Good Girls Do (Berkley Sensation) [Paperback]

Cathie Linz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Berkley Sensation | Publication Date: January 3, 2006

Julia Wright couldn't be more content with her job at the local library, nestled in placid, picturesque Serenity Falls. Until her wacky mother, petty-thief sister, and little niece decide to crash her quiet party of one. And her troubles really stack up when a new guy roars into town on his Harley, shaking up more than just the books on her shelves.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* All librarian Julia Wright wants is a little peace and quiet. Unfortunately, any dreams she might have of a serene new life in the small town of Serenity Falls are firmly shattered the day a sexy stranger roars into town, and her wacky family shows up for an extended visit. Julia's bad-boy biker turns out to be none other than Luke Maguire, who left Serenity Falls after high school, but who is now back in town, determined to do his best to shake up Julia's quiet existence. Dealing with her New Age mother, Angel; her wild-child sister, Skye; her four-year-old niece, "Tony the biter"; and the two llamas who are now part of the family leaves Julia with very little time for a tall, dark, and handsome distraction like Luke, but Julia is about to discover that sometimes even good girls need to take a walk on the wild side. Linz deftly seasons her writing with her usual delectable wit, and the book's quirky cast of endearing secondary characters adds another measure of humor to this sweetly sexy, fabulously fun contemporary romance. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425208486
• ISBN-13: 978-0425208489
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CATHIE LINZ writes books that are "Hilarious and heartwarming" according to Library Journal. She is the award-winning, bestselling author of over fifty-five contemporary romances published worldwide in nearly twenty languages. Her book BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY was recently chosen by Booklist (published by the American Library Association) as one of the Top Ten Romances of the Year.
For more info visit her website cathielinz.com or join her on Facebook Facebook.com/cathielinz or Twitter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute story but too many unresolved plot points, May 17, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good Girls Do (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

Belly dancing librarian Julia Wright has escaped her flaky mother and sister to settle in a small Pennsylvania town. She wants to lead a quiet life while helping the town attain "Best small town" status in a national registry.

All those plans got tossed to the wind when sexy bad boy Luke Maguire rolls into town on his Harley and sets his sights on Julia for some recreational romance. Of course, she is dressed as Little Bo Peep, which fuels his imagination. Toss in an untimely visit by her hippie mom, sister, vampire niece, and a couple llamas, and she can just kiss her quiet existence good bye!

Luke left town shortly after graduation and has not been back for 12 years. While his father was portrayed as a loving dad, in actuality, he took out his frustrations on Luke in a brutal manner. After a stint in the Marines, then deep undercover in the FBI, Luke is not looking forward to having to return to the sleepy and gossipy town of his childhood, where he will have to remain in order to adhere to his father's will before he cash in on his inheritance. As they dance around each other, it is a pretty good assumption they will end up in bed.

At times zany, and other times poignant, I am not sure what exactly Linz was trying to convey. As a result, it is a tepid story at best with plenty of loose ends and plot points that were introduced then never really addressed, let alone resolved. There are too many good romantic comedies out there - better to get this one at your local library.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun contemporary romance, January 3, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good Girls Do (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

After a wild hippie like childhood, librarian Julia Wright moved to Serenity Falls, Pennsylvania to live a straight lifestyle. Three years later she has succeeded at getting away from the New Age zaniness of her mother and sister. However, her idyllic time in a quiet controlled town implodes over six new arrivals.

First town bad boy Luke Maguire has come home to run his late father's bar; this surprises the locals as Luke failed to even return for his dad's funeral. However except for one person no one realizes that Luke's highly regarded father abused him. He cannot resist stealing kisses from Julia.

Next her mom, sis, and niece arrived accompanied by two llamas move in with Julia. She hides her pop tarts that she needs to get through their insanity, which includes encouraging her to sleep with Luke, who she already cannot resist even without the urging of the cheerleaders.

This is a fun contemporary romance in which Julia has never felt comfortable with the antics of her mom and sis, and now her four year old niece who is an expert on vaginas and lets everyone know it. Though Julia and Luke are the stars, the ensemble support cast enhances the tale with their escapades that aggravate the heroine and amuse (for the most part) her beloved. Though mom's secret seems anticlimactic, fans of You Can't Take It With You like romantic romps will enjoy this funny family tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I was annoyed more than entertained by this book., June 23, 2008

By 

Jane (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good Girls Do (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

Julia has made a nice life for herself as a librarian and has her own house. Without any notice, her "save the planet" hippie-like mother, Angel, barges in to live with her because Angel is out of money. Her sister Skye also moves in. Skye is a single mother with a spoiled brat of a daughter, who has never been told "no." The mother and Skye take over Julia's life in ways such as throwing out food in Julia's refrigerator because they disagree with her choices. It is a story of a nice girl being annoyed by her own family and the local towns people. The story was no fun. The romance that develops between Julia and Luke wasn't enough to make the book enjoyable.

CAUTION SPOILER: Worst of all, the mother lied to Julia about her father for 30 years. Finally Angel decides to tell Julia who her real father is. I was angry at Angel because of her reason for not telling Julia.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: six. Setting: current day small town, Serenity Falls, Pennsylvania. Copyright: 2006. Genre: contemporary romance.