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A review by suzyq436
The Billion Pound Lie by Bill Dare
2.0
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.
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.