Skeptic scale: ♥♥♥
Very hot book. Like, super hot. I don't like to do spoilers, and I'm hardly a prude, but I have to say that there is one particular sex scene that is even more raunchy than normal in contemporary romance. It's the thing that nice girls never do ;) It was so interesting that I read my first such scene here in 2013 when its probably been going on since the time of the Greeks and the Kama Sutra. I wonder if this is the beginning of some new trend...Well kudos to Ms. Dahl for pushing the envelope in such a matter of fact way.
I thought this was generally a good read. I didn't love it as much as the others of Ms. Dahl's contemporaries (but to be fair, those were phenomenal) because I thought there wasn't enough real mental connection between the H and h. I mean, yes they had known each other since childhood, and yes they are attracted to one another, and yes they are both nice, kind people, but I didn't feel the reason they were the One for one another.
Here's the 2-minute summary -
He: A nice and easygoing cowboy who likes his simple life with horses and people and doesn't really need the complication of a life with too much ambition.
She: A woman who has come home to rebuild her life after a terrible scandal that ruined her professional and personal reputation. She was a security specialist in Las Vegas who got tied up in some bad business (not of her own doing) and spent all her savings trying to defend herself against the accusations. She was acquitted of professional wrongdoing but people keep bringing it back up and she knows she can't afford anything going wrong.
Conflict: They had been friends as kids. In fact, she had tutored him when they had been younger, and knows that he has a learning disability that slowed him down in school work - but not with the girls in high school. She rolls back into town and sees at once that his flirting days are far from behind him and decides, what the heck, she never had a chance with him when they were kids, but she certainly has one with him now. She's more confident and worldly and just goes for it. He's into it, but also harbors the life long insecurity of feeling dumb and inferior. Especially when it comes to her - she of all people, knows exactly how "dumb" he is. The conflict is mainly him working through his inferiority issues so he feels like he is "worthy" of someone like her.
Skeptic scale: ♥♥♥♥
He: One of two brothers who grew up in an abusive home, and had a truly terrifying father. Now all grown up and far away from his unhappy home, Tyler, the younger of the two siblings, gets a call that his father is dying. He goes home to sort things out and to finally confront his awful father but finds that that things between them are still unsettling and painful.
She: Ally is an advice columnist who has lived her life like a gypsy. Her mother was never able to stick to one place, and she also feels like she's inherited the "nomad" gene. For a few weeks at least, she's been living next door to Tyler's father and so she meets Tyler right in the middle of what is a really crappy time for the guy.
Conflict: Tyler is traumatized by his horrendous father and painful childhood and isn't really the type of guy who feels like he can be casual about his relationships. Ally, on the other hand has only ever had casual relationships. She moves around a lot and can't seem to stay in one place for too long. They're super attracted to one another but it just seems like they both have a lot of healing to do before really getting into anything serious with anyone else.
Loved:
1) Man, oh man. I am stupefied that in the space of 85,000 words, Ms. Mayberry managed to make be feel so twisted up inside by this horrible ogre of a father, AND feel like there was hope after all for Tyler AND feel like he and Ally should leap headfirst into a relationship with one another.
I mean, if a friend of mine came to me and said, hey, this guy I'm dating has this sick, twisted family who's left him traumatized and having nightmares, should I keep seeing him? I would be like, heeeelllllls no, sister! Get out of there NOW.
But THIS book happened. And I felt SO much sympathy for this poor man, and SO happy that they did find each other! How did that even happen...
2) There was no nicely tied up conclusion to the abusive family bit of the story. Sometimes sh!t happens and it just sucks and that's all there is to it. Nothing can really make it go away, but there is still hope for that cycle of violence to be broken and set right for the future. Sigh.
3) I believe I have mentioned this, but I'll do it again. I. Love. Ms. Mayberry's. Epilogues. This lady knows what to do with an Epilogue. She gives us a little MORE story. Just a sweet treat at the end that makes me gush and feel all mopey and hopeful. She never does the same old, same old dribble about couples staring moonily at each other and rocking a fat little giggling baby in their arms. I mean puhleese. I LOVE SARAH MAYBERRY'S EPILOGUES.
Things that made me go huh?:
1) Why did this dude never seek counselling? Surely professional help (beyond the admirable, and heartfelt efforts of the agony aunt heroine) was called for for such a situation as this? I'm not saying that therapy would have solved all his problems, but honestly, the thought never crossed his mind the 100th time he wakes up from night sweats from having bad dreams of his childhood? Seemed odd to me.
Skeptic's last word: Wonderful. Amazing. I was so blown away by the way this lady manages to tell a hundred stories in the space of a HQN super romance. I mean... yeah. That's it.
Skeptic scale: ♥♥
He: An ex-cop, now a repo man. Loner. Tough guy.
She: Blonde. High maintenance. Ex-trophy wife to an embezzling jerk who has absconded and left her holding the bag.
Conflict: He's just doing his job when he comes to repossess her fancy car, but she's not taking it lying down. She's seen everything she owns be taken away from her in front of her eyes and she just wants to keep ONE thing - her beautiful car. And maybe also a bottle of outrageously expensive wine. They are at cross purposes but she needs a job and he needs a secretary and boom! It's on.
Sooo... I liked the general premise of the book. It was pretty fun, fast paced and a little different from the usual stuff.
Specifically, I liked:
1) Blue-collar hero who's plenty alpha, but also a nice guy. I don't get to read a lot of blue collar hero stories - and the ones I do, I usually find a bit silly, because the hero can never just be a regular middle-class guy - he's always a contractor who owns his own business, or a chef who owns his own restaurant, or a hot shot detective who doesn't play by the rules. This guy is a repo man - NOT a typical career choice for your dream man (and come to think of it, yeah, he does own his own business), but he's not necessarily running this smooth, money-making enterprise. It's just a regular business, making a regular living. So that was definitely new.
2) I liked that the story focuses on older people falling in love. Again, not something I typically read, so it was something interesting and different for me.
What I thought was dumb:
1) There was a real lost opportunity here with the poor little rich girl + blue collar working dude interaction. I feel like because the characters were a bit older (in their 40s), we could have maybe seen something a little more nuanced about how the differences in their relative wealth had guided their life-choices. Like, maybe she could have done something useful while being a trophy wife of some rich finance type? Instead, she is just the same old spoiled, vapid creature we hear about on the Real Housewives of Everywhere Hot and Sultry. Meh.
And maybe the story could have shown how, even though he wasn't necessarily rich, he is still doing something valuable with his life. He also seems sort of defensive about how he isn't filthy rich like her ex-husband. Defensiveness is not hot, my man.
2) I thought the writing, while snappy, was a little on the sit-commy side. Lots of situational stuff that was supposed to be funny, but I think I prefer humor that comes from language rather than a "comedic" situation. Personal preference.
Skeptic's last word: So I liked the writing, liked the plot and kinda liked the characters, but I just thought it was all too silly. The tone was a little too hammy for me to really engage with the characters and I spent most of the time rolling my eyes and how dumb the female lead was. But I have another one of Jane Graves' that will give a read and see whether I still feel that was about the style.
Skeptic scale: ♥♥♥
