Synopsis
From USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a witty romance about a woman desperate to marry into money…and her fake marriage to a (real) billionaire reluctant to commit even to a zip code.
Riggs Bates may be a billionaire, but he knows money can’t buy happiness. He keeps his financial status a secret and takes his women the same way he takes his meals—a different one three times a day. That’s until he’s caught sleeping with a married newswoman by none other than her ambitious assistant.
Daphne “Duffy” Markham wants two things in life: marry well and stay in the States. So when her almost-fiancé takes off to “find himself” and her work visa approaches expiration, Duffy resorts to the only thing she has left—blackmail. Luckily, Riggs needs an excuse to stay in New York as badly as she does, so their first meeting quickly leads to a begrudging engagement.
Armed with strict house rules and their mutual distaste for one another, Riggs and Duffy soon find there’s no denying the spark between them…or the fact that this fake marriage is starting to feel a little too real.
My Review
'𝐂O𝐋D H𝐄A𝐑T𝐄D C𝐀S𝐀N𝐎V𝐀' Is the third full length romance book within the (Cruel Castaways) series which can easily be read as a standalone by author L.J.Shen. Spoken in 'dual perspectives.'
As soon as this landed on my ipad, coffee in hand, curled up in my favourite seat, I dived right in and I can honestly say that it was shamelessly inhaled within a few hours, the pages and chapters just flew by, the storyline pulled me in, the authors quirky humor had me giggling often, these characters although their first meet was unusual they were mean't to be and I couldn't get enough of them..
He pegged her as a gold digger
She pegged him as a bum
And both were so far off the mark it was funny to watch it all unravel.
Photographer Riggs Bates works for 'Discovery magazine' who may be a billionaire on paper but he lives frugally, he'd prefer to crash on mates couches, eating take outs, and wearing clothes that are comfortable over expensive and keeping his wealth private is how he's always lived.
Daphne “Duffy” Markham likes to have things in order and may or may not have a few colour coded spreadsheets which she adheres by. After her long term boyfriend takes off leaving her in a bit of a dilemma concerning her working visa nearly expiring and after finding Riggs and her married boss in an uncompromising position she lays things out on the table concerning her visa and a no strings attached marriage of convenience in exchange for her keeping quiet, which didn't go as planned, with no back up she's staring down the barrel of having to go back to her homeland.
But things always have a way of working out, because when Riggs is backed up into a corner by his boss the only thing that sprung to mind was marrying Daphne to keep him on his home turf instead of having to go to Alaska, which he is dead set against.
Thus a win win situation occurs for both of them.
There I was all wrapped up in their fake marriage of convenience bubble and out of nowhere a twist had me by the throat, tearing me up from the inside, and it pulled me towards our hero even more.
