This book is about a guy named Leo who, by a series of desperate assumptions, miscommunications and smooth talking, is believed to have won the lottery. Through a series of both unfortunate and fortunate events, depending on whose perspective you view the situation from, we see Leo and his friend Vince put on a show flashing their massive 'win' in various ways to their friends, family and the general public.

This story line sounded intriguing and downright hilarious. I kept thinking, how on earth are they going to fool everyone into believing that they had one the lottery. This thought alone was my main motivation to pick up this book.

Unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations at all. The transition from the night of the win to the morning after the win was abrupt and left me hanging. I needed more detail and more story about the night of the win. It lacked so much that I spent half the book frustrated, wondering how DID it actually all go down? How did he fool so many? I understand that mystery was the intention behind this transition but it did not work for me. It frustrated me to no end. Due to this sudden jump from the night of to the morning after, I felt disconnected from the characters and the story. The more I read, the more I disliked the characters. They came across as superficial, immature, shallow, over-the-top and downright annoying. The 'drama' attempted in this book was feeble and lacked just that - drama. This led to a very subtle climax. So much so that I only realized I had passed the climax when I reached the epilogue a couple of pages later. The ending was convenient and unrealistic. It wrapped up neater than a Hallmark movie and left me thinking, "Is that it?"

If only more time had been spent on introducing us to the world of the characters, giving us insight into their relationships and more detail about the night of the win. I felt this book only gave me glimpses here and there into their lives. I would have loved Leo if the other nitty-gritty aspects did not overshadow his sweet, lovable and funny nature. All in all, this book was just okay for me. It bums me out as this book does have the potential to be freaking hilarious but, unfortunately, just left me indifferent.

Leo is just an ordinary guy who is down on his luck, his ex wife has started seeing a new guy, his job is not making as much money as he'd like, and he is about to be evicted. One day, he wakes up and he has won the billion pound jackpot on the lottery...or has he?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Leo was such a likeable main character, with problems that I suspect so many people have been through, and/or are currently going through. It begs the question, if people believed you had won the lottery, what would you do? I also admired how he managed to get through the whole situation without actually telling any lies.
The whole book was set in the UK, and being from the UK, I love reading fiction books set in this country, as I can picture the areas very well.
I could not take to Vince the more the story went on, I felt like he was just becoming bored and I honestly thought he would end up giving Leo away and spilling the beans.

All in all though, I will definitely be reading some more books from Bill Dare.
I did receive a complimentary ebook copy of this book thanks to the author and BookSirens, and I was under no obligation to leave a review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own and are unbiased.

Thank you to Bill Dare, Salopian Press and BookSirens for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and enjoyable read, albeit with a few weaknesses. The hero, Leo, who is a bit of a loser, is mistaken for the winner of a super-lottery after a few off-the-cuff remarks accompanied by a bit too much alcohol. By the time Leo realizes what has happened, the rumour mill is churning and he decides to go with the flow. The media circus blows this up - and Leo and his best pal (the really unlikeable Vince) end up giving a press conference, getting a large advance from the bank and generally living it up in a rather unwholesome way.

The catch is, neither Leo nor Vince ever actually lie and say Leo *has* won the lottery. Everyone assumes - wrongly, as it turns out - and the pleas for help start rolling in. Leo, being a decent type, wants to do right and help where help is desperately needed. The lies of omission start building, and Leo's house of cards is bound to collapse soon, particularly as the media is still hot on the trail of whether or not Leo really is the winner. The ending, when it comes, is satisfying and ties up a lot of the loose ends.

What I didn't like: I felt there was a lot of extraneous detail with Leo's estranged wife and her new lover, with Leo's parents-in-law and their machinations, with the driver of the limo that Leo and Vince book and spend a lot of time driving around in, with Vince himself - all of which muddied the arc of the plot.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

FBRC REVIEW :

DISCLAIMER: I received an ARC( advance review copy) of this book for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The book is about a barista, Leo Morphetus who gets mistaken for a lottery winner. The story starts off with Leo finding out his ex-wife is involved with a Mazda guy. He is devastated and wants to get Helen back, but finds out that he has no means to do any of it with his job as a barista who sells coffee on a tricycle apparatus. He struggles with financial problems and despite that, he still wants to take care of both Helen and their daughter Amy.

Leo is portrayed as a man who is filled with despair as he realizes that he not only has lost his ex but is on the verge of losing his child as well to the new man Tony, the gem trader in Helen's life. Tony is older and confident. He also has the approval of Helen's parents who never accepted Leo. Everything about the situation with Helen enrages him and he decides to get expensive chocolates from the store of the Bangladeshi guy Hamir.

The area from where the winning lottery was purchased was announced. Hamir seeing that the location as their town believes he sold the winning ticket to Leo who used to purchase lottery from him consistently. A couple of conversations and back and forth banter gets misunderstood. Hamir believes Leo to be the winner misinterpreting his words and publicizes the fact to people around him.

Leo after meeting his daughter finds out that Tony has gifted her with a gold bracelet. He leaves his in-law's place talking about changing things and his future for the better. He leaves to the bank to apply for a loan and gets rejected. He finds out that he is evicted from his place and realizes that he is at a really low point in his life. Life has dealt him a tough hand and he looks at himself with mirth and decides to take charge of his life.

The rumor that Leo won the billion-pound lottery is rampant in the town. He goes to a pub and drinks himself to a stupor and makes a positive life-changing speech. The pub dwellers all cheer him on and he gets everyone's drinks and makes promises to people that he shouldn't, considering he is penniless and homeless. All of his actions were interpreted as a victory dance and more people becomes convinced that he is the billionaire barista.

Leo wakes up from deep sleep to see posh surroundings and is confused. Vince his friend gives him the rundown of the events and Leo becomes instantly horrified. The mere idea that he has promised people he would help them out of their various problems is enough to bring reality crashing down on him.

Leo tells Vince the truth about the events and they decide to come clean to the world that it was all a misunderstanding in a press conference. His promise to give a young girl Poppy money for her bone marrow transplant treatment becomes his sole reason to not to come clean to the press. They don't lie directly to the press but decides to mislead people regardless.

One omission and several misconstrued statements later they become empowered by their fame, position, and the money. They use their power to their advantage and get more embroiled in deceit and lies.



Their life changes drastically in one night and they decide to use it for their benefits. Every single action they take leads them into a bottomless pit of lies and falsehoods. Leo and Vince enjoy the lifestyle of the rich by traveling in a limo and basically living out of it until finding an appropriate residence. They lead glamorous lives and enjoy the attention and respect people seen to be offering them in the wake of their popularity.

We get to see Mrs. Nina Allam, Amy's teacher struggling with her actions that contradict her way of life as a practicing Muslim. Nina's character as a compassionate and understanding teacher with her background is also refreshing to see. We see how she finds out that the bracelet given to Amy is not gold and finds herself having difficulty understanding how a decent man like Leo can deceive his daughter Amy. She confronts Leo and tells him to be honest about things.

Donna, the journalist who covered their story finds out various details that make her doubt Leo and Vince and is constantly on their trail to find out the truth.

We get a glimpse into Leo and his awkwardness with women and how the interaction with the escort Monica evolves. Every interaction Leo has with the characters in the book leaves us with the picture that with money and status people who were rude and even disrespectful tend to change their approach later on.

The story moves on with more and more lies getting told and Leo and Vince getting deeply tangled up in the deception with no way to come out unscathed. The foreboding thought of the real winner coming out and revealing the truth to the public is at the forefront of Leo and Vince's mind. The story goes through interesting twists and turns and keeps the reader engaged and intrigued to the end.



My Thoughts:

I really liked this book. I enjoyed the way the story was told. The central character Leo was a perpetual people pleaser in my opinion and found himself to be in the most difficult situations throughout this book. The story is of a flawed man wanting to move forward from the dark days with positivity. He is well-intentioned in the beginning and as he gains more strength and power from the change in people's attitudes he discovers a new side to himself that he never knew of.

The evolution of the lies and deceit is portrayed in an interesting manner. The need for acceptance and approval is basic in most human beings. The struggle Leo faces when he comes face-to-face with the consequences of his lies is real. As a reader, I got pulled into the storyline quickly. I wanted to see how Leo and Vince with their vulnerabilities as young men with bigger dreams than they could afford to navigate the hurdles they encountered in their lives.



This book was entertaining and the situations in which they found themselves tangled up were funny. Some of the characters and their actions made me think of how people in various communities react to wealth. A lot of bitter truth was presented with ease. The story is about family, love, and greed. The power of money and the destruction it can cause is illustrated effortlessly.

We see the power of friendship, loyalty, and love, and how all of it combined move the story forward. The story also brings out the fact that even though we make plans, God has a different plan for us. Charity is a huge theme in this book and as Leo lives his life as a rich guy he still manages to put the needs of people who need it more as a priority. The generosity of the real winner is also worth mentioning.

I don't condone the lying and deceit the main character involves himself in, but I understood where he was coming from. Leo tells us how he wanted to change the way people looked at him and his sole motive was to show that he wanted to be accepted for who he was. He understands he got carried away and how he wants to right the wrongs by doing things for the needy. I liked how the story ended on a positive note and if it wasn't for our mystery winner's background we probably wouldn't have this ending.

"The Billion Pound Lie" is a about a man whose life is getting away from him. He's constantly on guard, trying to keep track of what he's said, or hasn't said. *Technically* he's lying, but is he? I found this book highly comical. While you do have to suspend your belief for parts of it (I mean, why is Helen still talking to Tony? I wanted to strangle her myself), I couldn't put the book down. There's so much action and plot twists, I had to know what happens next. The only reason I gave 3 stars over 4, is that I couldn't believe the actions of some of the characters. There is just no way someone would make those choices. But the ending was extremely satisfying and I loved how everything was tied up.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is about a guy named Leo who, by a series of desperate assumptions, miscommunications and smooth talking, is believed to have won the lottery. Through a series of both unfortunate and fortunate events, depending on whose perspective you view the situation from, we see Leo and his friend Vince put on a show flashing their massive 'win' in various ways to their friends, family and the general public.

This story line sounded intriguing and downright hilarious. I kept thinking, how on earth are they going to fool everyone into believing that they had one the lottery. This thought alone was my main motivation to pick up this book.

Unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations at all. The transition from the night of the win to the morning after the win was abrupt and left me hanging. I needed more detail and more story about the night of the win. It lacked so much that I spent half the book frustrated, wondering how DID it actually all go down? How did he fool so many? I understand that mystery was the intention behind this transition but it did not work for me. It frustrated me to no end. Due to this sudden jump from the night of to the morning after, I felt disconnected from the characters and the story. The more I read, the more I disliked the characters. They came across as superficial, immature, shallow, over-the-top and downright annoying. The 'drama' attempted in this book was feeble and lacked just that - drama. This led to a very subtle climax. So much so that I only realized I had passed the climax when I reached the epilogue a couple of pages later. The ending was convenient and unrealistic. It wrapped up neater than a Hallmark movie and left me thinking, "Is that it?"

If only more time had been spent on introducing us to the world of the characters, giving us insight into their relationships and more detail about the night of the win. I felt this book only gave me glimpses here and there into their lives. I would have loved Leo if the other nitty-gritty aspects did not overshadow his sweet, lovable and funny nature. All in all, this book was just okay for me. It bums me out as this book does have the potential to be freaking hilarious but, unfortunately, just left me indifferent.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Imagine you are being suspected of having won a billion pounds in the lottery. Instead of denying it, you go with the flow and start spending and donating money that you actually don't have. But, and kudos to the author, the main character Leo and his mate Vince never say that they won the lottery.

The lies of omission start building, but also bring the plot forwards. Leo digs himself deeper in and on the one hand I was hoping for his house of cards to crash, but also hoping it won't hurt him and his loved ones.

Nice story of what would happen if, fake news and the media circus, and a from zero to hero story.