Reviewer: Holly Making the First Move by Reese Ryan
Series: Bad Boys Gone Good #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: July 22nd 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
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Series Rating:
Big promotion, complete with $300 pen? Check.A hot man who cuddles, spends the night and makes breakfast? Check.Waiting for the other shoe to fall? Check.
"If it feels too good to be true, it probably is."
Five years of obsessing over her career pays off when Melanie Gordon gets a promotion that could make or break her. But the new job takes her back to her hometown to face the family she's distanced herself from, and forces her to leave behind sexy, mysterious philanthropist Raine Mason, who just might be the man of her dreams.
By the time Raine makes his move with Melanie, her one-way ticket to Cleveland is booked. He convinces her to take a chance on him long-distance, but can't yet trust her with the whole truth about himself.
Raine and Melanie slowly peel back each other's layers (starting with his bicep-hugging sweater). She is finally ready to give her heart to him…until she learns the dark secret of his past. He'll have to prove to her that love is worth the risk.
94,000 words
Melanie has worked hard her whole career and it finally pays off when she’s offered her dream job. The’s thrilled to finally be recognized, but the catch is she has to move back to Cleveland, her hometown. She has a complicated relationship with her family and she knows she’s going to pay for not keeping in touch with them like she should. Plus, Cleveland is where she got her heart broken, and her ex still lives there.
Raine and Melanie have been ignoring the attraction between them for years. Once he finds out about her promotion, he knows he has to act now or lose his chance completely. Melanie is wary of entering into a relationship period, much less a long-term thing. Raine convinces her to give it a try, but he really has his work cut out for him if he wants it to go anywhere. Especially when Melanie’s ex re-enters the picture.
The premise of this book was great. I really wanted to love it. Melanie is a focused, mature woman who isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. It isn’t often we see woman like her in romance and I was excited about her maturity. Raine was a solid, stand-up kind of guy and one I really enjoyed. While I really loved Raine and his commitment to making things work, Melanie was frustrating and too cutoff from her emotions. The reason she was so closed off made sense, but it was hard to read about at times.
Unfortunately the writing kept getting in the way of my enjoyment. It’s written in the first person, which should have made the connection to Melanie easy. Unfortunately it was dry and bogged down with an overabundance of minor, inconsequential details, and not enough emotion.
While I wanted to love this book, the sometimes bland and often inconsistent writing made it hard. I plan to give another book by Ryan a try before giving up on her.
2.75 out of 5
This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.