Can't Buy Me Love by Maggie Marr

With a title like Can't Buy Me Love, you're pretty certain that you are not embarking on a tragic novel or a suspense story. Can't Buy Me Love, by Maggie Marr, is neither of those. Nor is it a fluffy piece of YA lit. It is, faithful readers, a Hot Romance Novel.

Cole Jackson is a tall, gorgeous, rich business owner who is forced - poor thing - to go to Costa Rica with his capable and comely assistant, Meg Parson, to close a big acquisition deal. Cole lusts after Meg, who returns the favor, but she is inclined to resist him, because she wants any advancement in his company to be due to her merits as a business woman, not her merits as a lover.

Well, you know where the two wind up, I'm sure.

There is nothing about this book that is not predictable. In fact, the entire thing seems to be cobbled out of Hot Romance Novels 101:

• arrogant, bottom-line oriented boss
• gorgeous-but-she-doesn't-know-it assistant who tries to be impervious to his charms
• crotchety business owner who doesn't want to sell his company
• crotchety business owner's devoted wife
• plucky best friend

This early snippet provides a clue:

In the three years she'd worked for him, Meg made herself indispensable, and he had been fool enough to let her become a necessity. She knew everything about him - from the way he took his coffee down to his shoe size. She ran his business affairs seamlessly. He leaned on her. Depended on her. Cole even began to need her and needing anyone was intolerable. To need a person was to appear weak. Need allowed vulnerability to take root. Need was the end of strength. No, to need Meg was completely unacceptable.

I almost fell asleep typing that out.

Can't Buy Me Love has some hot sex scenes, but they don't burn with eroticism and sensuality, unlike, say, Bared to You.  What it does bring to the reading nook, however, is a silly charm. It is a pleasant, affable read that at the most is a mildly entertaining time killer and at the worst a snooze fest.

If you want a couple hours of mindless diversion, this is the book for you.


Published by NLA Liaison Platform LLC, and available at Amazon.com.
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview.