Customer Reviews

Divorced, Desperate and Dating (Love Spell Mystery Romance)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I loved this book. It's just what's been missing from the romance shelves for FAR too long: humor, action and adventure with an emphasis on the romance, and likable characters. No tortured heroes, no annoyingly "super" heroines, i.e., no super powers, no super skills, no super smart mouth, no super top secret jobs. Just smart, resourceful people you'd actually like to know. Also no paranormal creepiness. Hooray! Keep it up Christie, you're my new favorite author.

What a delightful sense of humor! Christie's style would even get someone hooked that wasn't really into reading. She gives her readers a mixture of romance and suspense with a big dose of humor! As soon as you read one of her books - you can't wait for the next one to be released!

STORY BRIEF:
Sue is a mystery writer. Her ex-husband and recent boyfriend were terrible choices. Jason is a police detective who has never dated a girl for more than three months. He grew up in foster homes. As soon as he became attached to a foster parent, he was moved to another home. Therefore, he doesn't want to become attached to anyone for fear of being hurt. He was drawn to Sue and kissed her once. The kiss was too good, and he didn't want to want her, so he avoided her for four months. Now, someone is stalking Sue and sending her death threats. Jason takes some vacation time to stay with Sue 24 hours a day, while he and the police try to catch the stalker. During these several days, Jason and Sue are falling for each other and want to have sex. But, Sue won't forgive him for not calling her for four months. Jason keeps asking, and Sue keeps saying no. This conflict based on Sue denying her desire for Jason lasts throughout most of the book.

REVIEWER'S OPINION (INCLUDES SOME SPOILERS):
There was a happy ending, but it didn't feel good enough. It was mostly a feeling of finally relieving the frustration of this couple denying that they wanted each other.

I was annoyed that for most of the story Sue and Jason wanted each other, but Sue kept saying no. I was annoyed that she didn't ask him "why" he didn't call her for four months, until page 180 and again on page 204. Then, both of those times he didn't answer her.

As soon as the stalker is caught, Sue and Jason have an uncomfortable conversation where neither one of them is honest with each other (page 320). Jason says he needs to go home to check on his plants. Sue acts like she doesn't need him or want to see him anymore. She is doing this because she believes "she doesn't matter to him." They are breaking up when neither one wants to. Later Jason asks her what is wrong, and she won't answer him.

In summary, most of the story is conflict in the relationship based on vague communication and inaccurate assumptions. This bothers me because it's overused in romance novels. Sometimes it's ok in small doses or when other things are going on, but in this story it didn't work for me. Solving the mystery of the death threats was ok, but it wasn't new or different enough for me to recommend the book.

DATA:
Story length: 353 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 12. Setting: current day Hoke's Bluff (small town outside of Houston, Texas). Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic mystery.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Christie Craig books, see my 5 star review of "Divorced, Desperate and Delicious" posted 9/12/08.

For Sue Finley, plotting to kill someone is all in a day's work. The talented mystery author knows all about threats, stalking, murder, and mayhem. What she can't figure out is men, or more specifically one man - Jason Dodd. Four months ago, Jason gave Sue the best kiss of her life and then never called her. But when someone starts sending Sue threats straight out of her own novels, the man who never called suddenly appears in her life once more.

Emotionally scarred from a childhood filled with disappointment and abandonment, Detective Jason Dodd is determined never to chance heartbreak by needing someone. After kissing Sue, Jason knew she was a risk he could never afford to take. Then a stalker threatens Sue and the tables turn. Sue needs him.

As danger draws them to each other, it becomes impossible for Jason and Sue to resist their attraction to one another. But will Jason be able to overcome his past and open his heart to Sue? And will the two be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together before the mystery of Sue's stalker takes a deadly turn?

Christie Craig has done it again! Divorced, Desperate and Dating is - hands down - the best book I've read since Weddings Can Be Murder (coincidentally, also by Ms. Craig). It's an enchanting combination of humor, tenderness, seduction, and romance with a dash of danger and a cast of quirky characters that make this book shine.

What is so delightful about Divorced, Desperate and Dating is that every character, from Jason and Sue on down, left their mark on my heart. Ms. Craig has a gift for bringing characters to life, and the warmth, friendliness, and oddities of each person in the story made me wish I could be in the book with them. Sue charmed me from the first. She's intelligent, likeable, and, despite a run of bad luck (not the least of which is her cross-dressing ex-husband), Sue is still willing to open her heart, even if it takes some meltingly sexy kisses from Jason and a few therapy sessions with her ficus plant to get her there. As for Jason, he made me want to see Sue break through his barriers. The emotional damage from his past broke my heart, and I wanted nothing more than for him to see his true worth. His protective and caring nature endeared him to me as did his sex appeal, I must admit.

Divorced, Desperate and Dating is loosely connected to Divorced, Desperate and Delicious. Having not yet read Divorced, Desperate and Delicious, I can safely say that Divorced, Desperate and Dating stands on its own. However, as Lacy and Chase are Sue and Jason's best friends, fans of the previous story will delight in seeing them again. I adored Chase and Lacy in this book and I can honestly say I was online ordering Divorced, Desperate and Delicious before I even finished Jason and Sue's story.

Divorced, Desperate and Dating had me laughing, smiling, and calling friends to read them passages of the book. To my delight, after finishing Divorced, Desperate and Dating I looked on Ms. Craig's website and discovered a bonus epilogue for the story, where, if possible, I fell for Jason and Sue even harder as I read about their first Christmas together. Ms. Craig is now on my list of autobuy authors for her truly remarkable ability to create phenomenal stories and vivacious characters that capture my attention from the first page to the last, and continue to do so long after I have read, re-read, and then re-read the book again a few dozen more times. Joyfully Recommended!

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Well written, funny, with likeable characters but not really my cup of tea and maybe that is all that is wrong with it. It just didn't feel real enough to me.

I found the heroine a bit too perfect and ditto the hero. Ok, they were quirky and silly in a cutesy fashion which irritated me after a while. I found the humour a little too contrived as well. What, did he really read that magazine in the doctor's waiting room and of course, the grandfather would notice and comment. Um, not in my world. He might mention it to his wife but hardly his grand-daughter. I found the male characters all talked like women - all a bit too soap opera-like to me. The mother, grandparents and everyone else in the book all seemed to be cut from a similar piece of cloth - quirky, sassy but loving and warm-hearted in a nice homespun old people apple pie sort of way. It has also been pointed out that the two main characters dithered around for far too long and I agree. I can't imagine any red-blooded man being so patient but then the pay off was worth it. Yawn. I really don't think his reasons for not contacting her were all that sound either because he soon seemed to overcome them.

All in all, it is not a terrible book by any means and it obviously appeals to a lot of people. Just not to me.

Parts of this book had me laughing out loud starting with the first scene where Sue is asking the Poison Control Center how much Poinsettia leaf it would take to kill someone. Then enters her mother, her rambunctious dog, and Sue's first death threat. Does someone really mean to kill her or is it a publicity stunt?
This is a great light read that I enjoyed very much. Try the sample and maybe you'll enjoy it as well.

If this book had leaned more towards the mystery I might have liked it better. As it is, a good third of the book is dedicated to telling us how hot Jason is or how perfect Sue is. Meh. While the characters are mostly likable, after a while I got tired of the very obvious lack of communication. especially since it was kind of the only thing driving the story after a while.

Not a horrible book. A quick, light read. But it could have been better.

This is the second book of the Divorced and Desperate series, Sue's story. I read all 3 of the books in the trilogy, but this was BY FAR the best one as far as I'm concerned. I really felt for the characters and could relate to their story. You could really root for this couple, and feel very satisfied when everything worked out in the end. Highly recommended!

I always read the reviews of books before I invest the money in a new book. The reviews thus far were good all 4 or 5 stars. I'm sorry but I just don't get it. The story line is so contrived, that it is just painfully stupid. I was relieved to finish the book. I wish I could cut and paste some of the not so witty banter so you could have a taste. The scenes about crime do not seem accurate or fully researched which is ironic that the heroine is supposed to be a writer and asked a policeman to give her input for her writing. I don't know about you but I absolutely hate when the heroine backs out of sex repeatedly at the last second. If you buy your books on Kindle, get the sample. Go to the bookstore and sit down with one of her books and read for 10 minutes it will cure you from the temptation of wasting $5.00 on this awful book or any of her other books for that matter. Try Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

This book was a disappointment. I am really glad I didn't have to pay money for it. I was expecting a mystery with some romance on the side. Instead it was lust with very little mystery. The characters were not real to me. Sex was about all they thought about or talked about.