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ldooten's review
3.0
I really couldn't get into this story. The first half of the book is all told from Mia's point of view, and honestly it got a little tiring to read her thoughts. There was a lot more "story" in her head, than actual conversations with Max. When it finally gets around to Max's point of view, I already had my opinion of him. It took pretty much the rest of the book before I could even fathom them as a couple. There were a lot of misunderstandings between them, but I still didn't like their behavior. Max was a jerk, and Mia came off weak. The ending was sweet though, and I liked that they were able to get their HEA.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
rinasreadsnz's review against another edition
4.0
* I received an ARC from Facebook but am leaving an honest and voluntary review *
Since I haven't read Annika's work before I wasn't sure what I was in for. But, I needn't have worried.
This book was playful, sexy and oh so funny! I was chuckling at Mia's antics and loved the chemistry between her and Max.
Life is going to kick my arse in the morning for reading far past my bedtime and into the wee hours of the morning. Totally worth it though 😉
Since I haven't read Annika's work before I wasn't sure what I was in for. But, I needn't have worried.
This book was playful, sexy and oh so funny! I was chuckling at Mia's antics and loved the chemistry between her and Max.
Life is going to kick my arse in the morning for reading far past my bedtime and into the wee hours of the morning. Totally worth it though 😉
halffast's review against another edition
4.0
Life is unfair for struggling actress Mia. Her high school summer fling, Max, got rich building his playboy empire. Meanwhile, she has to deliver sandwiches to him dressed as a cat. But Mia has some tricks up her sleeve, courtesy of Max's "playbook" guide to picking up women. Will he recognize his own chauvinistic tactics being used against him, or is Mia going to fall into her own trap?
I wasn't 100% on board with the plot of this book based on the synopsis. I thought it was going to be too cringey to witness Mia trying to use these cheesy pickup tricks on a rich, handsome CEO whom she also has history with. I imagined she'd come across as sort of desperate and deluded. Fortunately, the story does a great job navigating this minefield with humor and sincerity. Mia fully knows what she's doing is ridiculous, but she leans into her acting background to sell her performance despite having moments where her self-confidence is in the gutter. Max is also a great match for her, often channeling his famous playboy energy to keep Mia on her toes, but secretly she drives him wild in all the best ways. So ultimately the story was really cute and totally worked for me. I also appreciated how the author worked in descriptions of their high school history without resorting to flashbacks.
I listened to the audiobook and I think I enjoyed the story much more than I would have compared to reading it. The voice actors did a fantastic job. It's clear they're getting better as the series progresses. Neva Nevarre really sells Mia's dramatic reactions and performances. Jason Clarke is wonderfully growly as usual and also has a great range for performing voices for other characters.
I wasn't 100% on board with the plot of this book based on the synopsis. I thought it was going to be too cringey to witness Mia trying to use these cheesy pickup tricks on a rich, handsome CEO whom she also has history with. I imagined she'd come across as sort of desperate and deluded. Fortunately, the story does a great job navigating this minefield with humor and sincerity. Mia fully knows what she's doing is ridiculous, but she leans into her acting background to sell her performance despite having moments where her self-confidence is in the gutter. Max is also a great match for her, often channeling his famous playboy energy to keep Mia on her toes, but secretly she drives him wild in all the best ways. So ultimately the story was really cute and totally worked for me. I also appreciated how the author worked in descriptions of their high school history without resorting to flashbacks.
I listened to the audiobook and I think I enjoyed the story much more than I would have compared to reading it. The voice actors did a fantastic job. It's clear they're getting better as the series progresses. Neva Nevarre really sells Mia's dramatic reactions and performances. Jason Clarke is wonderfully growly as usual and also has a great range for performing voices for other characters.
elsybeekay's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable. I’ve read the 2nd book in this series and I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did but it made me laugh so hard. I didn’t find this one as funny but I liked the characters and the story even though this isn’t my favorite trope to read.
themidinight_reader's review against another edition
2.0
——CONSTANT WHIPLASH IS ALL YOU’RE GETTING HERE.
SYNOPSIS :
Mia is mortified when she finds out that she’ll have to be delivering her nemesis Max’s lunch in a cat costume, so to make its less humiliating she and her friends cook up their revenge plan that is to play Mr. billionaire with his own game.
CHARACTERS :
Mia is a struggling actress who does food delivery where she dresses in a cat costume and delivers lunch to people. It's embarrassing, but it pays the bills. I wasn’t a big fan of her cuz was terrible with her revenge still being painfully in love with Max. So any attempt at revenge or manipulation was particularly weak and that annoyed me.
Max on the other hand was hella confusing. At first we learn from his POV that he always thought that Mia was unattainable which gave the impression that a mega rich mans who had the world at the palm of his hands could still feel a common girl like Mia is out of his league but then the author goes and changed her mind cuz the next thing we know, Max is trying to be the cocky seducer of women, which just doesn't add up to what we had learned about him. His thoughts just didn't match up with his actions through the entire book and we never really got to know who max really is.
ROMANCE :
It started of really good and I was enjoying what was happening the tension between them was so good but it went downhill real quick thanks to Mia sucking at this revenge thing and Max not even having a proper personality.
After the 40% mark I ended up not caring at all about the romance cuz Max and Mia together didn’t makes any sense and felt so random, given their animosity.
Didn’t care about the spice either which was cringe anyways.
2/5 on the spice
SYNOPSIS :
Mia is mortified when she finds out that she’ll have to be delivering her nemesis Max’s lunch in a cat costume, so to make its less humiliating she and her friends cook up their revenge plan that is to play Mr. billionaire with his own game.
CHARACTERS :
Mia is a struggling actress who does food delivery where she dresses in a cat costume and delivers lunch to people. It's embarrassing, but it pays the bills. I wasn’t a big fan of her cuz was terrible with her revenge still being painfully in love with Max. So any attempt at revenge or manipulation was particularly weak and that annoyed me.
Max on the other hand was hella confusing. At first we learn from his POV that he always thought that Mia was unattainable which gave the impression that a mega rich mans who had the world at the palm of his hands could still feel a common girl like Mia is out of his league but then the author goes and changed her mind cuz the next thing we know, Max is trying to be the cocky seducer of women, which just doesn't add up to what we had learned about him. His thoughts just didn't match up with his actions through the entire book and we never really got to know who max really is.
ROMANCE :
It started of really good and I was enjoying what was happening the tension between them was so good but it went downhill real quick thanks to Mia sucking at this revenge thing and Max not even having a proper personality.
After the 40% mark I ended up not caring at all about the romance cuz Max and Mia together didn’t makes any sense and felt so random, given their animosity.
Didn’t care about the spice either which was cringe anyways.
2/5 on the spice
winterreader40's review against another edition
4.0
They were enemies, except for one perfect summer in the middle of high school, and now he's requested that she be the one to deliver his lunches just to mess with her again, what a jerk.
Mia works as a lunch delivery girl in a cat costume while she's trying for her big break on Broadway, and no one has ever managed to get under her skin like Max does.
Max is a fashion industry titan, who's only ever loved one girl, so now he's all surface, no substance in almost every aspect of his life, until Mia shows back up.
Mia thinks Max arranged it so she has to deliver his lunch, Max thinks(rather stupidly) that Mia arranged it. Watching these 2 go at each other was entertaining enough that the second chance aspect of the book didn't even bother me.
Mia works as a lunch delivery girl in a cat costume while she's trying for her big break on Broadway, and no one has ever managed to get under her skin like Max does.
Max is a fashion industry titan, who's only ever loved one girl, so now he's all surface, no substance in almost every aspect of his life, until Mia shows back up.
Mia thinks Max arranged it so she has to deliver his lunch, Max thinks(rather stupidly) that Mia arranged it. Watching these 2 go at each other was entertaining enough that the second chance aspect of the book didn't even bother me.
nevclue's review against another edition
3.0
A sweet and funny rom-com, but not quite as fun as Martin's other two billionaire romances.
justjessreading's review against another edition
4.0
This was light, fun and exactly what I needed. Now im going to blow through all these cute little billionaire books and maybe get out of this reading slump.
The male protagonist book felt like it was based on the John Tucker book which is so gross, but I loved that he had a "redemption" arc. Or that really the whole book was based on Her personality. I cant.
The male protagonist book felt like it was based on the John Tucker book which is so gross, but I loved that he had a "redemption" arc. Or that really the whole book was based on Her personality. I cant.
profromance's review against another edition
5.0
How to Write a Successful Rom-Com a lá Annika Martin
✅ Create a heroine who is sassy, witty, hilarious, and a knock out
✅ Incorporate a hero who is worth billions, make him look like a jerk, but then give him a heart of gold
✅ Build the most delicious chemistry between the main H and h, set it up as hate and make them fall in love
✅ Give the h supportive friends who help set up the funny of the story and walk with her when she struggles
✅ Put a bunch of funny dialogue in the h’s mouth and sit back, listening for the LOLs of the readers
Yes. All of these components are found in Breaking the Billionaire’s Rules. I highly recommend this read if you’re feeling sad, you’re feeling happy, or you just need a good laugh and a bit of a cry.
First and foremost, it’s been awhile since I’ve fallen in love with the male hero before the heroine in a book. Typically, I read rom-coms with women who impress me, even those who might be a bit “ditzy.” But in this book, I was a fan of Max Hilton. Not the image Max Hilton, the real Max. Why? He illustrates the reality of living in our 21st multi-media world. From the outset, after reading his book, we’re supposed to hate him. He’s a misogynist. He sees women as objects. His rules are demeaning. However, that image is one that is manufactured as a mask, much like the masks we create on our social media. The real Max is sensitive, really sensitive. His past is fraught with trauma and pain, yet he hides it behind a cool, confident exterior. It isn’t until Mia re-enters Max’s life that we finally meet the “real” Max. When that happens, there are fireworks and chemistry and all of the perfect “happily-ever-afters.” When Mia finally recognizes the true Max, this book becomes gold; Max becomes gold as a hero.
Mia is all of us: confident until someone makes her feel less. She is a theater actress. In that world, she struggles with finding success; however, she works a job that provides for her, even though it might be demeaning. In her day-to-day life, we can trust that Mia knows herself, and she’s happy with her life. When Max enters the picture, Mia sees her self as “not enough.” This insecurity fuels many of the funny moments in this story, but it also reminds us of the stress of relationships, about our simple want for love and acceptance. While her character exists to bring Max to his knees, we commiserate with her lack of confidence in taking on this task. And I empathized with her through the first part of this book.
Overall, this story has a little bit of everything: humor, heartbreak (the part where Max finds the chart broke my heart), and love. There were moments when I was laughing out loud (the cheese puff scene when Mia eats Max’s cheese puffs and shows the evidence on her body), tearing up, and feeling happiness for the beauty of their eventual HEA. Annika Martin’s Breaking the Billionaire’s Rules is the rom-com you need to read. It clearly checks all the boxes.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ Create a heroine who is sassy, witty, hilarious, and a knock out
✅ Incorporate a hero who is worth billions, make him look like a jerk, but then give him a heart of gold
✅ Build the most delicious chemistry between the main H and h, set it up as hate and make them fall in love
✅ Give the h supportive friends who help set up the funny of the story and walk with her when she struggles
✅ Put a bunch of funny dialogue in the h’s mouth and sit back, listening for the LOLs of the readers
Yes. All of these components are found in Breaking the Billionaire’s Rules. I highly recommend this read if you’re feeling sad, you’re feeling happy, or you just need a good laugh and a bit of a cry.
First and foremost, it’s been awhile since I’ve fallen in love with the male hero before the heroine in a book. Typically, I read rom-coms with women who impress me, even those who might be a bit “ditzy.” But in this book, I was a fan of Max Hilton. Not the image Max Hilton, the real Max. Why? He illustrates the reality of living in our 21st multi-media world. From the outset, after reading his book, we’re supposed to hate him. He’s a misogynist. He sees women as objects. His rules are demeaning. However, that image is one that is manufactured as a mask, much like the masks we create on our social media. The real Max is sensitive, really sensitive. His past is fraught with trauma and pain, yet he hides it behind a cool, confident exterior. It isn’t until Mia re-enters Max’s life that we finally meet the “real” Max. When that happens, there are fireworks and chemistry and all of the perfect “happily-ever-afters.” When Mia finally recognizes the true Max, this book becomes gold; Max becomes gold as a hero.
Mia is all of us: confident until someone makes her feel less. She is a theater actress. In that world, she struggles with finding success; however, she works a job that provides for her, even though it might be demeaning. In her day-to-day life, we can trust that Mia knows herself, and she’s happy with her life. When Max enters the picture, Mia sees her self as “not enough.” This insecurity fuels many of the funny moments in this story, but it also reminds us of the stress of relationships, about our simple want for love and acceptance. While her character exists to bring Max to his knees, we commiserate with her lack of confidence in taking on this task. And I empathized with her through the first part of this book.
Overall, this story has a little bit of everything: humor, heartbreak (the part where Max finds the chart broke my heart), and love. There were moments when I was laughing out loud (the cheese puff scene when Mia eats Max’s cheese puffs and shows the evidence on her body), tearing up, and feeling happiness for the beauty of their eventual HEA. Annika Martin’s Breaking the Billionaire’s Rules is the rom-com you need to read. It clearly checks all the boxes.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐