Series: Dealing With Love #3
Genre: Romantic Comedy
~Blurb~
I’VE OFFICIALLY SCREWED THE POOCH.
I mean, not literally, because that would be disgusting. But I did break one of the cardinal rules of Bro Code, which is equally appalling. You see, I fell in love with my best friend’s sister after he explicitly forbid me to go near her. As if that weren’t bad enough, I went ahead and married her while sh*tfaced in Vegas.
I know that I should get an annulment and forget the whole thing ever happened, despite the fact that our wedding night was the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced.
The last thing I should do is go back for seconds.
Or thirds.
Or...you get the point.
And what I definitely shouldn’t do, is say f*ck the consequences and give this marriage a real shot.
But here’s the problem with that: I’m pretty sure that Charlotte Harris is the one. And if that’s the case, nothing is going to keep me away from her. Not even her brother.
*Deal Makers is filled with lots of laughs, drunken shenanigans, and a sexy romance. It is the third installment in the Dealing With Love series but each one can be read as a standalone.
~Book Review~
2.5 Stars
Andrew Summer, 32, is fighting a strong attraction to his best friend’s sister. But Drew lives by the “Bro Code” so resisting Charlotte Harris, 31, is what he’s determined to do. Until alcohol and a night alone in Vegas takes away his inhibitions.
I give points to Charlee for not buying into this whole Bro Code that included her younger brother’s silly insistence that she’s off limits. I couldn’t agree more that he had no say in her love life so why she later let him manipulate things is part of the downfall of this romance. Initially, Charlee appeared forward and confident, and it was refreshing that she wasn’t buying into the sexist bs. But Charlee started to wear thin with me after a while. I found her bitching and bossiness during intimate or tender moments a turn-off, and I didn’t understand why she wanted to annul the union since she genuinely liked Drew and went after what she wanted.
The side characters (couples from previous books which I have not read and after this have no desire to) wore thin quickly too. But my patience with this story was lost with Charlee’s crude brother Brody, a grown man with the finesse of an unruly toddler. He was a hypocrite; he was a bully. He made everything about him and yet shifted responsibility for his behavior to the people he claimed were important to him. He got his way by being loud and obnoxious.
But what made me lose respect for Drew and Charlee and the rest of their friends was the way they all let him control things. No one needs a toxic and controlling misogynist like Brody in their life, whether he’s a best friend or a brother.
There was a serious lack of maturity with these people. (They were all in the 28-32 age range for the record.) From the group’s constant talk about T&A and dicks to Drew and Charlee’s inability to own their impromptu nuptials/relationship, this couple lacked back bones and good sense.
“‘If this thing between us has to end…then…I want to be with you without any barriers between us before I can’t be with you at all.’”
Nothing screams irresponsible adult like ditching the condoms before you plan to break up! But then Drew upped the ick scale by confiding that he went bare once before and got his college girlfriend pregnant! And that little backstory is apparently such a turn on to them that they follow through with going bareback themselves immediately after!
Only Mrs. Pistorio and Charlee’s mother had any sense or good advice. Well and their father had their number too.
“‘I could’ve sworn we’re all adults here, but you two are acting like bratty teenagers.’”
All in all, the story is built on immature characters who can’t communicate properly and a contrived conflict.
Lastly, and this seems like a minor issues now in comparison to all the issues I had with the characters, but this story incorporates the trope where said couple can’t initially remember the details of the events leading up to their drunk nuptials and yet despite being so black-out drunk, are able to play tourist up and down the Vegas strip for hours and have more orgasms than you can count on your fingers.
Told via Drew and Charlee’s alternating first person POV, bring your suspension of disbelief and an endless supply of patience if you’re going to tackle this read. The blurb sounded cute but it didn’t live up.
B&N / KOBO / APPLE BOOKS
~Playlist~
Laura Lee's passion has always been storytelling. She spent most of her life with her nose in a book thinking of alternate endings or continuations to the story. She won her first writing contest at the ripe old age of nine, earning a trip to the state capital to showcase her manuscript. Thankfully for her, those early works will never see the light of day again!
Laura lives in the Pacific Northwest with her wonderful husband, two beautiful children, and three of the most poorly behaved cats in existence. She likes her fruit smoothies filled with rum, her cupboards stocked with Cadbury's chocolate, and her music turned up loud. When she's not writing or watching HGTV, she's reading anything she can get her hands on. She's a sucker for spicy romances, especially those involving vampires, bad boys, or cowboys!
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