Trade Me

Cyclone, Book 1

By: Courtney Milan

Narrated by: Xe Sands, Sean Crisden

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.

©2015 Courtney Milan (P)2016 Courtney Milan

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inspiring story

loved the dynamic between Blake and his dad. never did I expect that twist! so much fun with this one!

Telenovela

** spoiler alert ** This went from cute trading places construct to telenovela style drama, it was kind of hilariously over-the-top crazy at the end. "LIVE, YOU BASTARD, LIVE!" and cocaine overdose and doing 130 in a Tesla in the hills. Ha. It was kind of too much. But hey it was on Audible Romance Package so no regrets. The audio version had extremely dramatic readers, also, especially the voice for Tina was always on-edge emotionally. As always, I love that Milan integrated a lot of non-white characters and a trans character who is the heroine of the next book. I'm not sure if I will read more of her contemporary novels.

Unexpected treasure.

This book was so good. I laughed all throughout the book. I love Courtney Milan and have read so many of her books. Sean Crisden does well for his narration but Xe Sands blew me away. She didn't just narrate, she lived this book. Fantastic!

Cute

Loved it overall, but I wanted a little more at the end. I loved that there is finally a leading Asian woman and shes not a submissive shy little girl like the stereotypes. Asian women are not submissive if you know them.

Loved this!

This is my intro into Milan’s work and I loved every minute of this book. The way she touched on issues in an authentic and responsible way was beautiful. And now I’m off to fall into her backlist.

The only class difference book I'll read

4.5 Stars.

Damn that’s how to do a rich boy, poor girl (fake) relationship right. There’s immigration, trans rep, and a hero with an eating disorder. Tina is a take no sh*t, hold her own kind of women. I love that it takes place at Berkeley. The characters really got under my skin and I love them and didn’t want to leave them when it ended. I really want more because I felt that Tina and Blake had so much more to work through and Courtney Milan writes that so masterfully.

Narration: I may be nitpicking because I generally like these narrators, but I felt like trying to do the various accents actually ended up disrespectful. 4/5

LOVED THIS ONE!

What did you love best about Trade Me?

Tina. She was a relatable character me being 2nd generation American myself!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Trade Me?

When Tina played his dad when she first met him. She was FIERCE!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Any scene Tina was in! She stole the show!

Yes!

This story was so refreshing! Loved the way the author combined humor, with hard hitting relative issues such as culture, money, immigration, and addiction. The characters are believable and likable.
Highly recommend!!

loved it

the dialogue was passionate and intelligent - I'm a big Courtney Milan fan and this is a good one. Enjoyed the readers. Liked the cross culture romance - liked the unusual father son relationship.