I definitely see what this book was trying to do, but I think overall the story fell a little bit flat with behind the hangover esque, playboy hangover, you have a kid! Surprise! of it all. It was definitely a cute story and I got a few great chuckles out of it, but I felt i was so busy trying to follow what was going on I couldn't fully immerse in the story.
Overall though it is a light romantic fun story, just be prepared to have to pay attention!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this romantic ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

The Love Scam by MaryJanice Davidson is a kooky book where the male main character is not the nicest of people. Finally he gets to see what life is like in the real world. This contemporary story may not be for everyone but it is written in an excellent unusual way that is not predictable as far as Rake Tarbell is concerned. He is in trouble, deserved trouble for sure. I for one wanted to see how he got himself out of it. I expected no less from this author and she delivers in spades.

Perhaps I should explain where I first heard her name. Several years ago standing in a used bookstore I heard two young adults probably college kids since there was no less than three colleges nearby talking about what books one should buy. The other said something like this, “You have to try the Undead Series, this author writes in a unique, original way that is addictive. I have read all of the series and can’t wait for the next.” Wow, what a recommendation, I thought. I of course, went over to the paranormal section after they left and bought the first in the series. Unique yes, later I found a contemporary romance by Ms. Davidson and I was sold.

The Love Scam shows her continued ability to push the edge on sassy while being sweet too. It is worth a read.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review to my blog. I found the writing stilted and the story a bit formulaic. Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity.

3.5⭐
The Love Scam is my first book by MaryJanice Davidson and it was certainly an interesting read. That pulled together different tropes, and some comedic moments to create a story that was well-developed, and for the most part engaging to read. However, it didn't quite get me laughing out loud, and for me, the romance just didn't click. And there were simply too many inner monologues for the story to really flow smoothly. Yet overall there was more in this story that I liked than I didn't, but saying that I'm not sure I'd read it again. However, I would certainly look out for more books by this author in the future.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

It did take a bit to get into but I had such fun reading this one over a relaxing weekend.

I honestly really struggled with this book. The main character was pretentious and atrocious. The women who he encountered were not my favorite. I just couldn't get behind spending time on such stuck people. Likewise, I am having trouble spending time on this book review. because I am such a big fan of character development stories, had I given this book the full length of the novel, perhaps there would have been redeeming qualities by the end. However, the 25% that I gave this book showed very little interest in any development and I was not able to hold my attention long enough to the childish behavior expressed by this adult.
Additionally, the writing was not intriguing to me.

Waking up in Venice hungover, no wallet, and all of his millions electronically stolen, the aptly named Rake Tarbell is in a world of hurt. He is pretty much the definition of a loser playboy man child spending all of his time being a most frequently drunk and rather worthless. Adding to fun, a young girl named Lillith claims Rake is her father, but he has little to no memory of his encounter with her mother, or was it Rake's twin brother, Blake, who did the deed?

Rake falls in with a protector Claire Delaney who seems to know quite about him and Lillith's mother. She spends a lot of time scoffing at his many foibles and hauling him about like a toddler since Rake is at her mercy without a phone or funds. He is definitely not the sharpest in the shed and really needs a keeper. This story is essentially a comedy of errors, one after the other. Claire and Lillith are the only characters I could really care about because Rake is beyond ridiculous even once he begins to wake up a bit. Claire enjoys messing with Rake because it is so easy to do.

Even as a rom-com where silly can hold forth, quite a bit of this story is convoluted and hard to follow. There are too many confusing elements and eye rolling situations to make it enjoyable unless fans of this author enjoy her particular brand of zaniness and over the top crazy town characters. I suggest reading a sample to try it out first.

DNF so will not be rating or reviewing. Thank you for the opportunity to read The Love Scam by MaryJanice Davidson.

Sadly at 5 % i'm DNF it , I've tried to get lost in the story and even went back to reread what i already read and just couldn't get into the story .

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I give this book 3 stars. I think it's a nice light beach read but at times i found the story-telling confusing and would get pulled out of it with the plot trying to figure it out.

Waking up without his fortune, in a place he is unfamiliar with and with a young girl claiming to be his daughter is throwing him for a loop. Rake has no way of solving the problem with money, since his is gone. Claire is not normally attracted to rich billionaires like Rake, even if he is completely gorgeous. Will their connection be enough to overcome the obstacles.

I Enjoyed this book. It had it spots where I didn’t enjoy but overall I liked it. Try it on for size to see if want to be involved in a love scam. Lol

This book had more twists and turns and everyone was keeping secrets which added to the confusion. This was my first book by this author and while I liked it and it can stand on its own, I would recommend reading Danger, Sweetheart first as there are a few references made to that book. This book is mainly about Delaney, Rake and Lillith. Delaney is sort of hired to find Lillith's father now that Lillith's mother is dead. Rake has the possibility of being Lillith's father and he is a millionaire playboy. Rake really should not drink as it just seems to get him into trouble, in this case, he wakes up in an unknown hotel in an unknown city and doesn't figure it out until he falls into a canal. Delaney and Lillith come across him (not the first encounter for Delaney) as he is climbing out of the canal and after giving Rake her card and telling him where she is staying and that Lillith might be his daughter, Delaney takes off. Rake's first thought is to find a phone as his disappeared into the canal and Lillith helps him to borrow one. Rake then learns that his bank account has been wiped out and he is basically penniless. It soon becomes apparent that he is going to need more help from Delaney, so he and Lillith track her down. The more they all learn about each other, the more questions that are raised. It gets even more wild when you throw in Delaney's friends, a gazillion Easter baskets, Rake's mom & his twin brother and the nuclear option. This story will lead you on a merry chase, but I believe it is all worth it once you reach the end and learn the whole truth.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Griffin I was allowed to read an ARC of this book. This is my freely given review of the book and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rake Tarbell is a wealthy bachelor who wakes up in Venice with no idea how he got there and where his money went. He meets Claire, an investigator who claims that a little girl named Lillith is his long lost daughter. They agree to work together to figure out what’s going on. Their search for answers turns to romance and then adventure when somebody starts following them.
I found this book to be very convoluted and confusing. The story line sounds great but quickly becomes very hard to follow.

The idea behind this book is so good, but the dialogue is just hard to read and enjoy. If you are a fan of this author's work already, this could be a great read for you, but for me, it was very hard to get into and very difficult to follow. It was a DNF for me.

Thank you to St Martin's Press for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I DNF'd at 10% as the storyline was really difficult to follow. This could just be me though. I look forward to other books in the future!

The premise of this novel sounded fantastic. I loved the idea of traveling to Venice and seeing the area through the author's eyes.

I read about 30% of this book and just could not complete it. The character development was a redeeming quality but overall this fell flat. I was very confused through the majority of what I read. Perhaps I will pick this up again in the future, but for now I am not planning on finishing this.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy for my honest opinion.

I was so drawn to the blurb for this one! Wealthy, carefree bachelor wakes up and doesn't know how he got to where he is. Said bachelor realizes his money is all gone, and then enters a woman with a little girl in tow, claiming she is the bachelor's daughter. This is a storyline I am always drawn to!

However, I think this book let me down a little bit. I've read stream of consciousness writing before and haven't minded it, but I almost feel that this book would have been easier to read had it been written in dual, first person POVs. The first forty percent of the book was very hard for me to focus on as I was getting lost in plot lines and trying to keep up with all of the characters and shifting viewpoints.

After that forty percent mark, I feel things got WAY better in terms of writing and the plot. I enjoyed how the ending was wrapped and the development of the main characters. Overall, this one was a cute, average read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Es la primera vez que leo a la autora a pesar de haber visto su nombre antes. De hecho no sabía que The Love Scam era la segunda parte en la serie Danger pero en ningún momento me sentí perdida en la historia (eso es lo bueno de las series de romance), sí estuve un poco intrigada por conocer la historia del hermano gemelo pero creo que de las dos historias, esta me interesaba más.

Rake Tarbell amanece en Venecia sin saber cómo llegó ahí. Claire Delaney llega a salvarlo pero también le lleva a una niña como de 8 años y le dice que es su hija. Rake y su hermano Blake (el protagonista del primer libro) son millonarios pero se encuentran en una situación donde tienen que valerse por sí mismos sin su dinero ni ayuda de la familia.

Al final, la histpria me gustó, fue divertida e interesante aunque me costó un poco de trabajo al principio pero poco a poco los personajes fueron ganando mi aprecio. Las situaciones en las que se encontraban eran demasiado inverosímiles, eso no se puede negar, y a veces la forma en que salían de los problemas era difícil de creer pero en general disfruté de las aventuras de los personajes y creo que sí leería más libros de esta autora.

This entire book felt like a scam.

It was full of an ammateur and inconsistent writing style and weak characters (except Lillith of course). Overall, the story line wasn't so bad, but the poor writing did this book no favours.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.