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Kane Billionaires #1
An Impressive Proposal
Jackson Kane was supposed to be my best friend, but when a tragic accident changed my life forever, he abandoned me.
It's been five years, and I should be over it, but when I run into Jackson at an art gallery, I realize the feelings never fully disappeared.
Only, he seems to think I'm the one who abandoned him.
Still, when he realizes that I'm trapped under my father's control, he offers me a way out.
Two years of marriage in exchange for my freedom.
It should be easy enough, but this time, I'll have to guard my heart.
I will not fall in love with Jackson Kane again.
Even if his touch ruins me, I won't lose my soul.
It's been five years, and I should be over it, but when I run into Jackson at an art gallery, I realize the feelings never fully disappeared.
Only, he seems to think I'm the one who abandoned him.
Still, when he realizes that I'm trapped under my father's control, he offers me a way out.
Two years of marriage in exchange for my freedom.
It should be easy enough, but this time, I'll have to guard my heart.
I will not fall in love with Jackson Kane again.
Even if his touch ruins me, I won't lose my soul.
418 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2024
365 people are currently reading
726 people want to read
About the author
Kate Hall
16 books18 followersKate Hall is a full-time author and part-time artist. She has been publishing paranormal romance books under the pen name Alexis Pierce since 2019, but she decided to give contemporary a try, and she’s using her real name this time. She lives on a farm with several horses, dogs, and cats, and she spends her spare time keeping her son from eating things he shouldn’t.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 2, 2024
So close
Spoiler**
I was actually really into this until it came to the climax and instead of granting the FMC the divorce (freedom) and grovel I feel she deserved, she reaches back out to the mmc first. Such a good character arc on both, IF it had been a divorce followed by a true relationship earned/built back. FMC really did deserve to have the extra effort put into her there. I understand where the author was taking the choice/story, but it truly missed the mark from the minute the divorce didn't go through. I feel like if given the choice, the fmc would have made quite different choices for her wedding and relationship beginning and this story deserved to see her get those choices back. Simply not signing the divorce papers as her big choice was kind of a cop out. Made the hea fall flat for me and it went from a 5 star book to a 3.5.
Spoiler**
I was actually really into this until it came to the climax and instead of granting the FMC the divorce (freedom) and grovel I feel she deserved, she reaches back out to the mmc first. Such a good character arc on both, IF it had been a divorce followed by a true relationship earned/built back. FMC really did deserve to have the extra effort put into her there. I understand where the author was taking the choice/story, but it truly missed the mark from the minute the divorce didn't go through. I feel like if given the choice, the fmc would have made quite different choices for her wedding and relationship beginning and this story deserved to see her get those choices back. Simply not signing the divorce papers as her big choice was kind of a cop out. Made the hea fall flat for me and it went from a 5 star book to a 3.5.
August 28, 2024
THAT WAS AWFUL
i mean to each their own but seriously
im so sorry to the author but that was so stupid
they were so incredibly toxic
they had no chemistry
they had so many issues together and separately
they NEVER communicated and then got annoyed at the other person for not getting their hints like maam i didnt even see the hints u were supposedly dropping
he was SOOOOOO insecure but it was like okay mate shut up now
how she didn't google ANYTHING about the accident and believed that the mafia was after her be fucking for real
he didn't sign back her conservatorship because he wanted to feel NEEDED
he BOUGHT her
they both need deep deep therapy, i know its mentioned that they are in therapy but nah not enough
also she goes to his house super drunk says she wants to get back together and then they have sez even though its clear shes fuking drunk out of her mind
everything about the relationship was unhealthy
the only reason i started was because of a scene on tik tok and i needed to know the ending
i skimmed through most of that because it wa genuinely painful how silly some of that wass
i mean to each their own but seriously
im so sorry to the author but that was so stupid
they were so incredibly toxic
they had no chemistry
they had so many issues together and separately
they NEVER communicated and then got annoyed at the other person for not getting their hints like maam i didnt even see the hints u were supposedly dropping
he was SOOOOOO insecure but it was like okay mate shut up now
how she didn't google ANYTHING about the accident and believed that the mafia was after her be fucking for real
he didn't sign back her conservatorship because he wanted to feel NEEDED
he BOUGHT her
they both need deep deep therapy, i know its mentioned that they are in therapy but nah not enough
also she goes to his house super drunk says she wants to get back together and then they have sez even though its clear shes fuking drunk out of her mind
everything about the relationship was unhealthy
the only reason i started was because of a scene on tik tok and i needed to know the ending
i skimmed through most of that because it wa genuinely painful how silly some of that wass
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2024
DNF at 70% - I had high hopes for this book but I found the lack of communication so boring and annoying. Neither character grows and they both doubt themselves and their feelings the entire book. There were several grammatical and spelling errors as well.
January 1, 2025
DNF 10% didn’t connect with writing style unfortunately
November 20, 2025
like the author got distracted halfway through edits
Woof. What a read. This starts out immediately silly, so just know what you’re getting into. It does not get better.
My working theory is that the author originally wrote this book completely differently. Like they stayed friends the whole time and never had a fight. Then they got feedback that it made no sense so the author went and changed that plot point, but didn’t really scrub the whole thing.
Here’s why I think that: there’s be these little internal thoughts that just made no sense? Especially in the last third, where the prose was positively purple. Things like “she wanted to call the one person who’d always been there for her.” Well, ok, let’s look at the evidence: they were friends for 4 years but it sounds like he was kind of a bad friend? And then he abandoned her the same day her mom died and ignored her for…was it FIVE YEARS? And then they insta-loved for 2 months. (He continued to be awful to her.) but sure. He was always there for her.
We also have an FMC who is holding back tears because of how awful she looks in wedding dresses —sickly, too skinny, just lots of disgust for her body. THE NEXT DAY she wears lingerie, heels, and a trench coat to the MMC’s office to seduce him. Really sounds like someone insecure with their body lol.
The secondary characters/next book MCs shoehorned in there was annoying and stupid and there IS a big difference between what a brand new college grad can afford and what an established attorney (who seems to be in-house for these seven billionaire brothers like OKAY) can afford. And if the MMC doesn’t think there’s a difference, idk how I’m supposed to believe he’s smart enough to earn all that money.
Other silly things:
- posting photos to social media to “keep up the act” for the woman who was a BRIDESMAID in the wedding
- the FMC whining about how she’s been forced into a corporate role ever since she woke up from the coma. Actually, she lived like a bohemian artist for 5 years and worked in an office for like TWO MONTHS.
- the ending really is that bad. Also, no chemistry with them and the MMC remains awful. Therapy doesn’t fix everything, yall.
Woof. What a read. This starts out immediately silly, so just know what you’re getting into. It does not get better.
My working theory is that the author originally wrote this book completely differently. Like they stayed friends the whole time and never had a fight. Then they got feedback that it made no sense so the author went and changed that plot point, but didn’t really scrub the whole thing.
Here’s why I think that: there’s be these little internal thoughts that just made no sense? Especially in the last third, where the prose was positively purple. Things like “she wanted to call the one person who’d always been there for her.” Well, ok, let’s look at the evidence: they were friends for 4 years but it sounds like he was kind of a bad friend? And then he abandoned her the same day her mom died and ignored her for…was it FIVE YEARS? And then they insta-loved for 2 months. (He continued to be awful to her.) but sure. He was always there for her.
We also have an FMC who is holding back tears because of how awful she looks in wedding dresses —sickly, too skinny, just lots of disgust for her body. THE NEXT DAY she wears lingerie, heels, and a trench coat to the MMC’s office to seduce him. Really sounds like someone insecure with their body lol.
The secondary characters/next book MCs shoehorned in there was annoying and stupid and there IS a big difference between what a brand new college grad can afford and what an established attorney (who seems to be in-house for these seven billionaire brothers like OKAY) can afford. And if the MMC doesn’t think there’s a difference, idk how I’m supposed to believe he’s smart enough to earn all that money.
Other silly things:
- posting photos to social media to “keep up the act” for the woman who was a BRIDESMAID in the wedding
- the FMC whining about how she’s been forced into a corporate role ever since she woke up from the coma. Actually, she lived like a bohemian artist for 5 years and worked in an office for like TWO MONTHS.
- the ending really is that bad. Also, no chemistry with them and the MMC remains awful. Therapy doesn’t fix everything, yall.
March 13, 2025
I DNF’d around the 90% mark. This book was a repetitive mess of misunderstandings and nonexistent communication that, at some point, you’re left wanting to smack their character’s heads together to get some sort of communication between them.
(SPOILERS FOLLOWING)
Neither the FMC or the MMC were very compelling (especially the MMC) but I didn’t start feeling the urge to DNF until MMC started dropping hints that he wasn’t going to dissolve the conservatorship and then again when he flat out lied about how the process was going when FMC asked him. But I was holding out hope for a good grovel.
Funnily enough, it ultimately wasn’t a line by the MMC that made me DNF but a comment made by a side character/lawyer (the FMC of the next book, I guess?) when she accuses the FMC of being just as responsible for not dissolving the conservatorship since she never reached out to side character to ask about it… uh, what?? FMC may not have reached out to the lawyer but she did ask her husband/the MMC who LIED about it. And then the FMC agreed with the comment!
There was a lot that FMC was just as wrong for and that she could/should have been called out for but that? My gasts were so flabbered that I couldn’t read any more of the book.
I scrolled to the last page so the author would get paid for the whole book but I couldn’t tell you if you get that good grovel I was holding out for. Based on other reviews, I don’t think it happens.
(SPOILERS FOLLOWING)
Neither the FMC or the MMC were very compelling (especially the MMC) but I didn’t start feeling the urge to DNF until MMC started dropping hints that he wasn’t going to dissolve the conservatorship and then again when he flat out lied about how the process was going when FMC asked him. But I was holding out hope for a good grovel.
Funnily enough, it ultimately wasn’t a line by the MMC that made me DNF but a comment made by a side character/lawyer (the FMC of the next book, I guess?) when she accuses the FMC of being just as responsible for not dissolving the conservatorship since she never reached out to side character to ask about it… uh, what?? FMC may not have reached out to the lawyer but she did ask her husband/the MMC who LIED about it. And then the FMC agreed with the comment!
There was a lot that FMC was just as wrong for and that she could/should have been called out for but that? My gasts were so flabbered that I couldn’t read any more of the book.
I scrolled to the last page so the author would get paid for the whole book but I couldn’t tell you if you get that good grovel I was holding out for. Based on other reviews, I don’t think it happens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2024
wish I liked this more
The storyline was very interesting, and I really enjoyed all the characters, even the side characters are well developed and interesting. However, a lot of this book reads like the author locked herself in a closet with a thesaurus and a bottle of adderall to write it. It’s so overly verbose, so minutely descriptive in parts that it is a struggle to read and the language ends up taking away from the story instead of enhancing it.
This was a new author for me so not sure if this is a one off or her style but it’s definitely not for me. The hyper focus on using every SAT words one could remember from high school does far more damage to this story than it aids in description. The way this book is written makes AI look concise and streamlined. It’s really unfortunate because I do really like the story and characters but it became such a slog near the end. I wish the author would’ve just let the characters feel and act without attempting to over orchestrate every emotion the reader was feeling. Just let the readers relate to the characters and feed off their emotions, there’s no need for that much window dressing, it’s a hindrance to what could’ve been really great.
The storyline was very interesting, and I really enjoyed all the characters, even the side characters are well developed and interesting. However, a lot of this book reads like the author locked herself in a closet with a thesaurus and a bottle of adderall to write it. It’s so overly verbose, so minutely descriptive in parts that it is a struggle to read and the language ends up taking away from the story instead of enhancing it.
This was a new author for me so not sure if this is a one off or her style but it’s definitely not for me. The hyper focus on using every SAT words one could remember from high school does far more damage to this story than it aids in description. The way this book is written makes AI look concise and streamlined. It’s really unfortunate because I do really like the story and characters but it became such a slog near the end. I wish the author would’ve just let the characters feel and act without attempting to over orchestrate every emotion the reader was feeling. Just let the readers relate to the characters and feed off their emotions, there’s no need for that much window dressing, it’s a hindrance to what could’ve been really great.
September 30, 2024
I couldn’t put this book down. I like how they kept giving us snippits of Ava and Marcus’s relationship. There were a few grammatical errors but it didn’t bother me too much. At times I kept saying just speak up and tell each other how you feel!!! But I understand why they didn’t, and it made sense towards the end. They both ended up growing and maturing towards the end. (After all, aren’t we all still growing and learning) I love how protective Jackson was. I thought it was funny how Penny kept seeing things a certain way and how Jackson kept perceiving them and vice versa. (He was super excited to see how she was spending millions of his money because he was content knowing he was able to provide that for his wife, but Penny was trying to make him mad and take a stance.) Overall it was good read, and I enjoyed it :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2024
had potential extremely hard to finish
This book had all the potential to be great however the fact that the issues are the same in every conversation and interaction was painful to read and just plain annoying. The FMC just wouldn’t say what she felt or thought just smiled and lied that everything was fine. Yes she lived in a controlling situation before living with the MMC but she’ll do other things to “put her foot down” or “rebel” and be free in this new situation and yet still won’t just fucking talk. At least the MMC was trying, yes he also didn’t communicate some of the time but as unlikeable as the author tried to make him it didn’t work I felt bad for him and disliked her immensely
This book had all the potential to be great however the fact that the issues are the same in every conversation and interaction was painful to read and just plain annoying. The FMC just wouldn’t say what she felt or thought just smiled and lied that everything was fine. Yes she lived in a controlling situation before living with the MMC but she’ll do other things to “put her foot down” or “rebel” and be free in this new situation and yet still won’t just fucking talk. At least the MMC was trying, yes he also didn’t communicate some of the time but as unlikeable as the author tried to make him it didn’t work I felt bad for him and disliked her immensely
August 8, 2024
I had high hopes for this book, but tbh I felt aggravated while reading it. I felt like the FMC was a bit childish in how she acted and the MMC was self absorbed. I also felt like the use of how the words tasted “bitter on my tongue” was over used and so was the headaches the FMC had all throughout the book. Another thing was the switching back in forth of the friends Chinese and American name. Made it difficult to follow along.
September 8, 2024
Reoccurring misunderstanding
This story is nothing but a repeating theme of misunderstandings with two people who refuse to actually talk to each other for fear of being misunderstood. Take that into account and the numerous typos and it was a waste of read.
This story is nothing but a repeating theme of misunderstandings with two people who refuse to actually talk to each other for fear of being misunderstood. Take that into account and the numerous typos and it was a waste of read.
September 29, 2024
Second chances
Jackson & Penny have loved each other since college and with a tragic accident they missed their chance at love. When they reunite lots of miscommunications and not telling each other everything may hurt their reunion. Great story, enjoyed it.
Jackson & Penny have loved each other since college and with a tragic accident they missed their chance at love. When they reunite lots of miscommunications and not telling each other everything may hurt their reunion. Great story, enjoyed it.
January 9, 2026
I liked the couple and the ending. But it felt really slow to me. I don’t mind couples miscommunication to each other but that was over half the book it got old. I wish there was sweet and romantic moments between the two.
August 7, 2024
Great Book
What a great book, it’s hard to put down. Definitely a binge read for me.
What a great book, it’s hard to put down. Definitely a binge read for me.
October 14, 2024
It’s a story of hurt people hurting hurt people.
So many typos in the kindle version it was off putting
So many typos in the kindle version it was off putting
November 11, 2024
Opposites attract. Friends to enemies to lovers. Both trying to protect their hearts but still managed to fall in love. Lies and betrayals causes roadblocks. Good story line and a HEA.
December 30, 2024
One of the most annoying female characters ever.
Hated how in the end it was all Jackson's fault when since the start of the book Penny needed therapy asap
Hated how in the end it was all Jackson's fault when since the start of the book Penny needed therapy asap
March 21, 2025
I have a soft spot for marriage of convenience tropes, but this one wasn’t very good
April 29, 2025
They never spoke at all to each other. So fucking stupid
November 24, 2025
DNF 25%
100 pages in and this was most slow moving repetitive boring slog I have attempted in awhile.
I can not force myself to read this so I gave up.
100 pages in and this was most slow moving repetitive boring slog I have attempted in awhile.
I can not force myself to read this so I gave up.
November 28, 2025
Tho was awful the plot was terribly developed and the characters were so annoying and whiny. I need to stop falling for booktok recommendations
January 1, 2026
Heart wrenching.
February 23, 2026
Both characters had no personality, I thought it would get better but the book was just dry.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews