Since I have nothing to say about my life, I'll write up another review :D I think this book just came out last week and so, my review might help out a couple of you :D
Tangled Up With You by Rachel Gibson
published by Avon in July 2007
Madeline Dupree is a true crime author who lost her mother at the age of 5 and went to live with a great-aunt in Boise. Actually, her mother along with her lover was murdered by the lover's wife who committed suicide afterwards. Maddie has very little memories of her mother, but after finding her mother's diaries, she needs answers and decides to write a book about the murder that has impacted her life. Thus she goes back to Truly and to Hennessy's, the bar where the murder occurred.Genre: contemporary romance
Hennessy's has been run by Hennessy men for generation. In Truly, everyone knows that the Hennessy men are irresistable and that includes the current owner, Mick. Growing up in Truly, where everyone knew about their mother's crime, Mick and his older sister Meg's lives have not been easy. Mick's way to deal with it is to shrug it off... At 35 y.o., his only aspirations are to run the bar, take care of his sister and nephew and find a willing sex partner with no strings attached... and it seems that Maddie Dupree fits the bill.
Series: Writer Friends series, book #3
Why did I get this book? Hmm, cos I read the first two and they were all right. I know that many readers really like Rachel Gibson, but for me, most of her books have been so-so. I still got this book though because the back blurb sounded interesting. By the way, that's my summary up there, not the back blurb :P
My impressions: In my opinion, this book was better than her latest book, I'm In No Mood For Love and it started out really promising... and then, mid-way, it slipped away and became a so-so book. I don't know if it's the Avonization effect or what, but I thought that this book lacked a bit of substance.
The Heroine, Hero and Romance: Maddie is strong and doesn't let anyone run over her and I liked that. I think that Ms Gibson did a good job shaping her personality to suit the character and her job. I mean, I really thought that Maddie had what it took to be a true crime author. However, there was something missing for me to like the heroine. I didn't feel the connection with her. As for Mick, handsome guy who went in the army and then, came back in town to take care of the bar and his sister... Not interested in marrying and so far, that's why he's been staying away from the women in town... that and the fact that he's known them all his life... Again, I didn't feel the connection with Mick... perhaps it's because he guards his emotions very close to him and shrug off everything else. I didn't feel anything from him, except perhaps, lust ^^; The romance was okay, it's the lusting after each other at first glance with Maddie who knows that she shouldn't get involved with him. See, Maddie didn't tell anyone that she was actually Maddie Jones, daughter of the waitress who had an affair with his father... and so, of course, you can guess that when Mick learns about it, he is not happy-dopey and actually breaks thing off with her. Ms Gibson does save the romance at the end of the book when Mick came to woo Maddie back with his reasoning.
Secondary characters: There weren't many secondary characters and no or almost no secondary love subplot. We did see the other authors friends, but very briefly... Otherwise, you get the small-town, noisy ppl from most book. I thought that Meg, Mick's sister, was pretty annoying... especially the way she tried to make her parents appear happy and perfect. The nephew was a bit unnecessary... and Snowball, the cat that Maddie adopted despite hating cat, that was lacking too...
The Story: The plot started out really good, I was really interested in learning what actually happened at the bar that night and how Maddie asked questions to ppl and so on. That was the interesting part... then, the plot took a backseat to the romance which was only so-so... and everything was resolved was a bit anti-climatic :(
What I liked: Hmmm, the beginning. The parts and bits about Maddie investigating, trying to find the truth. The four authors getting together.
What I didn't like: Hmm, Meg and her weakness... and the fact that Maddie didn't tell Mick who she was. I mean, from that point, it was pretty obvious what the conflict in their relationship was going to be... I wouldn't have minded that if it would have been pulled off better, but it wasn't.
Grade: C
Yeah, basically, this book was pretty so-so for me. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. It was a fast read, because I skimmed through some parts, mostly the sex scenes. However, it's nice to pass time. If you loved Ms Gibson previous books, chances are, you are going to love this one too. If like me, you found Ms Gibson previous books so-so... this is not going to change your opinion of her.
