Shopping for a Billionaire 1 & 2 by Julia Kent

Shopping for a Billionaire by Julia Kent
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read: 09 Mar 2019

Shopping for a Billionaire is a romantic comedy where Shannon, a mystery shopper, and Declan, a wealthy businessman, "meet cute" in a men's room when Shannon has her hand down a toilet. Hilarity ensues, or so we are supposed to think.

When I saw this title in the table of contents of an anthology that I downloaded on Valentine's Day, I started reading it to remind myself of the plot. According to Amazon, I downloaded the individual ebook in 2015 and I remember deleting it from my Kindle app just a few months ago because I was sure I had read it. I discovered within a few paragraphs that I hadn't read this at all.

This is listed as a 15-book series, but calling these installments full-length novels seems a bit of a stretch. They may have the word count, but plot-wise they are just new episodes of a continuing story. I don't have an issue with that, but I think they should be labeled as such.

My feeling about the content is mixed. While I enjoy snappy banter between a hero and heroine, it is less appealing to me when it is part of a character's inner monologue. Our heroine Shannon's thoughts were filled with so many pop culture references that it was slightly off-putting. I read this roughly five years after the original publication date and some of the references already sounded dated.

For the most part, I like the portrayal of Declan, the hero. However, there wasn't enough of the couple getting to know each other. Declan seemed willing to throw business Shannon's way and reschedule plans after just a couple of witty exchanges. If there had been even a sentence or three telling the reader that Shannon and Declan had spent a few hours sharing stories, then that would have been more believable. Shannon questions why Declan likes her several times, and I am inclined to agree with her because by the end of the second installment, they still haven't really gotten to know each other yet.

On the plus side, the first two installments were a quick read and there were some laugh-out-loud scenes, especially involving Shannon's inappropriate mother. If the other installments ever hit my library or Kindle Unlimited, I may finish the story, but I am not going to seek them out.

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