Hellllllo readers, it’s time for another book from the depths of my kindle. I’ve been working super hard this month to make sure that allllll my reviews make it onto Amazon and Goodreads; it’s my blog resolution, but I seem to have made sure that it takes less than a month for them to go live there. I know that’s still quite a bit of time but it’s the best I can do right now, will continue to attempt weekly but, I’m human. Forgive my little bookish self. Today’s book was once I read on the train to somewhere in the UK and just needed something simple and easy for my tired mind – for that, this was pretty perfect.
A Free Spirit and a Reformed Bad Boy — a Perfect Match
Maddy was always the artistic one of the group, alive with color and mischief from her saucy red curls to her vintage hippie skirts. Her challenge, the friends decide, is to get her artwork accepted at a gallery. A job as arts director at a summer camp near Santa Fe—with its multitude of galleries—seems like a start in the right direction.
There’s just one catch: The camp is run by Maddy’s high school flame, Joe, whose heart she broke—okay, smashed—and his anger towards Maddy hasn’t cooled one bit. But neither has their attraction.
Old desires burn hotter than ever as Joe makes it clear there’s only one way back to his heart: She has to get serious about her art. But will falling in love help or hinder Maddy as she struggles to meet her challenge?
As the blurb suggest, the book (number one in the series) follows Maddy, Amy, Christine, and Jane who were roommates in college ten years ago. Jane has become a very successful TV anchor and has released a self-help book titled “How To Have The Perfect Life”. The girls are thrilled for her until they realise that they have been used as bad examples within the book. Although they are a little angry at their former friend they decide to listen to Jane and decide to face their biggest fear in an attempt to have their perfect life. This book follows Maddy who is challenged to have her work shown in a gallery in Santa Fe but to do so she signs up to be the Arts & Crafts Coordinator at Mama’s camp site, Camp Enchantment where former flame Joe is working after leaving the military. Can the two work through their differences, will Maddy have her art shown?
I’m going to throw in now that this isn’t a really new surprising idea for a book; it is predictable but I’m going to look over that for now. The characters are build well – Maddy is feisty and sure of herself but she lacks precision and the ability to choose. She has a way of not allowing herself to do what she really wants – Joe, finds this difficult to understand and is continuously pushing her and I found the sexual angry chemistry between them enjoyable to say the least. I thought Joe was particularly well written although he was a little madening; he does have that army, military vibe and I thought his dominance but his need to be with Maddy was sweet to read about. There’s quite a lot of intensity and I thought that hiding of their burgeoning relationship and the running of the camp created a mood.
In terms of negative, the book isn’t particularly deep as I mentioned and I think although the book wasn’t short that all three stories could have been woven in together because I’m not thinking of getting hold of the next two. I think books that manage a number of plotlines are a lot more sophisticated and resonate more with me because it allows for the interweaving of stories more than just the relationship we get between Maddy and Joe. I found the story between the two a little sickly; although Maddy breaks Joe’s heart (in the past) he is immediately right back to where they were when they first dated and although it’s passionate it’s just not real. I don’t think anyone would be so driven to be back in a relationship after what he goes through and although the author does discuss this, throughout it’s more him desperate to get her back.
Overall this was the perfect book for a tired train journey, it moved with pace, developed a number of characters and did interest me. Unfortunately all a little the same as to all the other romance books I’ve read recently and didn’t keep me on my toes but if you want a cute romance this may be perfect for you.
Linnnnnks
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