Customer Reviews

The Playboy (The Chandler Brothers, Book 2)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It took me months to finish "The Bachelor" so I am really unsure as to why I thought "The Playboy" would be easier to read. The plot, although plausible, gets off to a wham bam start with meddling mothers, psychotic women chasing the hero, instant lust, and Kmart quality clothing descriptions. Perhaps I am getting old (32 in August) or maybe just jaded, but I felt like I was reading a Sweet Valley High on Summer Break novel.
Rick Chandler, the hero, was the most mature person in the cast of characters which includes his brothers, mother, and heroine, Kendell Sutton. Rick's mother is continuing to meddle in her son's lives, scheme and plot her fake heart condition, and beat herself up with guilt (albeit never telling them the truth), to the point where the reader wants to shake her hard and scream "Get a Life!"
Furthermore, the heroine is a little to quick to jump into spandex and Rick's sheets to be taken as seriously. Instant flames are great, and quick love scenes normally don't bother me, but the lack of emotional depth in the character makes it hard to believe that she can feel anything very deeply, other than maybe her tan lines. Her emotional immaturity and trashy mannerisms culminate in a confrotation near the end of the novel. Not all women are jealously possessive enough to pick fights; I kept wainting for the hair pulling to begin.
A trilogy is a great way to hook a reader. Look at Nora Roberts, she has it down to an art; however, this one seems to be the Jerry Springer version. It keeps the reader hooked the train wreck way - wondering "How much worse can it get?

I picked up this book after reading all the rave reviews and I guess it must be me, because I certainly can't say I loved it. The storyline was pretty good and I really liked the characters but had enough of Kendall's constant hashing back and forth as to whether or not she could commit to staying put. That seemed to be a third of the book and it got old really fast.

I have been looking forward to reading this book since I finished The Bachelor! It came in the mail and I opened it and finished it 12 hours later! It met my high expectations for a sequel: the characters were detailed well, the plot was defined nicely and the situations were believable. I never once stopped and went huh? the booked flowed so smoothly.

We had more bits into the lovable Chandlers of the first book, but they didn't overshadow the new characters and they were easy to keep track of. (Some books are overrun with small part characters and you loose sight of the origianl plot line). The dialogue was believable, the sexual tension was great and Yorkshire Falls seems like a very quaint small town that I wish I could visit. This book has been delayed in its release, but I think the wait was well worth it as this book is solid in structure and content and not hastily thrown together to meet the original release date. The story of the second Chandler brother is entertaining, erotic and sure to please everyone who liked the first installment! My only problem will be passing the time until the third installment is released in August!

If you love to review great books (and I do), when you compare the author's works with another's, at least stay within the genre. I would group Carly Phillips say, with the Lori Foster contemporary romance novels, particularly the Buckhorn Brothers series. The Chandler brothers are believable characters. Roman, Rick and Chase become real to me because I have known men who remind me strongly of them. Ms. Phillips has well-fleshed out her men with human frailties and sexy, charming traits.

In The Playboy, Rick Chandler's mother is obsessed with marrying off her boys and becoming a grandmother. Later Raina admits she just wants to see her boys settled and happy as she was with their father. As a mother (or foster) of 7 boys, I can very much identify with Raina in this.

Rick and Kendall Sutton meet in an amusing scene; eye contact jolts, the sparks fly. I love the page where we find out about Kendall's woefully untalented attempt to turn her blond hair to a rich auburn the night before her wedding. It was very pink/punk when she and conservative cop Rick meet. This scene is deftly and hilariously presented, and the reader can say to herself "I've been there"! Soon Rick comes up with the idea of Kendall playing his girlfriend so his mother (and the women in town) will leave him alone.

Rick has good reasons for his fear of commitment. Kendall does not believe in the fairy tale of happy relationships with anyone. Her standard plan is to distance herself emotionally by packing up and leaving. Her character comes alive as we begin to understand her complex background; she belatedly realizes her younger sister has experienced a very similar childhood. This explains her teenage brattiness. Actually, I thought that Hannah had normal teenage brattiness with the habit of totally embarrasing her sister. Hannah is a wonderfully entertaining addition to the story at any rate.

I found the book to be not only a keeper, but a one-nighter as well. Ms. Phllips writing style focuses on her characters in the foreground, with their surroundings rather sparsely covered. In a Regency novel I would be disappointed; but in a contemporary book I like to fill in the setting with my own imagination. This is another trilogy where you want to tell the writer to hurry up already.

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down.

The premise of Kendall, the runaway bride (who by the way is still wearing her wedding gown when she is rescued from her car by a gorgeous law enforcement officer, Rick Chandler) really draws you into the book. They chemistry between the two characters is palpable and you just can't put the book down!

The way Kendall settles into living in a small town and nestles in amongst the town's people to make a life for herself and her younger sister is very sweet. And it gets sweeter when she gets together with Rick. He is the most eligible bachelor in town and everybody wants him, but nobody holds a candle to Kendall in that department, not as far as Rick is concerned.

The Playboy was the first Carly Phillips novel that I have ever read. After seeing a review for this book in Cosmo, I had to have it. If all of Carly Phillips' books have the same page turning appeal that The Playboy does, then I will be reading every book she writes from now on.

After reading this book, I think every woman will want a Rick Chandler of their very own.

Hey, this book isn't going to win any Pulitzers but if your looking for a good romance with some great tumbles in the sack you can't go wrong. I liked this book better than Philip's first one, The Bachelor. Can't wait for her next one!

When he arrives at the scene, single cop Rick Chandler assumes his mother has arranged yet another matchmaking scheme, although Kendall Sutton's bridal gown seems a bit over the top. Rick never intends to marry again. With the entire Yorkshire Falls' single women avidly pursuing him, Rick has disavowed his playboy reputation, but he has tremendous skill at letting them down easily. So the next step, agreeing to pretend to be lovers with Kendall seems a logical solution and would force his mother and the array of women she has sent after him to back off.

Kendall Sutton arrives in town with pink hair, a wedding dress, and car problems. Worse, the cop that arrives on the scene brings a chemistry she can neither control nor deny. When Rick asks her to pretend to be his lover, Kendall falls in with his plans. Accustomed to a nomadic lifestyle, she does not intend to stay in town long. Kendall learned the hard way not to invest too much energy in hopes and plans. Unfortunately, maintaining her free spirited lifestyle may be difficult when their charade becomes the real thing.

A sizzling delight, THE PLAYBOY by Carly Phillips joins THE BACHELOR on the keeper shelf. THE PLAYBOY includes a scintillating cast of characters, including one disillusioned and wounded teenager. Kendall's red hair and devil may care attitude strikes quite a contrast to Rick's deep roots and commitment to his hometown. Rather than clashing, however, they compliment each other in ways that are both striking and amusing. In addition, Phillips displays a knack for capturing teenage angst with Kendall's younger sister Hannah, who is at once delightful and infuriating. One can only hope this hellion will find her way to maturing and her own story one day! A breezy, amusing romp with sensual undertones that will curl your toes, THE PLAYBOY comes very highly recommended.

Let me start by saying that I didn't even finish this book, so take this review with that in mind.

I am an avid romance reader and one of the main reasons that I like to read this genre is because I enjoy watching a romance develop between two individuals. This book gives "quickie" and all new meaning.

The main two characters meet and fall in lust immediately. It only takes, what, ummmm 4 chapters and they are in the sack. Not my idea of romance. The idea that these 2 shallow individuals were actually able to "fall in love" so quickly seemed ludacris to me. Lust maybe, but enough to last... I think not. I just didn't buy that a confirmed bachelor could see a woman in a wedding dress with pink hair and be ready to head to the alter, (or at least the bedroom). I made it through 5 chapters and that was all I could stomach. This book just wasn't for me. I like emotional depth, charater development, and a worthwhile premise to the story. This book failed to deliver in all of these areas.

Officer Rick Chandler will do anything to avoid his mother's matchmaking schemes. As well as those of the well meaning townspeople, who seem to want this divorced man hooked up again.

When he rescues a runaway bride fleeing from her wedding, he hatches an ingenious plan - he has Kendall Sutton pose as his intended to keep the rest of the single ladies who constantly resort to placing erroneous 911 calls to get his attention at bay. She agrees, as it will keep her off the meat market as well. Of course neither counts on falling for the other.

Phillips follow up to "The Bachelor" is actually more lightweight than the first offering, with an incredible lack of depth and undeveloped characters. But there is plenty of steam to keep the reader turning the pages, and Phillips infuses some pretty funny situations into this installment (the scene in the beauty shop is hysterical).

This book was my first experience with reading Carly Phillips. I didn't realize it was the second in the trilogy about the brothers until a little ways in and I didn't want to stop reading by then just to get the first book out of the way before reading onward!

The book is pretty predictable, like most chick lit at this level, but I was pleased with the quick read and will be checking out the other works by this author. I felt that the characters were well-developed and quite witty in some cases. They displayed emotion and "realness" - a nice treat! The plot was beyond basic and did include some fun twists.

I do recommend this book. I made me laugh several times and I look forward to reading about the other brothers and their searches for true love!