Cold Hearted Casanova

Cruel Castaways

By: L.J. Shen

Narrated by: Heather Long, Tor Thom

From USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a witty romance about a woman desperate to marry into money…and her fake marriage to a (real) billionaire reluctant to commit even to a zip code.

Riggs Bates may be a billionaire, but he knows money can’t buy happiness. He keeps his financial status a secret and takes his women the same way he takes his meals—a different one three times a day. That’s until he’s caught sleeping with a married newswoman by none other than her ambitious assistant.

Daphne “Duffy” Markham wants two things in life: marry well and stay in the States. So when her almost-fiancé takes off to “find himself” and her work visa approaches expiration, Duffy resorts to the only thing she has left—blackmail. Luckily, Riggs needs an excuse to stay in New York as badly as she does, so their first meeting quickly leads to a begrudging engagement.

Armed with strict house rules and their mutual distaste for one another, Riggs and Duffy soon find there’s no denying the spark between them…or the fact that this fake marriage is starting to feel a little too real.

©2024 L.J. Shen. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Cute story

The story itself was enjoyable, and the narration was good up until the point of the male lead trying to do a female voice. That was horrible. I think he was trying to compensate for the female lead being English, but if failed miserably. I gave the performance a 3 because both the normal voices were very good, but male try to speak female spoiled it for me.

Great!

I was in the mood for romance and this was as expected. Similar to other LJ books. Thrilling, funny and dramatic.

LJ Shen Stories Deserve Better Readers

This book is probably the best of the series. Only he's not cold hearted. Riggs is everything!!
I wasn't sure anything could surpass the Boston Belles series but this book rounded out a beautiful storyline. I love the creativity and background of the characters. I believe the slow burn is worth the ending.
I've read everything from L.J. Shen and I believe the voices used didn't do this amazing story justice. Why does the female's version of Rigg's accent sound like he's from Yonkers but the male voice (Tor Them) sound completely midwest-American? His voice is also a very poor and distracting representation to Duffy as well. From now on, L.J. Shen stories deserve the duel interpretations where voice actors read both parts within different point of views. Her writing deserves better.

Good

I liked Duffy and Riggs’ story. It was a little hard to get into - I found the beginning slow but as it went on, it speed up. The characters developed nicely. I loved the Charlie story line. Overall, it was good. I did NOT love the narrators, that maybe why I couldn’t get into it.

loved it

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

Best one yet

Loved the characters, Riggs was always a great character. Some laugh-out-loud moments. Great read and listen!

Solid Shen

I've really enjoyed Shen's Cruel Castaway series, and this is a solid entry that leaves a reader satisfied. The banter between Duffy and Riggs keeps the listener entertained and the angst level wasn't too bad. I loved Duffy's family and getting a glimpse of the characters from books 1 and 2.

Fabulous story!

I loved the narrators but I disliked the male narrator speaking in Duffy’s voice! LJ Shen is so talented!

Loved

Great book loved the story. My favorite of the set. Loved the ending. Would definitely recommend

Loved it!

What a wild ride! Highly entertaining with laugh out loud moments. The banter between these two is off the charts. I loved everything about Cold Hearted Casanova! Sad the series is over!