Contemporary romance’s love affair with billionaire heroes continues. My assertion that being a billionaire is akin to living on another planet and that the transition is not as simple as “now I can afford to buy shoes” continues. This first book in the Billionaire Bad Boys series by M. Malone, sets up the novels that follow while bring together a big lug and a sweet young woman.
From Amazon (with comments from me): Tank Marshall has anger issues. (He has PTSD, is scary for a living, and keeps weapons in his home.) Years ago he swore off fighting but everything in his life lately is out of control. (Not good for the guy with PTSD). His mom’s cancer is back and the deadbeat dad he hasn’t seen in years is offering an inheritance in exchange for redemption. (As is the way of fiction, he managed to abandon his wife and young sons, spread his seed to others, and make billions at the same time because that last thing is apparently quite straightforward.) So he prowls the streets at night, looking for an outlet for the rage. (He is introduced to the reader while looking for victims to defend and bad guys to pummel.)
There’s only one person that keeps him anchored in the midst of the chaos. One person untouched by violence and money and lies. Emma Shaw. (Redemptive Female – Table for One!)But the one thing that Tank hasn’t learned yet is that when billions are at stake, there’s no such thing as innocent. Because the only woman he trusts is the last woman he should. (This is an overstatement.)
Money. Changes. Everything. (I hear this is true, but would love to test it personally.)
Oy. This definitely sounds like a pass for me. Too much going on, not enough on the relationship. Also whenever the guys need the women to keep from going off the handle it’s creepy. Who wants to be with someone with so little self control?
Extremely funny review (and sadly apt “funny” photo do describe the state of American health care). Not really sure it’s my sort of thing (and I’d have trouble getting over a hero called Tank – please tell me that’s a nickname?) The (untreated, I’m assuming) PTSD and the many guns do indeed seem like a worrying prospect, even though the heroine’s gentle presence soothes his savage inner beast. Seems like that may be a path down the road to horrific newspaper headlines.
It’s a nickname. His given name is Tanner.
Newspaper headlines were all I could think of while the author was laying the PTSD groundwork. I’ll get around to the problem with characterization overkill and a diatribe about same eventually.
I totally agree with you about the “love fixes bad behavior” theme. I’m not a romance reader myself, but I read your reviews pretty religiously and it definitely seems that this theme is everywhere.
It really begs the question, is this the type of theme that publishers are looking for, or is this a theme that readers are demanding? And if so, why?
Maybe it’s a serious escapism for a large part of romance readership. I feel like there’s a bigger sociological question here that might be neat to explore.
It’s a question I ask myself all the time. If you go by the Goodreads and/or Amazon reviews, women seem to gobble these types of heroes up, which explains why they’re so prevalent. When it comes to why women like these depictions of men, I’m much less certain. All of the following are probably true in some measure:
1) Romance novels are escapist fantasy and what women enjoy in a romance novel has no bearing on what they enjoy in real life
1a) corollary: see boys/young men and violent video games
2) Many women do not identify with feminism or feminist themes as strongly as the average Pajiba reader
2a) Many overtly feminist/intellectual women have biases against romance novels assuming that they are trashy and/or inherently unfeminist
Therefore 3) chauvinist and sexist males flourish a lot more in the genre because many readers don’t have the exposure to feminism or the interest in critiquing these books from the feminist angle.
We’ve all read our share of romance books that are absurdly highly rated elsewhere despite the hero needing to be maced or arrested for sexual assault, but every now and then both of the former are true and yet something about him is still compelling, even to a feminist person such as myself.
Anyway, sorry for hijacking your comments, Mrs. J.
the cliche love of the bad-boy is probably more true than any of us really want to admit :)
Sigh, can we get a romance hero who is 5’10’ and a runner with a 9-5 job? I’m so tired of the “this dude is yooooooge and thus sexy and intimidating” trope.
and the billionaire as a modern day stand in for a duke is transparent and lazy. Except for Rebekah Weatherspoon, because she is life and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. (And Courtney Milan as well)