I'd seen Fight Club, so I was prepared for something absurd and provocative. This book however, turned out to be ridiculous and actually quite boring.

It starts as Fifty Shades of Rip-off (I haven't read the books, but know the story well enough to see the similarities) with grey mouse and not-yet barrister Penny falling for the feet of the worlds' richest man, literally. After this embarrassing scene he asks her out for dinner is some fancy restaurant. She's immediately into it as it provides her a chance to move forward in the company she's working in and improve her social status. And she gets to see Paris! Because he's also not really into this without ulterior motives, she's then turned into a guinea pig for his new line of female pleasure articles with which he's kind of planning to take over the world...

It was boring. That's the best I can make of it. This was not the edgy, somewhat absurd, social criticism I expected. I know people are making fun about the number of orgasms/page in Fifty Shades, but quite possibly parts of this book can compete with it. The second half of the book is even more ridiculous, climaxing in an ending that's so completely over the top and weird that it might very well be the worst ending I read last year. I'm not sure I was supposed to feel sorry for Penny, but it was impossible for me because she was such an annoying, egocentric character. 

A disappointment.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'd once started this book back in 2007, but at a point I was just so annoyed with it, I quit. Now, it was time to give it another try.

And it was not as bad as I remembered, some parts were nice to read (even though the amount of sex in it makes that you almost think you're reading 50 shades or something similar), and I was planning to give this book an extra star after reading it completely, but then the End happened. It was so bad, I couldn't stop myself from facepalming even though there was no one around to notice it. It almost made me vomit, it was terrible.

It goes like this:

*We're on the very day of Ayla's marriage, so you hope this is going to end the stupid love triangle (or it might even be a love pyramid); Anyway, her other love interest has left*

*She notices he has left, and goes looking for him*

*Finds him*

'Why don't you love me any more?'

'But you don't love me any more...'

*Some confusion as they find out that they in fact do love each other*

'Then why did you never ask me to marry you?'

'Marry me!'

'YES!'

'How about the guy you're supposed to marry this very evening?'

'Oh, well, I'll just ditch him, he won't mind'

* Some make up sex *

Afterwards they go and tell the other guy, and he is OK with it!

Seriously, this really is one of the worst endings I've ever read.

(And someone got me the fourth book in the Earth Children's series as a present, so I'll have to read that one as well)

Note: I read a Dutch translation of this book