His regular moves won’t work here. He’s going to need a new plan, starting with helping her win over the man she thinks she wants. And if in the process she ends up falling for Hudson instead? Even better. Step one, charm her panties off. Step two, repeat step one as frequently as possible.
But what if the famous Carlyle charm finally fails him when he needs it most? Or worse, what if she figures out the one secret he’s kept from everyone, including his family, and walks away for good?
Comment: After finishing a very hard story to read, such as was A Little Life, I've decided to radically switch gears and "clean the palate" so to speak, by choosing something lighter. Well, the tactic worked but my pick was way too light to the point of being superficial.
In this book we meet Hudson Carlyle, a very rich and apparently laid back guy, as he observes a woman at a party for beneficence and considers her to be pretty but unfashionable. He also notices she is looking at Tyler, a man he is friends with and whom he believes would not be a good match for her. The intrigue is too much and he approaches her, but Felicia Hartigan, a scientist at the lab for which the party is dedicated to, seems immune. Hudson never turns away from a challenge but Felicia doesn't believe him at first, and he invents a plan to make her spend time with him too. However, neither truly realizes how deep their feelings are and is there any chance they can see they are actually perfect for one another?
I've decided to read this book because the idea of this opposites attract couple was made to seem very alluring by the blurb. Sadly to me, though, all elements were very thin and it did make me think, because the previous book I had read was depressing but well written and this was the exact opposite. Onto the philosophies of life: which outcome is better?
Anyway, the plot of this story is very superficial and the small page count - I'd say this isn't a novel, nor a novella either... a shorter story? - doesn't help to give the idea of how well constructed things should be, which means I've felt this was poorly done. There are no layers and the "lessons" the characters need to learn/see through are too generic and formulaic and there is no believable conflict either.
Hudson is a man who loves to paint but a negative reaction from his father in the past made him decide to stop. I can accept the psychology of this, after all our minds react emotionally to thinks that, if it were to refer to someone else we might think the choices would be different. He is also a man who has success with the ladies and these small details help to paint a picture of who he is and what kind f personality he should have. I liked Hudson in general terms but he isn't that special to the point that he carries on the book on his own.
Felicia is the youngest of seven and it seems some of her other siblings had books in other series by the author. She has an unusual field of research in science, she studies ants and although this is fascinating it doesn't mean she is as intriguing as her field. I assumed, by the blurb, that she would be shy and unsure of herself socially, which only serves to see that pre conceived ideas never work long term, but I still hoped for some kind of stimulating interaction with Hudson before they became a couple. Well, it wasn't so.
The most obvious problem to me was that the plot of this story is ridiculous. Hudson wants to help Felicia to become a woman Tyler would be interested in but he secretly wants her to want to be with him? She accepts this as an experiment? Grown up people playing these games is really silly, and I lost interest very quickly. What made me keep up and finish was the fact the story is short and I had this perverse need to see how ridiculously the author would choose to reveal Hudson's successful painting persona which he was keeping a secret!
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