Series Review: Filthy Rich Americans by Nikki Sloane

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for The Initiation (from Goodreads):

No one knows how new members are selected to the board of Hale Banking and Holding. But there are rumors of a sordid rite of initiation.

Whispers how one woman and nine men disappear into a boardroom.

This time, that woman will be me.

The Hale family owns everything—the eighth largest bank in the world, everyone in our town, even the mortgage on my parents’ mansion. And now Royce Hale wants to own me.

He is charming. Seductive. Ruthless. But above all, he’s the prince of lies. My body may tighten with white-hot desire under his penetrating gaze, but I refuse to enjoy it.

I’ll make a deal with the devil to save my family and sell myself to the Hales. But Royce will never own my heart.

SERIESous’ Top Picks: Top Read 2024, New Must Read Author
Author: Nikki Sloane
Series: Filthy Rich Americans
# of Books: 5 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological (#1-3); Connected (#4, #5)
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Dark
Heat Rating: Smokin’ (Kink: Major)
Point of View: First Person, Single (#1-3); Alternating (#4-5)
Publication Dates: May 2019 – October 2021
Source & Format: Public Library–Audiobook (#1-5)

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I can’t remember how I found this series. Maybe the cover drew me in when I was looking at audiobooks I could get from my library? Anyways, I enjoy darker romances for their suspense and this sounded right up my alley.

The Concept:

I think it helps if you go into this series expecting to see allusions to Greek Mythology; particularly for Books #1-3 which focus on Marist’s story. Because there are some elements to the story that border on taboo and that will definitely not jive with some people. It didn’t really jive with me until I started to see the connections to the Greek Mythology stories Marist herself is a fan of (or maybe it’s just her coping mechanism for the crazy she finds herself in).

Books #4 and #5 don’t have that mythology but they are definitely filled with great romance tropes and I definitely felt like Book #5, The Temptation, had a few allusions to some classic literature pieces as well.

The Plot:

Books #1-3 follow a chronological story about Marist and her initiation into the Hale family. I enjoyed Marist navigating a world of games, twists and deception to get what she wants. The story kept me on my toes because I really had no idea what was going to happen as the plot didn’t seem to want to play by the rules. Some of the taboo elements did put me off from enjoying the later two books in this trilogy. But I can honestly say, I’ve never read another series like this before and this cemented Nikki Sloane as a new must read author in my eyes.

Books #4 and #5 are spin-off standalones but I think they help wrap up a few of the loose ends from the originally trilogy. I felt like the plot was a little lackluster in The Temptation (#5) because it lacks the game twist, though it has suspense in a more subdued way.

The Characters:

As for our heroine, Marist is also a fabulous character to follow. I like how her confidence in herself grows as the story progresses. She’s learning to play the game and I enjoyed that aspect a lot.

The Hales are an interesting group of men. McAllister Hale is perhaps the epitome of fatherly interference. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a romance villain quite like him before.

The Romance:

I loved the chemistry between Royce and Marist. Royce is an enigma but his infatuation for Marist bubbles up and my heart swoons. But I did feel like that great connection gets waylaid in the next two books of Marist’s story and that was a disappointment.

The chemistry in the two spin-off novels is also great and I enjoyed watching various romantic tropes at play.

My Audiobook Experience (#1-4):

Savannah Peachwood is the narrator for #1-3 and wow is she great! She did an amazing job and made listening to these books addicting.

One thing I really liked about books #4 was that we have 2 POVs and two different narrators. But instead of them doing the other’s voice during their POV, they inserted audio of the other narrator in the scene. It just gave it a more theatrical listen.

The version I listened to for Book #5 did have dual POV but not in the same way that book #4 did which was a bit of a disappointment but it was still really well done.

Series Rating: 4/5

The Initiation 5/5 | The Obsession 4/5 | The Deception 4/5 | The Redemption 5/5 | The Temptation 3/5

I think some people will struggle with the somewhat taboo elements of this series romance. However, I found a new must-read author! And you really have to read Books #1-3 to enjoy Book #4, though you could probably read #5 as its own standalone.

Read if You Like: dark romance, taboo romance
Avoid if You: dislike your romantic leads having relations with other characters