Once upon a time, there was an ordinary girl who grew up listening to bedtime stories where there were no knights in shining armor or Prince Charming. Instead, it had Greek billionaires and this little girl dreamt she'd one day have Her Own Greek Billionaire to live happily ever after with.
When this little girl grew up, she did what she could to make her dream come true.
Perhaps I was looking forward to a fairy tale with a Greek billionaire as prince charming but it wasn't even close to a fairy tale...
The idea behindbook is good (which attracted me to read it in the first place) but the execution isn't that great.
My biggest problem is Mairi's ideals. I am a hopeless romantic myself and I am always day dreaming about my ideal guy but c'mon, she has read her fair amount of romance novels and she is 24! How come she acts and thinks like she's five (only a few days after meeting Damen and she's asking for a commitment? haven't she known that those types of heroines were the most detestable in the fiction-world)?
I have read a few of Marian's books and I find her writing witty. English is not her first language which comes through sometimes when she mentions things I'm not familiar with but in this book, I did smile at the references to Mills & Boon books about Greek Billionaires! She mentions M&B authors Lynne Graham and Sharon Kendricks!
Mairi was brought up by her two Aunts who told her stories about Greek billionaires falling in love with ordinary girls. Ever since she has been waiting to meet her very own Greek so when Mairi meets Damen Leventis she is professing her love for him within minutes of meeting! It's a bit of a far fetched tale and instant love which is not my favourite thing to read in books. Yes it is witty as usual and Damen is an alpha male but I was annoyed to find the story continues into another 4 books, three of which are already out but in my view are far too expensive for the amount of pages they contain. I just wish authors would write one whole book.
2015 review Fun start to the series. I have all 5 on my kindle and plan to read them back to back. The appeal of this book is the story line. Mairi was raised by her two aunts and her bed-times stories where the Harlequin Presents that her aunts loved to read. I know the story line is unlikely and pretty out there, but somehow it just appeals to me. As a reader of HPs (my comfort reads), this book just makes me smile. It's shaping up to have all the characteristics that make those HP books appeal to me: angst, innocent heroine, alpha billionaire hero, and lots of obstacles to the HEA with some serious grovelling by the hero. If you love HPlandia I think you will find this book appealing.
Mairi Tanner had dreamed of marrying a Greek billionaire for as long as she could remember. But bagging one was next to impossible especially when there were mean girls that were out to quash her dream.
When the ripe time came for him to meet the Greek billionaire she'd been waiting for, it was only a matter of time before she got another Greek falling for her. And her life would never be the same again.
I enjoyed reading this book. Finally I know now how Mairi and Damen Laventis had met and stirred the flames that engulfed their love story. It was really interesting and rather fascinating to see a woman live up her dreams and never let anything destroy it. I'd say, Mairi did a great job catching not only one but two billionaires. Lucky you Ms.Yay!
As always Marian Tee delivered another exciting series that makes women weak in their knees, sweat trickle down their necks and gasp for breath. Those are definitely a Marian guarantee.
Marian Tee's Mairi is so adorable just like a lot of her other characters. Mairi is special; she wasn't raised to dream of princes. Instead, her aunts raised her on Greek Billionaire romance novels. ^_^ She's not a gold digger, she just knows what she wants, and what she wants is a man who happens to be in that level of life.
She goes as far as to be an English teacher in Greece, and she finally meets Her One; it's love at first sight. He's Damen, one of her close student's older brother. He sees her as something to conquer and have, and after all this hot nonsense, she finds out- *GASP* Can't tell you, but I totally cried when it ended with a cliff-hanger. T____T Loved it, regardless, though XD
I recommend this to people who like lots of drama, hot romance between two people, and drama- wait, I said that already? Hmm. This book brought out emotions from me, both good (fun times!) and bad (ugh I wanted to choke Damen) and that's a main reason why it's 5 stars for me. I wouldn't recommend this new adult book to those who don't like sex (o.O?).
Since she was a young girl, Mairi Tanner dreamed of growing up and becoming the loving wife of a handsome Greek billionaire. When she becomes a teacher in Greece at a high-end academy, she realizes that her path to this end might be closer, and far more complicated, than she'd ever guessed.
I have to say that this was a fun little read. I picked it up on Amazon because, as I have no shame in admitting it, I have a thing for Greek men, billionaire or no. So a book on seducing one? Lovely. I appreciated that this book made me laugh at parts in addition to being smoldering. It was a nice reprieve from the lust at times.
Unfortunately the sex scenes, though largely enjoyable, fell a bit flat for me. The lead male was gorgeous and sexily written, but Mairi seemed to just kind of be there. They weren't bad scenes by any means, but they were just missing something. Much like other serial novellas, I am also frustrated where this story left off, though I of course know and respect why the author chose to do so. I would continue reading short stories from this series.
For adult readers who like reading about virgin maidens, sexy Greek billionaires, and steamy trysts in Grecian villas, this is a fun and quick read perfect for lounging around the pool. If sex and profanity aren't for you, than neither is this book.
This review can also be found on my new blog, Bitches n Prose.
Book One is 'The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire.' Marian has a love for billionaires that has definitely made me a fan of them as well. She doesn't just give you rich hot guys but throws in a catch like making them Greek and setting the books in Greece which gives it a nice twist.
Mairi's childhood was filled with fairytales and happily ever after's but with a bit of a deviation from your normal stories. Raised by her aunts, they read her Harlequin romances, specifically Greek romance Harlequins. So is it any surprise that Mairi's ideal guy happens to be a Greek billionaire? Her love of them goes so far as to have her enroll to be a teacher in an exclusive high society Greek school where she meets her prince charming. Ok...maybe prince charmer, or seducer, or quite possible debaucher (is that even a word? I'm making it a word if it isn't.) Either way, she falls head over heels in love in only one day, is swept off her feet into a whirlwind romance and .... cliff hanger. No really, Marian left us with a freakin cliff hanger that had me yelling at my book because I wanted to know what happened next. lol. Thankfully she came out with the next book fairly quickly so I didn't have to wait too long.
But really the book was great. You can't help but fall in love with Mairi and her bright, optimistic, romantic personality. Her sexy Greek billionaire hunk is nothing to turn your nose up at either.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I read steamy stories. I downloaded this for free because I was testing my buqo app on my phone and it's the only short story for free. Set in Greece, it tells the story of Mairi Tanner, an English teacher who was obsessed of marrying a Greek billionaire. She meets (surprise, surprise!) Greek billionaire Damen Leventis and falls head over heels in love/lust with him at first sight. Damen, likewise, lusts for her and is determined to make her his. But he is betrothed to someone else, and he sees nothing wrong in offering Mairi to be his mistress. I'm not expecting too much on steamy reads; it's just that I wish there was more substance to the development of the story and not just concentrated on all the banging and lusting. Damen is an alpha male who got trust issues and it makes a good conflict. But his possessiveness, no matter how hot and rich he is, makes me cringe. Mairi is smart and naive, but she was too consumed by the idea of becoming a Greek billionaire's wife that it comes off as superficial. Although there are a lot of feels in this story (and two Level 3 heat-level steamy scenes), it came up too short for my taste. Sorry. On the bright side, I enjoyed that the author, who is Fil-Chinese, used Norah and Vilma as Mairi's aunts' names.
This is an author I adore and her novels always have me either sobbing or laughing, at times both! This start to a series was no exception!
Mairi is a girl who grew up knowing what she wants! What she wants is the HAE, the fact that she wants that with a Greek man, who needs to be a billionaire to boot, is all down to Harlequin romances that she was read as a young girl! I think we can all relate although my wish was always a handsome Sheikh or a hunky Italian! In walks two men who both fit the bill! The dreamy Damen Leventis and Ioniko Vlahos. So long as Mairi follows her lessons, which are the headers for the chapters complete with fantastic editor notes, what can go wrong! Answer, a lot in a small space of time! After the ending of this I cannot wait for book 2, The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire which I also out!
Another fantastic book by Ms Tee.
Please note I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review
Gosh..where to begin? Okay. So, I judged the book with it's title. I know what to expect though..that it's a story about a girl who falls in love with a rich guy and the guy is a playboy. I find the main character Mairi as a crazy and irritating woman. Seriously, who falls in love with a total stranger, tells him she loves him the first time they met, and makes out with him a few days after they've known each other? I don't even know if it's possible. The plot was really simple and the Maira was silly..given the fact that she's a teacher..where's her brain? Two stars though for some parts of the story which made me laugh and the plot twist at the end of the story. I don't even know if I should read the next books in the series.
After being orphaned at eight Mairi goes to live with her two aunts, now these aunts are both career women and don't know the first thing about children so when the storybooks run out they read from Mills & Boon romances, so Mairi grows up with her head full of handsome Greek billionaires and she truly believes that's going to be her life and so she does everything possible to make her dream come true. While I have enjoyed some of this author's books in the past I wasn't totally sold on this one mainly because I didn't like the idea of Mairi being a Greek hunting gold-digger and that's the reason I've put off reading it for so long. While I found this book a bit disappointing I am going to try out the next one and see if it's any better.
“The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire” is an intense read. Once again author Marian Tee has created a wonderful story that draws the reader in. I quickly feel in love with the main characters, Damen and Mairi of the book and the sensual tension between them. I found myself laughing crying, and once again talking aloud. I loved how it took me away from my arguing children and put me right into it. I can honestly say that I will be continuing looking for the rest since Marian Tee has never let me down.
I've started reading this one a couple months ago and everytime I read it, I feel sleepy so it took me months to finish this novella. A friend of mind told me that it's good and that she couldn't wait to read the last book, I thought this only consist of 3 novellas. The plot...well, i love hot billionaires that's why I got the book but I felt like it's just gonna be the same as the others, but i'm satisfied after reading it.
I like the story, the problems,etc. and I hope it gets better.
unexpected! !! There was an era for Disney. Now it's the era of harlequin! Prince charming is so old school. in our modern day greek billionaire is on top! I loved this book. I didn't know how I would like it. and I knew that the series wasn't complete but couldn't help myself loving Mairi full of love and dreams. This book kept me on my toes! !!
Marian does it again, another fun, sexy read. I love the quirkiness of Marians writing, and this book does not disappoint. I can't wait to read the next in the series to find out what happens.
This book is the first one in the Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire book series. This series is one of my favorites. For anyone who has read my reviews, you'll think this girl says this a lot, but as you read the other books in the series you'll see why. I was hooked on this book from the very beginning. Ms.Yay is precious gem. Mairi is sheltered, loving, caring women. She's one of the women who still believes in fairytales, some may call her naive but she's special till the very end. Some call her a gold digger but she's one of those girls that believes her prince charming will come; expect he's really a Greek billionaire. This book definitely made me swoon, it had me drawn in. I recommend finishing the rest of the series!!
The book was okay. The writing was in 3rd person and the fact the each chapter wasn't dedicated to any particular character was very confusing and sometimes frustrating. The story itself needs more substance. I love a fast paced book like every other person however this was just over the top. The book needed a lot more "smell the roses" added to it.
I had read all the 6 books. Love it.! Book 6 is a happy humorous end. Can't t wait to read other Marian Tee's s books. I discovered a new favorite author! 😘😘😘
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tone and structure was more chick lit than rom-com. However, the lead was too much of a caricature of an ingenue, so the 3rd star is for the ending.
Hrmp!!!This by far the stupidest book that I've ever read! I mean who dreams of marrying a Greek Billionaire and travels all the way to Greece and makes it a life ambition!And what's more is that she expects the man to respect her when all she's ever done is plot her way into marrying a rich man!Argh..
Damen asked ,"Then there is nothing else to discuss?" "Nothing---" "Good.We can concentrate on us then."
Omggg!!!!This guy is speaking to his sister's teacher about the girl's progress one second the next he's telling the teacher that he wants her in his bed!And that's after speaking to her for 10 min..jeezz..couldn't he save it for their next meeting or at least a much better place!I mean it was a parent teacher meeting in an all girls school for god's sake!!
Oh..there's more..if this is bad there's worse!
"Ms. Tanner?" "I love you." The words just came out and then she turned around and floated away.
What the hell??????You just met the guy and he asked you to sleep with him the moment he laid eyes on you..and with in minutes after that awful conversation you're declaring your love for him!! Get a grip..all you know is that he's Greek and is a billionaire and lusts for you!!So where the hell did love come in between all of this??? And to top it all..you faint..!!This just makes everything so much better!
Butterfly wings fluttered faintly in her stomach,but this time Mairi was almost sure it was only because Ioniko was a gorgeous Greek billionaire-the stuff her dreams were made of. But he was not the one.
Okayyy..where did that come from???How did you know Ioniko was not the one??And when did Damen become a benchmark???For a girl with no experience in guys its just seems impossible to comprehend how Damen (the first man she's ever laid eyes on) can be the man you compare other men to..especially when have no clue of what kind of a man he is!! So if you would have met Iniko before Damen then would he be the one??GAWDD this makes no sense..!!!
And yet when Damen strode back into the conference room,it was to see Mairi flirting with Iniko Vlahos. One..two ..three..how many fucking minutes did they talk about a girl's grades in English??Damen's blood boiled at the thought that maybe,just fucking maybe the two were no longer talking about the girl's grades.
And this just gets better!!How long have known her to be jealous about something that's so mundane..seriously!You've met her like what..half an hour back and have already decided to claim her???
And all this happens in one freaking day..and that's at 45%. Ohh..this just the starting..Mairi actually goes after Damen even after knowing how heartless and malicious he is!! I have no clue as to what I should call this girl naive or profoundly dumb!!But after finishing the book I've decided with option 2. If a girl's dream is to marry a billionaire then its a minimum necessity that she does a background check..especially if your whole life depends on it!So obviously the truth about Mr.Billionaire is out, that the man is engaged and all he wants is Mistress! This is by far one uninteresting and pathetic book I've ever read.What I don't understand is how can it be a love story??I don't see love or anything remotely close it..Its all just lust and insanity at its peak!!
I thought the blurb gave me an idea on how this story was going to go, but boy was I wrong. Once again, Marian Tee has created a magnificent story that drew me in from the go! I was pleased with how quickly the book drew me into Mairi and Damen’s world.
From her aunts who read Harlequin Greek billionaire bedtime stories, which had me laughing, crying, wanting to throw my e-book, to finally wanting to shake both of them! So with this upbringing Mairi has a “blue print” that she is using to find the “Greek dream” from those stories, not necessarily the “billionaire” gold-digger but the starry-eyed Epilogues that are at the end of those Harlequin books. But even with her “blue print” (which is a header at the beginning of each chapter) that road is bumpy. So what we get is an intensely emotion driven book/series that will not disappoint.
It has it all, Mairi’s dream filled glass slipper sunglasses, Damen’s cynical, rich, tortured alpha (did I mention rich) drop dead gorgeous male. This story has her friends, his friends (with the same alpha rich issues) and a mix of the characters from past Marian Tee books, it has it all. By the time I finished book third book I wanted to be that hit sense into Damen instead of Stavros…so glad book 4 & 5 show coming out this month.
The Greek Billionaire Romance e-books in order: Book 1: The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire Book 2: The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire Book 3: The Art of Loving a Greek Billionaire Book 4: The Art of Forgiving a Greek Billionaire (March) Book 5: The Art of Wedding a Greek Billionaire (March)