I like to read a Harlequin category every now and then because I am just so amused by the tropes. I always think it’s funny how the hero or heroine is from a HUGE global family or how you can pretty much guarantee any down-on-their-luck or complacent character is most likely the next book.
I recently noticed Scribd has a ton of Presents and Desires on audio and King’s Million-Dollar Bargain jumped out to me because a millionaire going undercover on a job site and meeting the girl of his dreams creates instant tension and conflict. Yes, this released during the height of Undercover Boss and the book lampshades it early on.
After losing a bet (the details we never learn oddly enough… ) CEO Rafe King trades his laptop for a tool belt and joins a team doing a remodel for Katie Charles–a feisty redhead running a small cookie empire out of her home. Katie has a vendetta against the King family and to keep her attention Rafe finds himself digging deeper into his deception. He just wants to show this California cookie queen that this King is worth a chance.
Overall this book was a solid romance and I kept reading to see how the big reveal would happen and what happened that turned Katie against the King family.
I feel like Maureen Child really took time to consider her King millionaires. We learn about the department Rafe runs and how he knows construction from hands on experience with his father–who by the way splits this booming construction company with his eight sons. I mean how big is this company? There is no way they can ALL be millionaires.
Rafe is a pretty emotionally intelligent hero. He is aware that his fear of love is because of his philandering father and money-hungry mother. Plus he has a failed marriage that has been holding him back. At one point his ex-wife shows up and I was so ready for her to be a catty money-hungry stereotype but instead the two have a healthy conversation about their former relationship. I thought this was a nice subversion.
Jennifer Woodward does the audio. This performance was subdued and sort of melted into the background — I can’t say it really stood out to me.
I always thought Desires would be a touch too glitzy and over-the-top but I find myself wanting to dig into a few more of these. I also like how the scene on the book matches a scene in the book right down to the setting, dress, and model’s hair.
