Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Lady Be Good

Lady Emma Wells-Finch is determined to cause a scandal. Nothing big, you understand, just enough to convince her pompous British suitor that she's not an eligible candidate for marriage. She's thinking along the lines of, oh, maybe a discreet tattoo. But when suspended Texas golf pro Kenny Traveler meets her plane at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, Emma decides that he's the perfect candidate to destroy her reputation.
Kenny, on the other hand--who desperately wants to be reinstated on the golf tour--is just as determined to keep a low profile and remain squeaky-clean. If Lady Emma weren't a close personal friend of the golf commissioner's wife, he'd never have agreed to squire her around town. Unfortunately for Kenny, his weakness for the British beauty is growing daily, and it seems as though Emma may have feelings for him as well. In a bizarre turn of events, wild man Kenny finds himself trying to keep the prim and proper British lady from causing a scandal the size of which even the lone-star state has never seen, and the results will leave you laughing with delight.
Below the hilarious dialogue that is Susan Elizabeth Phillips's trademark, Kenny, Emma, and the charming array of characters that populate this exceptional contemporary are warm and wonderfully human. Emma saves her Kenny and he saves her right back--never were two people more gloriously deserving of each other.
 


Comment: This is the second book in the Wynette, Texas series by author Susan Elizabeth Phillips. because I've liked the first book, here I am keeping up with the series and I'm quite glad I did because this book is better than the first. At least, it was easier to follow and the character's behavior more interesting to follow.

In this second story we meet Lady Emma, a descendant from British aristocracy working as a headmistress at a private school. Her school is in danger of closing because the duke who owns the propriety claims they will marry and she would the school and her job if she doesn't accept. Lady Emma asks for help from her friend Francesca (heroine in book #1) and then she travels to Texas to complete her research on a woman from the 19th century and as an excuse to ruin her reputation so the duke won't want to marry her anymore.
Her plans seem to get along when she meets Kenny, someone she mistakes for a driver/gigolo and not for the famous golf player he really is. Kenny is amused by Emma but quickly realizes there's more about her than what he thinks at first sight. With adventures and silly miscommunications in between, can they admit to the serious feelings between them?

I liked this book. I liked Emma and Kenny, their relationship's development and the way the plot moved along. I think it was such a wonderful time spent with these characters, this was one of the books I had more fun reading lately.
The plot is slightly silly and some situations look rather unlikely but the beauty of SEP's talent is how she can turn something with no apparent sense into something interesting, witty and fun to watch.

Lady Emma is a good character. I liked knowing about her and the difficulties she was facing. Yes, some scenes were ridiculous but the best thing about the author's writing is how small details or mentions of situations the characters faced gain a whole new meaning just because of the way things are presented. So, although Emma's troubles were dealt with some comic behaviors, we were still given some glimpses of what her childhood was, her intentions, her love for the school and why it was important to her... and later on, about her feelings for Kenny and why she was falling for him.
She is the type of character I like, with good, light moments but coming from a serious background and with a serious attitude to the things that matter.
Kenny is interesting, I understood where he was coming from and why his current situation was a struggle for him. He provided some of the most funny scenes in the book but he also had some serious moments where he could have a certain knowledge about his challenges and how much better he would be with Emma. His family was another subject he had to deal with and thankfully he got to develop a closer relationship to them.
Their relationship is quite balanced, because the best features of one another complement them. It was fun to see how they used each others' abilities to reach a compromise and find an equilibrium.

The secondary characters were very interesting and, as always, we have a second romance to see develop. The author does this well, the multiple POVs scheme, the development of a simple situation into something as multilayered as real life can be, even in fiction, and also important, how the things we take for granted in romance novels can have a special flavor in this author's books because of the way we process what's being said.
Another great thing is the connection to previous known characters, namely the one from the previous book. It was great to follow up the connections between everyone.

Some situations were a bit far fetched, even for a comedy as it looks like sometimes and the end had some aspects. some resolutions that i found not very credible, but overall, the story was fresh and fun and great to be spending time with.
All things considered, this book was great to read and I liked almost everything related to the plot and the character's development. For that alone, cheers.
Grade: 8/10

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