At her late husband's funeral, Meg is shocked to see Jack Tarkenton suddenly appear in the Harlequin manga The Billionaire's Secret Baby. She hasn't seen him in five years - not since that romantic night of passion that resulted in the daughter she never told him about. But now the intimidating billionaire is forcing his way back into Meg's - and their daughter Katie's - life, and Meg may find she has no choice to but to let her former lover back in.
The Billionaire's Secret Baby was drawn by Masako Ogimaru with the original concept by Carol Devine. Digital Manga Publishing is releasing the manga along with Harlequin K.K./SOFTBANK Creative Corp., which includes many other adaptations of Harlequin novels.
The Harlequin manga is currently available for rent from Digital Manga's eManga website.
Harlequin eManga by Masako Ogimaru and Carol Devine
The Billionaire's Secret Baby moves along so quickly that it's a little overwhelming. Meg goes from widowed to married so fast, the length of time passed is unclear. This leads to a quick read for the Harlequin (which can be perfect for a summer throw-away read), though it does nothing to hide the annoying flaws in the manga's characters and story.
It doesn't matter that Jack loves Meg or that he is Katie's father. That he would approach Meg with a marriage proposal on the day of her late husband's funeral is heinous - especially after he ignored her and his child for five years. The manga later stacks up reasons to like Jack - his father was killed, he likes kids, he runs an orphanage. It is a Harlequin, so readers are meant to feel sympathetic to the heroine's pursuer, but each new revelation feels contrived, and sometimes unnatural to the manga's story.
Meg is set up as a strong woman, but she's the weakest character of all. She's the one that chose not to tell Jack, and she's the one that married a man she didn't love. She puts up a fight against Jack's demands, but it's just a show. Meg has no power to change events in this manga's world, and an ineffective lead character is boring and frustrating to watch.
Meg's first husband is entirely faceless - literally, readers don't see his face. Not much is learned about him other than he was an "old friend" of Meg's. Obviously knowing too much about him would interrupt the romantic Harlequin fantasy, but both writer and artist make it much to obvious that he's a plot device rather than a full character.
Dialogue in the manga is stilted - lines like "fever in my heart" and "smile that attracts men and women alike are so stiff that they instantly break the flow of the story with their unnatural tone. Overwrought expressions may be commonplace in a Harlequin story, but these bits either insult the reader's ability to pick up on context clues, or display the writer's lack of confidence in her own words.
Art in Digital Manga's Harlequin eManga
Character designs in The Billionaire's Secret Baby are blocky and unattractive. Minimal extra detail on outfits and facial expressions makes them plain and uninteresting to look at.
Same goes for the manga's backgrounds. Even large rooms are populated by very few items - nothing in the space catches the eye or works to pull the reader into the reality of this Harlequin's story.
The Billionaire's Secret Baby from Digital Manga Publishing and Harlequin K.K./SOFTBANK Creatie Corp.
The romanticism is ruined by abhorrent actions at the beginning of the manga, and meg is such an innocuous lead character it will make the reader cry out in frustration. Digital Manga has plenty of other Harelquin eManga available, and unless it's a fantasy to get knocked up and then blackmailed into marriage, it's suggested to go read one of those instead.
The Billionaire's Secret Baby gets 1/5.
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