Million Dollar Marriage

Million Dollar, Book 2

By: Katy Evans

Narrated by: Meg Sylvan, Jacob Morgan

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

From New York Times bestselling author Katy Evans comes a hot romance about two strangers and their race to fall in love.

If someone had bet Nell a million dollars that she would be saying “I do” to a complete stranger on national television, she’d have called them crazy, but with her crushing student loan payments sending her deep into the red, she’s out of options. This should be nothing more than a business transaction - until she sets eyes on her groom, and everything changes.

The game is on the instant Luke spots Penelope “Nell” Carpenter. He’s out for the money, yes, but getting a little dirty with Nell doesn’t sound too bad either. Everyone knows he’s not the marrying kind, so it’s a good thing it’s just for show. God knows he’s the worst guy his pretty wife should pick for real.

They have nothing in common, but if they want the grand prize, they’ll have to beat out eight other couples. Proving that total opposites attract should be easy enough...as long as they don’t fall in love in the process.

©2019 Katy Evans (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Fun premise, good characters, especially Luke

I really liked this book but i have to be honest, I was worried at first because I didn't like Penelope aka "Nell" aka "Penny" at the beginning. She was a bit whiny and a little too snobby. It was fantastic, though, how the author made her grow throughout the book. Luke was pretty awesome from the beginning. Even then, he was protective of Nell and looking out for her and his character made me continue the book even when i was a bit annoyed with Nell in the beginning. Overall, the premise was interesting (reality television where the contestants have to get married and then compete in a race) and we got to revisit the characters from the first book, which was great (you don't have to read that one to understand what happens here but it was so great, you should!). I also listened to the audio for a bit and the narrators were great. I've listened to Jacob Morgan before and he was excellent as expected- good pacing, great ability to play multiple characters. This is my first book with Meg Sylvan and she was also great, playing the different characters well. I thought they did a good job revealing the emotion of the characters.

Review: Million Dollar 2: Million Dollar Marriage

Million Dollar Marriage by Katy Evans is the second standalone story in her Million Dollar series. Told in dual POV between the hot alpha bar-owner Luke and the book smart career student Nell. Add in a reality show competition, a marriage and a series of challenges where they must work together and this book is equal parts hilarity and sizzling sexual tension. We previously met Luke in Million Dollar Devil as the best friend of Jimmy and owner of the bar in which Jimmy has his "office". The premise was unique, the story was very well-written. I felt so very frustrated with Nell and her judgements in the beginning but it's a testament to how she grew as a character through the taping of the reality show to get to where they have their Happily Ever After. Katy Evans is a must-read author for me and this story is just another example of why. Enjoy!

The narrators were top notch. They really embodied the characters and made the reading fun - I was switching back and forth with Whisper-Sync and really enjoyed the performance over my own voices in my head :-D

million dollar read!

I was not sure how I was going to feel about this book. I'm not a big fan of reality dating shows. They don't spark my interest. So I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish this book, but once again Katy has pulled it off. This book was superb. I even listened to the audiobook after reading it. Who would have thought Mr.Luke Cross, rough around the edges and Penelope Carpenter, a bit of an uptight bookworm would make the perfect couple? Financial troubles bring them together. Fate ties the knot. Nell and Luke Clash from the moment they meet, but the challenges they face change everything for them. Things get a bit muddy, but they are in it to win it.

Was surprised how much I loved this one!

I loved everything about this book! Jacob Morgan was the icing on top. Highly recommend.

I loved EVERYTHING about this audio!

From the get go I was hooked! I loved the premise, the build up, the overall pace of the story, the chemistry, the stakes, the amazing narration from both narrators and the twists and turns. I have absolutely nothing negative to say!! It has been a while since a story felt so addictive and urgent and I loved every minute of it!!

4.5 Stars

This may have more to do with my mood at the moment, but Million Dollar Marriage hit the spot for me. Fake/arranged relationships are my jam on any given day, and this one added in some banter and a bit of enemies to lovers, so I knew it would at least be good. While I'm not generally a fan or celebrities, particularly actors, this one didn't annoy me, and I found the reality tv show to make it fun. As a fan of The Amazing Race, the challenges here often made me smile. The writing was good and the narration by Jacob Morgan (listened to with KU's Read & Listen) was even better. Overall, this book just made me happy, and I needed it right now.

Opposites attract

Funny great love story. Love conquers all. You won’t want to stop listening True love

So much better than the first book.

This book was so much better than the first one in this series. I enjoyed it so much I listened to it twice, back-to-back, and would listen to it again at another time. I highly recommend this book. Both narrators did a great job.

Great narrators, mostly good story...

I mostly liked this one. There were a few moments where I almost stopped listening though. Nell was a really difficult character to connect to. Throughout 95% of the book I actually thought she was a judgmental, pretty awful person. I kept questioning why Luke even liked her. While she never outright called Luke anything derogatory to his face, she internally kept referring to him as "a thug" and "dirty". It really rubbed me the wrong way because she was just going based off of what he looked like, which is described as heavily tattooed, with a beard, and dark hair. Now, I could get past that if it happened only once or twice, but it was pretty constant throughout the book. As someone who has a husband with a TON of tattoos and has seen the way people side eye him, despite it being socially acceptable these days, it's a really big pet peeve of mine. I mean, being THAT judgmental is a pet peeve of mine, but that situation in particular is grating on a personal level.

I also couldn't get over how cliché Nell's character was. She's a borderline virgin, who doesn't watch tv, eat frozen foods, never had an orgasm, reads textbooks for fun, listens only to classical music, etc. It was too much for me and I felt like she needed something to make her feel more human and relatable. I kept trying to figure out what her and Luke could possibly have in common that would make them a good match and I honestly never saw it.

Now that I've said my piece about Nell, let's move on.

Luke was GREAT. I loved his character. He was really patient and SUCH a positive person. He was friendly with everyone and played the game fairly. He pushed Nell only to a certain point and he was more than happy to do the lion's share of the challenges when needed. He was also very open and honest about himself and never hid his past. He had a pretty difficult life, so I found that to be pretty admirable. I liked that that wasn't a factor in the "angst moment".

The reality competition aspect of this book was really fun. I was pleasantly surprised with how in depth the book went into it. Every challenge was portrayed completely and it was rarely ever faded to black. I was really happy with that because I have seen that happen in other reality show books before. We also got just enough of the secondary characters to really connect with them and get their personalities. I wish we had more of Ace's interactions because that guy was a straight up tool.

On to the narration....
So, I LOVE Jacob Morgan. I really, truly do. He's a big draw for me and is usually the reason why I pick up books I never would think to otherwise. However, this one wasn't his best performance. I honestly thought he sounded bored. I know he usually has the borderline monotone timber, but this one was definitely ramped up. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't his best performance. Meg Sylvan did a GREAT job. I have never listened to anything else by her, but I will definitely listen and look for other books narrated by her. She's got a great voice, even for her male voice, and she does a great job acting parts out. I'll be honest though, it took a couple of chapters to get her stride going, but once she did, she took off like a rocket. I definitely enjoyed her narration.

Overall, the book was okay. If you can look past Nell's somewhat obnoxious personality, then I'd give it a whirl. It honestly would have been a 4 star read for me if Nell had more of a redeeming arc a little earlier. Unfortunately, she didn't so I knocked a star off.

Loved this! Got nervous towards the end though.

I don't care for reality TV, but "reading" a romance set in one is interesting and fun. I loved this so much and Luke's and Penelope's romance journey ❤❤❤ but omg hell no on some of those challenges. 🤣

Gripping and fresh

Story: I've listened to quite a few disappointing books lately. This had been sitting in my wish list for some time and I'm really glad I finally put it in my basket and checked out. It's impossible for Katy to beat Real which is one of my favourite books but I couldn't turn this off when I got started.

This isn't the first time I've listened to a romance about characters in a reality dating show but it was definitely the most original and best executed one. The premise of the show itself was a hoot and the way the characters ended up being in the show and their reactions to everything that was thrown at them was believable and in many ways inspiring. The plot moved at a great pace and could have got repetative as they faced one challenge after another, the show drawn out through the full length of the book, but this really really held my interest to the end. Although I had no doubt that they'd eventually get together the way they finally got there continued to surprise me and I was so rooting for the two of them by the end.

Characters: Luke and Nell were both likeable and had both faced challenges in their lives making them three dimensional characters that really came off the page or rather app. You really feel like you get to know the two of them in depth by the end of this book. The character arcs and how they changed throughout the book was exceptionally well done as they both grew as people and overcame their vulnerabilities. The secondary characters such as the other contestants and the main characters' friends, while not getting a whole lot of play time in the book, were also well drawn and believable.

Setting: Despite being a reality dating show, this was a really different one! Some of the ideas were really original and funny. They moved around a lot to different locations from extreme heat to freezing cold which meant there was never a dull static moment so even the settings kept you intrigued as they threw up new challenges and left me wondering where they were going to end up next.

Romance: A slow burn in many ways. Although Luke likes Nell a lot from the beginning, it takes a while for his depth of feelings to grow and I really felt like we saw him fall in love with her. The development of their relationship was so believable compared with a lot of books out there. I was truly convinced they were right for each other by the end and had a depth of feeling for each other that was built on really knowing each other inside and out.

Steaminess: not without its steamy moments this focussed more on the romance than the sex. Still, for over 18s only.

Narration: excellent. Both male and female voices read the characters perfectly.

Really enjoyed

Really enjoyed this book. Had on my wish list for a while but kept putting off purchasing as reality tv thing put me off. However it made for a different story line in a sweet romance. Yes it is predictable as are most in this genre but definitely worth a read. Narrators were great too!