Honestly, truly didn't like this book at all. The whole saving herself for marriage mixed with the immigration law, mixed with just overall bizarre dialogue were not what I was wanting to read.

This book was great! It had great depth to it and it definitely pulls on your heart strings! The writing in this story is great!

Queen of Trades by Dee Osah is a compelling blend of romance and personal growth, focusing on the unlikely connection between Eden Kane and Daniel Keshi. Eden’s looking for independence from her overbearing father, while Daniel needs support with immigration issues. Their arrangement starts off practical but gradually deepens into a real, heartfelt bond.

Osah does a great job of making their world feel real, especially with her detailed look into trading and immigration. The Christian themes add a layer of hope and redemption that feels right for the story, though it might surprise some readers. At times, the story leans on telling more than showing, but the characters’ journeys around issues like race, family, and loss still shine through. Overall, it’s an emotional read with characters that stick with you.

DNF at 30%.

Eden Kane is an immigration lawyer, the daughter of a very wealthy and powerful man who is trying to manoeuvre her into getting back together with her ex because he comes from the right family etc, no matter that he cheated on her repeatedly. Her ex is also trying to get back with her for his own reasons. I gather that Eden and her ex were in a physical relationship but Eden found god and has decided to save herself for marriage, this is conveyed in a mildly slut-shaming way (if one can do that mildly). Her father wants Eden to stop working as an immigration lawyer and join his firm, they make a ridiculous bargain where she has to repay him for her entire education (several million dollars)within in three months or bow to his wishes. He has also pulled lots of strings so she can't access her trust fund or borrow the money. Eden is described as exotic with men fetishising about sleeping with her, I think she has albinism but I could have misunderstood.

Daniel Keshi is Nigerian, a genius day trader, PhD student and he's writing a book, although he is looking for funding which makes me think if he's so good at trading why does he need funding? He is also having visa issues and could be facing deportation. Again, if he is making so much money day trading why can't he afford to pay a top-notch immigration lawyer to help him?

Eden and Daniel both attend the same fellowship hall (which again makes no sense, why wouldn't a billionaire's daughter attend services close to where she lives?). He is drawn to her looks but feels she could be trouble so has actively avoided her for over a year, even though they have several friends in common. Apparently, all their friends agree that the two of them love each other - now I ask you how on earth can you be in love with someone you never speak to/with? It makes no sense unless they just fell in love with each other's appearance.

So apparently (because it hasn't happened by the point I gave up), Eden will offer to make all of Daniel's visa problems go away if he can increase her investment in time to beat her dad at his own game. However, Daniel's strategy didn't seem to be very revolutionary from what I understood.

I read that the authors (a husband and wife team) like to bring part of their own lives into each story and I feel that maybe they did a bit too much? There is a LOT of christian messaging in the book, multiple references to praying to god etc which I found off-putting, I would not have requested it if I had known this.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was a strong sequel in the Improbable Romance series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. The romance element worked well and enjoyed the overall concept going on. I enjoyed the way Dee Osah wrote this and left me wanting to read more.

I really had no idea what to expect when I picked up this ARC, but the idea of evading a controlling father's marriage trap sounded so juicy I could not resist - and oh boy, am I glad I gave this one a read! Queen of Trades was delightful, and I'm now looking forward to diving into Dee Osah's backlist!