Cold Hearted Casanova

Cruel Castaways

By: L.J. Shen

Narrated by: Heather Long, Tor Thom

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2024 L.J. Shen. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Good

I liked Duffy and Riggs’ story. It was a little hard to get into - I found the beginning slow but as it went on, it speed up. The characters developed nicely. I loved the Charlie story line. Overall, it was good. I did NOT love the narrators, that maybe why I couldn’t get into it.

Cute story

The story itself was enjoyable, and the narration was good up until the point of the male lead trying to do a female voice. That was horrible. I think he was trying to compensate for the female lead being English, but if failed miserably. I gave the performance a 3 because both the normal voices were very good, but male try to speak female spoiled it for me.

Best one yet

Loved the characters, Riggs was always a great character. Some laugh-out-loud moments. Great read and listen!

Solid Shen

I've really enjoyed Shen's Cruel Castaway series, and this is a solid entry that leaves a reader satisfied. The banter between Duffy and Riggs keeps the listener entertained and the angst level wasn't too bad. I loved Duffy's family and getting a glimpse of the characters from books 1 and 2.

Not my favorite Cruel Castaways, but listen worthy

I listened before I read this Cruel Castaway installment. I wish I had read it first as per my usual. Heather Long gave a good performance, and Tor Thom was great when in male character, but his female voice left me cold. That being said, the talent of LJ Shen shines through with this unique story line and I enjoyed the back and forth between the two main characters. This time she has two people who have settled into a lifestyle that protects their hearts only to find that together, the walls are slowly knocked down. It is a believable romance, which is important to me. The banter, the misconstrued feelings and the inevitable HEA was worth my credit. LJ Shen is always an auto down load because she never disappoints!

A new favorite!

Daphne Markham’s life is falling apart.
Her boss is moving on and no longer needs a personal assistant.
Her boyfriend just broke up with her.
And, her visa is expiring soon.
She needs a plan to survive.

Riggs Bates lives life untethered to people or places. As a photographer he’s constantly on the move to different locations and never committed to anyone.

One day their paths cross snd they meet in an unexpected way. This chance meeting creates the possibility of a fake relationship to get what they want. It works until they cannot hide their real attraction. Steamy times meet real feelings and lots of snarky fun banter.

There is a side story about o lonely neighbor that is full of surprises and brings all the feelings. I laughed, cried, swooned and absolutely loved this story! Riggs might be a new favorite book guy.

#NYC
#British
#fakemarriage
#lotsofchemistry
#caretakers
#allthefeels
#newfavorite

Why is this story part of the Cruel Castaways?

Story is good on its own but doesn't fit with the series. I was disappointed.

What a wonderful story

It was so cute, lots of tensions between the main characters! Loved the ending definitely worth it

good story line

narration...female voice was not to my liking....too I don't have a word for it could have been better

Great!

I was in the mood for romance and this was as expected. Similar to other LJ books. Thrilling, funny and dramatic.