Spending Spree by Ryan Wiley

Spending Spree Reviews

• 
  Bandit

  This was pretty much exactly as expected. Light fun quick read about a classic underachiever type of guy who stumbles into a fairy tale scenario of a near unlimited spending cash. Very entertaining in a mindless kind of way.
• 
  A Book Lovers Diary

  This was a good easy read. I didn’t have any expectations when I picked it up, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
  
  The storyline had me gripped , but not until I was almost halfway through. There were bits that completely shocked me and I had no idea they were coming! Which made me want to keep reading!
  
  The only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars was the ending. I just felt that it was lacking something.
  
  Overall it was a good book.
• 
  Kate

  This book is a good read solely for the entertainment, what-if, and when's the other shoe gonna drop value. In the beginning we meet twenty-five-year-old Johnny, a dullard who's rather unlikeable at first. He put the D in DERP. When his mommy takes him by the hand and helps him set up his first checking account, he ends up with more than he bargained for as any amount he spends with his new black debit card is automatically and mysteriously replaced the next day. While half of society would run screaming down to the bank with terrified visions of IRS auditors in their heads, Johnny instead follows the other half that reasons "Eh, it's their mistake, my money now, time to go shopping!"
  
  Despite Johnny being dumb as dirt throughout (except for a miraculous brain transplant at the end, evidently), manipulated/guided by his genius friend Dave (who still can only find employment as a pizza delivery guy), I found myself rooting for him throughout, simply because I set aside my "being ignorant isn't an excuse" and hoped he'd end up with the magically-refilling bank account scot-free.
  
  My two main quibbles...Johnny's sudden ability to be a bad-ass when he starts tossing around guns and rocket launchers with no hesitation near the end...the Johnny we'd come to know would have probably wet his pants instead. Second, the incredible COINCIDENCE that leads us to the end of the story...it's amazing who you end up delivering pizza to.
  
  In addition to this, the book is written from Johnny's POV, so we're in his DERP-filled brain for the entirety. If you're hoping for a clever and wickedly-sharp twist to show that the author is actually the greater genius here, lulling us with the DERP while setting us up for an OH THAT WAS AWESOME ending, you'll be disappointed. Instead we get an exposition write-up, practically a "That's All Folks!"
  
  Despite this, the book made me laugh more than once as Johnny DERPs his way through the twisted path his magic money maker leads him on, and for that, I give it three stars. Had the ending been more clever and satisfying, it would have been an easy four.
• 
  Patricia Mansker

  The idea behind this book is classic. Take a 25 year old who lives at home and is down on his luck, give him a large amount of money that refills every night, and let him go.
  
  I could not put this book down..I love the premise, and I enjoyed the story very much. It was well put together with a great plot and a couple of swings I didn't see coming (and one I did). Ryan did a great job in writing this book, and I look forward to reading the next one.
• 
  Dawn

  I was looking for some writing classes which is how I found Ryan Wiley. I thought that I'd like to see a sample of his writing before I committed to anything, and so I chose this from Kindle Unlimited.
  
  So, the protagonist is 25, has dated Ashley since Junior year of high school, and they've been together for four years. Well, that math doesn't work. It's written in the first-person perspective for no real reason (it's not hard-boiled detective, for example), and the writing is pretty sophomoric.
  
  The story puts a lot of focus on mundane details:
  
  "The Medina Bank and Trust has an old-fashioned feel to it, with a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It makes you feel important just being in here.
  
  "We wait in line, and as we do I look for the candy suckers at the front desk. The last time I was here the bank lady gave me a huge handful of candy.
  
  "Next, please," one of the attendants says.
  
  We step up and my mom says "Hi. We'd like to open . . ."
  
  These details go on in minute detail forever; it's just like watching grass grow.
  
  The plot is weak and there's no real character development. I had no sympathy for the characters and didn't get to know them or really even care about them one way or another.
  
  On the positive side, the dialogue is actually pretty decent and natural.
• 
  Heather

  That was a fun read. I could feel his anxiety as I tried to put myself in the situation. At first, Johnny is a lazy looser I had no sympathy for the life he led as a mooch at a dead end job. By the end I gained respect for him. Nice surprise ending.
• 
  Penny

  Ridiculous. I don’t think I have ever disliked a character more than “Johnny” and/or “Dave”. This story is one of the lamest I have ever read. From the objectification of women to blaze reactions to murder, this was bad from start to finish.
• 
  Cynthia Rodrigues

  For Full and detailed review, go to
  http://cynthology.blogspot.com/2014/0...
  
  It’s everyone’s fantasy come true. What if your bank account magically replenished itself no matter how much you spent? Would you go on a spending spree? Or would you restrain yourself?
  
  That is the dilemma faced by Johnny Davis, who, on opening his bank account online, learns that he has $100,000 in his account, with “Today’s Beginning Balance” at $150 and the remainder listed as pending transactions. When he uses his card, he discovers that no matter how much he spends in a day, the money, all $100,000 of it, is magically replenished in his account the next morning.
  
  Delighted with the good luck, Johnny and Dave take time off from work and head to Las Vegas. But the good fortune doesn't last forever. The bad guys catch up with them, and they discover just what kind of mess they have allowed themselves to get into.
  
  Initially you wonder why Wiley made this a first person account. Johnny comes across as a loser, and not just because he lives with his parents. His whole attitude reeks of laziness, of being happy with the status quo, spending time doing nothing but gaming and having a best friend, Dave, who is equally aimless in life.
  
  Even so, you find yourself becoming involved with his story. There is something about the guy. His willingness to not take himself too seriously, perhaps. You find your attitude begin to thaw just a little bit. His self-deprecatory brand of humour also helps.
  
  The language isn’t the best, and the dialoguess tend to get strained and monotonous at times. The conversation between Ashley and Johnny at the time of the breakup is an example.
  
  There are some bits of sexual content which are in bad taste, and should have been edited out. In fact, tighter editing would have helped weed out grammatical and spelling errors too.
  
  Strains of the book remind you of the film, The Hangover, mostly because of the Vegas setting.
  
  While the book is good enough to read if you want something that doesn’t tax your mind, I think that Wiley should have put in a little more effort into building up the moral element of the story. I was disappointed with the way the story ended. I found it too pat and dry. A little more philosophical thinking about how the dream ended for Johnny would have been better, instead of what Wiley actually put down in the Epilogue.
• 
  Scot

  Even though the main character is a stereotypical loser--25, overweight, living at home with his parents, incredibly unmotivated and lazy, with only one friend whom he spends all day playing video games with every Sunday--he is so helpless and naïve that you sort of root for him, which makes the novel sustainable. It's a well chosen fantasy concept for a generation some suggest might have a cultivated sense of entitlement: imagine having a bank account that always mysteriously replenished itself no matter what you put on your debit card. How would you test it? How far would you push it? Would you start to feel guilty at all or ever worry that some day you might be called to account?
  
  It's a coming of age story for a perennial "loser" who starts to live the Kardashian dream. We can pretty much guess how it will end but it is entertaining to see him deal with ethics, try new things, and demonstrate what he perceives to be his superior skills at prevarication along the festive and sometimes frenzied way.
  
  More attention needs to be paid to grammar and proofreading. At times the dialogue was needlessly repetitive--tighter editing would help with that. Some of the basic knowledge and experience the sheltered hero lacked was just too unbelievable for a character aged 25 and he sounded like a very stupid 15 year old, while conversely the buddy character had such charisma and diverse skills one logically wondered why he hadn't improved his own social and economic lot in life years ago. Much of the tale is set in Vegas, and it is, all in all, a fun little adventure. Most of the place descriptions ring true, whether in small town Ohio, Vegas, or Mexico, but repeatedly misspelling the name of Caesars Palace was annoying.
• 
  Mtbike40

  This was a fun easy read with a good story. What would you do if you mysteriously found out that you had a $100,000 dollars in your bank account and that everyday the money that you spent would be replenished. While my choices might be totally different, the back drop of Vegas might be the spot of choice for many. The truth is that if it seems to good to be true it probably is, and that money does not solve everything as the main characters find out. In the end life is about the people, not them money. A strong solid message.
  
  I enjoyed the twists in the book at about the half way mark, just as I was beginning to wonder how Ryan Wiley was going to keep spending money in Vegas, the story line became more complex and added additional intrigue to keep me reading.
  
  I am glad that I have learned about this author.
• 
  C-shaw

  Stupid freebie Kindle book about an idgit slacker who, at the age of 25, still lives at home and has never had a bank account. His mommy takes him to open one, and he suddenly finds that an unknown person has deposited $100,000 in it and keeps depositing enough so that the balance stays at $100,000.
  WHY IS IT ALL THESE FREEBIE DOWNLOADS ARE ALWAYS RATED 4-1/2 STARS???
  * * * * *
  Well, despite my earlier comments, I ending up interested in the story and read it through to the end. It was rather enjoyable trash after all, as long as I overlooked the author's grammatical errors and the absolute cluelessness and stupidity of the characters!
• 
  Matthew Andrus

  We've all dreamed of winning the lottery and what we'd do with the money!
  
  Imagine every day you had $100,000 what would you do with the money? Johnny is a 25 loser who lives at home with his parents, his girlfriends just cheated on him and he's still paying back his parents for his school tuition from his job at a plastics factory. One day his mother takes him to open his first bank account she deposits $150 much to his annoyance, a few days later his balance is a staggering $100,000 Johnny decides ho have some fun along with his mate Dave but things soon take a dramatic turn for the worse.
• 
  Patricia Ibarra

  Johnny Davis is 25 years old but has done nothing with his life. He lives with his parents, has no money and has a lousy job. One day his mother took him to the bank to open his bank account with $150 to encourage him to start managing his own affairs. His life would change forever when he found out that he had $100,000 in the account, but whatever amount he spent, it would be replenished immediately. He invited his friend Dave on s spending spree. Too good to be true.... he would soon find out. A light, funny, amusing book.
• 
  Barb Midcap

  Fun read
  
  Was a fun book to read. Kind of a fantasy thing about having money in your account of 100000 and what you would do with it. The plot thickens regarding how this happened, who was involved, and the men behind it.
• 
  Rob Warner

  Entertaining read with implausible adventures in line with the genre. At first, I wasn't sure if the narrator was "special needs," as he's so terribly pathetic as an adult, but he gets a little better as the book goes on. I thought his friend Dave was indefensibly adept in the situations they found themselves in, given his background as a pizza delivery guy, and the denouement was handled far better than either Johnny's or Dave's demonstrated capabilities, but all in all it was fun to read.
• 
  Steph L (Read-Write Gold Coast)

  This ebook started out well, with plenty to smile about (well it is about a 25yo losr who still lives at home). Unfortunately it rapidly descended into a story filled with plot holes, references to women as whores and sluts and a lame ending which made no sense/did not tidy up any loose ends from the rest of the story. Without the good beginning it would have beem a 1-star review.
  
  Go read the author's 'Number One Fan' instead (5-star)/
• 
  Diana

  2.5/5, really. I truly loved the premise of this book--what a great story with regard to something spectacular that could happen to the average Joe. But...the writing needs work. I believe many of my high school students could write better dialogue than this. I felt myself stumbling through it quite regularly, but I kept going because I was dying to know how this all wrapped up and what happens to poor, hapless Johnny.
• 
  Stella

  Another one by an indie author I thoroughly enjoyed. I really loved the main character's voice throughout the novel. I am also usually very suspicious of novels written in present tense, but the pace suited it. This was yet another book i read during wee hours of the night with my newborn baby. I kept saving it because i wanted to have something to look forward when woken up in the middle of the night.
• 
  Rashmi Pant

  Johnny Davis a 25 year old guy with barely any exposure/ambition in life get credited $100,000 dollars in his account. No matter how much he spends, the account maintains the balance. What would you do? if it were you?! The story that follows is as fictional as it gets, but entertaining nonetheless.
• 
  Judy Bell

  Fantastic story line! Couldn't put this book down! A definite winner! Would highly recommend this. Hope to read more by this author. Two thumbs up all the way.
  
  I really enjoyed this book. Thought about how lovely it would be to have a never ending bank balance.
  Thanks for a great ride!