Thursday 26 January 2012

REVIEW: Maisey Yates – The highest price to pay (4/5)

Cover:

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Genre: Contemporary romance

How did I get it: I won it via Maisey Yates’ website

This is the book for you if you like:

- Enemies-turned-lovers stories
- Stories about people overcoming their insecurities about their appearance

Summary: “While it has been reported that I’m missing my own soul, I have no interest in yours. This is about money.”

When Ella’s failing business comes wrapped up as part of Blaise Chevalier’s recent takeover, he plans to discard it – as is his usual way with surplus goods. Then he meets Ella! Cast from the same fiery mould he is, she makes an intriguing adversary. Perhaps he can have a little fun with his new acquisition…

As proud and strong as she is beautiful, Ella is determined to prove Blaise wrong about her business and her worth. As long as she hides her hint of vulnerability and denies the flicker of attraction between them when she catches her enemy’s eye….

(from Maisey Yates’ website)

Thoughts on covers: I can’t help it, but I really, really hate the cover. While I love the fact that Mills & Boons wasn’t too scared to put an interracial couple on the cover, I just can’t stand the way they’re looking. Why do they look so angry? Why don’t they look at each other? And why, oh why, is all of Ella’s scarred side covered up in this cover? It’s such a big part of the book and it’s just stupid that it isn’t on the cover.

Title: The title fits and I like how it’s kind of misleading when you’re reading the first part of the book. At first it’s so much about money and you think you know what the title is referring to…

Characters: I loved Ella. I really, really love the fact that Yates chose a physically scarred (Ella has been in a fire) woman to be the heroine. Aside from that, Ella is a tough girl, who knows what she wants and is doing everything she can to get it. I really like that about her.

I wasn’t so sure about Blaise, though. The book does a great job of trying to make us see that there is more to him than meets the eye and even though I believe that he’s a good person at heart, I’m just not sure he’s the right man for Ella.

Setting: Most of the book is set in Paris, which seems kind of odd to me (though that’s probably just me – I’ve got trouble picturing people in a country where they speak a different language than the language the book is originally written it). It is, of course, both the fashion and romantic centre of the universe, so in that way it makes sense. Parts of it is also set in Malawi, which was my favourite part. I love how the exotic atmosphere of that setting heightens the charge between Ella and Blaise.

General story: I liked the way the story was set up; Blaise starts out to be some kind of problem in Ella’s life, but in the end, she’s made a bigger dent in his life than he in hers. I like how Blaise soothes Ella’s insecurities about her scars; those were the parts in the book where Blaise just made me melt.

I would have liked the book to be just a little longer; the ending felt quite rushed.

Will I read other books from this author? I probably will.

Overall rating: 4 stars

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