Customer Reviews

Extreme Bachelor (Thrillseekers Anonymous, Book 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this book, Extreme Bachelor, to be barely readable. It's about two people who break up for no reason, meet 5 years later and try not to patch things up. Well, he tries, she tries to avoid him, and it's not clear to me what the point was.

Halfway through the first scene where the author is setting up the romance that drives the novel, I was thinking "so she's disposable" not "he can't live without her". I REALLY didn't like what the author did with the heroine's life - the dichotomy between her lack of sucess and his extra-super-glorious success was a total turnoff for me. I would have preferred that the heroine wasn't such a loser, even though she was working on it. I would have preferred that the hero wasn't such a player. I basically didn't like either character much, and it never improved.

I didn't like the Dialogue:
Your best friend of 5 years doesn't say "my oldest daughter Ariadne made this for me" (not a direct quote). You would say "my oldest daughter" or "my daughter" or "my daughter Ariadne" and the last only if it was clear that there was more than one daughter. In this case, I don't remember the daughter's name, but this happened twice in the first couple chapters and annoyed me. There was opportunity to add the name in a more realistic way.

I also didn't like the competency of anyone:
How is dodgeball a *team* sport? It's a collection of folks on each side playing individually. The fact that they used it for building teamwork, especially without giving people time to discuss strategy, was just dumb.
Most of the actresses came off as unprofessional bimbos who would rather be doing anything but be at their jobs. And the heroine denegrated the ones actually trying to work. What's likeable about these people?

At any rate, I think I've read something else of Julia London's that was reasonable. I won't be reading this series, though, because I already hate it. The only reason it didn't get 1 star is that, aside from the dialogue, it is reasonably good prose. If a person came to care about these characters for some reason, and could suspend disbelief about the capability of all characters, it would be easy enough to read - unlike this sentence.

Michael Raney is a former orphan and CIA operative who is now one of the hottest stunt coordinators in Hollywood (along with his band of brothers in Thrillseekers Anonymous). Life is going well, one starlet after another, until he runs into the one that got away on his set. Well, actually, the "chance" meeting is orchestrated by his buddy and partner, Jack, who thinks it will be fun to put lots of Michael's old flames on the same set together. Needless to say, Michael is not amused. The one that got away is Leah who is, five years after Michael left her high and dry, just pulling her life back together. The last thing she needs is Michael coming back in with all of his smooth lines and cute looks. The fact that he claims to have been a CIA operative the entire time they were dating (and she thought he was an international financial analyst) only confirms his ability to lie convincingly to achieve his own goals.

Most entertaining are the random e-mail clips to her best friend (who lived through the first fall of Michael and is currently obsesseed with planning her own wedding) back in New York. Overall, this is a fun, quick read.

Michael Raney is a CIA agent finding himself falling for his actress girlfriend. When he finds himself getting too close, he decides the best thing to do is break it off before they fall deeper into a relationship which could put her in danger. Little does Michael know that when he dumps Leah, she is utterly devastated and broken. It takes her years to get over him and leaves her career in shambles. Now retired from the CIA, he is a member of an elite stunt coordination/adventure travel group called Thrillseekers Anonymous. When he spies Leah in a commercial, his buddy Jack notices that the normally detached Michael is very interested in the woman in need of a decent laxative.

Michael negotiates what he thinks is the premier assignment - stunt coordinators for the film "War of the Soccer Moms." All he knows is that they will be surrounded by tons of sexy starlets. When Jack is forced to do the casting of the bit players, he thinks it will be funny to cast some of Michael's former lovers. And a lothario like Michael has many, including Leah, who fled to LA after her career on Broadway came to an abrupt end.

Suddenly Michael finds himself in close quarters with several "ghosts of girlfriends past", including the one he still loves. When Michael admits he broke up with her because he was in the CIA, she manages to make him a laughing stock on the set. Leah is not about to let him have a piece of her heart again, and Michael is forced to prove his worthiness to her, with hilarious results, mostly enjoyed by his fellow Thrillseekers, who are happy to see Michael on the receiving end for a change. Though the career in the CIA is over, danger is lurking around the corner.

And just when Leah lets her guard down and opens herself up to the possibility of a future with Michael, another one of Michael's "girls" arrive on set to wreak havoc in the barely there relationship, and a persistent Latin lover waits in the wings to steal Leah from Michael.

London adds another humorous chapter in the Thrillseekers series (following the hysterical "Wedding Survivor"). While it isn't quite as good as its predecessor, it definitely had its moments and I really liked the camaraderie between the guys - and look forward to their further escapades.

I didn't enjoy this book. I hoped I would, but my hopes were dashed. The premise sounded cool and I'm a sucker for true love reuniting but this book just didn't do it for me.

I never felt that Leah and Michael had any chemistry and I hated that Leah fell apart and literally could not function after Michael left her. Michael on the other hand went on to have a string of sexy and successful girlfriends, never bothering to contact Leah whom the reader is supposed to believe he wanted to desperately.

This story was well written but as others have mentioned the dialogue was a little on the unrealistic side. It's not the worst I've ever read but it had it's awkward moments. Also, I didn't understand the purpose of the e-mails at the end of many chapters. They didn't add much and mostly recapped what previously happened.

Most of the women in this book were annoying and vapid. It was also weird how the women were broken up into categories like Starlet and Serious Actress.

I did like roommate Brad and I liked Leah's life with Brad. I think I would have rather read a story about Leah hooking up with Brad than Michael.

Leah Klein and Michael Raney used to date five years ago but Michael broke up with Leah because of his job (he is a CIA). They meet again when Leah get a role in a movie that Michael is helping with. Michael wants Leah back but Leah was too hurt by Michael to get back together.

I really disliked Michael A LOT. He was the biggest flirt and player. He flirted with almost every woman in this book and while he was trying to win Leah back. He also went on dates with other woman and was flirting with his ex-girlfriends. I also hated the fact that the author made Leah a completely loser after Michael dumps her five years ago. I understand women falling apart after a hard break up but that doesn't mean that their life is totally over after the break up. The author also keeps on mention how Leah can't act or how she doesn't get any acting role because she is "fat" and that made me dislike this book even more. Also, Michael had a lot of his ex-girlfriend around him to make Leah jealous but for some reason the author doesn't give Leah any other guy to make Michael jealous. The only guy that does try to go out with Leah turns out be a bad guy. I mean supposedly Leah is so hot then why doesn't any guy ask her out? The worst part of the book was when the Leah finally confesses to Michael how wrong she was and how she loves him and then what happens? ...he has a girlfriend. The whole reason Leah didn't want him back because of all the women he has been with and he proves her right by having a girlfriend at the end. I honestly can't image Michael to be a faithful husband and if I were Leah I would've moved on long time ago and been with a guy who really deserves me.

Everything is going right for Leah Klein. Her acting career is taking off, she is a rising theater star in New York City and she is head over heals in love with her boyfriend Michael Raney. But Leah's bubble is burst when Michael unexpectedly breaks up with her. He breaks her heart and crushes her dreams.

Michael thinks he loves Leah and he loathes breaking up with her but his job in the CIA prevents him from making a permanent commitment. He feels awful for hurting Leah, but he feels that in the long run this is the right thing to do.

Five years later Leah is hired as an actress on a film that Michael is working on along with his partners. Michael is a stunt coordinator. Seeing Michael again is painful. Leah realizes immediately that she has not gotten over him. Michael feels the same way about Leah so he decides to tell her the truth about why he left her. Leah doesn't believe him at first though and while he tries to convince her, he discovers that he wants her back. Desperately. The problem is that Leah is determined not to let Michael back into her life so she is making it very difficult for him to make amends. Michael needs to prove to Leah that his extreme bachelor days are over.

Extreme Bachelor is funny and sexy. Michael is the kind of man women sigh and drool over. His title of the "extreme bachelor" is perfect for him. Leah is adorable. She is pretty and witty. Her feelings and emotions are genuine. When Leah tells Michael how she dealt with their breakup and how it affected her I cried. I cried for her and for him. Although Michael seems genuine in his love for Leah, he had an awful lot of fun while he was supposedly miserable without her. Maybe if he dated a few less women he would have seemed more sincere. However, the sexual chemistry between Michael and Leah is hot! And they really do make a great couple. They have to climb mountains to get to each other though. The ending has a cool twist but it was a little too goofy and relaxed considering the situation Michael and Leah were in. Extreme Bachelor is entertaining and fun but I found Michael to be too much of a lady's man.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I re-read this book to see if I could find anything about it to like. I know the EB had issues from his childhood but what he did to Leah really was unforgivable. I wanted so much for her to have had at least one good love affair afterward and to have found some mild success in LA. The story just went on and on. He had so many chances to find her....after all he worked for the CIA so the excuse that he thought she had found love or success just did not make sense. I wanted so much to like this book. It started with what read like a true love story but he was just a jackass and nothing he did changed how badly he wounded her.

If you are looking for a book with a loveable hero who adores the heroine, this is NOT the book for you. I have never been so disgusted with a book in my life. The hero dumped the heroine early on and then decided years later he wanted her back. He supposedly loved her but he kept dating other women while they were trying to work things out. When she expressed her hurt, this jackazz got angry at her! This was the absolute worst book I have ever read. I need to find something worth reading to wash the thought of this terrible book out of my mind.

Would've given this book 4 stars b/c of the good writing, pacing, wit, & sensuality. BUT I didn't like the hero & heroine. Michael is portrayed as an externally confident but internally insecure guy who is supposedly so in love with Leah, remembers everything about her, and has thought about her everyday in their 5 years separation yet he flirts with & has sex with multiple women globally. Yeeeaah...Leah, on the otherhand, is portrayed as a vapid, shallow, & emotionally weak woman who uses denial to deal with her problems. Michael & Leah together are plain toxic! It seems like their relationship is built more on lust than deep, abiding love. I don't see them having a solid future together.

Read with caution: Good writing but unlikeable characters & unhealthy romance.

This is the second book in the Thrillseekers Anonymous trilogy, following Wedding Survivor.

Five years ago, Leah was an up-and-coming actress on Broadway, and she and Michael were living together, happy. So when Michael said he had something to tell her, she thought: marriage proposal. Instead, he broke up with her. She spent some time being depressed, then she finally decided to make the move to Hollywood and get on with her life.

Now, Leah's Hollywood career isn't going very well--she's only been in a couple of commercials. Then she lands a part in War of the Soccer Moms. Preparation for filming involves a "boot camp" run by the stunt coordinators, Thrillseekers Anonymous.

Which is fine, until Michael shows up. His reputation as the "extreme bachelor" precedes him. It seems that his T.A. buddies noticed his reaction to seeing Leah in a commercial and decided to play matchmaker. And oh, by the way, wouldn't it be fun if a few of his other ex-flames showed up as well?

Turns out, Michael used to be a CIA agent, and that (along with a general fear of commitment) was behind the break-up. But when he tries to tell Leah this, she doesn't believe him.

This isn't just a light-hearted romantic comedy. It has some very funny parts--a lot of them centered around Michael being rather uncomfortable--but there's too much pain between Leah and Michael for it to be a simple, comfortable read.

Most of that is Michael's personality. He's not the usual romance hero. He screwed up--granted, he'd convinced himself he had good reasons--but he didn't spend those five years berating himself in celibacy. I think it's a romance rule that heroes, once they meet the heroine, and particularly once they've slept with her, must be incapable of performing with another woman. Michael didn't do that. He did realize that he screwed up, but he kept looking for a replacement. And looking. And looking.

But then Leah isn't the usual romance heroine, either. For one thing, she's (if I'm reading it correctly) pear-shaped. At any rate, she has wide-ish hips. But the biggest difference is that after the break-up, she got depressed.

Ever notice how you take some fictional conventions for granted until you read a book that breaks those conventions? That's what happened to me with Extreme Bachelor. I'd recognized (and complained about!) the celibate heroes before, but until I found myself surprised that Leah hadn't picked herself up and become a huge success after the break-up, I didn't realize how much of a cliche that was, or how much more realistic Leah's story was.

Let's face it. In Leah's situation, how many of us would get angry and use that anger to become The Best at whatever? Sure, I'd like to think I would, but realistically? It's damn depressing. I'm all for characters in books behaving in ways I wish I would, but it's refreshing to see one behaving the way I actually would. Setting the story 5 years after the break-up, so that Leah has had time to recover from the depression kept her from being a victim heroine, and made her a heroine I could pull for.

Both Leah and Michael were more appealing for me because they didn't behave ideally. They were more like real people. They learned from their past mistakes, discovered that love requires trust, and learned to trust each other. It's all the more appealing of a love story because it feels authentic.

I'm looking forward to reading the last book in the trilogy, American Diva (Thrillseekers Anonymous, Book 3).