Romance
the genre has guidelines to plot development. The first is for the story to be
centered on the heroine, often the protagonist, and the hero, her love interest
and the relationship that blossoms in the story. Secondly and most important is
for the couple to meet a happy and satisfying ending. The second of the
requirements is what keeps Nicholas Spark’s novels out of the romance genre and
mainly viewed as a love story which is a part of general literature. So with
only two guidelines an author or authoress has free range to incorporate them.
J.R. Ward a paranormal romance writer has even made her one of her main hero in
her series bisexual and getting over his past love with a man by being with a
woman. It is something different that usually captures readers new and young,
but traditional like Nora Roberts creating strong sensible males and females
but twist a different plot can still be effective. However with Melody Anne’s “The
Tycoon’s Revenge” follows the formula so much so that leaves the plot
predictable, and the juvenile antics of her characters caused them to be one
note. Though I am not sure whether I am just jaded by all the romance I have
read over the years, where I can see the plot’s destination within three chapters
or it is just plain predictable.
The story
centers on Derek Titan, a self-made Billionaire who is plotting revenge for his
spurned affections and bruised pride. He successfully in chapter one gains
control over the company of his ex-girlfriend’s father. Jasmine Freeman, our
heroine is too bitter but not out for revenge for Derek leaving her at the altar
without a word from him for years, all she wants is to keep her job in order to
take care of her home. She bites her tongue and works with Derek to rebuild the
company and along the way rekindle the romance they had once had in their
youth.
Good
premise, yet a bad execution. The plot is rushed, with the reader finding out
the cause on both sides to leave our main characters feeling betrayed. In first
couple of chapters we find out how Derek was betrayed and before that we
already learned of Jasmine being abandoned at the altar. This leaves the reader
to watch as Derek and Jasmine fall back in love for the rest of the three
fourths of the book. For two people who had been betrayed and wounded so deeply
they seem to fall back in love and in bed with each other. This has to do with
the plot already correcting our villain so early.
What could
have helped the story along would have been a convincing and layered
antagonist. Yet his reasons are typical and overplayed with no personal depth.
He put a ruse in the young lovers tryst for the reasons that have been done and
way better. To add to the injury he is only in the story as foil to our
characters romance, which would have been fine if there had been something
deeper to the story.
Our hero is
to scale. Derek is perceived by the authoress as a cruel and ruthless business
man who only looks forward and never back. (The business of what he does is a
little sketchy as it is never really explained what the company does, though
that could be overlooked as the main focus is on the romance). His need for
revenge is fueled by the pain left on him by Jasmine as well as his prejudices
toward the wealthy born. However in the flashback of how she had spurned him,
the reader has to question his own character. He did not hear such words from
his lover, instead from an informant who has questionable traits even to Derek.
Yet with the information he damns all wealthy born women and flees off to plot
his revenge. It seems cowardice that he could not wait to confront her, and
lazy as a writer to not expand on other possibilities to justify his anger. The
unjustifiable rage only cheapens the inevitable reunion and romance which
quickly follows, leaving most readers annoyed and tired of his incompetence.
However
Derek’s actions does give Jasmine just cause to be bitter and resentful towards
him. In her defense she was left at the altar with no call, letter or message.
He disappeared for a long time, yet she knew he was alive not dead from an
accident or kidnapped. She cuts her losses and moves on with her life yet
retains a secrets which sours her character. The secret though to the reader is
not discreet at all. A reader is then left to questions the ethics of Jasmine.
She is our protagonist and sure she is susceptible to human flaws but with her
moral high ground and her integrity to better that of her lover why would she
keep this secret. It makes her seem childish and less developed as to no real explanation
is given. Instead the reader and Derek are left with, “You weren’t around, so
there seemed no reason to tell you.” Bullshit! If a character, a person claims
to love someone and has no idea why he left but their own imaginings would at
least make some vain attempt to give him the news!
At which
point I had to calm myself before breaking my iPad. I did not cover the sex
scenes which are usually my favorite parts of a romance novel, because they
were as formulaic as the plot though they tried to hint of eroticism. Anne had
a good premise and popular idea with a Billionaire trying to enact some type of
revenge and yet falling into his own trap. The execution though was just rushed
and underdeveloped.
The Tycoon’s
Revenge eBook can be found on amazon.com for the kindle and on itunes for apple
products. It is fairly inexpensive (unless you don’t have a kindle or apple
products then go freely into sweet sweet ignorance) and for a short little romp
with not much use in brain power could be enjoyable.
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