Playing Hard: A Billionaire Playboy, Fake Marriage Romance (Marwah Series Book II) by Meenu Pillai
My take on the book:
Jhanavi Mohan is invited to Paris for the engagement of her best friend Mia, but only after reaching the venue does she realize that Mia’s fiancé Parth is the one she already dated in the past and since then Parth had been obsessed with Jhanavi. To escape Parth, Jhanavi kisses a random guy she bumps into, who turns out to be the billionaire playboy Karthik Malhotra.
Karthik to mend his image in the public eye and to acquire the shares he has been eyeing, Jhanavi to avoid Parth, begin fake dating charade. Karthik has only one ambition — to bring the past glory to his grandfather’s Malhotra group’s business and if need be, bring down his father’s Singhania group; marriage and love are out of sight and mind for Karthik.
Will their fake dating lead to Karthik and Jhanavi’s true romance or their misunderstandings break the relationship even before it begins, forms the rest of the story.
This is second book in the Marwah Series, and though I did not read the first book in the series, I did not have trouble understanding the character’s back story. Fake dating and forced marriage are among the favorite tropes of romance genre, throw in few steamy makeout scenes, constant sexual tension between protagonists who are poles apart — and you have a winner at hand.
The story begins with a bang and the sequences between the protagonists, especially in Paris feel straight out of a spicy rom-com. Their interactions, dialogues, how they are besotted by each other inspite of the contrasting personalities coupled with high paced narration keeps the reader spell bound.
However, the second half is where the story starts losing track as the twists though unexpected, lack logic. Even the climax has such suspense elements that cannot be guessed by the reader, however, it feels too superficial. Karthik is the best written character, carrying a sense of mystery all through, as he behaves in the most unexpected manner. Jhanavi’s character begins with promise but the author falters in the second half in taking forward her character.
Inspite of the shortcomings in the second half, the story is a perfect entertainer. If you like angsty romances, then this book is a perfect pick for you.
My rating:
3/5.