The Billionaire’s Private Scandal by Jenna Bayley-Burke: Review

Posted July 14, 2017 in review Tags: 3.5 Stars, Giveaway, Miscommunication

The Billionaire's Private Scandal by Jenna Bayley-Burke
Pages: 202

Series: Invested in Love #3
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: ARC, NetGalley

Megan Carlton’s secret affair with financier Brandon Knight ended when he pulled off a hostile takeover of her family’s hotel empire and then kissed another woman. Broke and alone, Megan starts a new life and learns to stand on her own, then Brandon finds her serving coffee and surviving on tips and tries to pull her back into her old life and his arms. She thought she was over him, and she certainly can’t ever trust him again. But what her head knows and her heart feels are two different things.

Brandon was used to always getting what he wanted, then the woman he loves disappeared without a word. When he finds her months later working as a barista, he wonders if she’s suffering from amnesia. Getting a scalding Americano to the chest proves she recognizes him, but she’s got the situation—and him—all wrong. Now all he has to do is prove it.

I’m going to start my review off a bit different and tell you why I didn’t like this book. Well, why I didn’t WANT to like it anyway…

Miscommunication trope: Yep, the entire plot is a miscommunication. A simple, straightforward conversation could have cleared it all up. By the time they actually have that conversation though, the trust is ruined.
Dysfunctional/toxic relationship: What Brandon and Megan have is toxic. She is insecure and isn’t honest with him because she is so sure every man will behave exactly like her father. And he does things he things are for her, but really he never bothers to find out anything REAL about her to know if its what she would want. Combine that with the stalking and demanding behavior, and I was left thinking that these two would be better off apart.

Ok, those 2 problems plagued me while I read. But you know what? I read the whole book in 1 sitting because it was like a train wreck. I couldn’t NOT see it through. My heart went out to Megan. She was a rich girl with self esteem issues and is now a VERY poor girl, working 2 jobs and barely surviving. Her dad’s betrayal stung, and it happened at the same time she caught her boyfriend kissing another girl. I didn’t think I would enjoy the ‘poor little rich girl’ trope, but Megan is genuinely likable. She doesn’t hide the fact that she was narcissistic and self centered when she had money. She didn’t even graduate high school! So, when the book starts out with her broke, she doesn’t sugar coat her previous life. She turns this event into a wake up call for herself on how ill prepared she was. It was actually really empowering.

They eventually get the misunderstanding thing out in the open. But these two have to be the most stubborn, immature characters ever. How Brandon became a billionaire is a mystery to me because he never seems that bright or thoughtful! I understood why Brandon made the decisions he made, and I understand why Megan felt the way she felt. But, I never quite warmed up to Brandon because he seemed to think that because he did what he did for a reason, he should be forgiven now that that reason turns out to be bad. It was frustrating. So, for Megan, the book was 4 stars. For Brandon, the book was 1 star. For the fact I devoured it like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, the book gets 5 stars. So, I am averaging it: 5 + 4 +1=10/3=3.3 stars! (ok, so 3.5!)

POV: 3rd (another reason this might have been a difficult read; when a story is character driven, I tend to prefer 1st person)
Tears: I did cry a few times (especially when I learned she had to give up her dog!)
Trope: miscommunication
Triggers: none
Series/Standalone: stand alone
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