kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Mr. Right Goes Wrong by Pamela Morsi is a wonderful novel about starting over and finding love when least expected. Next door neighbors and childhood friends Mazy Gulliver and Eli Latham have had a couple of ill-fated romances in the past, but with Mazy’s sudden return, is it finally their chance for lasting happiness? Or will Mazy’s past and Eli’s doubts destroy their future together?
Moving back to her small hometown with her fourteen year old son, Tru, Mazy is determined to get her life back on track. Unfortunately, the only person whom she can irrefutably count on to give her the job she desperately needs is her ex, Tad Driscoll. Her relief at her new beginning is tempered by the mistrust her new job as a loan collector engenders in the small town but luckily, she can count on her friendship with Eli to bolster her sometimes flagging self-confidence.
Mazy is painfully honest and refreshingly upfront about her past mistakes. There are a multitude of reasons behind her unfortunate selections when it comes to men, but she finally has a better idea of what precipitated her poor choices and she is not going to slip back into her old habits. The first step in her new, improved life is renewing her friendship with Eli, and she is stunned at the changes in her perception of Eli. For the first time, she sees him as the sexy, attractive man he has become instead of the boy next door.
Eli has been in love with Mazy most of his life and despite how badly things ended between them years earlier, he harbors no ill will towards her. The two eagerly pick up where they left off, but this time around, Eli is not going to let Mazy slip through his fingers. After watching her fall for bad boy after bad boy, he devises what he thinks is a foolproof plan that will keep her from leaving him. Instead of being the nice, loving, thoughtful man he really is, Eli puts his harebrained scheme into motion and morphs into the insensitive, selfish, offensive boyfriend she is trying to avoid.
It is very difficult to watch the relationship between Mazy and Eli unfold. She is so hopeful that she is entering into a new phase in her life and the fact that Eli is willing to let her back in his life is an unexpected bonus. Her confusion over his conflicting behaviors is heartbreaking and I hated seeing her self-doubts return. Mazy put up with his bad behavior for far too long, but in end? It was completely worth it because it showed her how much she had truly changed from the person she used to be.
Eli is such a nice guy that he lets people take advantage of him and in the beginning, it is easy to overlook his horrendous decision. He takes some really bad advice to heart and his past experiences with Mazy also play a role in the conclusions he reaches. Some of his reasoning is well-intentioned, and he finds it very difficult to be deliberately hurtful. But things go a little too far when he begins to relish some of his hurtful actions and when his plan falls apart, I was thrilled by how Mazy handled the entire situation.
With Mr. Right Goes Wrong, Pamela Morsi delivers yet another thought-provoking and dynamic novel that is sweet, hopeful and just a little poignant. The characters are flawed and imperfect and although watching them deal with life’s harsher moments is sometimes painful, it is incredibly gratifying watching them triumph over their problems. The romance between Eli and Mazy is touching and although they endure a few rough spots, their happily ever after is definitely worth the heartache.
Mr. Right Goes Wrong is another delightful novel by one of my favorite authors that I highly recommend.
Mr. Right Goes Wrong by Pamela Morsi is a wonderful novel about starting over and finding love when least expected. Next door neighbors and childhood friends Mazy Gulliver and Eli Latham have had a couple of ill-fated romances in the past, but with Mazy’s sudden return, is it finally their chance for lasting happiness? Or will Mazy’s past and Eli’s doubts destroy their future together?
Moving back to her small hometown with her fourteen year old son, Tru, Mazy is determined to get her life back on track. Unfortunately, the only person whom she can irrefutably count on to give her the job she desperately needs is her ex, Tad Driscoll. Her relief at her new beginning is tempered by the mistrust her new job as a loan collector engenders in the small town but luckily, she can count on her friendship with Eli to bolster her sometimes flagging self-confidence.
Mazy is painfully honest and refreshingly upfront about her past mistakes. There are a multitude of reasons behind her unfortunate selections when it comes to men, but she finally has a better idea of what precipitated her poor choices and she is not going to slip back into her old habits. The first step in her new, improved life is renewing her friendship with Eli, and she is stunned at the changes in her perception of Eli. For the first time, she sees him as the sexy, attractive man he has become instead of the boy next door.
Eli has been in love with Mazy most of his life and despite how badly things ended between them years earlier, he harbors no ill will towards her. The two eagerly pick up where they left off, but this time around, Eli is not going to let Mazy slip through his fingers. After watching her fall for bad boy after bad boy, he devises what he thinks is a foolproof plan that will keep her from leaving him. Instead of being the nice, loving, thoughtful man he really is, Eli puts his harebrained scheme into motion and morphs into the insensitive, selfish, offensive boyfriend she is trying to avoid.
It is very difficult to watch the relationship between Mazy and Eli unfold. She is so hopeful that she is entering into a new phase in her life and the fact that Eli is willing to let her back in his life is an unexpected bonus. Her confusion over his conflicting behaviors is heartbreaking and I hated seeing her self-doubts return. Mazy put up with his bad behavior for far too long, but in end? It was completely worth it because it showed her how much she had truly changed from the person she used to be.
Eli is such a nice guy that he lets people take advantage of him and in the beginning, it is easy to overlook his horrendous decision. He takes some really bad advice to heart and his past experiences with Mazy also play a role in the conclusions he reaches. Some of his reasoning is well-intentioned, and he finds it very difficult to be deliberately hurtful. But things go a little too far when he begins to relish some of his hurtful actions and when his plan falls apart, I was thrilled by how Mazy handled the entire situation.
With Mr. Right Goes Wrong, Pamela Morsi delivers yet another thought-provoking and dynamic novel that is sweet, hopeful and just a little poignant. The characters are flawed and imperfect and although watching them deal with life’s harsher moments is sometimes painful, it is incredibly gratifying watching them triumph over their problems. The romance between Eli and Mazy is touching and although they endure a few rough spots, their happily ever after is definitely worth the heartache.
Mr. Right Goes Wrong is another delightful novel by one of my favorite authors that I highly recommend.
tsmom1219's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this. Not super deep, but quite a bit of fun.
annalisa_gatti's review against another edition
3.0
I love the romance genre. I’ve spent some time trying to hide that fact, but I’m now welcoming it with open arms. So here we go. I had previously read Pamela Morsi’s Love Overdue, about a librarian in a small town. Oh, it was so great, I naturally assumed that I would like Mr. Right Goes Wrong. The synopsis didn’t really interest me at first - I’m not crazy about romances where one of the main characters has a kid so I worried about how this was going to go.
SPOILERS AHEAD****
So Eli’s plan is super complicated and not at all okay. There at least three instances were Eli muses over his plan and the reader is allowed to see it. But every time, it seems like Morsi is trying to explain it and make it seem rational. Eli’s plan does not come off as sane or normal. In the beginning, he feels horrible for the way he’s treating Mazy and falls into his old habits of praising her and loving her. But after a while he gets a bit power hungry and says how he likes kicking Mazy to the curb after sex or getting her to clean up for him. By the halfway point of the book, Eli comes off as slimy and kinda douchey. I think Morsi wants to develop Eli, having him go from being a push-over in every aspect of his life (see: his relationship with his brother) to someone with backbone. But the way that Morsi goes about it made me a little queasy.
For the most part, I liked Mazy. Morsi did a good job of creating Mazy, and showing her flaws as well as her strengths. For all her mistakes mazy is an excellent mom, dedicated to Tru and to trying to change herself to be a better parent for him. I liked that Mazy seemed aware of her past mistakes and seemed concentrated on not repeating similar patterns. But at the same time, it takes Mazy forever to see that Eli is treating her badly. She wants to be with a good guy, someone who will treat her well and respect her. In the past, Eli has done just that and so she returns to him, believing that she can finally break her pattern of dating jerks. Even at the three-quarter mark of the book, she is still rationalizing Eli’s behaviour and making excuses. I know that patterns and habits are hard to break, but there seemed to be a disconnect between how self-aware Mazy was and the actions she performed.
Mazy sticks up for herself and tells Eli that she’s not sticking around for him to disrespect her (yay!). They are apart for two weeks, then at Thanksgiving, they chat, Eli explains his whole plan and somehow everything get solved. Mazy forgives him and they make up, promising to see where things go between them.
I have no problem with Mazy taking Eli back, especially since in the beginning he was such a nice guy and he knows he should have never treated the way he did. But at the same time, would you really want to be with a guy who had deceived you that much? Who had changed his personality to trick you into being with him? I’d have some serious questions and worries if I were Mazy.
A lot of other stuff happens in this book, making it longer than it needed to be. By the time I had reached the end, I was hoping for a really great ending. But I wasn’t so lucky. The end was cute, sweet and I smiled, but it was one of those endings where it feels like everything gets tied up a little too quickly.
Mr. Right Goes Wrong was a fun, (somewhat) quick read, but I wouldn’t revisit it for a second time. There was a lot of potential for this book, but somewhere along the lines it got muddled.
SPOILERS AHEAD****
So Eli’s plan is super complicated and not at all okay. There at least three instances were Eli muses over his plan and the reader is allowed to see it. But every time, it seems like Morsi is trying to explain it and make it seem rational. Eli’s plan does not come off as sane or normal. In the beginning, he feels horrible for the way he’s treating Mazy and falls into his old habits of praising her and loving her. But after a while he gets a bit power hungry and says how he likes kicking Mazy to the curb after sex or getting her to clean up for him. By the halfway point of the book, Eli comes off as slimy and kinda douchey. I think Morsi wants to develop Eli, having him go from being a push-over in every aspect of his life (see: his relationship with his brother) to someone with backbone. But the way that Morsi goes about it made me a little queasy.
For the most part, I liked Mazy. Morsi did a good job of creating Mazy, and showing her flaws as well as her strengths. For all her mistakes mazy is an excellent mom, dedicated to Tru and to trying to change herself to be a better parent for him. I liked that Mazy seemed aware of her past mistakes and seemed concentrated on not repeating similar patterns. But at the same time, it takes Mazy forever to see that Eli is treating her badly. She wants to be with a good guy, someone who will treat her well and respect her. In the past, Eli has done just that and so she returns to him, believing that she can finally break her pattern of dating jerks. Even at the three-quarter mark of the book, she is still rationalizing Eli’s behaviour and making excuses. I know that patterns and habits are hard to break, but there seemed to be a disconnect between how self-aware Mazy was and the actions she performed.
Mazy sticks up for herself and tells Eli that she’s not sticking around for him to disrespect her (yay!). They are apart for two weeks, then at Thanksgiving, they chat, Eli explains his whole plan and somehow everything get solved. Mazy forgives him and they make up, promising to see where things go between them.
I have no problem with Mazy taking Eli back, especially since in the beginning he was such a nice guy and he knows he should have never treated the way he did. But at the same time, would you really want to be with a guy who had deceived you that much? Who had changed his personality to trick you into being with him? I’d have some serious questions and worries if I were Mazy.
A lot of other stuff happens in this book, making it longer than it needed to be. By the time I had reached the end, I was hoping for a really great ending. But I wasn’t so lucky. The end was cute, sweet and I smiled, but it was one of those endings where it feels like everything gets tied up a little too quickly.
Mr. Right Goes Wrong was a fun, (somewhat) quick read, but I wouldn’t revisit it for a second time. There was a lot of potential for this book, but somewhere along the lines it got muddled.
beckymmoe's review against another edition
4.0
This was my second book by Pamela Morsi, and I have to say I liked it just as much as the first ([b:The Lovesick Cure|13547969|The Lovesick Cure|Pamela Morsi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337937051s/13547969.jpg|19113130])--that is to say, quite a bit!
Second chance stories are always some of my favorite reads, and this one was no exception. Mazy and Eli were never really "together"--at least in her mind. Though he has loved her for years, he's always been her best friend and rebound guy. Even when the book started and Mazy moved back home and they first got back together, it was obvious that she wasn't seeing him as an option for real relationship material.
Eli's plan to get her to take him seriously works (pretend to be a "bad boyfriend" a la the blog-o-verse)--sort of. I have to admit that at times what he did made me laugh, though just as often his actions made me cringe. (And more than once I just sat there, my mouth hanging open in "oh no he didn't" fashion. He did.) He absolutely took it too far, and I cried a bit inside when his actions had Mazy doubting herself again. (If only Eli's dad could talk! I'm sure he would have reined him in before it got to that point--though I suppose then Eli probably wouldn't have confided that much to him anyway, so...)
On the other hand, Eli's actions did have some positive implications. For one, he started standing up for himself more in other areas of his life--especially with his brother, who worked for him and took major advantage of Eli--which was definitely a change for the good. Mazy really wasn't seeing Eli as a relationship material and by not being so over-the-top eager to please as he'd been in the past, how she saw him was finally changed.
(Though she definitely had inklings all along that something was going on. Eli couldn't keep the "bad boyfriend" bit going all the time, and those glimpses confused Mazy, but also gave her hope.)
Do I agree with all of his choices? Heck no. Does he make up for them in the end? I think so. And her initial reaction to finding out the truth is spot on, and well deserved. ;)
In a nutshell--we have two characters who both need to learn, make mistakes, and grow to get to a place where they can be together and work on an HEA. They do all of the above, and on top of that it's an entertaining read. Sign me up for the next book by Pamela Morsi!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Second chance stories are always some of my favorite reads, and this one was no exception. Mazy and Eli were never really "together"--at least in her mind. Though he has loved her for years, he's always been her best friend and rebound guy. Even when the book started and Mazy moved back home and they first got back together, it was obvious that she wasn't seeing him as an option for real relationship material.
Eli's plan to get her to take him seriously works (pretend to be a "bad boyfriend" a la the blog-o-verse)--sort of. I have to admit that at times what he did made me laugh, though just as often his actions made me cringe. (And more than once I just sat there, my mouth hanging open in "oh no he didn't" fashion. He did.) He absolutely took it too far, and I cried a bit inside when his actions had Mazy doubting herself again. (If only Eli's dad could talk! I'm sure he would have reined him in before it got to that point--though I suppose then Eli probably wouldn't have confided that much to him anyway, so...)
On the other hand, Eli's actions did have some positive implications. For one, he started standing up for himself more in other areas of his life--especially with his brother, who worked for him and took major advantage of Eli--which was definitely a change for the good. Mazy really wasn't seeing Eli as a relationship material and by not being so over-the-top eager to please as he'd been in the past, how she saw him was finally changed.
(Though she definitely had inklings all along that something was going on. Eli couldn't keep the "bad boyfriend" bit going all the time, and those glimpses confused Mazy, but also gave her hope.)
Do I agree with all of his choices? Heck no. Does he make up for them in the end? I think so. And her initial reaction to finding out the truth is spot on, and well deserved. ;)
In a nutshell--we have two characters who both need to learn, make mistakes, and grow to get to a place where they can be together and work on an HEA. They do all of the above, and on top of that it's an entertaining read. Sign me up for the next book by Pamela Morsi!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
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