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Spice rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

✨BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE✨
This book is full of miscommunications, spice, and a whole lot of drama. Whether it was Alana or Damion, someone was always running from commitment. I would recommend this to someone looking for a quick, easy read and is only interested in the love story and smut. The audiobook narrators were a great fit in my opinion.

Alana: a little annoying for not admitting her feelings to herself for sooo long.

Damion: idk how he managed to be a such a bitch in the beginning, but by the end he was kinda okay in my books.

I honestly loved the drama and will be reading more by the author.

✨Fake Dating
✨Secind Chance
✨Billionaire
✨Childhood friends
✨Neighbors to Enemies to lovers
✨Angsty tension
✨Cliffhanger (I went in thinking it was a standalone so a little salty about that)
This audio just didn’t do it for me.
Would I read again? No
Would I recommend? Sure

2⭐️

Alana Blue is a top agent at her parents real estate firm, Blue Enterprises, and now the star of Selling New York. Everything is looking great until Alana gets pulling into a meeting with the studios head and siting there is Damion West, the heir to the West Enterprises and Alana’s ex that left her broken hearted. No one knows Alana better than Damion and Damion knows exactly how to get what he wants from Alana.

This was a very quick audiobook, around 4 hours total. The POV’s switch from present day to past, explaining Alana and Damion’s complicated history. I feel like the flashback chapters could have been spread out more throughout the book though. Character wise, Alana has no self respect, this is one of the reasons I don’t like “second chance romance” because sometimes the author makes the original reason for the breakup so devastating that I can’t forgive the MMC or I start to think poorly of the FMC.

As for the plot, things were really slow for the first 80% and then when things actually started to get interesting (for like one chapter) the book ending with a cliffhanger. Im not sure if I will pick up the next book but I have feeling its going to be short, and if it is these books should have just been one longer novel, then two short ones.

This book is a great way to get drunk, just take a shot every time “protege king” is said and it will cause an instant black out. Also lots and lots of spice. I received an audiobook version of this which was narrated by Tatiana Sokolv and Tim Paige. I LOVE a good dual POV narration!! Both did very well, Tim’s voice is HOT and definitely helped cover up some of the faults of the writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for an advanced audio copy for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was just the tip of the iceberg, it was full of history, spice, secrets.
Damian & Alana have a past, but will that past be what saves their future or will the past be what brings everything toppling down.

I listened to Protege King in audiobook format and loved it. The story grabbed me immediately, the main characters were so interesting and the narration animated. This is a second chance romance and I loved every minute. The narrators were perfect in this dual POV contemporary romance novel. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is explosive, and the story is well written. I would recommend this audiobook for lovers of contemporary romance and this format as a very enjoyable way to experience this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review after listening to an advanced complementary copy of this audiobook thanks to Netgalley and Tantor Audio.

Childhood friends turned into enemies and then lovers with a splash of a fake relationship? Sign me up! This was a sexy and fun read that kept me engaged. I enjoyed the relationship between Alana and Damion and the chemistry they had. I hope to read more by LRJ.

I really liked the story and of course the spice! I really don’t like romance books that end in cliffhangers though!

I loved this book! I wish it hadnt ended on a cliff hanger the way it did, but you get sucked in and become one with the characters!

This was spicy and I loved it. I need the next one right now. I have to know what happens next. I could not put this one down. I loved getting to see the story from the beginning. Alana and Damion have a past that is a little rocky but filled with all the tension. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is a very short book only 189 pages in print and under 5 hours in audio. We start at present day and go backward then go back to present day. However, with how every the story unfolds it may have been better to just start at the beginning and go chronologically or do a integrated flashbacks. I feel that would make the time jumps a bit more cohesive.

Let us talk story. We have two POVs (and 2 narrators yay!) the first is Alana, she is the girl next door. The BFF of Damion whos parents own a real-estate business, but aren't that affluent, but decided to move into a wealthy suburb to fit in with their clientele. Her parents (mostly her father) will bring her down in a hard way. Alana has wanted to go to Yale to be a lawyer, and her BFF also happens to go to Yale. Damion is the son of the King of Wall Street. His father is known for hostile takeovers and he is grooming his son as a Protege. I guess we can say that, he's not too nice to his child or anyone else. Damion is into Alana but tends to run away after a kiss or sex, but still always thinks about her. He schemes an idea for her to be his fake fiance and this is 10-years after she decides she hates him.

Did I like this book? Kind of...I hate cliffhangers and this one ends on one. So, I've added book 2 to my TBR. I found the book over all to be.... just ok. The characters never really mature, there is so much manipulation from every single character in the story. Alana is so wishy washy and Damion isn't that impressive. I feel like if the book were flushed out more we could give these characters a bit more depth and it would be so much more enjoyable. As it is, it is a short little palette cleanser who's characters will not stick around in memories. Narration was great though both narrators brought some life to the story and made it a bit more entertaining.

I really love the idea of a Wall Street billionaire and this childhood friends to lovers story where they were neighbors growing up. It was very, very sweet at points . I liked Alana’s desire to protect her self and her family. It was spicy and I liked Damion a lot.

I do feel like the flashbacks were a little bit disjointed and sometimes they did throw me off in my comprehension. I had to go back in the audio, as I did listen to the story as an audiobook. That could’ve affected my overall understanding, though the narrators were really great for this book.

There was a lot of potential here, but I didn’t really enjoy the fact that their romance was so heavily impacted by their dads when both main characters are in their thirties. There were so many years that passed with them separated because of simple, misunderstandings or them just not communicating well with each other.

I didn’t know that it was a duet, so that was my first misunderstanding. I do feel like that should’ve been written somewhere in the description of the story with the cliffhanger at the end. This was a quick read and I’m interested to see what the resolution will look like for this couple in book 2.

Thank you to the author for the ALC for review!

Intrigued to see what happens in book two of the Wall Street Empire series. Protege King follows Damien West and Alana Blue, childhood sweethearts now adults negotiating the secrets of their parents and their strong sexual desires. The story builds the foundation of the evil businessman, Damien's father, who takes advantage of those around him, including Alana's mother, and Alana herself.

There are some very strong and highly sexualised scenes that are written to flow naturally and with the character developments. It is all done tastefully and without taking away from the character development of their relationship. The emotional needs of the characters are well developed, including Alana's understanding of what has happened, with everyone keeping her in the dark and only allowing snippets of information out. Not enough to draw a straight line, as Alana likes to jump to conclusions on matters she doesn't understand.

This is definitely a prelude for an exciting part 2 to come.

This book has a lot of potential, but overall could have been helped with being a bit longer. We get a lot of background and prep to lead up to current timeline, and while it helps some to understand the characters motivations there are still a lot of holes. There is some personal growth, some plot some steam. But both the characters and the plot would have benefited from some more details: If you like a rich, alpha male romance you may enjoy this one. I did listen to this on audiobook, and I had to speed it up considerably as the pacing was really slow, especially from the female narrator. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Audio listener and book reader
Damion and Alana grew up next door to each other. Both went their separate was onlv to return ears later then part and come back again. Alana care and put her family first and their a misunderstanding involving Damion. feel their attraction to each other throughout the years. You feel this off-limits yet the one when it comes to Damion and Alana and their families. Damion has only ever wanted two things Alana and the keys to his father's empire. This cliffhanger will have you wanting the next book as soon as possible. I cannot wait where Damion and Alana end up and how everything will go down when it comes to their fathers.

Great book! I always enjoy a seductive story & there was quite a bit of that here. I also love that it sweet the stage for a second novel.

Audiobook - 3,5 Stars

"Protégé King" is a quick read with a lot of potential and an engaging writing style. I really like the main characters, the chemistry between Damion and Alana is clearly palpable. However, I think the story itself could have been expanded more. The book is not bad but also not the greatest.

It's a bit frustrating that this short book ends on a cliffhanger. The second book won't be available until 2024.

I recommend you listen to the audio book. I will pick books based on the narrator sometimes. Tatiana Sokolov and Tim Paige breathe life into this story.

In German:
"Protégé King" ist ein Buch-Quickie mit jeder Menge Potenzial und einem fesselnden Schreibstil. Die Protagonisten mag ich wirklich, die Chemie zwischen ihnen ist deutlich spürbar. Jedoch finde ich, dass die Geschichte selbst noch ausgebaut werden könnte. Das Buch ist nicht schlecht, aber auch kein Highlight.

Es ist ein bisschen frustrierend, dass dieses kurze Buch mit einem Cliffhanger endet. Der zweite Band wird nicht vor 2024 erscheinen.

Ich empfehle euch das Hörbuch. Manchmal suche ich mir Bücher anhand der Sprecher aus. Tatiana Sokolov and Tim Paige hauchen dieser Geschichte Leben ein.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was different from what I normally read, but I did enjoy it for the most part. At moments Damien was a really horrible match for Alana but I am glad they were able to find each other again and be happy.

I loved Protégé King and will immediately be moving onto the second book!! Damion and Alana were childhood sweethearts, both with very powerful parents. Damion swears that he’s always looking out for Alana, but breaks her heart more than once. Alana is the star of a television show and they’re beginning to run into each other again. Multiple timelines. Romantic and steamy. Super fun read with excellent narration!