Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - How to Bang a Billionaire

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

How to Bang a Billionaire by Alexis Hall

5 reviews

ehmannky's review

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Honestly, for a book called "How to Bang a Billionaire" there is a conspicuous lack of banging. There's about three or four sex scenes in the book, but Hall still manages to write a pretty fun book nonetheless. I am intrigued enough to check out the following books in this series, but it's nowhere near Hall's best work.

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buttermellow's review

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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wardenred's review

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A+
Would enter weird nonrelationship with emotionally distant billionaire again.

Alexis Hall is among my favorite authors, and yet I've avoided this particular trilogy on his on purpose for two reasons. Reason A) I've heard it referred to as "Fifty Shades but gay," and I'm really the opposite of a Fifty Shades fun. It's not that I genuinely expected Alexis Hall to write an abusive relationship veiled as a kinky one, but here we come to Reason B) the prologue, which I skimmed at one point courtesy of Amazon's "Look Inside" feature, and it did very much read as "Fifty Shades but gay." So I decided it wasn't for me. But then the other day I was talking to a friend whose tastes I tend to trust, and she mentioned absolutely loving this book, so now here I am. Loving it as well.

While this is without a doubt an homage/response to Fifty Shades, the main character is no Anastasia. Arden understands what he's doing, in some ways better than Caspian does, he's dabbled in kink before, he is aware of his preferences and desires, and he doesn't have an inner goddess, which is also a big plus. Also, he's one of the most charming characters I've ever met. I just love his entire chaotic personality. All of his inner monologues were adorably funny, even when they were genuinely dramatic (or maybe especially then). I was maybe a little bit annoyed about his juvenile approach to his own future, in that "if this was my friend meandering through life like that, I would want to smack him," but he's not my friend, he's a book character, so I can just sit back and enjoy his misadventures. Honestly. Arden is a joy.

Caspian is... less of a joy, admittedly. Unlike the character who clearly inspired him, he doesn't have a red dungeon or a tendency to masquerade abuse as BDSM. What he brings to the table is a lot of repression and this deep-set conviction that his dominant tendencies are terrible somehow. He does seem to genuinely mistake dominance for abuse, and so he shies away from it in ways that aren't healthy for anybody involved. Which alone isn't that frustrating and can be a foundation for a great character arc, except since the whole story is in Arden's POV we don't quite see that arc. What we do see is how over and over again, he gives into those tendencies for a bit, receiving enthusiastic consent, and then immediately backs away, closes off, and resists all of Arden's attempts to actually talk it over. And he also keeps insisting it's for Arden's own good and insinuating that Arden doesn't know what's good for him in the most annoying way possible. I get it, the man probably has some big unresolved trauma he needs to work through with a therapist, but that's, like, a guess I'm basing on things that aren't really in the novel. Yeah, as the HFN ending approached, he expressed a readiness to try and consciously introduce kink in his relationship with Arden, but after all of his previous behavior, that doesn't feel like enough. Then again, I suspect that's what the following couple of books are four.

Despite all of my frustrations of Caspian, I did find some glimpses of his less inhibited, "realer" self interesting, especially through Arden's love-struck eyes, and I appreciated the side of him he showed early on during the phone conversation that sparked this all and then way later when he met Arden's family. I also loved the chemistry the two have, and a lot of their banter. So I'm curious to see more of him and to discover new facts about his past and his relationship with his family (gods, his sister is a mess and needs all of the hugs, hope there's a lot of her in the next two books).

All in all, this is the kind of angsty wish-fulfillment romance where the circumstances require lots of suspension of disbelief, but all the feels are so real and genuine, and it's the feels I'm after. I'll definitely keep reading.

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constancely's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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lucyhargrave's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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