Full disclosure, I am a huge Courtney Milan fangirl. She is simply the best at writing fun, swoony, smart romances. So when I found out she was writing something modern, I had to get my hands on it. She did not disappoint! In some ways, I actually liked this modern story better than her historical romances.
Trade Me alternates viewpoints between billionaire Blake Reynolds and overworked Tina Chen. Tina is just trying to make it through college so she can get a good job and take care of her parents. She’s incredibly smart, but overwhelmed by trying to make ends meet and have enough time left over for studying. Her first few run-ins with Blake do not go well. He may be dealing with family expectations and secret personal problems, but he doesn’t know what it’s like to be poor. When she clues him into his ignorance and tells him he couldn’t last a month living the life she does, he offers to trade lives for a month. They switch incomes, houses, and modes of transportation. Eventually, they give into their mutual attraction and things get pretty complicated.
Milan has such a talent for making the most unlikely situations seem plausible because her characters and their feelings are grounded in reality. These characters aren’t perfect, but you can’t help rooting for them to make each other better and work out their differences. So many cannonballers have already raved about this one. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?
CLEARLY, I need to re-read this. Again.
YES, clearly :)
I once tried a Milan historical, but quit pretty quickly in as it was a lord/servant girl situation and those are definitely not my style. It’s so inappropriate and icky that I’ve never picked one up again. Maybe I’ll ease in with her with a contemporary romance before trying another historical.
Yes, but it turned out very quickly that she wasn’t a servant at all, but the daughter of the house. If it was indeed Unveiled, it features the hero I would most like to marry in real life, Mr. Ash Turner. It’s an early work of Milan’s , but still has some really lovely elements.
Please try again. Milan is the very best and we all love her so with good reason. I have a list: https://mrsjulien.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/courtney-milans-catalogue/
Oh, also, Malin has a new Top 100 list and Milan is in the #2 and #4 spot, also #11, #34, #41, #43, #45, #57, and #82.
http://kingmagu.blogspot.no/
I’ll stop now. I just love Courtney Milan’s books SO MUCH!
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that Ms. Milan is the most represented writer on my current top 100 list, but seeing Mrs. J outline all the spots held by her books is still an eye-opener to me. Still, if an author manages to occupy nearly ten percent of my list, she doesn’t have a lot of duds in her bibliography.
I know you all love her, but I definitely did not connect with that one on the first go around. I think I shall re-try her, but with a different series.
If it was Unveiled that turned you off, may I offer that it was my least favorite of the series? Within that trilogy, Unraveled is a really fine piece of work — the hero is still in something of a privileged position relatively speaking to the heroine in terms of class, but it’s a really interesting portrayal overall of middle and lower class dynamics in the Regency that I so rarely see in romances.
And all of that aside, the Brothers Sinister series is working on another level, and to my memory doesn’t have any dynamics like you described bothering you.
But didn’t you just love Ash? I just loved Ash.
Mark’s book is my least favorite.
Mark’s is my least favorite too. Unraveled is definitely my favorite though.
Smite forever. Smite and Jonas.
Yeah, I can definitely understand how the power dynamic in historical romances can be super uncomfortable. Even something as tame and romantic as Pride and Prejudice can make me uncomfortable if I start to think about how Elizabeth Bennet basically becomes Mr. Darcy’s property.
Definitely consider giving this one a try though. Blake is still a powerful guy because he’s a billionaire, but Tina is no slouch. She’s modern, tough, and smart.
I forgot to mention it in my review, but Tina’s roommate is a transgender woman and I really hope the next book in the series will be about her. All the supporting characters in this book are A++++++. The relationship between Blake and his dad is so fascinating.
Yes! Coming late 2015 (in theory) http://www.courtneymilan.com/holdme.php
Yay! Thanks for the link.
Already got on the Kindle since it was 2 bucks with some of my shipping credits!
I know I am being annoying, but The Duchess War is free on Kindle right now and it is the first full novel in her Brothers Sinister series.
Just downloaded! Thanks!