Customer Reviews

Completely Smitten

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4 star:		(2)
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Haley Foster has run away from home in order to give living on the wildside a chance. She meets up with US Marshal Kevin Harmon and the word 'wild' takes on new meaning. She takes this reformed bad-boy on a roadtrip that ends up with her falling completely under his spell. She's smitten. In over her head. But she's discovered reformed bad-boys don't like to stray from the straight-and-narrow. Can she convince him that sometimes being bad can be oh-so good? Maybe...if she's lucky!

Susan Mallery's 50th book is a true treat!

Haley is the dutiful motherless preacher's daughter who flees the coop after her fiancé expresses second thoughts and wants to seek out adventure. In a Kansas bar, she meets Kevin, a US Marshall who just wants a burger and a beer after spending hours in a car with a prisoner he just dropped off. He comes to innocent Haley's aid, and after taking her back to her motel room, she wants to get busy - he just wants to make sure she is okay. After getting injured in a prison riot and being told that he cannot travel by plane, Haley offers to take a detour to drop him off with his family in Texas. The road trip proves to be quite a test for him - will he finally succumb to Haley's wholesomeness?

Mallery is the rare prolific writer who churns out numerous books a year, yet rarely do they have a recycled feel to them. This was a nice contemporary take on "It Happened One Night." The characters oozed chemistry, and the few times that they "got busy" were well written and did not border on an anatomy lesson. I liked Haley's growth as a character from shy innocent to inquisitive, then finally finding her own inner-strength to stand up for herself. I would have liked a more developed story - perhaps concentrating on Haley's relationship with her father prior to heading for Hawaii (in a car no less).

Like most of Mallery's work, this was short and sweet, and very funny.

Heroine is a preacher's daughter and unbelievably sheltered. Unbelievable, because most of us know it's the pastor's kids that act out the most. But who cares? The scenes with her shock at casual swearing or her gasp at the WalMart because of animal print underwear cracked me up. Most of the book is just the two of them talking, so even though the entire relationship develops in just a week, you actually feel that the couple know each other better than in most Categories.

The addition of the hero's back story at the end had nothing to do with the rest of the book, and there was no obvious emotional impact on him, either. It was odd. I suspect it's just a lead in for more stories by the named (but not met) characters, the author or publisher trying to link a number of stand alone books into a series. It doesn't matter, as I will eventually buy all of Mallery's back list anyway.

I had a good time. So will you.

In a round-about way, this is a part of the Haynes family series (it would be 8th). Although Kevin is not a Haynes in name, he finds - near the end - that he is one by blood. The Haynes connection is actually secondary to his relationship with sweet Haley, but I like the way it blends in with the other books (and sets up a couple of additional ones). I have thoroughly enjoyed the others in this series, but I must admit that this is one of my favorites. I totally enjoyed it. Susan Mallery is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint.

THIS IS A MUST BUY BOOK! THE STORY LINE IS GREAT AND THE BOOK HELD MY ATTENTION FROM BEGINNING TO END