Customer Reviews

Really Something (Zebra Contemporary Romance)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Allison Gray left Tempest, Indiana right after high school determined to make a better life for herself. After seven years of hard work, she was on her way. Now Allie Dean, she lives in LA, works in the movie biz, and has dropped 170 pounds.

Seeking revenge from those that tortured and humiliated her all her life, Allie arranges for new horror movie to be filmed in her old hometown. When Allie rolls into town, she has everyone fooled. No one recognizes her - not even the family she left behind. Everything is going according to plan until she runs into the boy that broke her heart in high school - Duncan Henry. He is a local television anchor, and is still as gorgeous as Allie remembers. Duncan is intrigued with Allie Dean, but could swear he knows her from somewhere...................

Really Something is a well written multi-layered romantic drama. I don't agree with any of the other reviewers that classify this as a comedy. There are a couple of light moments, but nothing that is laugh out loud funny. Allie and Duncan have good chemistry, and I was rooting for them from the beginning. As Allie comes to terms with her past, and her family, she discovers that not everything is as it seemed so long ago. The secondary characters were also well developed and written - especially Duncan's sister Katie.

Allison Gray left her hometown as the overweight and dateless girl that everyone made fun of. Years later, she has dropped the weight and reinvented herself as Allie Dean, an assistant to a famous Hollywood producer, and plans to set the next film in her sleepy Indiana town. She bumps into first love Duncan Henry, the son of the man who turned the town into the litter capital of the world. Duncan was one of her few friends, and after he stood her up on prom night, she wants to exact revenge from him as well as the rest of the folks who made her teen years a living hell. Duncan falls for Allie - particularly when she breaks through his sister's self-imposed exile and gets her to come to terms with her paralysis. But will Duncan return her affections when he learns of her deceit?

Jump's latest romantic comedy has a recycled premise, but it steps out of predictability be featuring engaging characters that ooze chemistry, and her gift for writing realistic and witty dialogue. Featuring funny secondary characters, this walk down memory lane will tug at your heartstrings as well as your funny bone.

Allie Dean couldn't get away from her hometown of Tempest, Indiana
quick enough. Overweight and ruthlessly heckled by her fellow
classmates, she even ran off rather than speak as her class
valedictorian. Her worst humiliation, however, was when Duncan Henry
asked her to the prom, and then promptly stood her up to take the girl
whose abuse Allie suffered day in and day out. As soon as she was
able, Allie left Tempest with no intention of ever returning. Now she
finds herself back in Tempest, scouting a movie location and shocked
to discover that no one recognizes her, not even Duncan. Allie knows
she should be a better person but she finds herself thinking about
what a perfect opportunity this is for revenge. Only the more time she
spends with Duncan the more she finds that she's falling for him
again. But when the truth finally comes out, will the revenge Allie
thinks she's been looking for blow up in her face?

With Really Something, Shirley Jump gives us a story that is sweet and
humorous. Allie is easily a character that I'm sure many will be able
to identify with and Duncan is a hero with unexpected depths. Although
I wished for a little bit more of a resolution between Allie and
Duncan over the prom debacle and the ending did seem a little rushed,
I have to say that readers won't go wrong by picking up Really Something.

Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

There was something that didn't quite sit right with 'Really Something'. I suppose its message wasn't entirely clear - Allie Dean returns to the town where she grew up as a fat girl in order to seek revenge on those who treated her badly - particularly Duncan Henry who invited her to the prom and then stood her up. Allie's message is that people are the same inside, no matter how they look, and yet she seems rather wrapped up in her external appearance nonetheless.

The book worked well as a 'returning to your roots' story with Allie re-encountering people from her youth and being able to hide her identity from them. However I found myself troubled by Allie's message; in some ways she was a good character, helping Duncan's sister come to terms with disability (although I felt this all went rather too easily), but she was also an unlikeable character in the way that she treated her family.

The romance side of the book was a bit disjointed with Duncan and Allie not quite connecting for some time. There was a side plot about Duncan's family expectations and I found that this actually worked rather better than some of the main plot threads. Overall, however, I found the story rather average; Allie may be slim now, but she is the same person inside - and I'm not sure I entirely like that person.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2010

I didn't love this book but it was entertaining. It is one of those forgettable novels that is entertaining while you read it but will have to read the description in three weeks to figure out if you ever read it... It passed the time but wasn't that great.

Allie Dean is a changed woman, so changed few in her small hometown recognize her, which fits right into Allie's plan. She's in town to settle the score for the pain of her high school years, especially with Duncan Henry, the boy who hurt her most. But Allie discovers appearances are indeed deceiving and some things are far sweeter than revenge. I highly recommend Shirley Jump's REALLY SOMETHING, a heart-warming romance laced with wit and humor. Don't miss this entertaining read.

STORY BRIEF:
Allison weighed nearly 300 pounds as a teenager. She grew up in pain from being bullied and taunted by the kids at school. At that time, Duncan became a friend while she tutored him in math. He asked her to the prom and then stood her up to take another girl. Allison never forgave him. Seven years later, Allison comes to town for revenge and also to find a house to use in a movie. She works for a B-movie producer/director. She has lost 170 pounds, is thin and gorgeous. At first, no one recognizes her. She uses the name Allie Dean, from her ex-husband. Duncan owns the house she wants to use in the movie, but he won't agree to it.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I enjoyed the story. It was nicely done, but nothing jumped out at me as being creatively different. It was entertaining, even though it was a cookie cutter romance novel. To rate it higher, I would have liked more surprise and delight. I loved how Allie affected Katie who was paralyzed. Allie's pain while growing up gave her inner strength, experience and understanding which allowed her to connect with and help Katie. I was annoyed with one event described in Spoiler below.

DATA:
Story length: 292 pages. Sexual language: none to mild. Number of sex scenes: one, 5 pages long. Setting: current day small town Tempest, Indiana. Copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance.

CAUTION SPOILER:

Throughout the book, I wanted to know why Duncan hurt Allie at the prom seven years earlier. When I finally learned the details I was disappointed. It didn't fit because Duncan was a better person than that and because of his feelings for her at that time. He could have at least apologized to Allie the day after the prom. He claimed that he didn't know what to say. I didn't buy it. That incident was the major reason Allie wanted revenge. The author used the flimsy conflict device of vague communication as the basis for this book.

I found I could put this one down very easily. The storyline had potential but was not given enough time to really develop. I too thought it odd how Allie the heroine could help fix other people's problems rather miraculously like Duncan's paralyzed sister, but still had real issues with her own family. This one was just not memorable at all. The cover art was the most exciting thing about the book.

I enjoy outcast girl returns home and meets her old crush style books..and this one was fun! Allie was the fat outcast with low self-esteem who had the crush on the all-american jock. She comes back to town as LA movie scout and runs run into the Mr. Jock aka Duncan Henry... and sparks fly, lust ignites and a fun cute story unfolds. Enjoy!

If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; Her Perfect Revenge,Falling For Gracie and There Goes the Bride.

Delightfully fun! As a great fan of Shirley Jump, this one does not disappoint.

If you could go back in time and change something, hoping to extract revenge and an "in your face" outcome, would you? Most would say yes, and that is what happens with our leading lady, Allie Dean - or as others once knew her as, Allison Gray. Growing up in small town Tempest, Indiana, Allison was overweight and an outcast. Living within her own lonely world, with the exception of one fellow classmate, Duncan Henry. Duncan was the town football hero, known and loved by all. However, things are not always as they appear to be. Duncan and Allison meet early mornings so that she can help tutor him and be a listening ear for him. To Allison's disbelief, Duncan asks her to the prom - only to end up breaking her heart.
After fleeing Tempest, Allison returns seven years later, 170 pounds lighter, her appearance toned to perfection. She has become Allie Dean and has returned to Tempest, scouting out a location for her employer, Chicken Flicks. Not only does she find the perfect location for the film, but she finds it oh so easy to catch the eye of Duncan.
After seven years, much has changed, including Duncan. He has become the caretaker of his younger sister, Katie, who has since turned herself into a recluse, after an accident leaves her paralyzed. Duncan appears to be respectable and responsible, not something that Allie had planned on - nor did her heart.
Allie's plan was not working out as she had thought it would - not only was her heart reaching out to Duncan, but to his sister as well. A special bond builds, no matter how much she tries to convince herself that she is just there to "love'em and leave'em", hurting him at least a small amount as much as he hurt her, those years ago.
Will Allie be able to leave behind the past or will the past continue to map her future? What will happen if and when the townspeople, and most importantly Duncan, find out who she really is? Revenge does not always taste as sweet as we believe.

The characters in 'Really Something' were wonderful and so easy to connect with. This was such a fun read and one that I would recommend to anyone looking for a way to relax and take away the stress of a day.
Other than the leading characters of Allie and Duncan, I really enjoyed Katie. Her development throughout the story was heartwarming and wonderful. I would truly love a story all her own.
Great read - heartwarming and fun