TRADE ME is a New Adult story from historical romance
writer Courtney Milan. At 251 pages, it's a quick read of
near-perfection. DO NOT be off-put by the idea of yet
another billionaire hot young adult protagonist!! This is
a New Adult billionaire story Milan-style, which means she
crafts
this story with her personal style of awesomeness and
knocks it so far out of the park it's 200 miles away.
Seriously, stop reading this review and just go buy the
book right now. You can thank me later.
At the heart of this story is the idea that billionaire
computer mogul-turned-college student Blake and poor
immigrant college student Tina trade lives for 3three
months.
Tina's family fled from China when she was young, escaping
from persecution for practicing Falun Gong. Tina's mom
has
become an amateur activist and advocate, helping other ex-
pats who have escaped China, often at the expense of
Tina's
family themselves. Tina has had to take on part of the
financial support of her family, including paying for her
sister's medications and the electricity bill, because her
mom will give the money to needy refugees instead. Tina
is
living off campus in an illegal unheated apartment, barely
surviving on the minimal amount of rice she can afford,
and
sending home every penny she can scrape together. Tina is
an inspiring character who is dealing with the conflicting
needs of succeeding at college and taking care of her
family. My heart bleeds for her as I watch her try to
protect herself from the wonderfulness that is Blake, as
she is convinced that they could never work out.
Blake is a computer genius who has worked in his family's
tech company since he was a child. His mom is dead, and
his father is a larger-than-life foul-mouthed asshat, but
he's an asshat who completely loves his son. That's what
is so amazing about all the family dynamics here. Even
though many of the characters are seriously whacked, I
never doubt their love for each other. Such an affirming
thing, even in the midst of all the turmoil! Blake is
using college as a way of escaping from the immense
pressure of his father and the family company, and Blake
has a problem in how he's escaping.
Tina tells Blake that he wouldn't be able to handle
leaving
his charmed life and leading hers, and Blake proposes that
they switch lives for 3 months. They switch apartments,
bank accounts, and jobs. Pretty soon they are working
together so Tina can do Blake's tech project, and they
slide quickly into love. Blake is an honestly great guy,
and his support of Tina is beautiful to behold. The
issues
they face are very real to life, and so truthfully yet
poignantly handled. This book gave me so many good
shivers
during reading.
The supporting characters are wonderfully quirky, the
dialogue scintillating, and the whole book is simply over-
the-top engaging. I can't come up with enough adjectives
to describe how much I love this book, but that's ok. As
long as I've convinced you that you must read this book,
I'm fine with Milan's TRADE ME leaving me speechless.
Tina Chen just wants a degree and a job, so her parents
never have to worry about making rent again. She has no
time
for Blake Reynolds, the sexy billionaire who stands to
inherit Cyclone Systems. But when he makes an offhand
comment about what it means to be poor, she loses her cool
and tells him he couldn’t last a month living her life.
To her shock, Blake offers her a trade: She’ll get his
income, his house, his car. In exchange, he’ll work her
hours and send money home to her family. No expectations;
no
future obligations.
But before long, they’re trading not just lives, but
secrets, kisses, and heated nights together. No
expectations
might break Tina’s heart...but Blake’s secrets could ruin
her life.
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