Customer Reviews

How to Trap a Tycoon

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elizabeth Bevarly packs a lot into her book, How to Trap a Tycoon. It starts out as a comedy but also has an element of melodrama in it.

By day, Doresy MacGuiness is a soicology teaching assistant at a local college. She is also the author of a best selling guide on how to trap a tycoon that is the rave among women. Dorsey wrote the book under an assume name based on her mother's past experiences and to provide her mother with some retirement. After all, trapping millionaires doesn't come with social security benefits. By night she works as a bartender at an exclusive men's club compiling research on the difference between sexes. While tending bar, she meets Adam Darien, the publisher of an elitist men's magazine. Sparks fly between them. Adam has taken it personally that any woman would dare write a book on how to trap men into marriage. He feels he owes it to his readers to expose the author as the fraud he feels she must be. This starts a madcap adventure as the plot of this story takes off.

One of the reasons I gave this book a four is the second story line, which involves one of Adam's writers for his magazine. Lucas decides to take matters into his own hands and conduct an experiment. In order to be successful, he needs the help of one of the bartenders who works with Dorsey. With the second story line, the book switches from comedy to melodrama which doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book and frankly drags it down.

This is a fun book, maybe predictably in many ways, yet still fun. I've read all three books by the author and will be waiting for number four. Ms. Bevarly delivers a story with style.

Who'd thought beauty and brains would mesh so well? Of course, it has gotten Dorsey "Mack" MacGuiness aka Lauren Grable-Monroe in quite a tight spot. By day, she's a Ph.D. student, teaching at a local university. By night, she's a smart-mouthed sexy bartender at Drakes, a men-only prestigeous club in Chicago. Well, the Lauren side of her wrote the book "How to Trap a Tycoon" which has been the talk of the town. And soon it has become the talk of the country. Of course, the Dorsey side of her can't seem to handle the fame and the notoriety that comes with it. And the Mack side of her is falling hopelessly in love with Adam Darien, a tycoon himself.

This story of multiple identities is funny and absolutely entertaining. Adam Darien is totally contemporary and sexy. And Dorsey is not only smart and funny, she also has the guts to pull off playing hot Lauren Grable-Monroe. Of course, that act doesn't last very long... but it's wonderful how both of the main characters evolve into their "real" self in the course of the novel. And who'd thought reading men's thoughts would be SO hilarious? (Well, me, for one...) The secondary romance of Lucas Conaway (an employee of Adam) and Edie Mulholland (a fellow bartender at Drake's) is so sweet and satisfying! Both of their relationships carried an element of seriousness and a bit of the dark side but it is well balanced with wittiness and humor. And of course, being that it *is* a romance novel, the happy ending is just sweet enough.

This was a delightful surprise. I've never read a book by this author, so I didn't know what to expect. Well, this is a wonderful contemporary romance and I'm glad I read it. I will be hunting down this author's older titles like nobody's business!

Dorsey and Adam are a fun, sexy, and endearing couple. Adam is a very wealthy and very sexy publisher of an elitist, sexist men's magazine (hey, I'm a feminist). Dorsey, on the other hand, has many professions. She's a bartender at the exclusive men's club Adam attends (doing 'research' for her sociology dissertation), a teaching assistant at Severn College, and the reluctant author of HOW TO TRAP A TYCOON. Adam doesn't know that Dorsey is the author of the book that is "wreaking indigestion on most men". The secondary characters are all wonderful too. I especially enjoyed Adam's young, cynical staff writer and Dorsey's mother. (Separately, not together)

The book summary does a much better job of explaining the plot than I do. You really have to read the book to appreciate it. It's great fun! If you read this book, I doubt you'll be disappointed. I laughed out loud several times. I rarely put down the book and when I did it was with great reluctance. Very highly recommended.

P.S. There's also a fabulous secondary romance. What more could you ask for?

One can't simply read ABOUT Liz Bevarly's characters; one lives THROUGH them, in large part due to the author's wonderful, unhurried meanderings through their heads. HOW TO TRAP A TYCOON is no exception. On the surface, the story line may seem a bit far-fetched, but is nonetheless a perfect vehicle for Ms. Bevarly's strong, unique voice. And, if you scratch just below the surface, you'll find a nice little theme going there about identity and how the face we show to the world isn't always who we really are.

Which is one reason I, for one, absolutely adored the secondary romance, finding its more serious tone a nice counterbalance to the main storyline. In fact, I'm not sure I didn't love the more layered Lucas and Edie -- both of whom were not at all who they appeared to be on the surface -- even more than Adam and Dorsey.

And let me tell ya -- there are a couple lines in there that I'm sure are destined for the Most Often Quoted Hall of Fame.

Fun book.

This is the second book I read by Elizabeth Bevarly and so far I am pleased. HOW TO TRAP A TYCOON has the same wit and charm as MY MAN PENDLETON, and best of all, also gives us the hero's perspective from time to time. Ms Beverly is adept at bringing out sly humor in her characters and allows for a smart, lighthearted read. I borrowed this book from a friend, but it looks like now, I'm just going to have to go buy it for myself to read on those lazy Sunday afternoons. If you like your romances with madcap adventures and little humor, this will be a good one for you.

This was my first Elizabeth Bevarly book, so I wasn't quite sure of what to expect. And believe me, I was more than pleasantly surprised, I can tell you that! I really enjoyed this book. I thought the concept of Dorsey being both the 'buttoned down' teacher vs. the 'sexpot' writer was going to be a bit tiresome, but I truly enjoyed Dorsey and Carlotta's attempts to give women a modern-day manual for trapping millionaires, and Dorsey's desire to remain anonymous, so as not to jeopardise her academic career.

As the editor and CEO of a "Cosmopolitan" for men,sexy, rich Adam Darien feels its his duty to expose the mysterious, alluring 'eye-candy' sex goddess Lauren Grable-Monroe and her runaway best seller 'How To Trap a Tycoon' to his readership. Only trouble is, the writer of said best seller actually turns out to be his bartender (at his Men Only Club), the brainy and cerebral Dorsey MacGuiness or Mack - as he affectionately calls her. Adam has already begun to fall for Mack, and she for him, when Dorsey is forced by her publisher to make public appearances - under heavy disguise - as Ms. Grable-Monroe. When the fictional writer turns out to be flesh and blood, these two have a lot of fancy footwork to do to try and keep things on an even keel, and still enjoy the fun of falling in love. Adam's friend, fellow writer and employee Lucas ends up head over heels for Dorsey's co-worker Edie. Their story is touching and charming, but I wish it had been a bit lighter.In the end though, you can't help but rooting for Edie to put her troubled past to rest and for Lucas to perservere and win Edie's heart. The foursome are a whole lot of fun.

I've already ordered 'Her Man Friday' and will no doubt start on that as soon as the nice folks at AMAZON ship it out. I look forward to other titles by Ms. Bevarly, and can highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good old fashioned romance.Comedy, romance, wit, and a dose of reality make it a total 'beach book'. Grab this one now, so you can head to the seaside soon!

In Chicago's Severn College teaching assistant Dorsey MacGuinness is shocked by the stir caused by her satirical book HOW TO TRAP A TYCOON. She wrote the book based on her mother's experience under the pseudonym of Lauren Grable-Monroe. Proceeds were to help her mother remain financially secure. However, the book has become a national sensation.

Even at the Drake's Men's Club where she works the bar, her book is the topic of heated conversation between the Editor in Chief of Man's Life magazine Adam "Oban over ice" Darien and one of his reporters. Adam plans to uncover the identity of the mysterious Ms. Grable-Monroe. Adding to her concern is that her publisher wants Lauren on tour since every woman in America has adopted the book as their bible in the battle of the sexes. Can she pull off a masquerade when the man she loves is determined to unmask her alter ego?

HOW TO TRAP A TYCOON is a hilarious contemporary romance that winks at the "rules" of the sub-genre, using humor to tell its tale. The story line is genuinely amusing with its book within book approach to the gender wars. The lead characters are an entertaining duo while the support cast provides pathos and depth to the lighthearted romp. Elizabeth Bevarly has carved out a niche as one of the leading authors of satirical romance.

Harriet Klausner

Solid, staid, sociology professor, Dorsey MacGuinness, is having trouble with coincidences. Not only can't she escape the sensationalistic claptrap bestseller "How to Trap a Tycoon", but the tycoon she'd most like to trap, Adam Darian, the hunky publisher of Men's Life magazine, is interested in hooking and sinking the book's illusive author, career mistress Lauren Grable-Monroe. But the biggest coincidence of all is that Lauren, the blonde bombshell in sexy heels, and Dorsey, the auburn haired sociologist in hiking boots, are one in the same.

Adam Darian has it all. He's got money, success, and membership to one of the most exclusive men's clubs in town. Only two things stand in his way of real happiness - Dorsey "Mack" MacGuinness and Lauren Grable-Monroe. He's tired of pining for the smart, pretty, and unavailable "Mack" and he's sick of hearing about that damn book written by Lauren. But when he sets his sights on writing a tell-all article about Lauren and hopefully ruining the woman's hype, he soon learns that "Mack" isn't as unavailable as she seemed. Just who is Dorsey MacGuinness?

Romantic comedy fans will love this book inside of a book. The humor is extremely witty, the characters are loads of fun, and the romance sizzles. The subplot between Darian's columnist Lucas and Dorsey's co-worker Edie is interesting and engaging and the cloak and dagger techniques Dorsey uses to escape the media are extremely entertaining. All in all, Elizabeth Bevarly trapped my interest and didn't disappoint.

Dorsey MacGuinness has a lot on her plate: she's a TA at Severn College pursuing a Sociology PhD, she's "Mack," a bartender at an exlusive men-only club named Drake's, and she's Lauren Grable-Monroe, America's newest favorite author who wrote "How to Trap A Tycoon." All she wants is to defend her sociological treatise on "stuffy old-boy men's clubs as microcosms for a male-dominated society" but her publisher's demands to make public appreances as Lauren Grable-Monroe, and her budding romantic relationship with Adam Darien -- a member of Drake's who hates "How to Trap a Tycoon" but doesn't realize he's dating the author! -- leave little room for, oh, SLEEP, let alone applying herself to her PhD.

Elizabeth Bevarly's writing style is rare among Romance authors. It's conversational, intelligent, and flows. Her characters have well-crafted personalities and Dorsey is a gem. For light-hearted reading, a happy ending, and snappy prose, pick up "How to Trap a Tycoon."

There are times you want to toss the world off your shoulders and be carted away into a book that lets you completely escape, and Bevarly is a master of creating that escape. HOW TO TRAP A TYCOON is witty and wry, a clever take off on THE RULES that let me shed my ordinary life for one where the clever girl gets away with everything, even the tycoon. What's not to like?