Name Your Price by Holly James
Published by Dutton on July 30, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
Sparks ignite as a pair of broke exes get locked in a house together on a reality show for a chance to win a million dollars, a second-chance romance that perfectly captures the absurd sincerity of made-for-TV love.
Olivia Martin and Chuck Walsh have chemistry. Too much chemistry, perhaps. Their every interaction as a couple either lights the house up with sexual tension or burns it down with anger. After one huge, very public fight, they finally break up for good. Or so they think. Someone was filming their dramatic argument in the street and—because Olivia’s parents were Hollywood royalty, and because Chuck’s an actor whose star is on the rise—the video goes viral. When Name Your Price, a reality game show, sees the footage, they invite Olivia and Chuck to shoot a very unusual Live locked in a house together for one month and they will be paid a million dollars. Each.
Olivia really needs the money if she's going to keep her beloved grandmother in her nursing home, and Chuck is desperate for any chance to win Olivia back. So the game is on—even as the show tries to pluck every nerve with only one bed, one bathroom, and a set of rules that will lose them money if broken—including no touching. With stakes that have never been higher and their explosive chemistry at a fever pitch, can Chuck and Olivia keep it together (and their hands off each other) for one month? Find out next week on Name Your Price!
Olivia and Chuck were an extremely passionate couple, and that passion always seemed to result in an explosion. When their very public breakup was captured and went viral, the reality show, Name Your Price, made them an offer they could not refuse. Would Olivia and Chuck be able to share a home for 30 days without making it go up in flames?
I actually am not sure how to classify this one. Is it hate-to-love? Maybe, but I think there was always love between this couple. So many choices were made based on what Chuck or Olivia thought the other needed. It may have been done with some spite, but those feelings of ill will faded as they spent more time in their reality show bubble.
Of course, the reality show powers that be pulled their machiavellian strings which made conflicts arise, but time and again, it seemed love always won out. There were lots of laugh out loud moments, some that I think were meant to be cringy, and a multitude of heartwarming ones. It was an interesting experience which helped them both grow and understand each other more.
Overall: I greatly enjoyed spending time locked away with Olivia and Chuck as they got to know each other on a deeper level while also getting to know a lot more about themselves.
Jackpot Summer by Elyssa Friedland
Published by Berkley on June 11, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Goodreads
After the Jacobson siblings win a life-changing fortune in the lottery, they assume their messy lives will transform into sleek, storybook perfection—but they couldn’t be more wrong in the new laugh-out-loud novel from beloved author Elyssa Friedland.
The four Jacobson children were raised to respect the value of a dollar. Their mother reused tea bags and refused to pay retail; their father taught them to budget before he taught them to ride a bike. And yet, as adults, their financial lives—as well as their personal lives—are in complete disarray.
The siblings reunite when their newly widowed father puts their Jersey Shore home on the market. Packing up their childhood isn’t easy, especially when they’ve all got drama brewing back home. Matthew is miserable at his corporate law job and wishes he had more time with his son; Laura’s marriage is imploding in spectacular fashion; Sophie’s art career is stalled while her boyfriend’s is on the rise; and Noah’s total failure to launch has him doing tech repair for pennies.
So when Noah sees an ad for a Powerball drawing, he and his sisters go in on a ticket. Matthew passes but the ticket is a winner and all hell breaks loose as the infusion of cash causes sibling rivalries and family secrets to resurface. Without their mother, and with their father busy playing pickleball in a Florida retirement village, the once close-knit siblings search for comfort in shiny new toys instead of each other.
It’s not long before the Jacobson's start to realize that they’ll never feel rich unless they can pull their family back together.
It had only been about a year since the Jacobsons lost their mom who has been the backbone of their family. While still trying to find their footing without her, something amazing happened - they won the Powerball! BUT only three of the four siblings were celebrating because Matthew wasn't part of the pool. What ensued was a look at the blessing and the curse of a lottery win. Did the money change the winners or did it change those around them? Maybe both? Regardless, it was quite a journey that was packed with ups, downs, and tons of humor.
It was interesting to observe each family members' evolution because this was not just about growing as millionaires, it was about living a life without their mother. One person who showed a tremendous amount of change was dad. Leo's role prior to his wife's death was very different because his wife always took the helm, but he showed he was more on top of things than any of the kids ever realized. I thought he was fantastic.
This may have been about a lottery win and all its trappings, but the heart of the story was the family, in particular, the dynamics between the siblings. It was honest and real, often fun, and mostly full of heart. I was happy with the ending Friedland wrote for them, too, because in the end, money can't buy happiness and the love of the family is the real treasure.
to be on a reality TV show?
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