Shaykitteh's World of Books

The Billionaire and the Data-Entry Girl is a new story written under the pen name of Lizzy Powell... this book is not yet available but I was asked to read it and provide my input to the author.

Overall, this book has promise but it wasn't able to properly fulfill it in the space of the story. The novel starts out introducing you to the "Billionaire" Hack Humphrey. Hack is your typical overworked playboy: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and horny. He visits a friend of his who is a doctor, and is prescribed medication but is alerted via tapped out Morse Code (fingers tapping on a table) not to take the meds and to meet with the doctor outside of the office. Hack meets his friend out at a country club where he is told by his friend that the practice is pushing specific medications that seem to be hurting people.  This sounds like an interesting premise, and I expected the book to include a potential medical mystery or corporate corruption. Nope, this is just a side story to explain why Hack starts seeing a homeopathic doctor instead of taking the medications prescribed to him.

We next meet Janice, the Data-Entry part of this equation. Janice is a great cook and gives soup to Hubert, the security guard at her work. He shares it with his neighbor... who is actually Hack, who apparently feels so much better after eating this soup. This feeds back to the story about the homeopathic doctor, since the doctor apparently wants Hack to eat healthier food. Hack is also in lust with Janice, mostly because of her soup. But it's okay, because Janice has been having fantasies about her hot boss Hack as well.

One night when Janice is working late, people break into the office building and Janice ends up seeking sanctuary in Hack's secret office while Hack and Hubert try to figure out what these people want. Janice and Hack end up sleeping together, Hack gets crazy possessive and tells her that he wants her to have his babies and won't give her clothes back until she promises to marry him... it's a little lot creepy.

After that, we find out the secret of Janice's past, Hack is still creepy, and Janice gets kidnapped. Hack goes to rescue Janice, and we learn more about Janice's past. The ending is a slightly "happily every after" ending, but there are too many loose ends for the ending to feel like a resolution... I loved the action, but everything about the ending felt way too rushed.

Overall, I gave his book three stars. Janice and Hubert (the security guard) are both interesting characters, we don't learn enough about Renton and his security team to know if they're interesting or not, and Hack is overbearing and sets off every creep-warning... maybe with more time and character development, I'd end up liking him, but in the short time the story is set in he just comes across as someone I'd run away from... very quickly! The overall plot of the story is interesting, the action once Janice is kidnapped is fun, there is a lot of detail put into the actual office building that most of the story takes place in - complete with secret passages! - and there is a lot of promise... I just think that the ending was rushed and that the book would do better overall if it was slightly longer.

I hope that the author takes some of the input that I've given her and takes the opportunity to expand the ending of the book and perhaps make Hack a more likeable character... or at least less creepy! If changes to the story are made, I will make sure to update my review and star rating if necessary... it'll be interesting to see the finished product when it is published!

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NOTE: I have been in contact with the author and explained my concerns. The medical conspiracy mentioned at the beginning of the book will be dealt with in Book Two of the series, so while it is an interesting side note in this book it is mainly in here as an introduction to Rob's character, Hack's medical concerns, and a sneak peek into the plot of Book Two. I have no further concerns about this section.

Regarding a few other issues... I will most likely be posting an update to this review if/when changes are made - With just a few tweaks, this book will quality for a 4 star review!