Solid ... 2.5*! Yah, I'm afraid this one was no "keeper"; straight to the PBS shelf where I got it from! This was my first Susan Andersen, and although I did finish it ... it was a chore, not the goal for my romance reading choices (nor the type of book I like to spend a bunch of my time reviewing/berating even). WHAT WAS WRONG: The hero jumped right out of the box as soon as he was on the scene making ridiculously unfounded accusations to the heroine, whom he'd never laid eyes on before, his sister (whom he hadn't seen in ages), and his sister's new "intended" (whom he'd never even met). He was just plain rude and insulting to everyone around him, with nary a hint of "bad boy charm" to be felt/seen. If he was a boyfriend/friend/acquaintnce in real life ... well, he'd just be a complete embarrassment to anyone he was with! An extremely poor character representation by the author. I found absolutely no reson why the heroine would want to spend 5 minutes in his company, and to her credit in the beginning she didn't. The heroine was "okay" for the most part, but she made some pretty TSTL choices along the way, and one "stowaway" routine that was just completely assinine! There's more "wrong" with this book, but again, I don't even have the emotional energy about this book to want to bother addressing it. WHAT WAS RIGHT: Not too much! However, I got the "feeling" that Susan Andersen could write a decent romance based on some character and chemistry details that I saw "sparks" of in this (even though they didn't really come together here), and she also wrote some love scenes that "worked" despite the lack of tension/chemistry building up to them. That shows some promise. Since this is the first book I've read by her, I'm going to assume she has a few "great" ones amongst her backlist. I'll give her another try and chalk this one up to ... I didn't get the good one!FINAL WORD: I think this book is about as lackluster as ... well ... this review! LOL! :DK.
This starts out with such potential. I loved Lily…in the beginning. Lily’s a short, curvy blonde that dolls up in heels, cute clothes, and makeup. But, underneath all of that, she is a smart, successful, focused, chef with some big goals. Used to people incorrectly labeling her as a blonde bimbo, Lily exploits this to her advantage at every turn. In comes the big bad marine, Zach, who is the brother of Lily’s flatmate. Zach is tired of seeing his rich little sister being taken advantage of and immediately assumes that Lily is another user. They have an instant hatred for each other that feels extremely forced, but not as forced as their attraction. Zach does this pull/push routine that grows old quickly. My biggest problem with the book is Lily’s complete 180. She goes from independent, smart, and fiery to TSTL the second the romance begins. Her personality completely changes from someone I would want to be friends with to someone I want to kick in the head.
Do You like book Getting Lucky (2012)?
Zach Taylor is convienced that his sisters roommate Lily Morrisette, trying to bilk as much money from his trusting sister Glynnis out of her money. When Lily tells him that Glynnis is on her way to meet her fiance's family, he hits the roof. And follows after Glynnis.Why I picked this up: Road trip romances are almost as fun as arrianged marriages... and a little more likely.Why I finished it: Sometimes the story is entertaining enough that you can stop worrying about believablity. This was close to that.
—Maria
This book was a cute read for one thing majorily. Lily. she is built like a a brickhouse and she knows what to do with her hands... Meaning that even though she is very voluptuous and mistaken as a dim bulb she has talented hands... of a chef. Zach I did not like as much. He was sort of like an overbearing older brother and a bit too snarky for my taste but Ms. Andersen does what she does so well and this is parlay the female central character into a very likeable, funny and quite sharp witted person who a reader can root for. The little flare of danger at the end was ok I guess but I would have liked to have seen Zach come to heel a bit quicker and his sister stop being so reckless
—Christine
What can one say about a creative settlement of gender war,where the GI Joe hero and the Meals-on-Heels heroine *she's a chef who likes to be taken seriously as a _Bimbo* are forced together (happens! when you climb into a car with someone whom you profess to hate) in an artificially dangerous situation (that involves a mailbox and a house full of characters nuttier than fruitcakes...Getting Lucky is when you get to read an unwanted secondary romance between two of those said f...cakes)..well, if you are the beat-my-chest alpha hero, you say, "Sh!t", as he so often does! ..if you are the refined, sophisticated, modern, independent heroine, you for some strange reason say "Oh poop!"..if like me, you are the unfortunate reader, you say, "Crap!" and close the book.Found this gem as a suggested read on the "Best Enemies" list..it is also how I feel about the author for I keep reading her books just so I can give glowing 2 star reviews.. I do like her endings, and the Best-something relationship between the Marilyn Monroeish heroines and the Diamond stud heros fraught with sexual tension..as long as you can think of all the writing inbetween as the storyboard for one long commercial break which you can afford to miss and catch up with the main parts when you feel like it:)
—kilty
