Trade Me is a new young adult novel by Courtney Milan.
Here is the blurb: Tina Chen just wants a degree and a job, so her parents never have to worry about making rent again. She has no time for Blake Reynolds, the sexy billionaire who stands to inherit Cyclone Systems. But when he makes an offhand comment about what it means to be poor, she loses her cool and tells him he couldn’t last a month living her life.
To her shock, Blake offers her a trade: She’ll get his income, his house, his car. In exchange, he’ll work her hours and send money home to her family. No expectations; no future obligations.
But before long, they’re trading not just lives, but secrets, kisses, and heated nights together. No expectations might break Tina’s heart...but Blake’s secrets could ruin her life.
The two things that made me interested in this book were 1) the premise of trading lives. I wanted to see how this would work out. 2) Interracial romance- I am always interested in these.
It starts off okay. I have to admit though, I found it a bit hard to like Tina in the beginning and even in the end. Blake, however, I liked from the start. He is sweet, sensitive and mature. I found Tina a bit too difficult to understand and stubborn and always using her poverty to become defensive about everything.
But anyway, on to the story. The story was well paced and there was some interesting stuff going on. A lot of it is similar to other contemporary romances, in how you would expect it to develop. Towards the end is when it becomes really exciting as many secrets about the characters start surfacing. Also, this could just be my opinion, but I found Tina's poverty a bit too exaggerated and becoming the theme of every conversation in one way or the other.
The supporting characters, especially Blake's father and Tina's father and Tina's roommate were very well fleshed out and I probably liked them even more than the main characters. However, I found Tina's mother just as annoying and stubborn as her in her ways. I guess it's genetic.
But flaws aside, this series has an interesting backdrop and some really good characters whom I hope to read more about in future books (especially Blake and Tina's fathers). If you are interested in new adult romances and anything with the word 'billionaire', this book is a good read.
Ratings
Characters-4/5
Story- 3/5
Writing style- 5/5
NOTE- I received this book for review. However the opinions are not influenced by this in any way.
NOTE- I received this book for review. However the opinions are not influenced by this in any way.