Customer Reviews

Sex and the Single Zillionaire: A Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

OK- to answer my own question, the ONLY reason this was published was as a personal favor or as serious ***-kissing. As far as chick lit goes (they are clearly going for that audience by the cover of this book), publishers need to realize that we won't read and like just anything. I laughed out loud hafter finishing the book where someone commented about "loving the sex scenes". Yes- maybe if I was 13 and had never read one before. But they are so sparse and pathetic, they are hardly worth mentioning. The entire basis of the book is on a reality TV show, which most chick lit readers are probably familiar with. The whole show made no sense (contestants don't live together? Cameras leave the lovebirds ALONE after they film dinner? People go on a yacht and aren't filmed most of the time? HELLO!), making the plotline flimsy at best. Character development is weak, and I really didn't care what happened to anyone. Totally predicatble- not one surprise throughout. The only reason I finished the book was that I belived it had to get better at some point- no such luck. Don't buy this book- get it from the library if you have to see for yourself how bad it truly is. It's certainly in no danger of having a waiting list...

An argument in favor of book burning. Those first positive reviews must be shills. A complete waste of paper.

I picked up this book based on the background of the author...afterall, he's built quite an empire at Kleiner-Perkins and obviously has experience and intelligence. Let's chalk this one up to a fun write for him perhaps detailing something he'd like to do in real life but would be too embarrassed in the final analysis.

I didn't find the situations believable at all. Here's a bunch of gold-diggers who could find themselves knee deep in cash and society by sticking to their plan...that is, romancing and seducing the rich guy. But they change their minds at a moments notice and don't seem to think about the consequences before diving into kinky stuff or exposing their actual sexual tendancies.

Frankly, I would have expected more from a guy such as Perkins with help from Steele...

trash book all the way.
the author should PAY ME for spending time to read it.
i wonder how much money he paid the publisher to publish this trash.
this book is not even funny.
what a waste of my time.
p.s. amazon should hv a ZERO star box.

Just because you are at the pinnacle of the business world does not mean you can be a successful fiction writer. This must be every older man's stereotypical dream to end up on a bachelor type show to have beautiful young women fawning over you. Every woman in this awkward narrative had some abnormal character flaw. Jessica James was the one woman who came closest to having some dignity. Yet she was the one who engineered the whole show "Trophy Bride" and you have to question her judgment in the end. Because of reality television, this book will hold some appeal for those looking for a light weekend read.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. However, it is SO poorly written, I just couldn't get into it. Tom, you are a zillionaire. You can afford an editor.

I'll admit, I didn't quite read this book. I read the first two chapters, skimmed the middle, and figured out the ending by about page 12. While the plot has its gaps, I'm sure, the biggest problem is Tom Perkins' utter inability to write. The story is full of stereotypes - the portly, know-it-all butler; the goodlooking and sensible widower, lonely after his beloved wife's death; the beautiful, previously hurt woman lead who has to struggle with being a high-powered, successful female in a "man's world". Furthermore, Perkins has no skill with dialogue, even his secondary characters are completely rote, and the descriptions are overworked - one room was described by six adjectives.

What is most amusing, however, is that Tom Perkins wrote this novel after he, himself, was supposedly asked by some television producer to be part of a reality TV show like the one in the novel. The sort of hilarious pretention that would lead Perkins to subsequently write the novel of what MIGHT have happened, with his inordinately rich, chiseled-featured, and levelheaded main character (who was once described as being as handsome as a model, but SO good looking that no modeling agency could afford him to represent their products) based upon himself, is what really tickled me.

As someone else mentioned, Perkins must have gotten this published as a favor. In a note to the reader, Perkins mentions his inspiration to write the novel, and that it was done without the help of a "ghost" writer, "for better or worse". It was most definitely for worse.

I'm always delighted to find a book that includes a character with autism. If that character has any special talent or ability, then more often than not that character is written as a cookie-cutter formulaic savant. To make matters worse, sooner or later others in the story compare the character to R*** M**, the title role Dustin Hoffman played in a 1988 movie. Most people with autism with or without savant abilities are NOTHING like that cliche character and R** M*** is a highly offensive slur in the autism world. I am sick and tired of savant stereotypes, especially since savantism affects less than 10% of the autistic population!

I also thought this book was very poorly written. It read like a Harlequin romance novel - chock full of insipid cliches. I was shocked this book was actually written by a man! Leave the chick lit to the girls!

This book (from what I can gather from reading a 1/4 of the book before putting it down forever!) is about a grieving billionaire widower who receives an invite to be in his own reality show in search of a bride. He is shy, unassuming and down to earth, hmmmm. Not likely. He is also silly, clumsy and hard to like and not the type of man we women can desire even in a book. Why the author would paint his main character and the "hero" of the book to be so lame is beyond me. Even the location cited in this book sounds like a wannabe throwing names around. I even doubt this author lives in NY or is familiar with same.

The whole book was so dull and just plain silly. It is a chick lit written by a man who has no insight into what chicks want to read. This book is one of the worst fluff I've read in a long time and boring too. I can't believe anyone would give this book such high reviews...unless they were personal friends of the author.

Pass on this one.

This book must be every 60 something year old male fantasy. A rich old guy being fixed up with a dozen 20 something girls who only want his money and are willing to do anything to get it. The only female in this book with any redeemable features is Jessie. The others are all shallow and stupid and think nothing of jumping into bed with a man 40 years older to get his money. The worst part was Steven has sex with one girl the day before he sleeps with Jessie and then when she finds out, she doesn't care. Yea, like that would happen. And the woman he finally falls in love with is suppose to be his equal, but she is still 25 years younger than he is. In real life, the amazing Jessie wouldn't give this man the time of day. She is still young, beautiful and has plenty of money of her own. Like I said, this is a male fantasy. Any self respecting female should find it offensive.