In reading this series, Riggs was the hero I was the least connected to and yet his story is so good it may be my favorite of the series! Riggs and Duffy meet the opposites attract criteria. She walls in on him in a compromising position with her boss and sees an opportunity for a green card. I loved the feel of this book had The Proposal vibes though both get something out of this marriage of convenenience. Riggs is absolutely charismatic and impossible not to love. He's a free spirit with no ties, avoiding his traumas. Duffy only wants to develop ties and have financial security. This specific difference made this whole book so much fun...the gold digger married to the secret billionaire. Moreso I loved that we were able to see why money is such a touchy subject for her, making her a more likable and complex heroine. This book also delivered the angst consistently. Both characters pined for the other and it hit the mark for me there. I really couldn't find anything to dislike about this romance. I hadn't realized how much time had flown by reading it and felt like this was just what I was looking for

Fake marriage, enemies to lovers from LJ Shen. FMC Duffy is on a work visa in the US and working for a prominent newswoman when she discovers she is cheating on her husband. Duffy decides to blackmail the man her boss is sleeping with into marrying her so she can remain in the US. Duffy soon realizes that despite their fake relationship, the chemistry between them is very real.

I've been reading LJ Shen for a hot minute now. One of my really good friends and fellow blogger turned me on to her. LJ does angsty romances and alpha males to perfection! Cold Hearted Casanova was the perfect ending to this brilliant series!

I absolutely loved Duffy and Riggs.

Daphne "Duffy" Markham has found herself in a little bit of a predicament.. Her "almost fiancé" leaves her so he can "travel the world and find himself" and that leaves Daphne in dire need... See her visa is about to expire and her Ex was her meal ticket to getting her green card.

Riggs is a photographer (and a secret billionaire) but he does not want anyone to know. He never wants to stay in one place to long, and never really wants to settle down. He likes his life the way it is... a new woman on the daily..

When Daphne finds Riggs in a very compromising position with her very married boss.. what's a girl to do but blackmail? What starts out as a Fake Marriage..

Great work L.J. Shen..

Thank you Montlake & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was super excited to read this book because I've loved everything in read by LJ Shen! I was not disappointed!

Although this book is less spicy than the All Saints High books, I still really enjoyed the storyline and the character growth within the story.

This is the first book I've read in this series and although it can be read as a standalone, it makes me really want to read the first two of this series as well!

If you enjoy a marriage of convenience, secret billionaire, found family type of book, I would highly recommend this one! This book had me sobbing and giggling all throughout it!! I cannot recommend it enough!!

Cold Hearted Casanova: ★★★★☆ (4)

Pub date: April 9, 2024 - preorder now!

Admittedly, for a solid portion of this book I thought “the author hates these characters” because for a solid portion of this book, I definitely did. But I think that sensation was an intentional decision to make the moments of clarity and redemption shine. Riggs and Duffy slowly grew on me and their stories were captivating after a little light was shined on them. Riggs, while he has many very cringeworthy, super cold moments, actually got me laughing most with his snark and sarcasm (very Ryan Reynolds one-liner vibes). Duffy was a little harder to “get,” but in the end, her heart and true intentions were shining stars. Overall, well done and I recommend !!

This book is really good overall. It started slow for me but picked up and grabbed my interest. The main characters, Daphne (Duffy) and Riggs are difficult to like in the beginning, Daphne is a self proclaimed gold digger and Riggs is introduced in a compromising position. About a third of the way through Duffy and Riggs show their true colors and we find out why they are the way they are. I liked the book and even found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading. There was laughter and a few tears. I especially enjoyed the banter between Duffy and Riggs. It became hard for me to put it down. I definitely recommend!

Thanks to Net Galley for giving me the Arc

I gave it a 2 star review because its the same story that's been done a million times with nothing really new added to it. I didn't really care for the FMC because she just seems meh. I did however like the MMC but even he couldn't pull the writing out of the regurgitated tornado.

Another reason I gave this a lower rating is the whole miscommunication thing. I feel like that's such a lazy way to add random conflit to the story that doesn't really need to be there in all the stories Shen writes.

I use to love her earlier books and I honestly don't know what happened to her or if shes gotten a ghost writer but this is not working anfdwe need to go back to the good old days

No one serves a dark and delicious romance book like LJ Shen and Cold Hearted Casanova is no exception!

I was so excited to read this new book after being a fan of the other books in the series. One thing I loved about this book was the female main character. She's so smart and badass and knows how to get what she wants. Duffy is a girl that knows how to get what she wants and the perfect match to Riggs. She's also been through a lot and the way she grew up definitely affected her as an adult growing in poverty but Duffy and Riggs are amazing together. There's a marriage of convenience, fake dating, slow burn, and so much angst and tension and steamy.

Duffy and Riggs find each other in the most not so meet cute. Duffy finds Riggs in a compromising position with her married boss and yet Riggs couldn't care less but Duffy pitches an idea (aka blackmail). She asks him to marry her so that she could stay in the US because she's been working under a work visa, but now that's gone and she needs a solution and fast. Riggs is not loving that idea but situation after situation puts them in a forced proximity where they have to work together to help each other out. I like how complex these characters are. They both seem like vain and shallow characters that will use each other and others to get what they want, they are ambitious and calculating but seeing their growth and fall for each other and become their own found family was really sweet to read. There's twists and turns but this book is my favorite of hers yet, definitely a must read!

COLD HEARTED CASANOVA is book 3 in the Cruel Castaways series. It is a marriage of convenience/fake relationship/slow burn, and I'm pretty confident when I say that its my favourite book in the series so far. I've been so intrigued by Riggs since the beginning, and his story definitely didn't disappoint. I really loved that even though Duffy was a bit of a goody, she was the perfect partner for Riggs.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

10 stars! I waited 1 year for this gem to come out and I was lucky to receive an arc.LJ Shen does it again.The rollercoaster of emotions this book put me through ...Amazing! I loved every single thing about this and probably my favourite in the series. I am so sad this series has come to an end .She really kicked it out of the park with this one.
Definitely recommend!

I did enjoy the story over all I just wasn’t a fan of the mc’s. It was a fine book but not my favorite overall

"Cold Hearted Casanova" by L.J. Shen is the final book in the Cruel Castaways series. Set against the backdrop of New York City, the story follows the unlikely union of Riggs Bates, a secretive billionaire, and Daphne "Duffy" Markham, a woman determined to marry into wealth.

Riggs finds himself entangled in a fake marriage with Duffy after a scandalous encounter. Meanwhile, Duffy, driven by her desire to secure her future in the States, sees the marriage as a means to an end, leveraging it for her own benefit.

What begins as a reluctant arrangement quickly evolves into something deeper as Riggs and Duffy navigate their feelings and attraction. Despite their initial animosity and the strict rules they establish, they can't deny the undeniable spark between them.

As their relationship develops, both Riggs and Duffy undergo personal growth, confronting their own insecurities and preconceived notions about love and relationships. The dynamics of their fake marriage become increasingly blurred as they deal with unexpected feelings and confront the challenges that life throws their way.

Overall, Shen's writing style was great and I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend this trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake and the author for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

I mean this had angst, slow burn, steam And Marriage of convenience. It was so refreshing reading about Duffy being unapologetically herself. Riggs was honestly even hotter knowing he’s a whole billionaire getting blackmailed by Duffy. Like I’m sure man could find a solution but our girl was special. loved it absolutely

What a ride! Cut above the usual romance, a winner all around! A rollercoaster of real feels, emotions up and down and sideways, as two totally different people find their way to their true selves and each other. Totally worth it - great characters and plot, not to be missed.

I've read a lot of books by L. J. Shen and this may be my new favorite! The story was great and the spice was 🌶🌶🌶🌶 for me. Highly recommend!

Troisième et dernier tome de cette série de L.J Shen, j’attendais avec impatience ce tome qui est centré sur Riggs et j’ai adoré!

L.J Shen a réussi à mélanger avec brio mariage de convenance pour avoir une green card, slow burn, un héro millionnaire avec un age gap! J’ai vraiment passé un très bon moment en compagnie de Riggs et de Duffy! Ils sont très attachants et uniques : Riggs est un millionnaire mais qui vit assez chichement car il ne veut pas qu’on profite de lui alors que Duffy veut juste monter l’échelle sociale pour s’en sortir. Tout les oppose mais pourtant, ils sont attirés l’un par l’autre et ils vont évoluer au fur et à mesure qu’ils se côtoient! Revoir les personnages des tomes précédents donne vraiment du baume au cœur mais c’est Charlie qui m’a le plus touchée (et fait pleurer)!

En bref, un tome qui conclut parfaitement cette série! Et j’espère vraiment que cette série sera traduite en français!

The third and final volume in this series by L.J Shen, I was looking forward to this volume, which focuses on Riggs, and I loved it!

L.J Shen has managed to brilliantly mix marriage of convenience to get a green card, slow burn, a millionaire hero with an age gap! I really had a great time with Riggs and Duffy! Riggs is a millionaire who lives pretty cheaply because he doesn't want to be taken advantage of, while Duffy just wants to climb the social ladder to get by. Everything is against them, yet they're attracted to each other and will grow as they get to know each other! Seeing the characters from the previous volumes is really heartwarming, but it was Charlie who touched me the most (and made me cry)!

In short, a tome that perfectly concludes this series! And I really hope this series will be translated into French!

Duffy ans Riggs

"Cold Hearted Casanova" by L.J Shen is the third book in the Cruel Castaway series. This is Duffy and Rigg's story.

I have to be honest and say that L.J Shen's books have fallen quite a bit short in my eyes. And this book, unfortunately, is no exception.

I liked Duffy in the first few pages. She works hard and is unappreciated and treated poorly. But she doesn't give up and I think that's cool. However, my sympathy for her quickly turned to dislike. She is very judgmental, arrogant and money hungry. For her only one thing matters: money, money, money. Even though her behavior changed over the course of the story, it was her behavior that stayed with me. If I were Riggs, I wouldn't have told her that I was a billionaire.

Riggs was a bit more unique when it came to the male characters in the Shen universe. Riggs is a billionaire who doesn't care about money and makes his living through his job as a photographer. We already know him from Christian and Arsenen's story as a close friend who keeps getting stranded with them and already lives a normal life. I really liked him in the previous books. He was a bit lively, but you could already tell that he was carrying around a lot of baggage.

I'm always up for a good marriage of convenience story. But here I found this microtrope very unbelievable and a bit bunglingly used. Also, in my opinion, Riggs and Duffy weren't a very good match either and I really felt zero attraction or chemistry between them. I only found the rather snappy dialogues entertaining.

That's why "Cold Hearted Casanova" only gets 2.4-3 out of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is the third book in the series however you can read it as a standalone.

It took me some time to warm up to Duffy but I ended up really liking her. I struggled with Riggs and never really liked him. Did I end up being totally invested in their story? You bet.

I may have shed a few tears.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Montlake through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Montlake.

I finished this book one week ago but didn't feel ready to write about it (not sure if I still am...). I know we all have different feelings , and we all look on certain stories in totally opposite way but unexpectedly the funniest guy in town did break my heart into million pieces.

It was not hard to imagine Riggs as the wild child, as a little unmature playboy, but LJ another time showed that we shouldn't judge book by it's cover. Riggs might be fun, Riggs might be everyones friend... but for sure hes's one of the most self- secured heroes, I've met. Duffy has one of the biggest heart, and I loved her and her little weird behavior. She was perfect, THE END hihi.

I wish I could talk with every single person who had the chance to read it already... This book gave me so many feels! LJ is one of my auto buy authors, because she has this undeniably BIG AF talent to write about not easy things in beautiful way - in Cold Hearted Casanova she proved it again. For me this book was EVERYTHING. I hope You're gonna enjoy it the same as I did.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book ahead of the release in exchange for an honest review.

Although I skipped Fallen Foe, I did read and enjoy Ruthless Rival (the first book in this series) so I was excited to read the third installment.

Tropes include: marriage of convenience, fake dating, slow burn + angsty romance.

As always, LJ’s writing flawlessly combines romance, spice, and tear-jerking moments.

The FMC, Daphne, proposes a fake dating/marriage of convenience with the MMC, Riggs. They both appear to be cold and somewhat shallow at first but LJ always digs deep with her characters and gives an emotional character arc.

Overall, I believe LJ has better books in her collection.