The Romanceaholic

Expected Release Date: July 19, 2011 (Available Now!
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Harlequin Presents
Author’s Website: http://www.caitlincrews.com
My Source for This Book: Amazon.com
Part of a Series: Yes, The Notorious Wolfs
Series Best Read In Order: Worked well as a standalone
Steam Level: Steamy

Official Blurb:

Lucas… Playboy. Rebel. Rogue.

No one denies Lucas anything. Women fall at his feet and into his bed at the click of his fingers. His life is charmed, reckless and carefree—he is definitely a bad boy.

Grace Carter knows uncontrollable Lucas could ruin her career, and she won’t tolerate his wayward behavior, despite their chemistry. But working with Lucas is thrilling, and after just a small dose of his magic, even Grace’s prim–and–proper shell begins to splinter…

What Worked For Me:

• I loved that Lucas was so conceited. I know that some readers will probably be a bit put off by how full of himself the man was, but I just ate it up with a big spoon.  There’s just something about a man that’s so used to being able to charm the panties off of anything female (and probably many males had he desired to), coming up against a woman who is able to resist him.
• I also really liked that Grace was as buttoned up as she was not because she was truly oppressed sexually, but was instead rebelling against her promiscuous mother.  Grace was a passionate, sensual woman who was desperate to avoid falling into the same trap of revolving boyfriends as her mother had, especially following an episode in her teens that showed her exactly where she stood in the opinions of her mother and her hometown.
• I also enjoyed the depth added to Lucas’ character by the details of his childhood.  Rather than just allowing him to be a spoiled playboy, it helped to show that there was so much more to him, and that he had to work hard to be so bad.
• Another thing I liked was the fact that Grace was from a small town in Texas.  A Southern gal myself, it made it easy to keep her accent in my head as I read.
• The heroine was not a virgin. That’s right, she wasn’t in her late twenties yet untouched by a man, set all aquiver by a potent, virile male and all that (though don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy those types on occasion). Instead, she was attracted to Lucas, sure, but she wasn’t naive or completely without experience.
• The love scenes were nice and spicy, but more than that, Grace chose to have sex with Lucas. Chose, as in, weighed the pros and cons and made a conscious decision to pursue the relationship and suffer the consequences.  This was so refreshing because many if not most heroines of category romances tend to just be so incredibly overcome with lust whenever they’re in physical proximity to the hero that they literally lose their ever-lovin’ minds.  Not Grace, and for that, I adored her.
• I also really enjoyed that there wasn’t a “miraculous transformation” of Lucas. He didn’t go from sexy, carefree playboy womanizer one minute to perfectly behaved instantly monogamous gentleman over the course of a chapter.  Instead, he offers Grace a year, saying that he truly he  has no idea if he loves her (though he’s pretty sure he does) because he’s had no experience with it.  This was better than an automatic Oh ILY So Much I’m Gonna Be The Perfect Husband blah blah because that’s not as believable despite the fairy-tale appeal.   Don’t get me wrong, I still felt that the HEA was believable, and honestly had no doubts as to whether Lucas would be an incredible partner for Grace for the rest of their lives.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

• Maybe I’m just jaded from being American and therefore inundated daily by all sorts of sex and scandal in the media, but her teenaged mistake didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me. Granted it was explaned as to why it ws such an issue but still.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  Grace is definitely one of my favorite HP heroines at the moment, with her backbone, sass, confidence, and vulnerability, and Lucas was delightful as well.  The dynamics of their relationship were what really kept me invested, and the crackling chemistry between them was just the icing on the cake.

Recommended for fans of conceited playboy heroes, of stuffy but not innocent heroines, and of choosing to fight past long-standing obstacles that may come between you and happiness.

A wonderful 5/5 Stars.

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