Romantic Comedy Series Review: Arden St. Ives by Alexis Hall

How To Bang A Billionaire by Alexis Hall (Arden St.Ives #1)

bought

Synopsis from Goodreads
Rules are made to be broken . . .

If England had yearbooks, I'd probably be "Arden St. Ives: Man Least Likely to Set the World on Fire." So far, I haven't. I've no idea what I'm doing at Oxford, no idea what I'm going to do next and, until a week ago, I had no idea who Caspian Hart was. Turns out, he's brilliant, beautiful . . . oh yeah, and a billionaire.

It's impossible not to be captivated by someone like that. But Caspian Hart makes his own rules. And he has a lot of them. About when I can be with him. What I can do with him. And when he'll be through with me.

I'm good at doing what I'm told in the bedroom. The rest of the time, not so much. And now that Caspian's shown me glimpses of the man behind the billionaire I know it's him I want. Not his wealth, not his status. Him. Except that might be the one thing he doesn't have the power to give me.

Audible US/UK | Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository

 How To Blow It With a Billionaire by Alexis Hall (Arden St.Ives #2)

bought

Synopsis from Goodreads

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Once upon a time there was a totally ordinary boy who fell for a cold, beautiful prince. Only it's not a fairy tale, it's my life. The prince is a billionaire called Caspian Hart. And we're trying super hard to live happily ever after.

He's everything I want, need, and can't resist: a man who looks like a god and bangs like the devil. Except he's still got his rules and he's still got his secrets . . .

But if there's one thing Caspian's taught me it's that you should never settle for less than you're worth. And I'm worth his trust. I have to show him that I see him. That I'm not afraid of his passion, or his power, or his past. And that I won't settle for less than everything.

 Audible US/UK | Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository

9/10

* * *

This.

This was absolutely delightful. Warm, funny, sexy, sharp and adorably geeky. It felt like homecoming. I wolfed first book down and bought book two straight away. 


While Caspian is an alright as your generic dominant brilliant gloomy billionaire with tragic past (a trend we can thank Fifty Shades for), it's Arden who steals all the limelight. He is the brightest and absolutely can't see his own worth.

Him and his interactions with everyone around are fascinating, be that with his friend, Nick, Caspian, Caspian's sister - Ellery or every other secondary character. And none of the characters are cardboard cutout, even someone with very little input has personality. There is depth, yo! It reminded me of TJ Klune and Penny Reid at the same time, and yet it was a distinctively unique voice.

My favorite parts were Arden's conversations with Ellery. She was such an odd, fragile and violent bird. Inhis own way he got her and saved her by being there and being who he is.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She shrugged. And, then, after an uncomfortably long pause, "Just thinking about sh*t. I was quite busy dying for a while. And then I had to not die. Now I guess I have to do something else."

"Well. Is there anything you like?"

"I liked dying. I was into that." Her mouth curled into a rare smile. "Good at it too."

I reached out and ran my thumb across the bumpy, wrong-way scar on her wrist. "I'd say you were mediocre at best."

Arden is full of pop culture and geek pop culture references, which I absolutely loved. The dialogues or his internal monologues are sharp and amusing. And both books should be read back to back. It's more like one book split in the middle.

As for him with Caspian, both men help each other face their demons and the way they interact with each other or deal with their discomforts is pretty believable as is the ending of book two. Arden is only very young and a polar opposite to Caspian's temperament which is where their clashes are coming from, but the sparks  between them are very real. 

I am really looking forward to book three which is out sometime this year, and I'll definitely read more of Alexis Hall books now as I am really digging the writing. Very much recommended, buy it, folks.

* * *

Вот ЭТО. 

Какая ведь легкая, изящная, теплая, умная, смешная книга! Я проглотила книгу первую и тут же начала вторую. Очень авторский стиль мне понравился.

В то время как Каспиан - классический пример блестящего и угрюмого миллиардера-доминанта с трагическим прошлым (за что еще раз можно поблагодарить его прототип - Мистера Грея из 50 Оттенков Серого), Арден совершенно затмевает его персонаж и крадет весь сценический свет. 

Такой он милый, яркий, добрый и драматичный мальчик, что общение с ним делает всех окружающих только лучше, что особенно касается младшей сестры Каспиана - Эллери. Ее характер и поступки никто не понимает, но Ардену просто будучи самим собой, удается к ней прорваться. Она вообще  - шикарный персонаж, не менее яркий чем Арден, и в обоих книгах нет ни одного картонного характера! Даже у самых мимолетных героев присутствует глубина.

Что касается отношений между Арденом и Каспианом, то, несмотря на искры между ними, они настолько разные по темпераменту, возрасту и соцальному статусу, что диалоги у них оказываются взрывными. Но, это заставляет их обоих расти и менятся. Арден, по своей наивности и юнности налегает на партнера, ожидая быстрых результатов, и под таким напряжением Каспиан бунтует, что приводит к вполне ожидаемой концовке.

Серия еще не закончена. Третья книга публикуется в этом году, и я с удовольствием буду ее покупать. А пока пройдусь по остальными книгам автора. Уж очень мне нравится его слог. Очень рекомендую, читайте!