Dirty Rich One Night Stand by Lisa Renee JonesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nicole recommended this series to me, but I had trouble connecting with this first book. It started out great, and it's super sexy. The problem is that despite the exciting moments, there were a lot of moments of meh, in which I sort of tuned out.
This had a good premise but pretty weak character development, which was hard for me. It's also lackluster in the emotions department, except for emotions related to sex. The suspense was weak, and there just was not enough real tension to carry the story forward.
I obviously didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. I enjoyed moments of it but felt it wasn't as solid and cohesive of a story as it could have been. That being said, I did decide to continue on in the series and found book 2 to be significantly better.
On the positive sides, the male lead is really hot and knows exactly what he wants, and the narration is excellent.
Dirty Rich Cinderella Story by Lisa Renee JonesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book 2 was so much better than book 1 was for me. I'm glad I continued onward. This has stronger character development, though there's a bit too much of the plot being all over the place, when more time could have been spent developing other aspects of the characters and their relationships to others.
The suspense/tension is slightly better in this story, too, though I could still use more. It seems like random new plot elements are just thrown in here and there to try to increase the tension and conflict, but it mostly doesn't and just feels too random. So I could actually do without that and would like some more, real, authentic types of conflict.
It's definitely really sexy and takes the reader through a broader range of emotions, though they still do seem pretty limited to anger, frustration, desperation, and joy. The problem with this story, for me, was that the two main characters never really learn to communicate and/or compromise with each other, which leads to a lot of running roughshod over each other and the relationship, with inevitably one or the other giving in. They don't really learn to be a partnership, which is a bit disappointing.
Regardless, this was still steamy and even though I've been feeling a bit over the rich man saves poor girl theme in romance novels, the female lead in this one does a good job of being self-sufficient and not annoying me further on that front.
Dirty Rich Obsession by Lisa Renee JonesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was hot and sexy and the best of the 3 books so far. It has a cohesive story with a strong female lead and a supportive alpha male. They are a nice compliment to each other, both professionally and in their relationship. I really enjoyed this one.
Dirty Rich Betrayal by Lisa Renee JonesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a second chance romance for the characters from book one, which I had trouble connecting with, and I felt the same about this story. It does have lots of spicy moments, but the male lead is a bit too commanding and never bothers to explain himself. The couple really needs to learn to communicate better.
I struggled to get invested and stay invested in this book, but it does have some really sexy moments, which were probably the bright spots. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for me. I really wanted a solid storyline and good character growth, and that was harder to come by.
Dirty Rich Cinderella Story: Ever Afterby Lisa Renee Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Okay. I love this couple. Everything is so hot and angsty, with lots of tension and suspense. Their second story is also really emotional and dramatic, with lots of power struggles. I enjoyed revisiting these 2, and this was a lot better than book 4.
The Bastard by Lisa Renee JonesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This has a very disjointed and illogical start, but it gets better. It just takes about 1/3 of the book for you to finally settle into an actual story, but even then, it's only a partial story.
You will not get a full story out of this book, so don't expect it. There will be no full story cycle and no resolution. It's basically like someone took an axed and chopped the story, in order to create a cliffhanger. So the construction of the story is bad, but there's tons of drama, melodrama, angst, and misunderstandings, which will have you pushing forward despite the structural issues.
If you like what you are reading, then have book 2 ready to go, as you will need to start it immediately, since this isn't a complete story. However, despite all that, if you like telenovellas, then this might appeal to you. There's high drama and a lack of realness/honesty in the characters and their lives, actions, behaviors, and dialogue. You have to be along for the ride and not expect too much from people.
The Princess by Lisa Renee JonesMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Just no. There are a whole lot of reasons why this book and I cannot be friends, but typing them all out here will just make me angry again. And I would like to avoid that, so let me just say the following without the full explanations:
1. You can't always replace communication with sex and expect people to stay interested in the characters and story.
2. People with a disability or disorder, or friends and family members of those with disabilities and/or disorders, don't constantly bring up the issue every moment of the day, in every thought and converstation. In the end, a person is just a person, regardless of having a unique brain. Every single thing they say and do does not need to be clarified by reminding the reader of the disability. We know. So all that was awkward, unnatural, and insensitive, especially the terminology choice.
3. If someone has a brain that works differently, that should be reflected in the character's voice, as well as actions, throughout the whole story. It can't just be something you parade out occasionally, whenever it is convenient to the story, but that doesn't really exist otherwise. That's some of the worst character development I've ever read, and I think it's dangerous ground to tackle writing about something like this, if you don't know what you are doing. It comes off all kinds of wrong and is full of way too many offensive stereotypes.
I wanted to ignore all of the above, because the story is also dramatic and sexy, which tends to appeal to me, but this just all became so frustrating and annoying that I couldn't stop fixating on it, because it was constantly being shoved in the reader's face. So needless to say, I'm quitting this series here, as I can't put myself through another book of this nonsense.
Two stars, because maybe this could have been good, if things had been handled better.
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