Rowena’s review of Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl.
Hero: Max Sullivan
Heroine: Chloe Turner
Chloe Turner thought she was going to marry the perfect man—until her fiancé’s plane crashed. And then she got the really bad news: he’d tried to fake his own death to avoid marrying her. Now America’s most famous bridezilla (a tag she most definitely does not deserve), Chloe escapes to a remote island to avoid the paparazzi. And right next door is a man who just might be the cure for Chloe’s heartache….A magnet for wild, complicated women, Max Sullivan is relieved to have finally found someone “normal.” Chloe is his girl-next-door fantasy come to life, and best of all, she gets him. With her, he can be himself, a treasure-hunting millionaire who desperately wants out of his sexy but reckless job. But when Chloe’s notoriety catches up with them, will their torrid romance make it to the mainland?
This is the first book by Victoria Dahl that I’ve read and I’m glad that I started with this one. I’ve heard many good things about her and many not so good things about her heroines so I’ve been kind of iffy on trying any of her stuff out. Mostly, I’ve been a chicken but I’m glad to say that I enjoyed this one.
This story follows Chloe and her friend Jenn as they make their way to the islands for a little fun in the sun. The purpose of the trip was to take Chloe’s mind off of her troubles and her douche of an ex. It was supposed to be a good time with no worries and when Max and Elliott came into the picture, things started looking up.
Max and Chloe were a cute couple and it was interesting to watch their characters come to life over the course of this book. Max was the one that I kept thinking, “What the bleep is your problem” over and over again but as his character started forming in my head, the more I fell in love with him. Dahl did a great job fleshing his character out and I enjoyed getting to know him.
Chloe was the Bride from Hell and I hated that she got stuck with that label because she didn’t deserve it. Her jerk of an ex was such a douche bag that I wanted to beat him over the head with a cleaver. But Chloe was great. I loved Island Chloe and watching her find out the truth about Max was a treat. I loved seeing Max struggle with knowing that his secret freak-ness was out and then seeing him come to relax with Chloe. They were too cute.
I will say that I thought some pretty crazy things about Jenn and her little secret that she was keeping from Chloe but like I always say, all’s well that ends well.
Overall, this book kept me smiling and what made this book for me was the romance between Max and Chloe. I thought that they were perfect for each other. Watching Chloe figure out Max’s little secret and then watching Max freak out about her finding out and then finally seeing relax and enjoy not having to play a role with someone was cute. Max was cute. When I first met him and he was doing all of his freaking out on the inside while he flashed that adorable smile, it was just too cute for words.
Victoria Dahl had me laughing throughout this story and it was good enough to have me wanting more so yeah, I’ll definitely be reading more by her.
Grade: 4.25 out of 5
This book is available from HQN. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Rowena, this was such a fun read. Max was adorable. I loved the way Chloe understood him. They were great together. 🙂