Review of Her Millions Are Worthless
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Meghan Greenleaf
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Review of Her Millions Are Worthless
[Following is a volunteer review of "Her Millions Are Worthless" by Bela Feketekuty.]
Her Millions Are Worthless by Bela Feketekuty follows the budding romance of Bill, a struggling app developer, and Jane, a wealthy pharmaceutical developer, both in their late 20s. Their relationship is marred by Bill’s fixation on the source of Jane’s money which he is concerned is dirty. Even as his feelings for Jane grow, he finds himself consumed by his curiosity and concern as he tries to solve the mystery. Despite his growing feelings for Jane, he is concerned that he may not be able to stay with her unless he learns the truth.
While the plot is original, it ultimately falls empty. While Bill’s curiosity about the source of Jane’s wealth is natural, his continued assumptions that it’s dirty and that, ultimately, he will find himself paying the price for her devious behavior, is presumptuous and extreme. While her evasiveness on the topic is a bit odd, there is nothing else to lead Bill to his suspicions. If he had witnessed some questionable behaviors or she had made some odd comments his theories would be more understandable. Instead, his beliefs are based on articles he reads on topics such as drug dealing or documentaries he watches on Ponzi schemes. Basically, anytime he encounters a story about another party’s shady dealings he decides that this must be how she made her money and that, for some reason, he is going to bear the consequences, be it a drug dealer’s bullet or time in jail.
There is a lack of character development which results in a lack of intimacy and display of personal connection in Bill and Jane’s relationship. A large portion of the book is simply Bill retelling stories of people he’s known or articles he’s read, none of which add to the story or relay much about the characters as Feketekuty is attempting to do. There is a severe lack of communication between them and at times irrational reactions to each other. Bill is fixated on money and lacks self-esteem. While there are previous dates mentioned, his behavior and thoughts come off as a lack of maturity in regard to relationships. Jane is especially difficult to understand as she goes from being unsociable to the point of rudeness to suddenly being personable many times throughout the book. Jane repeatedly gets angry and shuts down when Bill says something she doesn’t like which also comes off as a lack of maturity. Her behavior at the end of the book is especially difficult to comprehend.
While there are very detailed descriptions of everything from people’s clothing to the surrounding area to the meals that are eaten, the writing often feels too descriptive. Bill’s hitchhiking story includes a labeling of the race of each of the characters involved that is not found anywhere else in the book and sticks out as unnecessary and odd. At times the number of details included in the dialogue causes it to read as unnatural. While Feketekuty’s attempts to set the scene are appreciated, they could be pared back a bit.
There are points where the writing style is a bit jumpy and others where there is some repetition. There is extraneous information given and Bill’s numerous retellings of stories could be greatly reduced. Because of all of the tangential stories this reads not so much as an ongoing narrative but more as a collection of very short stories interspersed with a continuing love story. These stories sometimes break the flow, especially those about his past that he is simply sharing with the reader. Some of these stories are not realistic, such as his transferring into, and then out of, the special education class when he is in third grade. The end itself is nonsensical and strange (although I did appreciate the plot twist).
Readers who enjoy stories with a bit of romance, mystery, and some twists would enjoy Her Millions Are Worthless. Those who enjoy joyful romance stories may find this book disappointing. Because of the necessity of refocusing the content and building up the characters, I give Her Millions Are Worthless 2 out of 5 stars.
******
Her Millions Are Worthless
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Her Millions Are Worthless by Bela Feketekuty follows the budding romance of Bill, a struggling app developer, and Jane, a wealthy pharmaceutical developer, both in their late 20s. Their relationship is marred by Bill’s fixation on the source of Jane’s money which he is concerned is dirty. Even as his feelings for Jane grow, he finds himself consumed by his curiosity and concern as he tries to solve the mystery. Despite his growing feelings for Jane, he is concerned that he may not be able to stay with her unless he learns the truth.
While the plot is original, it ultimately falls empty. While Bill’s curiosity about the source of Jane’s wealth is natural, his continued assumptions that it’s dirty and that, ultimately, he will find himself paying the price for her devious behavior, is presumptuous and extreme. While her evasiveness on the topic is a bit odd, there is nothing else to lead Bill to his suspicions. If he had witnessed some questionable behaviors or she had made some odd comments his theories would be more understandable. Instead, his beliefs are based on articles he reads on topics such as drug dealing or documentaries he watches on Ponzi schemes. Basically, anytime he encounters a story about another party’s shady dealings he decides that this must be how she made her money and that, for some reason, he is going to bear the consequences, be it a drug dealer’s bullet or time in jail.
There is a lack of character development which results in a lack of intimacy and display of personal connection in Bill and Jane’s relationship. A large portion of the book is simply Bill retelling stories of people he’s known or articles he’s read, none of which add to the story or relay much about the characters as Feketekuty is attempting to do. There is a severe lack of communication between them and at times irrational reactions to each other. Bill is fixated on money and lacks self-esteem. While there are previous dates mentioned, his behavior and thoughts come off as a lack of maturity in regard to relationships. Jane is especially difficult to understand as she goes from being unsociable to the point of rudeness to suddenly being personable many times throughout the book. Jane repeatedly gets angry and shuts down when Bill says something she doesn’t like which also comes off as a lack of maturity. Her behavior at the end of the book is especially difficult to comprehend.
While there are very detailed descriptions of everything from people’s clothing to the surrounding area to the meals that are eaten, the writing often feels too descriptive. Bill’s hitchhiking story includes a labeling of the race of each of the characters involved that is not found anywhere else in the book and sticks out as unnecessary and odd. At times the number of details included in the dialogue causes it to read as unnatural. While Feketekuty’s attempts to set the scene are appreciated, they could be pared back a bit.
There are points where the writing style is a bit jumpy and others where there is some repetition. There is extraneous information given and Bill’s numerous retellings of stories could be greatly reduced. Because of all of the tangential stories this reads not so much as an ongoing narrative but more as a collection of very short stories interspersed with a continuing love story. These stories sometimes break the flow, especially those about his past that he is simply sharing with the reader. Some of these stories are not realistic, such as his transferring into, and then out of, the special education class when he is in third grade. The end itself is nonsensical and strange (although I did appreciate the plot twist).
Readers who enjoy stories with a bit of romance, mystery, and some twists would enjoy Her Millions Are Worthless. Those who enjoy joyful romance stories may find this book disappointing. Because of the necessity of refocusing the content and building up the characters, I give Her Millions Are Worthless 2 out of 5 stars.
******
Her Millions Are Worthless
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Garden Design for Everyone Volume II by Robin Johnson
