Gold Digger

De: Susie Tate

Narrado por: Shane East, Zara Hampton-Brown

He’s a billionaire Duke, he owns a good ten per cent of the UK, and he’s been voted Britain's Sexiest Aristocrat, but Oliver Harding still doesn’t know what to do about the massive crush he has on his cleaner. Lottie’s clumsy and really crap at her job, but her laugh is infectious, her smile lights up the room, she’s insanely good at chess, and he can’t stop thinking about her.

Aware of the power imbalance, he sets out to make her his, and he thinks he’s getting somewhere until she seriously betrays his trust. So now he tells himself he hates her, and he makes sure everyone knows it. But once Ollie realizes that his privilege and self-absorption have made him entitled and completely blind, he’s determined to win Lottie back. A fake engagement might be a bit extreme, but his family had been getting its way for five hundred years, and the Duke of Buckingham was no different from his ancestors.

Lottie’s life is a struggle. She’s had to fight for everything since going into foster care at the age of twelve. The Duke of Buckingham, wouldn’t understand struggle if it smacked him in the face. He’s got money and family coming out of his ears; she has twenty quid in her current account and no family other than her traumatized, selectively mute eight-year-old little sister, whom Lottie is determined to keep safe.

She doesn’t have time for handsome Dukes with silver tongues. So she tells herself she’s not heartbroken when he turns on her like she knew he would, putting everything she worked so hard for in jeopardy. She needs to concentrate on survival. But Lottie underestimates just how charming Ollie can be. Or what a formidable opponent his centuries-old, innate arrogance makes him.

This is a billionaire, enemies to lovers, fake engagement, grumpy boss, contemporary romance.

Trigger warnings for assault, mentions of domestic violence and past childhood neglect.

Narrated in duet by Shane East and Zara Hampton Brown

©2025 Arndell (P)2025 Sett Publishing

Love is not enough

Ollie and Lottie should not be attracted to each other but they are. While "opposites attract" is a trope staple, this story is top of the game because it does not merely repeat that they do not understand each other but leads a reader to plumb the reasons why. The lives they have lived are so different that despite their attraction, neither can grasp what the other sees as obvious. It is delicious frustration that makes a reader keep dashing down the winding path that seems to take them farther and farther away from each other.

I like the story in print so much that after reading it in Kindle Unlimited, I purchased it and proceeded to read it again. Then I thought it might be nice to have the audio version running in the background as I did certain household tasks and gardening. Good decision because the audio version adds the excellent interpretation of two fabulous readers. Shane East and Kara Hampton-Brown deserve a shout-out because they are not only very good as the main characters interacting with each other but they also inhabit a variety of secondary characters to elevate this from superb reading to the level of a theatrical play.

Ollie is handsome and wealthy and wants to give Lottie the world. He would be a dream man for almost any woman!The poor and very pretty Lottie falls hard but life has taught her not to trust that things will turn out well. In an earlier generation Ollie might have made Lottie his mistress, and she as a maid (modernly known as a cleaner) working in his home, might have been thrilled to be elevated from servitude into financial security. But neither Ollie nor Lottie have the values of some earlier time that would make such a relationship not only easily acceptable but expected.

Lottie is proud, self-reliant and "a good girl." From her point of view it makes perfect sense to take an action that Ollie considers a rank betrayal and stupid. Some readers might also wonder why she does not take an easier route -- but then again, if he cares as much for her as he says he does, why does he not demand that she take that easy route? If he tried, he could surely make her -- ah, convince her to do that? Instead, they very credibly turn into enemies. The audio version especially highlights the passionate yearning their angry encounters belie. The actors put so much into their voices, their sighs and their hesitations that even a skilled reader's imagination may not be able to fully match the impact of their performance.

When Ollie does something so believable that he would do, but that makes the listener throw up their hands in despair, you may shake their head and say foolish boy -- at the same time, understand his frustration. Or, you may want to entirely write off this "dream man" and not be able to imagine how he will ever be able to make this all better. You may applaud Lottie for proudly sticking to her guns, or you may want to scold her for not understanding that posh boys have feelings, too. Whatever your reaction, you will definitely be riveted.

Great story

Omg this love story was so good. Nice slow burn. Had me in such a choke hold. I was in tears in my car and at work. Great narration too

Absolutely AMAZING!!!

Susie Tate’s Wonderful story is brought to life by these amazing authors! It is dual narration. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you will not regret listening to this 👍❤️

Flawed MCs

As I continued reading, I found Lottie more likable and Ollie less. Both characters were flawed but were there for each other when it mattered most. Overall, it was entertaining and better than the first book.

Solidly ok

Was good. Not as generic as others but still alpha male is an entitled a-hole.

Susie Tate’s books should come with a warning label

I don’t give 5⭐️ reviews often. Yet, somehow Susie Tate seems to always get them. You should know that she is a master of character development and you will feel all the characters feelings, because of this her books should come with a warning label. This isn’t a feel good romance. It’s an all the feels romance - and if that’s not a genre it should be.

Loved it! ❤️

This is a great story. And I absolutely loved the narration. I purchased it this morning and listened to the entire thing in one day.

Chapter 34!

One of my favorite Susie Tate books and the narration was perfect. Chapter 34 killed me when I read it and it got me just as much listening.

Excellent

A lovely rom-com filled with all the various feels. The narration is fantastic. Enjoy

3 chili peppers

This wasn’t as good as the first book. And I’m not happy with how she forgave him (again). I wanted her to really make him earn her trust back. But I love community of characters and am looking forward to the next book.