Tilly Bagshawe

The decendents of Kate Blackwell battle to carry on her powerful legacy. Each is determined to control Kruger-Brent, Ltd., the multibillion-dollar international corporation with holdings in diverse industries around the world. But only one can reign supreme.--From publisher's description.

Sidney Sheldon's Mistress of the game

Salwa Mohamed

** spoiler alert **
           I know that this book was written in 2009 before we evolved as a species but the bigotry was just too much. The plot was really good, and I finished the novel because I was intrigued and excited with twists and turns. But I had to numb myself while reading the racist, misogynistic & homophobic comments. Also the vivid descriptions of pedophile activities in Thailand, calling several parts of the world “shithole countries”, and I’m paraphrasing here. And some of the sex scenes were unnecessarily vulgar. 

The main character, Lexi Templeton, is insufferable. Bagshaw tried to paint her as the modern incarnation of Kate Blackwell, who was ruthlessly obsessed with Kruger Brent Limited, and has made many a terrible decision, with a side of Eve. But Kate is an amateur in comparison to Lexi, yet Lexi is coddled by her father, bother, friends, colleagues and even Gabe, who was the “good guy who turned his life around and escaped the McGregor/Blackwell curse” fell for her. And the way Bagshaw discarded his wife and kids to make room for his weird and poorly constructed relationship with Lexi was a masterclass in pointless violence and racist rhetoric. It was aggravating from start to finish. 

There were so many loose threads, like Lexi’s kidnapping, why did it happen? Robbie’s arc, what was the point? Max’s arc; what an anticlimactic disappointment. So many chapters were “filler content”. And the book ends on a cliff hanger but we, 13 years later, have no sequel. 

I only recommend this book if you heed the trigger warnings.

Sidney Sheldon's Mistress of the game

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