Member Reviews
Stone Broke Heiress by Danielle Owen-Jones is a witty and entertaining romp through the life of a socialite who goes from riches to rags in the blink of an eye. The protagonist, Bella Whittington, is both hilarious and relatable as she navigates the challenges of losing her fortune and having to rebuild her life in a small town. The story is filled with humorous moments, quirky characters, and an inspiring message about resilience and self-discovery. Though the plot follows familiar tropes of the genre, the book's charm and fast-paced narrative make it a fun and heartwarming read. Perfect for fans of light-hearted, feel-good fiction, and Schitt's Creek, of course!
Super cute and easy to read book. The author keeps the storyline light and funny. I loved the main character and the book as a whole.
Alright, buckle up for a quick "Stone Broke Heiress rundown." In one word: Meh.
Let's start with the characters. I didn't hate them, but I didn't exactly fall in love either. They were okay, a bit forgettable. I kept waiting for that spark that makes you root for the characters, but it never quite hit.
Now, the plot. It had potential; it did. An heiress facing financial struggles – sounds intriguing, right? Well, it fell a bit flat for me. The execution didn't match the promising premise, and I wanted more depth and complexity.
The writing style was decent, but it didn't stand out. I appreciate a good turn of phrase or a witty line, and sadly, those were scarce here.
Pacing-wise, it felt like a slow burn, but not the kind that keeps you eagerly turning pages, more like the slow burn of a candle about to fizzle out.
The ending? It wrapped things up. But it left me feeling, "That's it?"
In conclusion, "Stone Broke Heiress" didn't leave a lasting impression on me. It's a decent read, but it didn't offer that wow factor I crave in a book. This is the trick if you're looking for a quick and forgettable escape. Otherwise, there are plenty of other fish in the literary sea.
Couldn’t get into it & was really sad that I couldn’t!! Not for me sadly. I hopefully can get into some of her next books
This book was fun. I snickered, and it was honestly a very decent story. The characters could’ve used a little more fleshing out and development, but overall it was fun.
I love this Schitt's Creek-esque, riches to rags, bringing the character down to earth. I loved reading this and will be reading more from Danielle in the future!
While I may have laughed once or twice, this certainly didn’t meet the laugh-out-loud threshold for a rom-com. As far as rom-coms go, there was a grumpy sunshine element that was there, but not fleshed out to the extent it could have been. The main characters, Bella and Dan, had some chemistry going for them, but not the best chemistry I’ve ever read about. You could sense their friendship but beyond that, not much feeling there. A couple of the events in the story were so, so relatable which is what made me enjoy the story the most. Overall, not the best rom-com, but definitely had some positive elements!
This is a total laugh out loud, and a total delight. The lead is a fighter even after she loses all she ever knew she doesn't lose any hope. Such a fun story to read.
Absolutely loved reading this, heart warming, funny, compassionate and touching. Very well written, loved the details and storyline. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A fun predicable beach read. It is sweet and cute as well. A fun read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a cute, feel-good story that centers around a rich girl who becomes broke storyline. Bella’s perfect life comes crumbling down in spectacular fashion. But what happens when Bella’s world comes crashing down? She feels like she’s lost everything. Little does she know she’s about to gain a whole lot more….
I enjoyed it from start to finish and kept laughing out loud throughout the entire thing. I'll definitely be checking out more novels by Danielle Owens-Jones in the future!
This was so fun and quirky! There were definitely some hilarious and laugh-out-loud moments. It felt a little OTT at times (but that might just be a product of when I read it). Loved the message of appreciating the things you have and finding richness in other places.
Thank you to Danielle Owen-Jones, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!!
Stone Broke Heiress by Danielle Owen-Jones
4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This took me by surprise in the best way. I was in a reading slump and struggled to get into the first few chapters, but then it hit the ground running and I found myself speeding through. It was such a feel-good storyline with endearing and lovable characters.
Bella had her whole life set - perfect family, perfect job, perfect fiancé. She was your stereotypical rich princess who thought she knew how the world worked until her life gets turned upside-down until she and her dad get kicked out of their family’s multimillion-dollar soup business and she catches her fiancé cheating on her with her best friend. It’s your typical riches to rags story with a great redemption arc and layered characters.
I wouldn’t say Dan was a grumpy main character, but he also wasn’t a ray of sunshine. He was a slightly brooding, hard-working guy who had no time for setbacks. Not when the most vulnerable in his community are relying on him. His heart was so big and you couldn’t help but love him in the same way his community did. His patience with Bella was something to be applauded. His zany family and friends were the perfect supporting characters to make this book fun and light.
The only reason it lost a star was because it was a fairly predictable read with a heavily used plot point.
If you’re looking for a light, feel-good read with a good message about appreciating the simple things in life, run to this one.
Thank you Netgalley and Danielle Owen-Jones for making this book available in exchange for an honest review!
Release Date: March 21, 2022
📖📖📖
Bella has it all. She is the wealthy heiress to a soup fortune, she has a handsome fiancé and a “job”. When her world goes down the drain, Bella will have to make hard decisions and adjust to her new life. Sometimes the thing you hate the most has a way of growing on you…
A fun predicable beach read. This is not a romance though. Dan is sometimes downright rude to Bella and she thinks he’s adorably grumpy. That being said it is very cute quick read.
#stonebrokeheiress #bookouture #danielleowenjones #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #notaromance
I’ll admit the second I opened this book (this is where ebooks are a hard fail, isn’t it? Because I switched on my Kindle, and ‘the second I switched on my Kindle’ isn’t even close to the same, is it?) I sailed along with this, the story of Bella Whittington from Whittington Soup, who has lived the high life to the extreme, daughter of a father who also splurges and doesn’t quite know how to manage money.
When things go kablooey, under suspicious circumstances, Bella, her mum and dad face a huge drop, and suddenly she goes from princess essentially, to living in the type of circumstances she didn’t really see as existing before.
The characters in this were spectacular, to warm to a lead who was all about the high life, and be cheering her on, along with her parents, who were comedy cold, to the villains of the piece, was truly special. The story line was of course fab-riches to rags couldn’t be anything less, plus the whole cinematic feel of it-I felt like I was watching a movie!
All in all so recommended! Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the book in return for an honest review.
Rating: 5:5
Stone Broke Heiress is the story of endearing Bella, who we follow through her fall from spoilt, hedonistic heiress to virtually broke kitchen worker.
The contrast between the world of self-centred hedonists, designer bags and Cartier watches and homeless drug addicts, hard-working volunteers and wholesome food was expertly handled with a light, but meaningful touch.
The relationship between Bella, Dan and his world was crafted with wit and compassion and I actually cared about her characters and what happened to them.
Danielle is a very talented writer and I’m looking forward to her next book very much!
This riches to rags stoy, reminiscent of It Happened One Summer (minus the spice) or Schitts Creek, would be a great Netflix holiday film.
I would have loved to see the romance element of this focused on a little stronger, as this felt more to me like a chick lit novel so wasn't exactly what I expected when I went into it.
Of course, the familarity of this trope did leave me finding some of the book predictable and a little flat.
It's a good read if you're looking for somethign quick that you don't really need to think too much about.
Highly entertaining from riches to rags story that screams holiday Hallmark movie. It was a fun and quick read, as we follow Bella whose whole life was just turned upside down as one day she has everything- money, the perfect fiance- and the next day there is nothing left.
You will howl laugh at this journey of self-discovery and building yourself from the ground up, and the character development in Bella is astoundingly well written.
Its one of those books that remind you money can’t buy happiness, and I absolutely loved it. It was funny, cute and really heart-warming with a side of woman empowerment.
Will be looking out for more of this author in the future.
I love when a novel that's marketed as a rom-com is ACTUALLY a rom-com, and deliveres on all the delicious laughs and drama that fun illustrated cover promises. And Stone Broke Heiress delivers! Sure, the pampered princess fallen on hard times and being forced to experience how the other half lives (and finding out maybe she kind of likes it!) isn't the most original story idea in the world, but Danielle Owen-Jones executes on it so well it's as if it is!
I LOVE Bella (even if many of her problems are ones she creates for herself... Oh Bella). I do wish the romance aspect was a LITTLE stronger, as this felt like it bordered on Chick Lit with a focus more on Bella and her own personal growth absent of Dan.
From riches to rags. Or from Dom Pérignon to dumpster diving. The blurb sounded fantastic and if I was less of a sceptic it might have worked. If you like a really light read, where you can overlook a lot of the flaws of the premise behind this story, this is the perfect rom-com for you.
Bella's family loses their tinned soup company. Bella loses her fiancé to her best friend. Bella is out of a job and broke. So Bella has to find a cheap flat and a job.
Of course she starts working at a soup kitchen, her familial background would make this an ideal job for her, but she's never wielded a spatula in her whole life.
Dan, the owner of the soup kitchen, is a good looking grump. He holds a grudge against her family, so Bella has to lie about who she is...
The writing is easy to follow if a bit repetitive at times.
ARC provided by the publishers through NetGalley