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rosariofacio's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first book of Susan Mallery that I had read back in high school and fell in love with. Rereading it now I found myself really annoyed at a certain characters actions that back than I would just ignore and love about. But other than that I really loved the story and was happy with how it all ended.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
2.0
The writing is strong but the plot requires the extremely put-upon heroine to be preternaturally forgiving - not just of the asshole hero, but of the hero's mom (who is a complete bitch to her), one of the mean girls who made her life a living hell in high school, and an entire town where people feel free to come up to her as she is participating in a town fundraiser for free and publicly denounce her for having been "the town slut" back in high school. Seriously, it's just awful. And the hero's douchebaggery really cannot be overestimated. The worst part is that the narrative gets that he's behaving like a douchebag and keeps trying to come up with ways to justify it. This was just painful. I literally skimmed the sex scenes because I couldn't believe the heroine was actually having sex with this jerk.
Spoiler
Yes, after swearing in private that he loved her, he called her a slut in public to his friends in high school - but he was the oldest child of an overbearing father, and anyway it was a long time ago! Yes, when she came to tell him about her pregnancy three weeks after this, she found him in bed with one of the mean girls who'd made her life in high school a living hell - but they were too drunk to actually have sex! Yes, the second time she approached him his evil, now-dead wife forged a note telling her to stay away - but c'mon, that bitch trapped him into marriage and he didn't know about it! Yes, he tells their child that she deliberately kept the child away from him - but he was really mad! Yes, he files a restraining order to keep her from returning to her home despite the fact that she expressed complete willingness to work with him on custody - but he was scared and anyway you can't expect men to know what they're doing! Why, oh why, has she always refused to trust him?jen286's review against another edition
4.0
Almost Perfect was almost perfect. It was one of my favorites in this Fool's Gold series, but there were a few things that kept I didn't like about it. Overall I loved the story.
Liz comes back to Fool's Gold with her son Tyler after receiving a letter that her nieces are all alone and way too young to be taking care of themselves. Her brother, who she hasn't spoken to in years, is in jail and his wife just left them. She never wanted to return to Fool's Gold, especially since Ethan, Tyler's dad and her first love, specifically told her to never come back. He wanted nothing to do with her or his son.
When Ethan sees Liz in Fool's Gold he immediately reconnects with her only to find that he has a son he was never told about. Liz had run away after Ethan claimed not to know her to his friends and when she came back to tell him she was pregnant he was in bed with someone else. So she left not telling him. Five years later she tires again and tells his wife about his son, she promises to tell him, then she gets a letter saying I want nothing to do with either of you. Ethan of course never knew about this so he is understandably upset that he has missed out on 11 years of his son's life. The whole town quickly finds out about what happened and is pretty quick to pass judgement on Liz.
I understood why everyone was so upset and I loved the writing about how angry Ethan was and everything. It really made the story a great read. Trying to figure out how the two will work everything out was great. The issue I had? There kept being times when some piece of information was revealed and then instantly things were better. It was like once Ethan saw the letter he supposedly sent he was not as angry anymore. It was just a little too quick or written in a slightly unbelievable way. I could see him not being as angry and whatnot, but I don't know. Something about it was slightly off for me. The same thing happened when Liz found out some info and it just was missing something.
Liz and Ethan are still attracted to each other. They still care about the other person, and it was fun watching them try and work everything out. Ethan is a bit dense and doesn't say or do the right thing a lot, but in the end he figures it out. A great read, even though some of the resolutions seemed too easy.
Also posted to Jen in Bookland
Liz comes back to Fool's Gold with her son Tyler after receiving a letter that her nieces are all alone and way too young to be taking care of themselves. Her brother, who she hasn't spoken to in years, is in jail and his wife just left them. She never wanted to return to Fool's Gold, especially since Ethan, Tyler's dad and her first love, specifically told her to never come back. He wanted nothing to do with her or his son.
When Ethan sees Liz in Fool's Gold he immediately reconnects with her only to find that he has a son he was never told about. Liz had run away after Ethan claimed not to know her to his friends and when she came back to tell him she was pregnant he was in bed with someone else. So she left not telling him. Five years later she tires again and tells his wife about his son, she promises to tell him, then she gets a letter saying I want nothing to do with either of you. Ethan of course never knew about this so he is understandably upset that he has missed out on 11 years of his son's life. The whole town quickly finds out about what happened and is pretty quick to pass judgement on Liz.
I understood why everyone was so upset and I loved the writing about how angry Ethan was and everything. It really made the story a great read. Trying to figure out how the two will work everything out was great. The issue I had? There kept being times when some piece of information was revealed and then instantly things were better. It was like once Ethan saw the letter he supposedly sent he was not as angry anymore. It was just a little too quick or written in a slightly unbelievable way. I could see him not being as angry and whatnot, but I don't know. Something about it was slightly off for me. The same thing happened when Liz found out some info and it just was missing something.
Liz and Ethan are still attracted to each other. They still care about the other person, and it was fun watching them try and work everything out. Ethan is a bit dense and doesn't say or do the right thing a lot, but in the end he figures it out. A great read, even though some of the resolutions seemed too easy.
Also posted to Jen in Bookland
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
Well, when I finished a romance by Mallery in January, I said I was going to look for another contemporary romance writer because by that time, I had read 16 of her books. I did read one book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, but when push came to shove, the Mallory romance I found on my shelves was the book I choose to read last week. I know I am going to have a good time in the town of Fool's Gold.
There is no way I can write about this novel without repeating myself. Liz Sutton left Fool's Gold swearing she would never be back. Of course, that is the setup for her return and why Liz will end up staying. Mallery does not necessarily make this plot realistic, but it was fun, funny and I was happy to suspend my disbelief for the length of the book.
There is no way I can write about this novel without repeating myself. Liz Sutton left Fool's Gold swearing she would never be back. Of course, that is the setup for her return and why Liz will end up staying. Mallery does not necessarily make this plot realistic, but it was fun, funny and I was happy to suspend my disbelief for the length of the book.
pahinik's review against another edition
2.0
Ethan is a chauvinistic pig who absolutely did not deserve the ending he got. He screwed up over and over again and is a sexist, entitled POS who treated Liz like absolute crap constantly, consistently throughout the book. He was livid instead of understanding (WHEN IT WAS VERY CLEARLY A MORALLY GREY AREA), could not accept blame one bit, tried turning his son against his mother MULTIPLE times, served the mother of his child with an injunction to force her to stay where he wanted her to stay, refused to properly apologise for all his screwups, NEVER ACTUALLY REDEEMED HIMSELF (because I believe a public proclamation which victimises her rather than him accepting his MANY mistakes and apologising is not the way to go). The writer tries to explain away Ethan’s douchiness by some random remarks made by his mother about him feeling the need to live up to their family reputation. Honestly, that explanation felt weak and half-assed and just a euphemism for saying ‘oh he is just a garbage human being’.
The only reason I even gave two stars is because this book made me rAGE and SO ANGRY at Ethan, it made me feel strong feelings which isn’t necessarily bad writing; the book just has an ending I don’t agree with. Liz absolutely deserved better than a guy who is absolute trash lashing out at her every time things do not go his way.
I have never written a review before, but this felt like a good place to start. Phew.
The only reason I even gave two stars is because this book made me rAGE and SO ANGRY at Ethan, it made me feel strong feelings which isn’t necessarily bad writing; the book just has an ending I don’t agree with. Liz absolutely deserved better than a guy who is absolute trash lashing out at her every time things do not go his way.
I have never written a review before, but this felt like a good place to start. Phew.
1saphrona's review against another edition
3.0
Ethan's character never progressed. He was immature and emotionally detached throughout. Events seemed random and without much depth (children stealing with no consequence, step mother leaving children, Liz's attack).
birgit_at's review against another edition
3.0
It was a good book and I liked Liz a lot. She was a really strong character.
But there were a few things I didn't like. The book is the second part of a serie but it feels more like a stand-alone story. Sure, you meet some of the "old" characters again but you don't get new information about them. Sad.
And then there is one part of the story that's never finished. Am I thr only one who wondered the whole time about Rayane?? Why she and the baby died?
All in all I liked the book but I didn't Love it.
But there were a few things I didn't like. The book is the second part of a serie but it feels more like a stand-alone story. Sure, you meet some of the "old" characters again but you don't get new information about them. Sad.
And then there is one part of the story that's never finished. Am I thr only one who wondered the whole time about Rayane?? Why she and the baby died?
All in all I liked the book but I didn't Love it.
jessicakellyreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0