemi's review
4.0
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I found my introduction to be enjoyable. This is a stand alone novel and while categorized as romance, I would qualify this as saying that there is an element of suspense and intrigue. The story was well written with a fast pace. What surprised me was the twist and turns and the intrigue that was part of this contemporary romance.
I found the characters to be well written. Cara, was likable and vulnerable due to her past and her family issues. She is independent and fiercely protective of her family. She has taken on the burden of caring for her mother and brother and takes nothing for herself. Branden is a dominant male, but not quite in the style that we are used to seeing in these types of novels. He too has family issues and shows his protective side with each of his sisters/step-sisters.
I like that the author didn't make this a love at first sight type of story line. There is plenty of lust at first sight which develops between the characters throughout the story. These characters are well developed and we get to see that play out in the story. All in all, this is a well written, faced paced story, with romance, intrigue, mystery and a healthy does of steamy scenes for the reader to enjoy.
Disclosure: I was given an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I found the characters to be well written. Cara, was likable and vulnerable due to her past and her family issues. She is independent and fiercely protective of her family. She has taken on the burden of caring for her mother and brother and takes nothing for herself. Branden is a dominant male, but not quite in the style that we are used to seeing in these types of novels. He too has family issues and shows his protective side with each of his sisters/step-sisters.
I like that the author didn't make this a love at first sight type of story line. There is plenty of lust at first sight which develops between the characters throughout the story. These characters are well developed and we get to see that play out in the story. All in all, this is a well written, faced paced story, with romance, intrigue, mystery and a healthy does of steamy scenes for the reader to enjoy.
Disclosure: I was given an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
hhushaw's review
3.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was an ok read, the chemistry between the two main characters was good, and the threats and danger that inserted itself into this book gave it more. If this book were just about the budding romance between Cara and Branden would not have been enough for a substantial book. The mystery and threat of danger gave these two characters more characteristics and made you want to continue reading. I do wish that we learned more about Branden's family, I wanted to get to know all of his sisters, instead of hearing their names and a little of their backstory. Overall this was a good romantic read, enjoy.
jbquinn's review
2.0
I couldn't get into this book. At the 50% mark I ended up skimming most of it. I wasn't into the characters & I found the storyline a little boring.
smuthutbooks's review
4.0
I liked this book. It's the first I've read from this author and really enjoyed the story and writing.
I wish we would have heard more from the sisters and seen some interaction between them and Cara but that was just a minor thing.
Branden and Cara had good chemistry and made for good reading.
I like that it was wrapped up in one book so I didn't have to wait for a cliffy but would have gladly read more books from this couple.
Thanks Virna for a great book! I will be reading more from you!!
ARC RCVD 4 HR
I wish we would have heard more from the sisters and seen some interaction between them and Cara but that was just a minor thing.
Branden and Cara had good chemistry and made for good reading.
I like that it was wrapped up in one book so I didn't have to wait for a cliffy but would have gladly read more books from this couple.
Thanks Virna for a great book! I will be reading more from you!!
ARC RCVD 4 HR
nelanels's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tfail24's review
3.0
I have to admit that I struggled with this book and almost stopped reading it at one point, but I hate to not give a book a fair shot. I liked Branden and Cara but for most of this book it just drug on for me and I caught self skipping pages just to hurry it up.