Showing posts with label Emma Chase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emma Chase. Show all posts

Friday, May 14, 2021

Emma Chase - Twisted

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard. In this heart-pounding follow-up to Tangled by New York Times bestseller Emma Chase, Kate reveals that there is trouble in paradise, when unexpected circumstances force her and Drew to "renegotiate" their relationship.
There are two kinds of people in the world. The ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I’ve always been more of a looker. Cautious. A planner. That changed after I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure of himself—and of me.
But not all love stories end happily ever after. Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset? Join the club. Now I have to make a choice; the most important of my life. Drew already made hisin fact, he tried to decide for the both of us. But you know that’s just not my style. So I came back to Greenville, Ohio, alone. Well, sort of alone...
What I've come to realize is that old habits die hard, and sometimes you have to go back to where you began before you can move ahead.

Comment: This is the second book in the Tangled series by Emma Chase. I had read the previous book last year and I liked it enough to want to read the sequel.

In this book, Drew and Kate have bee together for some time, they have had a steady relationship and things might get even more serious one day, although they are content with the way things are now. However, there is a situation which neither was expecting to happen and how each one reacts is the reason behind all troubles. Still, after all they have shared and how in sync they were, how could it be that their romance might going to end, will there be a way to fix things?

Despite the big fight the protagonists have, this is a book to make us smile and nod our heads at the misunderstandings and silliness they face and also a way to warm up when friends and family help and when they reunite. I don't think it's any spoiler to say they have a fight, things seem to be dire but, of course, att he end we only need to focus on the positive things and the "lesson" learned over such an experience.

Drew and Kate had become an established couple in the first book but it's possible to imagine they still could fave adversity and problems. However, I would say the plot of this book is extremely thin and I have to wonder if it was just a means to keep up the hype over the story...even though the biggest appeal  - Drew being the narrator - isn't the focus. The thing is, the reason why they fight is very weak, and a believable conversation would have solved it immediately, which would mean no story whatsoever. In order for something to exist, the author based the whole thing, all the misunderstandings on a ridiculous premise.

I might sound harsh but there is no way that two people in love, with time and a story between them, even if they had self doubts about how the other sees them (who doesn't?), would waste time discussing a subject without mentioning at least once the single word which would have avoided the whole issue? They could still fight over it or not agree on how they felt about it, although by the way their relationship progressed that might not be too plausible anyway, but there would be no silly misunderstanding. Also, besides this, would their common friends also never say the word that could explain it all out loud? It's very unlikely.

Well, after a long part of the story on the problems, which had their interest, especially on how Kate emotionally reacted over some details, the couple finally talks and they work on being better partners to one another. I like the writing and even though this is first person narrator, the author has talent to let the characters be witty and appealing and it's no hardship to follow their thoughts, although sometimes they appear to be a little over the top. This to say the bones of the story are good enough, the whole of the book is both funny and emotional at times, but separating each part or situation... ehh, perhaps not as wonderful as the first.

All in all, despite my critics, I had an easy time reading this and it was one of those "feel good" books if one puts aside the dramas, but the tone and the end more than make for that. I'm not certain I'll read more books by the author but I'm happy to end this one on relatively a positive note.
Grade: 7/10

Saturday, September 12, 2020

Emma Chase - Tangled

Drew Evans makes multimillion-dollar business deals and seduces New York's most beautiful women with just a smile. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? He'll tell you he has the flu, but we all know that's not really true.
When Katherine Brooks is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father's investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy's life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.
How can one woman turn a smooth-talking player into a broken, desperate man? By making the one thing he never wanted in life the only thing he can't live without.


Comment: I had this book to read since 2014, one year after it was published and when some hype was created around it. I can now see why it was so well received by many readers...

In this contemporary story, we have the POV of Drew Evans, a true womanizer but with a set of values that makes him be well liked and respected. 
Drew has a pretty charmed life but he isn't arrogant or mean, he is able to understand he has had the means to achieve his goals but he still appreciates his family and friends and he does give good advice to his young niece.
However, like any successful young man, he is a ladies' man and is not ashamed. Everything changes when he meets Kate, tries to charm her but fails. Then, what a coincidence that she is the new associate in the firm he works at! He can try to win her over but his boss, who happens to be his father too, decides they need to compete for a potential client. 
Drew certainly wasn't counting on finding in Kate his other - better - half...

This was a cute story. I think I understand the appeal after all most romance novels aren't told from the hero's POV.
Well, sure nowadays there are many more but often we're talking about NA and often such weirdly unlikely guys that it's incredible how much appreciation they have.
Anyway, this book is from 2013 and I can see why many readers have thought it to be a good one.

The story is pretty basic: Drew finds Kate intriguing because she seems to meet him face to face when it comes to challenges and work deals but it's clear they are attracted to each other. They start to butt heads which is sort of foreplay for them, they decide to give it a go and then a misunderstanding makes it go bad. Then, the rest of the book is how Drew tries to fix things.
In terms of plot, this is as simple as I've summarized. Obviously the appeal is in the details.

Drew is a cute narrator. The story is, indeed, told as if he is talking directly to the reader, there's a certain sense of communication but he still manages to be a character and not know-it-all smarter than others. I liked his style but I can understand why for some people he might come across as too cocky or even "fake". I would not agree with that but he is a clearly privileged man with a lot of free time among his professional duties, so I can see why for some he feels like a joker/comedian when the situation should be addressed more seriously.

His relationship with Kate is cute, filled with funny but touching moments. I would not say this is a comedy but things from Drew's POV might look so.
I liked Kate, she is a steady but confident heroine, she was game for their personal challenges and intimate moments but she was no dummy. I think her vulnerable side as well portrayed and I believed Drew's description of her personality.

The secondary characters were interesting, seemed a little too perfectly described but that felt partial because of Drew's POV. I especially liked his niece and his sister.
Yes, some other characters felt too handy to exist in his "world" but the aim of this book was definitely trying to not be complicated, the author had an intention with this story and her goal was quite simplistic. I like it for what it is, no secret agenda to be worried about.

This was a cute read, easy and entertaining. I really liked the schemes Drew invents to win Kate again. This is a good book to relax with. I'll likely read the sequel at some point. Soon if i can get the book in the near future.
Grade: 8/10