A new second chance billionaire romance set in the dark and glamorous underbelly of the Upper East Side from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde.Natalie Bishop was just supposed to be a one night stand. Until she steps out of the ocean at my summer home in the Hamptons completely naked.The minute I see her, I know I can’t walk away.She claims that she’s just here to watch the house while it … just here to watch the house while it undergoes renovations. That she has no interest in rekindling our fire. But every weighted glance says it’s a lie.
I don’t care that I’m Manhattan royalty and she’s the help.
Only that she’s living in my summer home. With me.
And I want more.
more
4.5 stars–CRUEL MONEY is the first full length instalment in K.A. Linde’s contemporary, adult CRUEL erotic, romance series focusing on twenty-nine year old, philosophy professor Penn Kensington, and twenty-four year old, writer / house-sitter Natalie Bishop.
NOTE: For history and background, I recommend reading the prequel novella ONE CRUEL NIGHT where Natalie Bishop first meets Penn Kensington.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Penn and Natalie) CRUEL MONEY picks up six years after Penn and Natalie’s one-night stand in Paris France. As a struggling writer Natalie works full-time as a house sitter for the rich and famous but never expected to come face to face with her past, a man she hates for his ‘hit it and quit it’ one-night affair. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Natalie and Penn, and the fall-out as betrayal, heart break, secrets and lies push our heroine out of Penn Kensington’s life
CRUEL MONEY is an emotional story of heartache, pain and deception. We are witness to the manipulation and gullibility of a young woman as she is unprepared for the cruelty and vindictiveness of the privileged and uber-rich. An unsuspecting and oblivious pawn, Natalie is the ultimate loser of both her head and her heart.
The secondary and supporting characters are numerous, colorful, manipulative, insensitive and calculating. We are introduced to the ‘Crew’, a group of well-to-do, privileged, and spoiled twenty-something adults who play games with other people’s lives and hearts.
K.A. Linde pulls the reader into an intoxicating train wreck and the emotional fall-out as one woman loses everything and more. The premise is gritty; the romance is fraught with secrets and lies; the characters are animated but broken. CRUEL MONEY ends on a cliff-hanger-you have been warned.
S P E E C H L E S S….
April!? April is when this story continues? NOOOO *pulls hair out*
Ok.
Natalie… struggling writer… house sitter… cool gig!
Penn… the rich boy who broke her 7 years before this story begins…
Supporting cast… the crew…
Think if Regina George from Mean Girls was frenemies with Katherine from Cruel intentions… that would set the tone for this group of friends. At times it’s hard to even like them. And then other times, you love some of them… there’s 1 I never loved, not one little bit!
Natalie is hired to watch the mayor of New York’s house in the Hampton’s. That’s where the story begins.
It was beautifully written and a perfectly thought out plot… characters were fabulous and developed extremely well.
There’s humor, heat, and some intrigue mixed in…. this book was perfect!!
It is part of a trilogy and there is a prequel that is available right now.
Readers of Laurelin Paige’s Fixed Universe will flipping LOVE this… same edgy feel, but completely different!
Needless to note but being a trilogy obviously it ends on a cliffhanger!
Read it! PS : read all of her books.
Every. Single. One. Is. Awesome.
K.A. Linde
4.5 Stars for Cruel Money book 1 in the new Cruel series and what a way to start a series !!
Penn and Natalie share a past and it’s not the type of past you want to remember so what happens when this couple meet up 6 years down the line well i guess you will need to read the book to find that out because this is a book you won’t want to miss because this is a story that will intrigue and captivate you and you won’t be able to put it down …..
Things and people are not always what they seem and that’s what’s so interesting with Cruel Money, it’s nothing like anything I have read before and it certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat. This book is filled with drama and angst and I really didn’t want it to end so now I wait with bated breath for book 2 in the series let’s hope it’s not to far away. Loved this must read
It all started in Paris. She saw him in the park across the street where she was staying. Always writing in his notebook, this gorgeous man was always intensely immersed in his prose. Meeting him at a party on her last night in Paris, they connected immediately. A friendship and intimate feeling developed and as the night progressed, not only did he show her all his favorite sights of Paris, but he also introduced her to the secrets of love. A wonderful night followed by his abandonment is not what an eighteen-year-old girl looks for as the first night!
Now, six years later, while she is housesitting in the Hamptons, who should appear out of the blue but her Paris lover ~ Penn. Natalie and he are thrown into a web of secrets, the games of the rich, and the impending doom of falling in love.
I definitely consider this book a must-read. This is the first book in a series.
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks to the author for sharing a copy with me.
* A review copy was provided by the author for the Blog Tour *
The saying….Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, totally rings true with this story. Except in Cruel Money, you don’t know who are the friends and who are the enemies.
If you liked the movie Cruel Intentions, then you are going to LOVE Cruel Money.
This book is filled with angst, drama, lies, secrets, and deception. Oh and yes romance and some steamy scenes. This book will keep you hanging on until the very end.
I can’t say much about the storyline, you need to let it all unfold for yourself. But I will say that this is NOT a standalone novel. You are left hanging and definitely wanting more!!! This story is told primarily from Natalie’s POV but we do get some chapters in Penn’s POV also.
I can also say that I think everyone will fall in love with Penn and Natalie. This is a couple I can’t help but want to cheer on to get their HEA. Right from the start I wanted them together and to make it through all the drama. Penn and Natalie have a past together and it is one that ended badly. So with that, that makes this story an enemies to lovers story. But again I will ask….who is the enemy??? 😉
I thought Natalie was a strong and feisty heroine. She held her ground when she needed to but also wasn’t made of stone and had her emotional times too. My heart broke for her at times. Penn is kind of hard to describe without spoiling this story. Just take my word for it, you will want to meet Penn!!!
Cruel Money is the first book in the trilogy by K.A. Linde and I absolutely LOVED this story. I can’t wait for the second book to come out and see where she takes these characters. I was hooked from the first page. I couldn’t read this book fast enough, but I also never wanted it to end.
Well done!!! This is definitely going on my Best of 2019 list. This is a MUST READ when it is released.