Fortune by Megan Cole

Description

Fortune tells the story of three very different girls – Madison from New York, Simonetta from Rome and Sapphire from London – who all receive mysterious invitations to the 50th birthday of Brad Masters, billionaire record executive. But what could the girls possibly have in common? The truth shocks them all, and turns three strangers into something much closer and more dangerous – after all, family make for the deadliest enemies... -Goodreads.com

Review

Fortune is one of those Alloy Entertainment-esque novels with the naive, optimistic main character, the conniving villain and the two hot but opposite-in-every-aspect love interests. Except in Fortune, there's a twist in the form of Brad Masters, the father to three completely different characters.

The setting was perfect. Instead of the global city that tends to be the location for these sort of books- New York, L.A., London etc- most of of Fortune takes place in Capri so there are luscious descriptions aplenty. The small cast meant tha tthe focus, for me anyway, was easily characterisation.

And this is where, I'm afraid, the book let me down a bit. I thought that the characters were a bit stereotypical and two-dimensional. Madison, in particular, seemed to be full of malicious intent and nothing else. I kept hoping she'd do something, anything, with some sincerity that would make her seem real. This did not happen.

Simonetta, the Italian model, seemed pretty fleshed-out, especially compared to Madison. I liked how a regretful, kinder side of her was revealed to us near the end rather than the uncaring persona she had in Italy.

Sapphire, the main character, was pretty likeable. I think that was because of the backstabbing actions of everyone around her which made it incredibly difficult not to sympathise with her: pathos, anyone? Her naïveté could be a teensy bit aggravating at times though.

And now we come onto the elusive Brad Masters himself. He wasn't particularly a favourite character of mine. This is because of what we learn at the end- I won't give anything away, don't worry- and how judgemental he seemed. While I understand that this was his first time actually being there for his children which is why he didn't have much experience of parenting, he could have been a bit more genuine. To me, it didn't really seem like he wanted to know his daughters while picking his heir- he just wanted to see who the most capable and/or trustworthy daughter was.

Finally, the two love interests, both singer-songwriters but that is the only similarity they share. Cam is famous, hot, tanned and American while Raphael is beautiful and Italian with skin as pale as Edward Cullen's- the fact that this comparison to the fictional vampire is actually made in the book didn't win any points with me, I must say. However, they were both equal contenders for Sapphire's affections. I found myself not minding much who she ended up with although I had a pretty good idea who it would be.

All in all, an entertaining, very quick read with plenty of drama and romance, and many twists and turns to keep you engrossed. Maybe a bit predictable, but there were no boring moments.

Rating: 3/5