Customer Reviews

Ex, Why, And Me

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ex, Why, And Me by Susanna Carr is a delight from page one. It's funny, sexy and moving.

Pastry Chef Michelle Nelson is back in her hometown of Carbon Hill to help with the Horseradish festival. She fled from there over five years ago and has not looked back. But when her best friend needs her help Michelle cannot say no. If she only had known that Ryan Slater was her partner in the scavenger hunt she would have stayed away. Poor Ryan was her one huge failure at romance.

Ryan Slater had stayed to run his parents bowling alley but he has never forgotten Michelle. He agrees to partner her to hopefully make amends. Ryan knows he still had feelings for her but can he get her to let down her guard and see the man he is today.

Michelle and Ryan both have different viewpoints of the other and that fateful night. Forced to spend 24/7 with each other on this hunt opens up their feelings and the truth.

Ex, Why, And Me is another gem by Susanna Carr. Michelle and Ryan are like real people, flaws and all. Their chemistry burns up the pages and their verbal exchange is sassy. You won't go wrong in getting this book.

The premise of this story is good, but the delivery was not there. There was too little romance, not enough background about our couple, way too much about a stupid and poorly planned scavenger hunt, and a very anticlimatic ending. As a former Miss Horseradish Queen, our herione Michelle is asked to return to her small hometown to help out with the annual Horseradish festival. She finds herself entered in a "couples only" scavenger hunt, but needs a partner. Ryan, the man Michelle lost her virginity to years earlier in a horrible one night stand, finds himself volunteering to be her partner for the hunt. His goal is to apologies about their horrible one night of love making years earlier, and make up for his past mistake by taking her to bed once again.

Ryan has to be one of the most unappealing heros I've read in a romance novel in years. He is a highly unmotivated slacker type, still works at his first and only job at mom and dad's bowling alley (and I imagine still lives with mom & dad too), he doesn't have an athletic bone in his body (but yet some how has the body of a star athlete), and he doesn't have much of romance life except some long ago past reputation of being a great lover. He is afraid of heights (wimpy), and doesn't know how to be charming or sexy. His character was not well developed at all. We never learn much about him, not even his age. And Michelle is just annoying, she is either complaining about EVERYTHING or turns into a motivational speaker. Not much in between. And they simply don't work as a couple. The ending was disappointing and rushed. Very anticlimatic. Their second chance of love making was about as disappointing as their first - not very hot at all. And for this author, that is surprising. I would not recommend this book, but would highly recommend her other book "Lip Lock". I loved that book. What a difference this book was from that one!!

Usually I don't read sensual romance books but when I heard about Susanna's new book coming out I just had to read it because she's one author I definitely would trust my money on. From the very first pages I was sucked into this story! First I just had to know what happened that one disastrous night, then I wanted to know how Ryan wanted to fix it and then how he would actually do it. The rest of the story was just one big mystery hunt as you went on a hunt with the main characters to find the hidden treasure of Homer and Ida Wirt, the famous Carbon Hill Train Robbers. Throughout the book I had to laugh with a lot of scenes and I felt butterflies in my belly in even more scenes! This is one of the reasons that this author is one of the only ones I stick to in this genre. I just love her unique sense of humor and the attraction (even if it's full of arguments between the characters) she pens down so attractively. If you love comedy and sexy romance, and you like it to be spruced with a little mystery this is definitely the book for you. Thanks Susanna Carr, for two wonderful long nights of highly entertaining reading!

- reviewed by Eveline for Euro-Reviews

I bought this based on other reviews and am so disappointed. The writing is flat out terrible, the characters are boring and the story is never fleshed out. The writer sets up all these events, and then never actually shows them, but skips ahead to what happens after the events. At first I thought my book was missing pages, but no, apparently not. Neither of the main characters was terribly likable; he was a slacker, she was a whiner. The supporting characters never really materialized other than brief snippets of information that don't really take the story anywhere. Her best friend? She wants to be mayor and organized a silly scavenger hunt that had no rhyme or reason. Her mother? Constantly degrades her for no known reason. The towns people expecting her to make it big because she was Miss Horseradish a few years earlier? Come on! Is she the only previous Miss Horseradish? Oh, I could go on and on, but I won't. It's too horrible to remember. I kept reading the book hoping it would get better. Sadly it did not. Don't waste your time or your money. Skip this book.

The characters were very real that you can connect them with people from your own hometown, especially if you came from the Midwest. The competitive nature is timeless and the games are fun (though I wasn't sure how they were always sexy, Carbon Hill style). I couldn't put it down except for when I had to wipe my eyes from laughing so hard. Susanna Carr writes great books and I can't wait to read her next one Pink Ice.

In Chicago Michelle Nelson feels she owes her hometown of Carbon Hill as the locals helped her attend college and obtain a career as a pastry chef after she won the Miss Horseradish title five years ago. She agrees to return to help her town promote their cash crop at the upcoming Horseradish Festival.

However, if Michelle knew beforehand that she would be paired on a scavenger hunt with Ryan Slater, employed at his family owned Pins and Pints bowling alley, she would have said no thanks. Mortified she remembers that with her tiara on her head, they were making love for the first time, but her enthusiasm "killed" his head; she vows never again. Meanwhile he blames himself for their failure and welcomes a second chance.

This lighthearted romantic romp is a fun somewhat second chance at love starring likable protagonists and eccentric support cast. The story line focuses on taking chances on love as Michelle fears another try while Ryan needs to prove more himself that he can do it with her. Soon their feelings of inadequacy changes to love, but will that prove enough to overcome the teary teen trauma that taunts them.

Harriet Klausner