Coming Undone by Susan Andersen
published by Mira in September 2007
A man in command.Genre: contemporary romance
A woman unwilling to be in love all alone.
A fan determined to teach his once-favorite star a lesson she won’t soon forget...
P.J. Morgan is an up-and-coming Country singer whose life is just about perfect-- until her manager-mom embezzles from her, her biggest fan becomes her worst nightmare, and the watchdog her record label hires to keep her in line turns out to be Jared Hamilton, the man she idolized once upon a time.
Series: Ms Andersen considers this book as Book 4 in the Marine series. You don't need to read the whole series though, just Book 3 - Hot and Bothered in which both P.J. and Jared appear.
Why did I get this book? Because I liked Susan Andersen's latest book, Just for Kicks. I also enjoyed P.J. and Jared in Hot and Bothered.
My impressions? Hmmm, this book was quite enjoyable, but it didn't come close to Just for Kicks. There was something missing between P.J. and Jared... I think that both were trying to hard to "forget" their past because they were scared of getting hurt. Also, Ms Andersen should try to think of an alternative to the stalker plot...
The Heroine, The Hero and the Romance: A little background on both of them... P.J. comes from the poor side while Jared, the rich side. Both of them met 15 years ago, living on the streets of Denver: P.J. was kicked out by her mom at the age of 13 while Jared was suspected of having killed his father, so he was on the run. After everything was resolved, P.J. and Jared both went back home and P.J. stopped contacting Jared because of the whole "he's rich and what would he want from me." Personally, I think it's understandable for P.J. to have felt that way.
Anyhow, I really enjoyed P.J... she has a little something that makes her fun to read. I liked how she lost Jared a couple of times and how she's not afraid to express herself... even if it's to say: I need a break :D Very enjoyable heroine and she sounds real too. As for Jared, I don't know, I think we didn't get to read know him. It isn't shown how yummy he is. In addition, Jared has this whole control thing... you know, the one where he thinks, if he stays in control, he won't get hurt... which stems from P.J. loosing contact with him 15 years ago. Also, I don't think we got to know Jared very much... how has he been living the past 15 years?
As for the romance, it was okay, but quite predictable. I think what I miss the most in this book is some fun banter.
Secondary characters: The other couple were Nell and Hank. Nell is a song-writer and the tour manager while Hank is P.J. fiddle player. Nell has had a crush on Eddie, the guitarist, who's never noticed her... Then, she has a make-over and realizes that Eddie is just, hmmm, a man with no substance. This secondary love story was so-so too and didn't get much development. I don't think I'd have been too interested in it anyway. We also get to see some characters from previous books, but in this case, it makes sense for them to appear and they definitively don't steal the show.
The Story: This book was mostly focused on P.J. and Jared's relationship with the stalker side-plot. Like I said, I think that Ms Andersen could find something else than the stalker plot... it seems almost like an easy way out :( Aside from the romance, there was also the whole, "I want to be loved my mother, but that's never going to happen..." I think that Ms Andersen carried that part out very well... It's understandable for P.J. not to want the whole world to know how little her mother cares for her... so that was well-done.
What I liked: P.J., definitively, and Jared.
What I didn't like: the stalker plot.
Grade: B. An enjoyable read, but unfortunately, not a wowzer.
