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Big Bad Billionaires #1

The Billionaire's Fake Wife

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I never should have agreed to become his fake wife...

Sinclair Amadeus Sterling aka
Mr. Superior Jackass with a God complex.
Also my blackmailer, gulp!
The first time I met him, I kneed him in his very well endowed balls, don't ask!
Tall, dark, and gazillionaire growly pants.
The only thing that sucks worse than his attitude is his (lack of) sense of humor.
Sadly, he's also the one who can save my business from going bust.
So when he offers me the chance to work with him, I can hardly refuse, right?
Only catch?
I need to be his pretend wife for hold-your-breath, thirty days.
I should have turned and run, but...
He has the connections to help my sister's failing health, not to mention the money to wipe away my debt.
And yeah that... sneaky video recording of him getting me off. OMFG!
Besides, it's only thirty days, eh?
It’s not like I’m in danger of falling in love with London's most notorious bachelor...
Then he reveals the real reason for the charade,
And everything changes...

Note: This is an Enemies to Lovers, Fake Marriage, Billionaire Romance featuring a hot possessive billionaire and the curvy spitfire who dares to go toe to toe with him!

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2020

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About the author

L. Steele

33 books1,760 followers
L. Steele loves to write romance novels featuring powerful men and strong women who bring them to their knees. When she's not writing she enjoys trading trivia with her filmmaker husband, watching lots and lots of movies, and walking nature trails.

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5 stars
1,989 (35%)
4 stars
1,480 (26%)
3 stars
1,212 (21%)
2 stars
506 (9%)
1 star
390 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 587 reviews
Profile Image for Lucía.
179 reviews239 followers
August 26, 2021
This is a formal petition for the hero to wash his ass/balls. I couldn’t handle his mustiness seeping through the pages.
October 28, 2020
Hot alpha hero with revenge on his mind!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: ❤️💙💜
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌎🌍🌏🌎
Character development: 👤👤👤👤

The setting: Great Britain

The Hero: Sinclair Sterling (a.k.a. Sin) – Filthy rich and determined to get Revenge for something he and his six (Friends?) suffered when they were younger. They call it the incident and it changed them all. Now they are all wealthy and work together. At times it seems they are friends, but other times they describe themselves as enemies. Sin wants revenge agains the heroine’s father and the people he worked for at the time of the incident. So he has maneuvered her into a position where he can use her.

The heroine: Summer West – Trying to get her fledgling business off the ground and paying the bills which include medical bills for her sister who is sick, she isn’t in a position to refuse Sin even though her very nature has her balking at everything he does and says. He blackmails her and she has no choice but to help him by doing what he wants.

The Love Story: Sinclair bullies and blackmails Summer into becoming his fake bride to draw Summer’s father to him. The same father who left her and her sister to the foster care system after her mother died. For years Summer has assumed her father died. However when her father does appear, Sin seems to want to protect Summer more than use her.



I liked the fact that Sinclair is a dominant and cocky alpha male who does what it takes to get what he wants. However, I sometimes have trouble with dominant men who aren’t afraid to take what they want, but then take forever to do the deed. I’m not saying that things didn’t get steamy early on in the book because they did. However, I hate it when a guy is supposed to be so bad that he will dominantly take what he wants, but then he doesn’t follow all the way through. Sin follows through and then some. This book was Scorching.

The story also turned out to be much better than I originally thought. The “incident” was explained, at least from Sinclair’s experience. There are still six of his friends that went through something similar and I suspect we will find out what that was a book at a time. Next up is Saint and he is every bit as rich, powerful and handsome as Sin.

Apparently Sinclair and Saint are both “gazillionaires”, I always thought that was a made up word, but I was curious about how many billions made a gazillion so I Googled. It turns out it is actually a word in Webster’s Dictionary, but I think it was probably one of those made up slang words that became a word just because so many people used it, unlike million or billion which are actual numbers, gazillion just means a whole bunch. But still, I wouldn’t mind falling in love with a gazillionaire. Overall I really liked this book.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

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Profile Image for Crystal (Crystalreads2) .
872 reviews806 followers
May 20, 2021


Thank you to the person who said this book is too filthy because that started a chain reaction and landed under my radar. I don’t mean this in a bad way because it was a gem for me. I like fifth. And it’s an excellent combination of angst, revenge, and, most important, love. On top up another great slow burn. This is Sin and Summer”s story, and what a story it is.


Sin is a cold-hearted businessman with demons from his past and seeks revenge for him and the seven. Don’t ever underestimate this man; he is one cool, calculated man. This is where Summer enters. He has a plan in place for her to be his fake wife to draw out his enemy. And he took every available step to make sure this happened. But he didn’t expect Summer to be strong, independent, and challenge him. I laughed so hard at their banter. The chemistry is undeniable from the beginning, and that first encounter was hysterical. Now add in Sin dominance in the bedroom, and their chemistry explodes.


I love the writing style, and it's an easy read. The author spins a unique twist to a fake marriage and billionaire romance. Her endings are not rushed, and she gave an intro to the following two books. Let’s talk about the steam factor in this book. Four out of five, and they are hot scenes. On a side note, I want to add one of the side characters, Saint. What an intriguing comical character he is. Overall I tremendously enjoyed this book and will keep reading future books from the author.
Profile Image for Siobhan.
4,670 reviews583 followers
October 9, 2020
The Billionaire’s Fake Wife is one of those books that sounded perfect for me, but I ended up having so much trouble with it. Although this one contained many things I love – fake relationship, revenge story, and more – I could not connect at all.

My main problem was the attitude of the male lead. Some might find it attractive, but I found it disgusting. There was nothing sexy about it, and I was uncomfortable with how many lines were crossed. Also, add in the fact that the same line was repeated so many times, and I felt like his chapters could be turned into a drinking game. Albeit, I’d be passing out at the end of each of his chapters from the overuse of him getting harder over everything.

All in all, this one wasn’t for me at all. I’m sure many will enjoy it, but I felt uncomfortable for most of the book.
176 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2020
DNF

Too gross. Gross H. Pathetic h. He was over the top ignorant to the h. She took it because she was down on her luck? Ew. It was too much. As soon as the Author had the H manipulate the h into catching him in bed with another woman as part of his scheme to bring her lower, I was out. Now I don't care what comes next. I don't care about him period. He has gone too far. Any female that would be attracted to a man that behaves this way needs intensive therapy. Not sexy.
July 25, 2020
5 little-bird-Fly Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Phenomenal story with Heat, Surprises, Emotions, Quirky banters, The Revenge and Finding Love & HEA❤
ARC received for a honest review.


You need This book in your life! I had tears in my eyes for 50% of the story, it resonated in me. Made me feel so much💙 Sin was quite hateable, but well..I fell in love with him!
I loved seeing all of the '7' (especially Jace+Sienna) throughout the book, so excited for all the guys' stories!

The story starts off with Summer, Firecracker & Strong, meeting Sinclair, Alphahole billionaire, in his bar. His assholishness full on, But their Attraction so intense..HOT. & that kiss. Omg!

They met again during her job interview. The Boss? You guessed it. Sin. She needed the job, for her Company & her sick sis-Karma. Yes, He didn't make it easy, them going toe-to-toe every time they met. In the office. In his home *Job quirks*. Hell, even in the park. The sparks, god, whenever they fought, it was like foreplay.
He had his own agenda, to push her, make her vulnerable, submissive. But Their Chemistry, his protectiveness for her & her Feistyness were unexpected, though Sin loves a challenge!

Then finally he had a leverage over her, the Jerk-off-orgasm video. AND Reveals his intention: REVENGE. From? Her dad. Who she thought was dead, but is alive. omg. His reason? Doesn't get revealed until later. HOW Will the Revenge Take place? Their *Fake* Marriage, so that her dad comes out of his hole. Will she do it? Doesn't really have a choice. That Jerk.

The Wedding happened (Loved it! Also Her+His friends & her Sis are great!). The Plan succeeded. Her Dad came. But..

Along the way, their feelings had grown. Every fight, Glare, kiss.. became even more intense. And at the wedding night when he took her virginity? Something in him broke. Maybe it was his wall against her. But, god, the gentleness he showed.. *Happy sigh*
The next day he even Confessed that he was half way in love with her *Squeal* Will she believe him? *Wink*

Then the Showtime with Her Dad happens. Why did he left years ago? Why fake his death? Is it the mafia? What's his Connection to Sin & rest of the '7'? What happened to Sin in the past to make him so..Broken?
It all gets revealed & omg, I was crying for what happened to Sin as a kid, for all he lost.

But, then Her Dad has a heart-Attack. The twist.
His Untimely Demise (At least the old man gave the names of 'his past bosses', Responsible for the 7's past pain.) was the Reason Sin & Summer broke off *for a few days* She blamed Sin for her dad's death. & For the 1s time, he went against his instinct-to be close to her, whisper it'll be alright- AND Stayed away. Freed her.

Sin was in Pain, numbing it by alcohol. Gladly Jace came & gave him a piece of mind, made him realize his feelings for Summer. Do something. Fight for her.

Summer meets Sin again when she came to Tell him NO to his Job offer. Well, the Superb Sparks hadn't waned. Still Hot, maybe even more hotter now. She won't give in. Nope.
What had he thought? She'll see him, jump in his arms? Na-ah not her. & When she was starting to leave, He Finally opened up! told her about his darkness, waiting to see her leave saying he's crazy. She didn't. It makes him human.
Cue I love yous *yay!* I am so happy!!

The later scenes were great❤ Loved seeing him try to be less Assholish *Snicker*. Before the HEA, we see his *now, Real* Proposal to her too (Though they're already married..) She made him work for her 'yes' too! The 1st time he said exactly what was in his mind. It was soo Romantic😍. LOVED THIS!

P.s. The way this ended, I'm so looking forward to the next book! (Sparks are flying b/w Saint (his friend) & Victoria (her young step mom *surprise!* Now widowed), the way Vic rushed in-to Saint, I wonder what happened?
Will the guys get their revenge?

P.p.s. Loved Karma, Summer & Sin's Movie Trivia talks!
Scenes with Max-The Dog were cute.
Profile Image for Sophie Koufes.
1,960 reviews25 followers
December 9, 2021
The Billionaires Fake Wife: Enemies to Lovers (Big Bad Billionaires Book 1) is a witty read with cute back and forth banter between the characters. I absolutely loved the push and pull banter between Sinclair and Summer. I found the supporting character's intriguing and I can't wait to read their own stories. A bit of humor mixed up with sizzling hot scenes, unexpected twists, and family turmoil. I absolutely loved it and looking forward to reading more books in this billionaire's world.
Just a fun read you dont want to miss out on.
March 3, 2021
DNF at 17%

The blurb catched my attention but once i started readin this i had big issues with Sin, his attitute and in general with all 6 friends.

If that's the type of alpha or men womens get off on and find attractive i would much preffer to be single and become a cat lady rather than having something like his type darken my door. I didn't found him attractive or an alpha he was an asshole of first class and not something i will waste my time on.
Profile Image for zahraa.
355 reviews
November 20, 2021
his nickname is literally sin, i think that explains enough.

arranged marriage? forced proximity? strangers to enemies to lovers? HELLO???

i actually loved the romance in the book, and i loved that we learned about sin’s & the seven’s experiences. but hello?? i’m gonna need a novella about sin healing PLEASE!
and summer ?? loved you but never ever wear that hot pink dress, i beg.

Profile Image for Crazy About Love 💕.
263 reviews85 followers
April 13, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️ three stars -

Fake marriage? Well, you know I was going to read this one lol.

Bonus: this is a story where the lead character being a billionaire was actually developed, so I was happy to get a taste of the lifestyles of the rich and famous - a fave pastime of mine 😂

I was really torn between two and three stars, but I’m going to go with three here - mostly cause I’m in a good mood, and partly cause I’m tired of writing trash reviews - something’s got to give. This reviewer needs some joy, gosh darn it - ha!

Three, because guess what? I was entertained! Was it cheesy? You betcha, but the cuteness factor overruled it for me. I really liked the heroine here. She’s smart, sassy, stands up to a pompous snob H, and has chutzpah. I just really liked her. The third star is because we got a nicely written h here, for once. Hip hip hooray!

Even though the H here is uber snobby, and borderline nasty, I gave him a pass, cause overall it’s a fun to read story - again, it’s the heroine’s fun with the Hero that I absolutely enjoyed, and found myself entertained by.

Does this story have flaws? Yes, as mentioned above, our H here is rather disgusting in the beginning, and there is a scene with another woman (it’s gross, but short). I went with it as a part of his character arc, and this H does redeem himself at the end enough for me.

I would try Steele again, but am guessing that her other stories will be hit or miss, as there are definitely aspects of her style that hold her back from getting a higher rating from this reviewer - the ow drama she loves to include (why? most of us are here for romance, and that’s just gross), and the cheesy frat boy club she’s got going on - not a fan of that.

Overall, a fun two star read, that gets three because I absolutely enjoyed the heroine here and her confident attitude. Bring on the snark!

Would recommend for a quick, fun, alpha-style read. Would try this author again - after checking out reviews here first, of course 😉
Profile Image for kay.
85 reviews470 followers
September 10, 2023
I’m putting this on hold. I’m not feeling the book and what happens in it. I might revisit in the future or maybe i won’t.
72 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2020
I've only read the first couple chapters but cannot get through this book! The H is downright abusive and he would have been charged with a lawsuit as fast as you can say ass! What woman today will allow herself to be treated like this from the start? I always like to finish books before I give my review but seriously couldnt go thru with it. The jackass H fires his receptionist because he doesnt like her face!! Wtf. this kind of novel is for anyone with a low self esteem. I cannot believe the high ratings it has gotten. The h lets herself be spanked, yes spanked in her interview! The H is a huge asshole and this book is terrible. Sorry to leave such a poor rating but cannot stand novels like this. yes theres always a fallback reason for bad behaviour but doesnt mean it should be condoned.
25 reviews
August 18, 2020
I hate these people

I can't finish this book. Sinclair is a pompous jerk, which we are remind of CONSTANTLY. Summer spend more time thinking with her crotch about a guy she hates that I still don't know what she even does for a living! The only character I liked was the dog and was hoping he would bite one or them. True this was an enemies to lovers , but we're WE supposed to hate them? By the fifth chapter, I was praying for a Bratva to break into the story and assassinate them and the 7. Don't start me on that crowd. None if that made any sense.
Profile Image for Lady Bonny Reading.
452 reviews18 followers
August 9, 2022
Beginning of What looks to be a great series of 7 stand-alone stories!

The Big, Bad Billionaire series by L. Steele revolves around 7 men who became close friends after being kidnapped for ransom in their youth. (Six of the 7 came from wealthy families, while the 7th just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time). The experience bonded them for life and together they became powerful billionaires vowing to get revenge on all those involved in their kidnapping. Though kidnapped and held in captivity together, the experience, and thus the after effects and how they each dealt with it differed. So each has his own particular baggage and ways of dealing with it. Currently, there a 3 books already out in the series, but...7 friends, so 7 books ultimately. Each book is a stand-alone about of one of the 7, but with a common backstory dealing with their revenge that runs through all of them.

Billionaire's Fake Wife is the first in the series and is Sinclair (Sin) Sterling's story. As the only one of the 7 who didn't come from money, he was the expendable one and used as an example for the other families so his experience was pretty horrendous. Domineering and manipulative to get what he wants, he is definitely a villain/hero. (The h even calls him an "alphahole"...often.) He's a bit of a "Dom" especially in the bedroom. But he does have a soft side which peaks out every now and then and more often as he becomes more enamored of the h.

The h, Summer Cora West, is the daughter of the man who kidnapped Sin as a child for the Mob because he was indebted to them. She and her sister believe their father is dead as the grew up in foster care. Summer has her own issues, but is sweet, with occasional submissive tendencies, but still no pushover and not afraid to fight back. She's smart and sassy.

He intends to use her to bring her father back from the U.S. (Story takes place in U.K.), to see him ruined and get their revenge. After, he will let her go, not caring if he breaks her in the process. But his plans stray as, unlike most people who are afraid to confront him and usually just run and hide, she does the exact opposite. She stands up to him, tells him off, fights him and yet, at times, gives in to him. Just when he thinks he has her figured out so he knows how she'll react to something, she does the complete opposite and throws him for a loop. The more she challenges him, the more intrigued he becomes.

I loved that her hot and cold, fight or give in attitude was natural to her personality and as was fighting her attraction to the H. It was a real emotional response and not calculated. The H is pretty much the same though he tries to convince himself his actions are calculated. When he's being an alphahole, it's mostly because he's trying to fight his attraction and convince himself he has no feeling for her or anyone. I loved her, and just couldn't hate him, even in the beginning when he was at his worst. I loved the interplay between them.

Warning... As I said previously, Sin is a bit of a Dom so expect some bdsm tendencies (e.g., some spankings (mostly for pleasure), control in the bedroom and some intense sexual scenes.) If you plan to read this series, I think it's safe to say that you can expect similar in all the 7's stories...particularly Saint's (next in line). He featured most prominent of the other 6 in this story and based on how he is presented, I suspect he is the most dominant of all and prefers his women more submissive....guess I'll find out for sure when I read the next!

One final word, L. Steele has written has another story coming out soon that is about Summer's sister, Karma. Although it is not part of the Bad Boy Billionaires series, it is tied to it in that Karma's love interest is the current leader of the Mob family that was responsible for the 7's kidnapping. Karma's story will span more than 1 book as part of another series (not sure how many books in that series, but likely to be cliff hangers).
Profile Image for Sonia.
1,035 reviews1,307 followers
December 24, 2020
I was into the story- until the cheating happened

Okay, maybe it’s not “technically” cheating because they weren’t together or hadn’t been intimate yet, but come on! The intention for Sin to seduce Summer and marry her was there from the beginning- and the woman that was pleasuring him didn’t even appear in the book again. So what was the point?! It was completely unnecessary-
Sin asking her to appear at 8 only to catch a woman on her knees wasn’t needed to find out how in control or how much of an a$$ he could be and this woman was inconsequential- she’s never seen again. I honestly thought about not continuing the book after. But I’ve never DNF a book, and there are so many 5 star reviews, so I powered through.

Summer and her sister Karma have been on their own for years after their father died and they were forced into the system. One day, Summer bumps into Sinclair at a bar and the chemistry between them ignites. At this point, I was excited because he’s very alpha and she has a big mouth on her (I love tension-filled scenes- especially arguing ones). He’s an “alpha hole” and she’s down on her luck and needs money. He propositions her to work for him and she is almost forced to. He has ulterior motives though- he wants to get back at her father (who is actually alive) and is going to marry Summer in order to force her father out of his hiding place (which works). All the while, they’re developing feelings for each other.

In the mean time, there’s lots of sexually charged scenes between the H and h. The tension is THICK and sinfully delicious. The intimate scenes were hot. Buuuuut... I had a bad taste in my mouth when the OW scene occurred, which tainted the rest of the book for me unfortunately ugh. I would’ve enjoyed it had it not happened. It was superfluous and ruined their relationship arc for me. I’m okay with the H being promiscuous or a player before meeting the h, but not after.

Other things that bothered me- repetitive usage of certain words/phrases (widening his stance, alpha hole, gazillionaire, lots of hardening/thickening and wetness going on). A few grammar/connotation errors. I don’t mind the train of thought being fluid or live, but there were certain things that interrupted the flow of the story “hmmm” “uh” etc. I don’t mind a lot of it, but when it’s overused, it becomes repetitive. Also, the relationship with the 7 could’ve been clearer or developed more. I almost felt like I missed a book. Was Max imaginary? I’m unsure. Additionally, the ending was kind of ambiguous... Does it end on a cliffhanger?

This would’ve been 4 stars, but the cheating episode dropped it to 3.
Profile Image for Ziezie.
728 reviews32 followers
June 6, 2021
2.6 stars

I can’t quite describe how I feel about this, I don’t mind insta lust but this is so OTT, the 2 leads really had sex on the brain like 97% of the time throughout this book and yeah they screwed like bunnies too!

5% in and I wanted to DNF but there was something that reeled me in and I kept going. Idk, maybe I sensed there was an actual plot buried deep amid the entertaining purple prose and erratic writing style. There kinda was but I felt like this story is a strange marriage of a telenovela and a soap opera.

I did skimmed a bit but to my surprise, I actually read a whole lot too and eventually finished the whole book. Will I read the next one and the rest in the series? coz clearly the author wanted us to, since there’s a minor cliffy about the main characters in the next book, erm the jury is still out, maybe not but never say never 😂.
Profile Image for Reena.
956 reviews3 followers
September 18, 2020
Another engrossing, page turner read from L. Steele!!! An enemies-to-lovers story, with plenty of sass and steam, that will satisfy even the more demanding reader. I can't wait for the next story in the series!!!
Profile Image for D.G..
1,366 reviews341 followers
November 14, 2021
3 stars divided as follows: 1 star for plot + 1 star for the laughs + 1/2 star for the way her mom died + 1/2 star for the dog twist

Holy shit, I can't remember laughing SO HARD with a book that I think? wasn't supposed to be funny. Throughout the book, I've changed my mind on this a couple of times. If you know whether the author wrote this seriously, please let me know.

This was me at the beginning, when the guy met the heroine and immediately acted like a sexual predator


Then, when I got to the meeting of the 7 'bad billionaires' plotting all sorts of ridiculous things to show they're BAD, BAAAAD!!! I was like...is this for real? Or is the author making fun of the genre?


But when I learned how her mother kicked the bucket, I laughed for like 10 minutes straight. Because you know how she died? The mother liked to wear hand painted fabrics but over time, they bled into her skin and poisoned her. Like for real? Couldn't she have an accident or something? Why this convoluted death that added nothing to the plot?


Most of the "plot" was bickering. The leads bickering, the hero bickering with his "friends" (although he didn't trust them), the heroine bickering with her sister. Most of it designed to obscure what was exactly happening.


And then of course, there was the twitching dick. That dick twitched so much that if I've drank a shot every time the guy mentioned it, I would have been drunk by 1/3 of the book.


Some choice quotes
"My pussy instantly salivates" (I guess it has lips so why not? hahaha!)
"The scent of testosterone saturates the air." (I wonder how testosterone smells! hahaha!!)

At the end, when you find out why he wants revenge on her dad and he acts like a human - instead of the alphole he's been throughout the book - and shares about his dog, there are actually touching moments. That's why I'm back to thinking the author was actually serious when she wrote this.

It's unlikely I'll continue the series - not even for Shane and Faye, the narrators, who did an awesome job with this trainwreck. I don't know if I'll recommend it either because if you take it seriously, you'll probably want to throw yourself off a cliff and unless you have a sense of the ridiculous, you probably won't find it funny. But it was worth it for me. Just for the laughs.
Profile Image for taylorpriziola.
352 reviews25 followers
February 10, 2021
21% DNF
Another waste of my time. Good lord can you say....Asshole, douche bag, prick, cock sucker...if you can think of any another word other than what I wrote, then you get what I’m trying to say, because that’s what the hero was in The billionaire’s fake wife!
There’s two types of alpha males.. The kind that is confident as fuck that makes your panties wet when he talks all dirty, and the other is like this douche in this story... to me there’s nothing sexy about a man that humiliate you every chance he gets and that is exactly what douche bag Sinclair did to Summer.
What’s even worse is when the heroine just sits back and allows it! WTAF?



And to be arousal by this behavior, then obviously you need some major therapy...just sayin.
This kind of writing makes me sick and makes me want to punch a bitch! lol
Why? Do authors write this garbage! Newsflash it’s not sexy!

Anyhow, note to myself to stay away from L. Steeles, because if this is how she writes all her FMC‘s in her books, yea well then I’ll pass!


Audiobook review: Even though the book was horrible...Shane East is one of my favorite narrators and always does a fabulous job! This was my first time listening to Faye Adele and I liked her voice and really enjoyed her narrating. I’ll definitely be looking her up. 5 stars
Profile Image for LindtStorm.
50 reviews2 followers
November 25, 2020
This was soooooo bad. I can't express how much I hated reading this and just wanted to get through it quick. They fall in love with each other two seconds into the book, and the male lead kept saying how he was into the female lead because of how she keeps challenging him and how no one has ever done that, but then anytime she supposedly "challenged" him, she never said anything outside of the norm, like it was so basic. I couldn't get past that. AND what the hell was that wedding all about... ALSO, one thing that really annoyed me, was the reason for the male lead's so called revenge on her father, which was not as destructive as it was portrayed throughout the book especially as it was committed by others as well. And when her dad was in the hospital and the male lead kept on forcing him to talk and her dad ****, how does she just get back with him because he offered her job?!.

And don't get me started on the dialogue, there were so many gems; sadly I didn't bookmark them but you're not missing out.

Sorry this isn't very eloquent, but I'm not a writer so...

Anyways, I don't recommend it at all, don't waste your time and read it.
xx
Profile Image for The Romantic Bosnian.
1,222 reviews327 followers
December 27, 2021
project_20210714_1940242-01
Oh boy. So I was in a mood and decided to pick this up for my birthday read. The blurb caught me and the cover. I truly enjoy asshole alpha hero's but this one sadly went over the line of my likes. Not only that I couldn't connect with the heroine and then the heroine walks into the hero getting head while she is supposed to live with him and so forth and that's where I stopped because *gag* no offense meant for everyone that does enjoy that type of "romance" in their books but me, I wanted to throw my kindle. It's so distasteful and disrespectful to me in any genre so that is why and where I DNFed the book. The author was NEW to me and I wanted to give it a chance and I did, best of wishes to the author!
Profile Image for Ellie.
541 reviews147 followers
Read
July 27, 2020
DNF.
Sweet leapin' Jesus.
Another shite-brained heroine who becomes an alleycat in heat over some hot stranger who treats her like garbage.
When can we be done with this embarrassing trend?

I read another review that says he's basically a predator. Oh yay. Sign me up. Not.

Possessive = selfish and immature.
Dominance = insecure and overcompensating for shortcomings.

I find heroes who behave like this one weak. Stupid. Not worthy of my time. And don't even get me started on the low-class, pathetic heroine. These two have the depth of a puddle on a sidewalk.

Oh yeah, the H f*cks someone NOT the heroine whilst she watches.
How nice.

The list of writers that have a piss poor idea of who women are and what they want grows ever longer. I want heroines who think with their heads, not their vaginas and heroes who are secure enough in their manhood that they don't need to control and dominate. And this writer isn't capable of giving me that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nicci Anne.
127 reviews5 followers
July 24, 2020
L. STEELE has never let me down!!
Wowza!!!
Another gripping story!
Steamy hot scenes
Excitement throughout
You will not be disappointed!!!
5*
Profile Image for Anne Marie.
9 reviews1 follower
March 1, 2022
DNF 21%. Honestly should be zero stars. This was the most degrading book I’ve ever laid my eyes on. The main male character is absolutely horrible and misogynistic. He views women as objects and a game which is disgusting. Also, the way he speaks to people is absolutely disrespectful and should not be allowed but of course he gets away with it because he has money. Just think Nate from Euphoria and that’s what you have here.
Profile Image for Kat Lebo.
845 reviews13 followers
October 7, 2020
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝑭𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒇𝒆, Big Bad Billionaires, Book 1
by L. Steele.

If you follow my reviews, you know that I usually keep a notebook of what I do and don't like in a book. In a normal book, I might find enough noteworthy things to fill 2, maybe 3, pages. This one? 13 pages of notes. SMDH

I gave one star simply on the basis that writing, even pitifully bad writing, is hard work. While the doors have surely opened for lesser known authors in being able to market their work, that also means that there are fewer and fewer authors who deserve to be read. I will admit that I'm not a big fan of the "steamy adult novel." I mean, call it Erotica, as that's what it is. If you're going to write it or read it, own it for pity's sake. But if you are going to write it, please take the time to understand human anatomy and do not, DO NOT, use the same ridiculous phrases over and over again.

While the premise of this book wasn't bad, the backstory of why the main character and is friends are such almost irredeemable jerks isn't revealed until very near the end. As a result, the reader cares nothing for the male lead or for those other males that make up his world. He's too broken to hate, too much of (in the author's words) a douche-canoe to like or wish well. The female character is not the strong woman she is advertised to be (snarky, yes. Strong, hell no). A strong woman would have walked out of the office, would not have agreed to a one-on-one meeting in the first place, and would have been sure to record the meeting and then headed to the nearest attorney's office and filed suit. He walks all over her. She complains, but takes it. Does it all work out for them in the end. Yes. Isn't it handy to have the HEA all written up (unbelievable as the whole plot was).

The pacing was decent, the plotting full of holes big enough to drive a Mack Truck through, the editing and proofing pathetic (or else the author just didn't bother with either). Don't get me wrong, there weren't a lot of grammar and spelling errors, etc. -- that's not what fills my 13 pages of notes. And how in the hell does one get off saying this is a stand-alone novel when it ends on a literal cliffhanger as the author hopes in vain to attract readers to her next book?

Again, this book has 5-star rave reviews out the wazoo. While I usually look for the low star reviews -- they tend to be much more realistic -- I took a chance on this one. It was a bad bet. When I reached 8% on the book, I almost stopped reading, but by then I had to know just how unfamiliar with the English language this author was (the book is set in London; whether L. Steele is a UK resident or not is a mystery to me. She uses some terms that are more common in Eureopean English that in US English, so I'm guessing she is.)

The author is especially idiotic on the male lead and obviously really doesn't understand how the male body works or maybe doesn't understand how most men handle their physiological responses to stimuli. One phrase she overused was the "widen my stance" phrase. She used it 23 separate times in the 227 pages that make up the actual novel content (that's at least once every 9.1 pages). He was either widening his stance, had widened stance, or did widen his stance. Add to that the mention of tightening pants, the 15 repetitions of dick twitching, the 17 repetitions of groin tightening or hardening (can a groin harden? According to men I asked, no, but then, it's a muscular section of the body, so, maybe. The author sure made it harden by overuse), and the many many mentions of dick or cock lengthening, hardening, pulsing, nudging, jumping, leaping, throbbing, and expanding and poor old Sinclair really had a rough 227 pages. The female lead, got not much better. Pussy is used (at least it was doing things I'm pretty sure it's supposed to do) over 43 times. Cunt 10 times. Steele certainly gives Cardi B a run for her WAP money. And it seemed Summer's panties were wet on at least 200 of the 227 pages (that's a guess -- the others? I used Kindle's handy search factor for them, so, not guesses). Both the male and female leads do a lot of growling, groaning, etc. and all in the deep part of their respective throats. Oh! And the smirking going on! JM&J, smirk in it's various forms is used about 49 times in this short novel. SMDH

There were other problems. In Chapter 2, on page 6 (6!), at 4% is this: "Does she think I am going to fall for her wide-eyed appeal? She has another thing coming." Yep, another thing, may the author was trying to say that Summer wasn't smart enough to think twice? I don't know. For all of you out there, readers and authors alike, the phrase is 'if X thinks he can do Y, he has another THINK coming.' Yes, I know that some accept another thing instead of another think, but that's an incorrect interpretation of the phrase. So use it if you must. Know that to anyone who knows the English language and it's slang phrases, you will look stupid.

In Chapter 3, page 9, at 5%, the author writes "Okay, I go this." Sigh. Ms. Steele, please get a proof reader; preferably one who isn't afraid to tell you the truth.

In Chapter 7, on page 25, we see "Taking in the bright look in her eyes, her enthusiasm writ in every angle of her body..." Technically, this can be used in this context, although it is considered an archaic form the past participle of write. For most of us, a writ is a document granting the power to do something, such as a Writ of Certiorari or a warrant issued by a Judge or a Court. Then, later, in Chapter 8, page 28, when the male lead grabs the female lead she says "Unhand me" and he immediately makes fun of her, because, yes that's archaic, just as archaic as when his thoughts contained the word writ. So, is this a good for the goose/good for the gander battle of the archaic terms? In Chapter 3, page 89, at 38%, there is questionable grammar/sentence structure: "Bet, that's what Mr. Big Bad is saying about me, right now. I reread this page over and over, but there is never a mention that I caught of making a bet, so the comma after that word is misplaced. The one here: about me, right now, isn't really incorrect, although it's unnecessary and, at least for me (and this is my review) awkward. That same sentence structure appears again in Chapter 7, page 108, 46% as: "Bet, that's part of the attraction." Another not really a mistake, but something that pulled me -- once again -- out of the story line to note it appears in Chapter 35, on page 133, or 57% through and again in Chapter 44, page 174 or 74% through the book. The author uses the term "home in" rather than "hone in." As I said not technically wrong, and I understand that "home in" is more popular in Europe, while here in the states we are pretty much split between the two usages. So not wrong, but different enough from my personal experiences to make me stop and look it up.

For me, this story that should have been hot, hot, hot, was eye-rollingly trite. I continued to read because I was in absolute amazement at the repetitive use of cliched terms for body parts and what those body parts were doing that I just kept reading and noting things down. But it didn't really get anything remotely resembling interesting until Chapter 19 (page 71-73) with the appearance of Meredith Vincent. The author includes in the book two sentences that I thought applied more to her than to her characters: Chapter 13, page 52, 23%: "I can't string together a sentence with words, apparently." and in Chapter 12, page 49, 22%: "You need a new vocabulary."

Have I been extremely hard on this author. You bet. She wants you to buy her books, but she puts out something in this poor a condition, that looks like she picked a few favorite verbs, nouns, and cut and pasted them every few pages, rather than thinking up new novel and descriptive phrases to delight her readers. If all you are looking for is steam, there is plenty in this book, so go for it. However, if you prefer a little bit of story that is well organized, and that is full of wonderfully descriptive and imaginative ways to refer to people, their body parts, and the co-joining of the same, you should look elsewhere.

Oh, and don't tell me the novel is stand alone, when this is how it ends:
Her dress falls to below her knees, and there's a tear at the hem.
I stiffen, "Victoria, are you okay?"
Max sniffs at her ankles, whines. She bends, pets him. He licks her fingers, then runs to his rug, settles there with his chew toy.
"Victoria?"
She looks up at me, "Everything will be fine now." Her tone is composed. She turns to Saint. "I've been looking for you."
Saint smirks, "About time."
She takes a step forward, then stumbles.
"Hey." Saint closes the distance between them.
Her legs seem to wobble and she crumples, but he's already there. He grips her shoulders, straightens her, "You okay?"
"Help Me."

Just a note, Ms. Steele. I will not be spending any more of my reading material money on your books.
Profile Image for Jessica Alcazar.
4,067 reviews565 followers
July 16, 2023
🎧🎧AUDIO REVIEW🎧🎧

Before I say anything about my thoughts on this story, everyone should know that "no two people read the same book…" (the quote isn’t exact but you get my drift) and when an author makes choices for this, that or the other in a book, how it hits a reader is completely subjective to that reader and they have less than zero control over that.

That being said, for me, Sinclair’s character was more than a "hot possessive billionaire" as it states in the synopsis. He’s an asshole, and not in the hot way. That’s me. That’s my opinion. I can see if I was a different person how his character maybe would not be an asshole in my eyes, but I’m not a different person, so he’s an asshole. It’s hard to root for assholes, even if they "redeem" themselves in the end because, too little too late. Again, this is my opinion of Sinclair and it affected my listening experience because I just couldn’t turn it off because he rarely turned it off. Feel me?

Summer was, in fact, "spitfire who dares to go toe to toe with him" as it states in the synopsis. It was her character and her circumstances that allowed me to continue to listen to this story till the end. I was rooting for her from the very beginning!

The storyline itself was captivating to me. I was all in not just for Summer, but the secondary storyline of the Seven, and I have a feeling that secondary storyline is going to build through the series. I could be wrong, but I’m intrigued. Even though I was captivated by the story itself, the beginning was rough. Rough in a way where I had to stop the audio and restart a few times because I was lost and confused. I went ahead and downloaded the ebook with my KU subscription after the second restart so I could refer to it instead of rewinding LOL This was my first experience with this author and if my stalking skills are correct, this story was also her first or close to it, so I’m very interested to move forward with this series to see her growth as an author.

This review is coming across as pretty negative but honestly, I didn’t not like it overall, it just had some issues. As I stated, it’s not going to stop me from moving forward with the series, but I’m hoping the mechanics and style of writing improve as I move forward. We shall see.

I listened to this story so I should probably evaluate the narrators also LOL I absolutely love Shane East and have listened to what feels like hundreds of his narrations!! This was my first listen by Faye Adele, and although she did well with Summer, the rest of her voices were not that great in my opinion, especially her female voices. They all sounded too similar to Summer, and it just weirded me out LOL

Overall experience: SOLID 3 Stars all around!
Profile Image for Sweet ✞ Savage ✞ Reads.
308 reviews84 followers
July 26, 2023
❤️‍🔥 audio review ❤️‍🔥

The witty banter could not have been better! The way these two narrators could not have done better to capture the enemies to lovers vibes between these two characters.

I’ll admit, sometimes I wasn’t to sure if it was Summer speaking or another girl but it didn’t affect my overall listen. I still found myself invested in the story.

Sinclair is the epitome of an alpha-hole (just like Summer said) there’s so many times where I really didn’t like him, I felt real aggression, so it was performed perfectly. I was 100% cheering Summer on with her sassy remarks back at him! I could practically feel the eye roll which I don’t always get without audio so listening made it way better.

Their push and pull was constant, Sin was always either making it worse or bringing the spice with the way he would charm and belittle her at the same time, but in the end… well you need to listen cause you don’t wanna miss out on this one 🙌🏼😉
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