Review: Cutting Loose by Susan Andersen

Posted August 25, 2008 by Holly in Reviews | 5 Comments

Review: Cutting Loose by Susan AndersenReviewer: Holly
Cutting Loose by Susan Andersen
Series: Sisterhood Diaries #1
Also in this series: Bending the Rules, Playing Dirty

Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen, a classic tale of a good girl, a bad boy and the chemistry they can't resist…
Jane thinks nothing can make her lose her cool. But the princess of propriety blows a gasket the night she meets the contractor restoring the Wolcott mansion. Devlin Kavanagh's rugged sex appeal may buckle her knees, but the man is out of control! Jane had to deal with theatrics growing up—she won't tolerate them in someone hired to work on the house she and her two best friends have inherited.
Dev could renovate the mansion in his sleep. But ever since the prissy owner spotted him jet-lagged and hit hard by a couple of welcome-home drinks, she's been on his case. Yet there's something about her. Jane hides behind conservative clothes and a frosty manner, but her seductive blue eyes and leopard-print heels hint at a woman just dying to cut loose!

I’ve been a Susan Andersen fan for a long time, but I was disappointed that her last couple (ok, more than just the last couple) featured stalkers. Trust me, it was starting to get old. I’m happy to report there was no stalker to be found in this one. Though there’s a slight suspense plot involved, Cutting Loose is basically a simple contemporary romance and just what I’d been craving.

I really enjoyed the relationships in this novel. The way Jane was with her two best friends is totally real and just like I am with my friends in real life. Open, honest, straight forward and loving. They knew each other better than anyone else and it totally showed. Jane herself was a good character, though I did wonder at her hangups about passion. Because her parents are crazy, over the top second (or maybe third) rate actors who’re overly dramatic and didn’t provide a very stable environment to for Jane growing up. The thing is, while I appreciate children are a product of their environment and Jane was bound to have some issues, it got to the point where I just wanted to say, “GET OVER IT ALREADY!”. Even so, I enjoyed her sense of humor and watching her come unraveled around Dev.

Dev’s relationship with his brothers – and the rest of his family – was wonderful. They joked and got on each other, but you could feel the love. Like Jane, Dev had his share of ridiculous hangups. He hated being part of a large family growing up because he felt he had no privacy, so he took off to tour the world as a yacht captain. Which is all great and well, but that was what, 15 years ago?

Still, I do think they were great together. I love that Dev stuck up for Jane when her parents tried to put her down. I also love that he helped her break out of of her shell and embrace her emotions more. She was a great for him, too, helping him realize how wonderful his family truly was. I think they really complimented each other. Their dialogue was fabulous and the sexual chemistry between them was excellent.

The suspense plot pretty much stayed in the background, which worked. Had it been at the forefront I don’t think it would have held up. I honestly can’t say much about because it didn’t really work for me. I understand it was necessary in order for some of the conflicts to work, but it was a little over the top.

I really enjoyed it as a whole, though parts of it didn’t work. In the end both main protagonists grew and learned together. The relationships between all the secondary characters were well done and saved this from being an average read.

4.25 out of 5

The Series:

Cutting Loose
Bending the Rules
Playing Dirty

This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here e-format.

four-stars


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5 responses to “Review: Cutting Loose by Susan Andersen

  1. what’s interesting with this new trilogy is that the topic and storyline is quite different and refreshing for Susan Andersen. I also liked that she didn’t introduce Jane’s to BFF too much 🙂 She focused on Jane and Dev and that was nice 😀

  2. Lori

    Yup – I agree. Just finished it a few nights ago. The last few SAs haven’t wowed me… not like she did several years back. But I really liked this one. And where the book shined was when Jane and Dev were together and when Dev was with his family and Jane was with her friends. Totally agree. I was gonna write this book up, but since I agree with yours, I think I’ll be lazy and say… Yeah, what Holly said.

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