this book absolutely did not work for me. I mean, I really had no idea what to expect from How to Bang a Billionaire, so my disappointment isn't so much laced with sadness as much as I am just MEH about the whole experience. Glitterland fangirl for life though, babes.

So, about HtBaB. To be honest, I requested this on author name alone. I knew I would get great writing (and I did) but, seriously, was this a parody? A satirical Fifty/Beauty and the Beast sort of mash up? I JUST DID NOT GET IT.

I didn't like either protagonist. I'm here trying to think of one likable trait about Caspian. . . I got nothing. Arden seemed cute and fun but his self depreciating humor became really tiresome. He was also exceedingly insistent on finding cause for Caspian's behaviors EVERY SINGLE TIME he was an aloof beast. Can't a boy just be mad without having to make excuses for his billionaire keeper?? All of Arden's introspection every time there was conflict never gave me the chance to see if Caspian did have the motives that Arden manifested for him. He just worked it out in his head so when there was "resolution" (dialogue), I skimmed. SKIMMED.

Actually I skimmed a lot of this book - most of the sex scenes and probably the last 40% or so. I think my favorite scene was their meet cute. After that? . . . Actually, I found the whole storyline to be very superficial, riddled with scenes that never propelled the plot or seemed to have any relevance to the story. I suppose those plot lines will be rounded out in books two and three? Let me know how it goes (or don't), because I wont be reading them.

Sorry, I can't recommend.

Welcome to our first triple threat review where all three of our BiblioJunkies have read and are reviewing the same book! We had such a blast doing this and comparing notes, so we hope you enjoy it too!




Bel

I’d just come off of reading my first Alexis Hall novel, Glitterland when I picked up HtBaB a few days later. Admittedly I was hoping for more of the same as I was still on this glorious high but I quickly learned that HtBaB is something entirely different. Yet it felt familiar. Like Fifty Shades of Grey familiar. The similarities just kept popping up at me and I don’t know if that was Hall’s intent. (I even texted Nat asking if it was just me and we both agreed that we were seeing the same things.)

I finally stopped noticing the similarities and instead began to feel that Hall was giving this storyline a bit of a shake-up. While Caspian like Christian remains the aloof guy, Arden is the opposite of the meek Ana of Fifty. In fact, he’s the one who keeps pushing and pursuing Caspian. It didn’t matter to me that Arden is slightly adrift without a clue about his future. He’s fun and has a tendency towards self-deprecation in such a British way which means that I automatically love him. I really am hopeless when it comes to that.

By the end, I came away with a better sense of Arden than I did Caspian which is okay because this book is about him determining what he wants even if the rest of his life isn’t in order yet. Caspian seems to thaw a little and I’m trusting that Hall will show us what Arden sees and senses in him sooner rather than later.

I liked the book a lot. I know there’ll be readers who’ve read Fifty Shades who'll have a hard time letting go of the comparisons and I get that. I managed to shed that hindrance and I feel it’s mostly because I was so drawn to the dynamics between Arden and Caspian; how Arden’s naïve, witty, playful personality countered Caspian’s solemn nature. Two distinct opposites clashing is so compelling to me. And there's something alluring about them when they're together and in the right moment. I also appreciated the dynamics with his best friend and family. It’s a joy to see some positive modelling of relationships between them, and it helps that they’re also engaging characters in their own right. My only question is how the prologue – which seems out of place once you’re done with the story - plays in to the rest of the series. I suspect that the subsequent books will answer that. In the meantime, I've added them to my "want to read" list and I'll try this whole patience thing as I wait for them. (Alexis, I'm suffering here.)

So basically, I’ve come to three important conclusions after reading HtBaB. One, my author-crush on Alexis Hall is perfectly intact. Two, I will be reading more of his books. And three, he can be my Scrabble partner because it’d be fun and he's brilliant with words!


Nat
I have loved Alexis Hall since I first read Glitterland - it's easily one of my favorite romances. I haven't read all of his books (I'm a terrible fan) but the few I have read have been stellar. I enjoy the prose and sharp humor that seems to be just as much as a part of Alexis Hall as it is of his books. When Shel and Bel told me this was releasing soon (I've been woefully behind on everything it seems), I jumped at the chance to read it with them.

The prologue was intriguing and I was slightly confused by it. BUT, it all ties in before the end of the book. A different (to me) and brilliant way to introduce other characters' feelings when the story is told in first person. The first couple chapters had me laughing out loud with awkward situations and Hall's signature humor. Then I kept reading and I was overwhelmed by a feeling of deja vu. Wait a minute.....Then it hit me that this was a retelling of 50 Shades of Grey. The initials of the main characters were the same. Their educations/jobs were almost the same. Wait, What? I was both taken aback and amused by Hall's naughtiness.

I wouldn't call this a parody (although, if you want a good 50 Shades parody, check out this). It wasn't any more over the top than 50 Shades. To be fair, 50 Shades is pretty over the top. I would consider How To Bang A Billionaire a straight up retelling. Much like a modern retelling of a fairy tale. In a lot of ways he made it what it should have been - Arden isn't the naive wet blanket that Anastasia is and stands up to Caspian way more than Anastasia ever stood up to Christian. I also loved that Arden's best friend was just that. A BFF without a hidden agenda of unrequited love. But it didn't seem to be poking fun at 50 Shades so much as somewhat re-framing the story and maybe poking fun at the readers. I'm still trying to work that out in my head as the whole deja vu experience left me feeling a little off kilter.

I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. I had a really hard time separating this from and, in turn, not comparing it to 50 Shades the entire time I was reading it. It really impacted my ability to completely immerse myself in the story. Honestly, I am not sure I can ever form an opinion of it without my prior reading clouding my view. But, I can tell you this. Every person I have talked to and every review I have seen by readers that have not read 50 Shades, greatly enjoyed this book. So, I am going to suggest you go with their unclouded recommendation.


Shel

As the only BiblioJunkie to have not read 50 Shades, I didn't have the same problems as Nat and Bel when reading HBB. I definitely recognized the similarities, having heard people talk about 50 Shades ad nauseam and having seen the movies, but they didn't distract me from the hilarity that was Arden.

I thoroughly enjoyed HBB. I thought Caspian was a dick and Arden was a mess, but they came together in an entertaining train wreck. I'm not a big fan of the SM of BDSM, so the prologue had me worried, but at the end of HBB I was full of smiles. And full of love for Alexis Hall.

Despite Natalie's recommendations, I hadn't read any Alexis Hall before HBB. I loved it so much, I immediately bought Glitterland. I admit, I don't like it nearly as much as I did HBB, but I will reserve final judgment until I finish, someday when my ARC TBR isn't out of control... As for the next in the Arden St. Ives series, I will be first in line to read it.


We hope you enjoyed our first triple review! Go check out How to Bang a Billionaire and then come join our debate on the book!

~Shel, Bel, and Nat

3.5
I'm not really sure how to rate this book, because I think my biggest problem with it is that it is what it is, and that's hardly fair. It is my understanding that this is the first in a trilogy following the same couple, which makes this book roughly a 1/3 of the story. And while it did end at a natural place and it is long enough that I didn't go all ragey about "why is it broken up," like I do with some novella/serials, I still FEEL like I read a third of a story and didn't get the payout I wanted in the end. But that's what the book is, so should I really fault it for being what it is? In the end, I really just wish I had waited until they were all out to read any of it. Then I could look at the complete arc instead of trying to judge just part of it.

Based on what I've read so far, I like Arden and Caspian. But so much of the book is so painfully awkward. Which makes sense, since it's two men being awkward with one another and failing to make a 'relationship' work. They pull it together in the end, but most of the book is them failing.

One of the things Hall seems to really like to do is take familiar tropes and subvert them, turn them on their head. And that's what he's done here. It's a pastiche of the broody, emotionally stunted alpha billionaire. He's recognizable, but far from what you're used to and I appreciate that. (We even have Caspian and Arden, C & A, like Christian and Anna, maybe? A purposeful head nod?)

As always, the writing is lovely and lush and, in this case, funny too. I liked it. I'll be looking for the rest of them. But I think I'll wait until the series is complete.

How does an almost-graduate of an Oxford college meet a billionaire? How about interview him for a college newspaper…oops, wrong story! Take two.

I was supposed to be doing this college fund-raiser thing where undergraduates called up wealthy alumni and connected deeply with them in a way that got them all nostalgic and wallet-opening or bank-transferring. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly an ideal candidate for the role.

Alexis Hall, though, is an ideal candidate to marry the fantasy of meeting a billionaire with an impressively realistic means to accomplish that feat. Noting that our student caller isn’t even supposed to be there since it his “best friend Nik was actually the one who’d signed up, but he’d come down with laryngitis.” Our hero is not temperamentally suited to cold calling, not well trained, and he’s surrounded by fellow students who are having “life-enriching, college-benefiting conversations.”

I dialed the next number. They’d told me you could hear the smile in someone’s voice, so I made sure I was grinning as if I’d swallowed a coat hanger.

“HelloImArdenSt.IvescallingfromSt.Sebastian’sCollegepleasedonthanguponme.”

Success at last. Who knew that abject desperation on the phone was the way to ensure that an “implacable, cut-glass voice” would actually converse with you?

God, his voice. From the moment I’d heard it, I’d thought it was pretty sexy, in a chilly, upper-class way, but amusement-softened, it was as rich as honey. Irresistible.

Miraculously, Arden and the sexy, aristocratic, disembodied voice on the other end of the phone have a time out of time conversation. Flirtatious, silly, intense, all circling around the key ephemeral question of what might we be to each other. When Mr. Cut-Glass voice says, “But I’ve enjoyed talking to you and I’m sure others will too,” Arden panics. He doesn’t want him to get off the phone so he blurts out that he’s the only person who didn’t hang up on him.

“You asked me not to.”

“I was honestly pretty desperate.”

“Well, it seemed to work.”

“I guess you took pity on me.”

“I wouldn’t call it pity.”

I nearly asked him what he would call it, but I didn’t quite have the balls. I’d been told to telebond, after all, not teleflirt. I wondered what he looked like. What he was doing right now as he was talking to me. Probably he was sixty-five and tending a bonsai tree, but his voice made me imagine wingback chairs and whisky. A riding crop with a silver tip laid idly across a knee… Okay, maybe that was too far. Or just far enough.

Is this fantasy “like calling to like?” If Arden had bothered to read the biographical material provided to him about the alumni candidates, he would have known that he was speaking with Caspian Leander Hart, “the third richest man in the UK with a net worth in the region of twelve billion quid.” Phew. And yet even with all that lovely lolly on the table, Arden and Caspian continue to talk. About really intense, life-changing, philosophical stuff.

Perhaps that is the greatest difference between How to Bang a Billionaire and other “meet billionaire/bang billionaire/walk into the sunset” books—Arden is never less than honest with Caspian when he disagrees with some of his “Master of the Universe” precepts and Caspian always sees Arden as a genuinely special, gifted man. Caspian sees talents in Arden that Arden definitely doesn’t see in himself. They must meet—and Caspian puts himself down as a “firm maybe” when Arden invites him to a formal fund-raising dinner at the college.

The temptation when reviewing a book—any book—by Alexis Hall is to quote every single fabulous allusion to pop culture, every segue to Georgette Heyer, every slutty, salacious, shimmering bon mot about the gorgeousness and take-charge*ness of the object of love but there’s no need. How to Bang a Billionaire is a glorious romp permeated with the tender, tentative, rigid tale of two very different men forging a relationship. But oh the beginning riffs—could they be any more cinematic?

As Caspian Hart lifted two champagne glasses and passed one to me, it felt a bit like the scene in a black-and-white movie when the hero lights a cigarette for the heroine. Under the brush of his fingers, silvery condensation gathered and ran down the side of the glass. It made me think of sweat and skin and bodies moving together. Of glistening under his hands. Because I was clearly depraved.

Undoubtedly, there are overtones of Fifty Shades of Grey nostalgia in the plot but Alexis Hall shakes the kaleidoscope of impoverished meets billionaire trope and creates a fresh, intensely honest and thoughtful story, shot through with his signature snark and turned-to-perfection phrases. Like Arden dreaming of more time with Caspian, readers will want more of this compelling couple.

This book is kind of for the kinky billionaire loving readers and for the readers that don't get into the mega rich BDSM stories. It has hints of those themes, but they aren't the full plot. It is a romance between Arden and Caspian, but it's really mostly about Arden. The reader gets inside his head about school and life worries. Everything is from his point of view. His friendship with his roommate is very cuddly. He's mother has an interesting relationship. Caspian's sister spends some time with Arden. It's an inside look at his final bit of college and the time right after. Anyone who is a fan of this author, M/M romance, erotica, beyond rich love interests, college and new adult fiction or British contemporary romance should check out How to Bang a Billionaire.

I really enjoyed this book! Ardent is hilarious and I love his bubbly personality. This felt a lot like a m/m version of 50 Shades but the writing is so much better as well as the story itself. I do wish we got to know more about Caspian since he is still such a mystery. I look forward to reading Book 2 in this series!

I was really looking forward to this story, the title had me totally intrigued. The story flowed so well, however the main character just didn't grip me straight away, but by the end I felt I knew him much better.

I really did love Arden, he is such a sweet young boy just trying to live life but when he stumbles across the hot man billionaire, Caspian, on the phone he gets starry eyed and flirty, not knowing that their paths would later meet.....

Caspian is a hot shot rich man that can have what he wants, when he wants and we soon discover he wants Arden. What is his dark secret? Why does he not like to be touched or not be in control? I wish I could tell you but I really don't know myself.

I was just starting to get into this book and enjoying it and it ended. I was a bit disappointed to be honest. I feel the author could have gone into so much further with this story. I did enjoy the story and I am really hoping there is more to come.

How to Bang A Billionaire by Alexis Hall was amazing!!
I loved every single thing about this novel all the way from the start up until the very end!
The characters kept you hanging on their every word! I constantly wanted to find out how their lives and relationships were going to turn out, and which direction they would go in next.
The plot line is captivating and intriguing! I never once wanted to stop reading! I devoured this book in a matter of hours, due to the fact that I was unable to put it down!
I definitely recommend this novel to everyone, and I can't wait to read more from Alexis Hall in the future!
4/5 Stars!

I’m a bit conflicted by this book. Especially now that I’ve read some other reviews and see that this is exactly what I thought it was but didn’t know before I started reading: the gay version of 50 Shades of Gray. Would I have read this if I had known that ahead of time? Maybe, maybe not but I think I would have been less focused on finding the similarities to prove my point had I known this was the author’s intent. I’m leaving my original review intact so you can see what I was thinking while reading.

The prologue was a bit gruesome and confusing. By the end of the book, I was able to make some assumptions but not much is clear about what happened.

Through about 34% in I was hooked, even with Caspian’s…aloofness, because Arden was just that entertaining; quirky, clumsy and funny as hell. And I fully expected there to be some uncovering of a sweet man underneath Caspian’s armor.

From there on, the reading slowed because I was feverishly taking notes while reading.
Trying not to give too much away, when Caspian showed up at Arden’s dorm I got a niggling in the back of my mind that only intensified the further I read into the story: “this seems hauntingly like 50 Shades of Gray”.
- College student majoring in English (British Literature to be specific) whose about to graduate.
- Billionaire meets young college student and is intrigued. The billionaire doesn’t do relationships and wants more than college student can ever give (so he thinks). This hints at kinky f*ckery but isn’t confirmed. Billionaire won’t start anything with college student yet can’t stay away.
- College student feels cheap after encounter ending in a crying fit the billionaire can’t handle and attempts to make the college kid feel better with a sweet gesture.
- College student getting drunk in a bar, being outside while being unwillingly kissed (and more) and throwing up hence needed to be rescued by billionaire.
- The billionaire doesn’t like to be touched.
- The billionaire wants to negotiate with the college graduate and enter a short term sexual contract with him to get him out of his system because he will be no good for the college grad in the long run and the college grad shouldn’t want him (insert because he’s 50 shades of f*cked up here).
- Christian and Ana - C & A / Caspian and Arden - C & A…is that just a major coincidence?
- There’s another big element that is very similar but spoiler-ish so I’m not including the details. Just trust me when I say the similarities between this book and FSOG were staggering.

Eventually, Arden became the kicked puppy that continuously ran back to his abusive owner. Caspian was extremely clinical, cold and almost hateful. I’m guessing there’s a reason but we haven’t unearthed that reason yet. And then he would say something like this and confuse everyone:

“But you’re with me now. Lie down, Arden. Rest.” And there it was. That irresistible mixture of authority and gentleness. Seducing and conquering and soothing me at the same time. “I’m not going to leave you.”

Does he have a split personality? Is that the big secret that’s going to be revealed; because at this point, that’s what I’m going with?

And I really dislike the martyr, ‘woe is me, end of the world, your life is going to be better without me’ BS. But Caspian sure does it well. At 40%, he is writing Arden off…

“You’re going to live a wonderful life.” I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, but he went on. “And thank you for tonight. You gave me something very special. I will treasure it always.”

But then later decides he does want to f*ck Arden and just can’t stay away. However, he only wants him for occasional sex when it is convenient for him. No emotions, no strings, no contract, no nothing but sex. And Arden sees how just wrong this is, but…

There were way too many things wrong with this. But, for some reason, what struck me just then was how seriously he was underselling himself. “Look, if I do this, it’ll be because of you, not because of what you can do for me.”

Arden summed it up nicely when he thought ‘I was a sexual drive-through’. That’s EXACTLY how to describe their ‘relationship’. And their first full penetration sex scene was completely lacking…I had to read the beginning of it twice because I was thought I missed a paragraph or sentence or something. And maybe that was the point, to show the lack of emotion but there was no build-up. Literally, Arden was looking out the window and then bam, Caspian just had his c*ck in Arden going at it. WTF? When did he take his c*ck out of his pants? Did he use lube or just stick it in? And then right after, he was sorry for leaving marks (yes it was rough) and was out the door leaving the country (continent actually).

I feel like I could totally scrap this whole review and just write the following: they have sex, Caspian offers kind words during the act but then drops Arden like a hot potato or hurtful words and Arden feels cheap; rinse, repeat.

I did make it to the end of the book. I was not surprised by how it ended or the direction of the story. Even though Arden is a bit naïve and inexperienced which lead to his forgiving Caspian’s deplorable behavior and continuously running back for more, he is entertaining as hell and very endearing. I think I’m just curious enough about Caspian’s history that I would at least start book 2 but if we didn’t get some details from him or a change in their relationship I’d abort quickly.

When I initially heard about How To Bang A Billionaire I was very interested to see what this story had in store. I got into this story the minute I could and it was so so good!. In this book we follow Arden and His relationship with Caspian . The first thing I wanted to say is that these two felt like complete opposites , there were honestly parts of this books where I would read and wonder if there relationship would work out just based on there personalities, but as the book went on It was plain to see that these two are perfect for each other .Caspian is reserved and closed off while Arden on the other want is a lot more open so seeing these two deal with this was perfect because that reason caused so many problems between them in this book and I love that we got to see that .I felt like there love story was perfect it was sexy , it was angsty and intense . However there was so much more going on in this story than just romance , everything came together to create such a good story .Iam very excited to see what is in store for these characters in book two . If you are looking for a steamy M/M romance you should definitely try this one

When I think of truly talented authors, Alexis Hall tops the list. There’s something about his writing that swallows me up. Its beauty is intricate, delicate, and graceful. His prose is flowery and exquisite in a way that feels natural to him. He doesn’t try too hard to be something he’s not. This book was the epitome of that.

Don’t be fooled for a second by the cliché title, How to Bang a Billionaire. Yes, the love interest in a billionaire, and yes that is an overdone trope. But everything else about this book felt unique and fresh, even when it wasn’t. What I mean by that is that, in the beginning especially, it felt very Fifty Shades to me, but it wasn’t a poor man’s retelling. It was like a reimagining of that story in a wholly different universe. And, not to be ugly, because I love E L James, but Alexis Hall’s writing is superior.

Beyond the surface similarities, though, lies an entirely extraordinary and diverse story. Arden is a sweet, funny, innocent, dazzling character. He’s anything but ordinary, despite his own self-evaluation. Caspian is an intricate conundrum of a man who is mostly cold, stoic, and refined, with the occasional hint of care and warmth deep down. He needs control at all times and Arden is anything but someone who colors inside the lines. The two of them together are magnificent.

As I mentioned, this book is not one you should judge by its title or cover. It was one of the most emotional books I’ve read in some time. I’m not someone who is easily cries when reading and this one had tears sliding down my face on multiple occasions. Sometimes it was from hurt and sadness, and others it was because of the sheer beauty of what I was experiencing. I am so attached to these characters already and I’m so thrilled that we will get more of them. I let out a huge sigh of relief when I saw that this is intended to be trilogy.

Alexis Hall is an artist unlike any other. I can’t think of a single other author to compare him to, which is, in my opinion, one of the highest compliments. He has a way with words that will totally disarm you. Let him.

I have some frustration at the characters but also admiration. I have some frustration with the story but also admiration. This pretty much sums up how the book has you feel. I am curious as to what made Caspian the way he is. He has a soft side but it is hidden behind that facade that frustrates the behoobies out of you.

My frustration with Arden was how he saw himself. As a nobody. As someone not worth a second glance. So I admired when he walked away and risked ti all to show himself and others he was worth it. I admired when he stood up for himself and gained some self worth on his own and not through validation from others. It took him awhile to get there but he did.

My frustration with Caspian was with his prickliness attitude. He was cold and calculating but he also felt guilt over his desires. He didn’t own his kink but slithered from it and tried to bottle it up. That was frustrating for he owned his sexuality and was comfortable with it but he felt that his desire to tie someone up and dominate was something to be shameful of and bad. Even after Arden tried to tell him it wasn’t it was just a different expression of arousal when with someone you felt safe with and was with someone you liked and trusted he still was all it’s wrong. He caused worse pain at times than what kink would for heaven’s sake. That was my frustration there. And yet I admired him admitting his mistakes and trying. I admire him wanting to try to change and listen to Arden. And I admire how he sees Arden.

I was frustrated with the book in the sense that we never got to see who Caspian was. We get glimpses of him but not him. He is a surface main character and I am sure this is what the author was going for. To give you just glimpses and the mystery so that you were frustrated with Caspian but also intrigued by him. And you are and for this I admire the author. She does a good job at creating a character to see as a cold cucumber but has signs of vulnerability and the ability to be kind and caring. I admire the author creating a story in m/m that has such a unusual power dynamic and gives us glimpses as to what is there under the surface.

The story to many is like fifty shades but to me it wasn’t. Yes Caspian has a darkness and glimpses of good like Christian but we don’t see Caspian push kink on Arden and hold it over his head. We see him ashamed of that side. We do see him buoy Arden up but also at times tear him down even when not meaning to. We don’t see Arden as naive or trying to justify things. We see him whine sure and feel uncertain at times but he went into this eyes wide open and did see more to Caspian than others did. We see two men from completely different backgrounds find common ground and attraction. We see one see more in the other than that character sees in himself and the other see a way to show the other love and caring. There are some similarities in which we see one fall in love and think they can change the other. We see a sort of contract but not to the extent there is in fifty but one that does have the other feeling used at times and questioning things. this story is one of exploration of self, helping one open up and let someone in and trust. A fascinating story that has erotic tones and an attraction that is through the roof with some sizzling moments. We see vulnerability in many forms and two characters that will have you be frustrated but also have you admire them. A story that is intriguing, sexy frustrating and takes you on a journey that you don’t expect. I do look forward to the next book to see where Alexis Hall takes the characters was what we will learn about Caspian and if he begins to open up more.

Arden St. Ives has the misfortune to be calling for alumni financial donations when he meets Caspian Hart, the billionaire referenced in the title of this tale. Arden isn't very good at soliciting donations, but he manages to charm Caspian with one phone call. When Caspian shows up at the alumni dinner the following week, Arden becomes truly smitten, until he finds out the details of Caspian's donation to the university.

While Arden doesn't like Caspian's high-handedness, he is infatuated with the man, not his money. Caspian seems to like Arden too, but when he offers Arden a deal that he finds hard to refuse, it's a huge red flag regarding Caspian's ability to have a real relationship, but Arden goes along with it anyway. There's heartbreak in his future, for sure.

I liked this story, but I also found it to be a bit sad. Arden wants a relationship with Caspian more than his money, but Caspian is unwilling or unable. I'm not sure which one this is, although he does manage to act like less of a jerk when it becomes clear that Arden is not going to stay unless Caspian offers up some emotional content in this relationship, so I think he's capable. I was not a fan of Caspian's arms-length treatment of Arden for most of this book.

I loved Arden. It's easy to see why Caspian is enamored of him. He's sweet, kind, and he has feelings! He truly cares about Caspian the man, not the billionaire and I adored that about him. I have to be honest and say I really didn't care for Caspian at all, and at one point I was hoping that Arden would dump him and try to make a go of it with his roommate. I'm sorry to say I'm still hoping that Arden gets the emotional partner he needs, and I just don't see that being Caspian.

How to Bang a Billionaire is well-written and is told solely from Arden's point of view. The spotlight for most of the book is on Arden and Caspian, and I thought the book took on a new and more interesting dimension when other secondary characters, like Ellery, Caspian's sister had some page time too.

Overall, I thought it was a good start to the series. It did leave me wanting more and I'm eager to see how Arden will really handle Caspian's kink which is really only alluded to throughout the book.

ARC provided for review.

While reading Alexis Hall’s "How to Bang a Billionaire," I imagined reporters listening to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, wondering, “How can my paltry words convey this magnitude?” And I was grateful I rarely award 5 star reviews. Though "How to Bang a Billionaire," the first book in Hall’s new Arden St. Ives series, should earn six stars.

This not-so-subtle gay parody of E.L. James’ "Fifty Shades of Grey," might as well have been called "How IT Should Have Been Written." Though I (shamefacedly) enjoyed James’ novel, Hall whips victory laps around her.

Hall uses many similar plot devices:
(a) Arden St. Ives, soon to graduate Oxford in literature, covers for his sick roommate at a fundraiser, calling wealthy alumni, to ask for school donations. Immediately, we connect with our hero.
“I was supposed to be doing this college-fund-raiser thing where undergraduates called up wealthy alumni and connected deeply with them in a way that got them all nostalgic and wallet-opening or bank-transferring. I had no f@#king clue how I was going to work ‘and how would you feel about endowing a Chair of Philosophy in perpetuity’ into a casual conversation with a complete stranger.” Then Arden reaches the reclusive young billionaire Caspian Hart, flirts, and makes Caspian laugh.
(b) Arden trips when they meet at the ensuing dinner, “in front of a man I desperately, desperately want to…not fall over in front of.” Caspian is a “vision of exquisite masculinity … flawless, from his graceful long-fingered hands, to that stern mouth, its unyielding curve touched by the faintest hint of sensuality. And those gray-blue wolf’s eyes, all ice and savagery, watching me.”
“Arden St. Ives?”
“Nope,” I mumbled. “Definitely not. He’s someone else. Someone really attractive and totally vertical.”
By the end of the night their attraction has blossomed. ”Somehow I’d trusted him to take from me exactly what I needed to give.”
(c) After graduation, Caspian saves a drunk Arden from unwanted advances at a bar.

From there, however, the two tales diverge. Of course, Caspian is into kinky stuff. But in this case, Arden is more so, and tries to unravel Caspian’s moderation. “I believe in controlling one’s vices,” Caspian says. “Really?...Because I believe in letting them run riot,” Arden answers.

And this is the crux of their conflict. While acknowledging that ambition is “A fire that burns in empty places,” Caspian expends his energy in business. He longs for a bit of Arden’s joie de vivre, even as Arden flails, deciding what to do post-Oxford.

But both are commitment-phobes who make a mess of their interactions. Over and over, attempting to explain what they need, their insecurities push the other away. “Discovering the distance between how you saw something-and saw yourself-and the way someone else did, and feeling cheapened by that distance.”

As both men knock into each other’s bodies, emotions, and identities, recoiling at their desires and insecurities, readers laugh and cry at the contrariness of human nature. “It still made my heart reel: the ease with which he could think one thing-feel one thing-and do another. That he could share even a small piece of my pleasure and still turn away.”

And then, somehow, Arden and Caspian would hit a consonant note, and I could breathe again. When had I stopped? Was it between Hall’s carefully crafted, deeply intuitive psychological relationships? Was it the magnificence of his language, which paints the men’s defects with loving poignancy?

Reading "Fifty Shades," I thought, “that’s how I might feel in a similar situation.” Reading Hall’s How to Bang a Billionaire, I think, “this is me on a daily basis.” Except, I’ve never expressed the minutiae of my brain as brilliantly, nor as accurately.

Hall, a supremely talented RITA-Award- winning writer, is still early in his career. He’s already in a category of his own and I plan to read his every book to watch his work mature.

This book has all the markings of a classic billionaire romance. There is Arden who is just graduating Oxford and Caspian, only slightly older, yet a billionaire who is carefully constructed and emotionally closed off. Arden was a fun character as one side of him is fumbling and not as smooth as he’s like to be, yet the other side of him is earnest and looking to make a good impression, although he feels like he doesn’t know what he’s doing most of the time.

The men have an instant connection and their differences begin to balance each other out as the story progresses. Told from Arden’s point of view, some of the narrative reads as an entertaining stream of consciousness. Caspian is the one who has to be in control at all times and while there are hints that he wants to be a dominant in the bedroom and Arden wants to be told what to do, Caspian holds back. Caspian is intentionally left a mystery with only hints at what he considers a sordid and shameful past.

The book follows many patterns of billionaire books with Caspian being elusive and emotionally unavailable until Arden starts to ever so slowly break him down. Being that this is the first book in the series, I understood the need to draw out Caspian’s past. But there was so little given and he wasn’t all that nice to Arden a good portion of the time that at times I had to wonder what exactly Arden saw in him. He didn’t want him for his money, yet we are shown so little of who Caspian truly is. The storyline, at his point, was also overly familiar to what is already out there. There is still a long way to go for these two and like all of the books I have read by Hall, I’m intrigued.

I walked away from this book three different times before I finally finished it. And when I say finish, I mean skim to the end.

The book tried to put a spin on FSOG but Caspian was no Christian and Arden is no Anna. And their love story doesn't even compare. But it tried. And it annoyed me. So I know that's one reason I kept putting the book off. It put me off from the very beginning of the book. I wasn't expecting it. It took me by surprise and didn't measure up, imo. So while I didn't technically DNF the book, I probably should have. I didn't do it because I kept waiting for the moment that would turn this story into its own story and not a mirror of another story .. that moment never came :(

Copy provided by the publisher for blog tour review

What a fun ride for these two characters! Arden and Caspian are a seemingly unlikely couple, but what chemistry. I'd love to know more about where they are headed.

With his finals looming in the not so distant future, Oxford student Arden St. Ives has no idea what to do with his life once he graduates. After volunteering for a charity event, he crosses paths with Caspian Hart, a former student who is now a self-made billionaire. Their attraction is mutual when they meet-up and Caspian offers Arden an opportunity he can't refuse, not knowing where it will lead for either man.

When an Oxford student calls Caspian Hart to ask for a donation for his Alma mater, he's captivated by the voice on the end of the phone so much, he takes up the cheeky students offer to attend a fund-raiser at St. Sebastian's Hall. He's instantly attracted to Arden St. Ives, yet he knows their time together will only be short. However, the bubbly, fun student makes it clear he wants his body and soul. It's something Caspian can't agree.

Arden-likeable, needy, camp and fun. He's naive in believing he can be what Caspian wants, not knowing what that means. He constantly pushes the more restraint Caspian but doesn't understand why he can't get this gorgeous man to offer more of himself. Enigmatic Caspian Hart doesn't understand why what he offers in way of a relationship isn't sufficient. He's emotionally closed off for a reason and doesn't want to expose Arden to a part of his persona he struggles with.

Many have made comparisons to Fifty Shades Of Grey series, but as I've never read those novels I can only convey my thoughts about How To Bang a Billionaire. The title didn't really sell this book to me, but after reading about Arden, who narrates this story and Caspian, it is very apt and tongue in cheek!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style, it's witty and entertaining and he conveys the protagonist's emotions perfectly. When I began reading this novel, I wasn't aware this was the beginning of a series, but as I'm invested in Caspian and Arden, I'm looking forward to discovering what Alexis Hall has planned for them next.

4.5 stars

***arc generously received courtesy of Forever Yours Publishing via NetGalley***

4 stars!

This book is the gay 50 Shades. Except I actually liked it. And I actually liked the characters. And there were no inner goddesses.

This was a book I requested on a whim, I love MM and am always curious to read more. I'm not one for billionaire romances, or BDSM but for some reason this book called to me.

How to Bang A Billionaire is about Arden, an Oxford student soon to graduate with a literature degree. He volunteers for an alumni fundraiser and ends up talking on the phone to billionaire and former student, Caspian Hart. On the phone they strike up a banter, and then Caspian comes to the fundraising dinner. There’s something there, but while Arden wants to pursue it, Caspian wants to resist.

Arden gives up hope of being with the attractive billionaire, when Caspian offers up a deal…..



“Everything was worth it for the power to give Caspian Hart just a little bit of joy.”

I really liked this book, like I said above I’m not huge on billionaires, not huge on BDSM, but this one worked! I thought Arden was such an interesting character, his outlook on life and his motivations. He’s playful and fun and up for anything. Caspian was more of a mystery, one we didn’t get to the middle of yet. I expect there will be more about him in the next book. But what we did get to know of him I liked, he just doesn’t know how to express very well.

This book wasn’t super steamy like I was expecting, and honestly I really liked that about it. It meant we could actually get some character development and get to know our players without constant sex. But there is sex! I promise. And you’ll like it. Hall just found a really great balance. And the BDSM element wasn’t as present as I thought, but I expect we will see more.

There’s no cliffhanger! I promise. I cannot wait for the next book though despite no cliffy, I want to know more about these two men. They were wonderful!

“I want to make you feel safe. And I’d make sure you never forget the extraordinary man that you are.”

ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review