witandsin's review against another edition
3.0
My review cross-posted from Wit and Sin: http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2013/01/review-crazy-thing-called-love-by-molly.html
Madelyn Cornish has worked hard to get where she is: the host of a popular Dallas morning TV show. More importantly, she’s worked even harder to forget who she was and where she came from. But the past comes back to haunt her in the form of her ex-husband, hockey star Billy Wilkins. Billy’s the focus of her show’s on-air makeover project and it’ll take all of Madelyn’s formidable self control to resist her attraction to her bad boy ex. It’s not an easy feat, particularly since Billy seems determined to win her back…
I freely admit that I picked up Crazy Thing Called Love because of the hockey element and the reunion storyline — I’m a sucker for both. But this Crooked Creek novel is sure to delight fans of contemporary romance, whether or not you have any interest in sports.
I absolutely love a good hockey hero and Molly O’Keefe delivers a winner with bad tempered enforcer Billy Wilkins. He’s genuinely rough around the edges, but there’s a wealth of caring within him that makes him an endearing hero. It was wonderful to watch him grow and change over the course of Crazy Thing Called Love. Maddy, in turn, was a bit harder to like. I understand her ambition and wanting to put her history with Billy behind her, but she went a bit too far for me in the beginning. However, by the end of the story Maddy had won me over and I was delighted to see her find happiness with the only man she’s ever loved. Ms. O’Keefe did a masterful job with character development, something I love in a story.
Crazy Thing Called Love was a bit of a slow starter for me. However, when everything in Billy’s life comes crashing down around him, Crazy Thing Called Love starts to roll and I did not want to put it down. Billy becomes guardian to two troubled children who are sure to capture your heart. Ms. O’Keefe adds a sobering dose of reality with Billy’s niece Becky, a thirteen-year-old who’s had to deal with much more in her life than any child should. The plotline involving Billy learning how to be a parent was almost more captivating than his romance with Maddy.
Crazy Thing Called Love is the third Crooked Creek novel, but you don’t have to have read Can’t Buy Me Love or Can’t Hurry Love in order to follow along. However, after finishing Crazy Thing Called Love I’ll definitely be picking up the first two books in the series. With just one book, Ms. O’Keefe has me hooked!
Madelyn Cornish has worked hard to get where she is: the host of a popular Dallas morning TV show. More importantly, she’s worked even harder to forget who she was and where she came from. But the past comes back to haunt her in the form of her ex-husband, hockey star Billy Wilkins. Billy’s the focus of her show’s on-air makeover project and it’ll take all of Madelyn’s formidable self control to resist her attraction to her bad boy ex. It’s not an easy feat, particularly since Billy seems determined to win her back…
I freely admit that I picked up Crazy Thing Called Love because of the hockey element and the reunion storyline — I’m a sucker for both. But this Crooked Creek novel is sure to delight fans of contemporary romance, whether or not you have any interest in sports.
I absolutely love a good hockey hero and Molly O’Keefe delivers a winner with bad tempered enforcer Billy Wilkins. He’s genuinely rough around the edges, but there’s a wealth of caring within him that makes him an endearing hero. It was wonderful to watch him grow and change over the course of Crazy Thing Called Love. Maddy, in turn, was a bit harder to like. I understand her ambition and wanting to put her history with Billy behind her, but she went a bit too far for me in the beginning. However, by the end of the story Maddy had won me over and I was delighted to see her find happiness with the only man she’s ever loved. Ms. O’Keefe did a masterful job with character development, something I love in a story.
Crazy Thing Called Love was a bit of a slow starter for me. However, when everything in Billy’s life comes crashing down around him, Crazy Thing Called Love starts to roll and I did not want to put it down. Billy becomes guardian to two troubled children who are sure to capture your heart. Ms. O’Keefe adds a sobering dose of reality with Billy’s niece Becky, a thirteen-year-old who’s had to deal with much more in her life than any child should. The plotline involving Billy learning how to be a parent was almost more captivating than his romance with Maddy.
Crazy Thing Called Love is the third Crooked Creek novel, but you don’t have to have read Can’t Buy Me Love or Can’t Hurry Love in order to follow along. However, after finishing Crazy Thing Called Love I’ll definitely be picking up the first two books in the series. With just one book, Ms. O’Keefe has me hooked!
mees_grows's review against another edition
3.0
It took two tries for me to get interested in this book but I think that it was probably more me than the story. Once I got into it, it was entertaining and interesting.
drey72's review against another edition
4.0
There’s really only two things you need to know about Crazy Thing Called Love: Pick this up if you love a good contemporary romance. And grab a box of tissues before you sit down. You’ll need it. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Once upon a time, a boy barely holding his life together met a girl stronger than she looks. They became best friends, grew up, fell in love, and got married. Then dreams (his) got in the way of a good thing, and they broke up.
Fourteen years later, the man the boy’d grown into shows up on the television show the girl-turned-woman anchors. And we get a story filled with enough emotion to sink the Titanic all over again. (See, I told you you’d need tissues…)
There’s plenty of heartbreak in this story of love found and lost, plenty of angst, and plenty of redemption and forgiveness. Molly O’Keefe gives Billy the gift of hindsight, Maddy the gift of courage, and readers the gift of a well-told story — complete with hurdles and obstacles over and beyond the emotional angst that comes with any second chance.
Definitely a pick-up for romance fans. You can thank me later.
drey’s rating: Excellent!
Once upon a time, a boy barely holding his life together met a girl stronger than she looks. They became best friends, grew up, fell in love, and got married. Then dreams (his) got in the way of a good thing, and they broke up.
Fourteen years later, the man the boy’d grown into shows up on the television show the girl-turned-woman anchors. And we get a story filled with enough emotion to sink the Titanic all over again. (See, I told you you’d need tissues…)
There’s plenty of heartbreak in this story of love found and lost, plenty of angst, and plenty of redemption and forgiveness. Molly O’Keefe gives Billy the gift of hindsight, Maddy the gift of courage, and readers the gift of a well-told story — complete with hurdles and obstacles over and beyond the emotional angst that comes with any second chance.
Definitely a pick-up for romance fans. You can thank me later.
drey’s rating: Excellent!
emilyhei's review against another edition
4.0
Madelyn Cornish whole world was wrapped up around her husband hockey player Billy Wilkins, but as most young married couples it wasn’t without it’s struggles. One unclear moment ended their marriage, and Maddy tried to never look back. Billy however, has never been the same since earning a reputation as the ultimate bad boy and in much need of a makeover.
Now Maddy is the host of a morning television show in Dallas. When Billy finds out they want to do a four week segment making him over, he jumps at the chance. Billy wants Maddy back, anyway he can get her but Maddy has grown into a strong independent woman who is intent on not letting him find his way back into her heart.
Full review on Single Titles
http://singletitles.com/?p=8518
Now Maddy is the host of a morning television show in Dallas. When Billy finds out they want to do a four week segment making him over, he jumps at the chance. Billy wants Maddy back, anyway he can get her but Maddy has grown into a strong independent woman who is intent on not letting him find his way back into her heart.
Full review on Single Titles
http://singletitles.com/?p=8518
jonetta's review against another edition
5.0
Billy Wilkins was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, an NHL hockey team and he's miserable. The coach doesn't believe in his rough playing style and Billy is resisting change. Madelyn Cornish wants nothing to do with him following her surprise confrontation with him at Victoria's party but she's being forced to because her producers have put Billy on her show as part of a short term makeover project. No one knows of their history and that he's her ex-husband.
I wasn't excited about reading this story as Billy seemed to be a bit of a wreck in the earlier books. Well, this turned out to be my most favorite of the series.
Billy IS a wreck but not for the reasons I thought. Instead of being just a wild man on hockey skates, brutal for the sake of the fight, Billy was expressing his anguish in the only way he knew how. When he and Madelyn ended their marriage, it seemed it was a choice he was ready to make. We learn so much more about this man, what led him to ultimately destroy his marriage and his relationship with Madelyn and the toll it ultimately took on his life.
Madelyn expressed her pain caused by the demise of their relationship so completely differently. She reinvented herself, becoming a glossy on air professional who was the picture of perfection, never losing her cool or displaying any extreme emotion. She was a brittle woman with no meaningful relationships in her life but on the surface appearing to be a model of success in her business.
This is a heart wrenching story as both Billy and Madelyn have to give up their protective shells in order to find their own hearts and the way back to each other. At times it is excruciatingly painful to experience but the payoff is huge. Billy's family unwittingly plays a significant role in their reunion as well. It all plays out in the midst of both of their careers, forcing them to reassess what is really important in their lives. I ached for both of them individually and for their fractured relationship. I really admired Billy for the risks he ultimately took to get this woman back and how vulnerable he was willing to be, publicly and privately.
I'm so glad I didn't put off reading this book. It was tough, funny, steamy, sad and romantic with an ending that was so very satisfying. I don't often read a story that has me be quite so emotionally strung out and it pushed me to my limits. It was a perfect ending to an extraordinary series and this story will always be one of my favorites.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley)
I wasn't excited about reading this story as Billy seemed to be a bit of a wreck in the earlier books. Well, this turned out to be my most favorite of the series.
Billy IS a wreck but not for the reasons I thought. Instead of being just a wild man on hockey skates, brutal for the sake of the fight, Billy was expressing his anguish in the only way he knew how. When he and Madelyn ended their marriage, it seemed it was a choice he was ready to make. We learn so much more about this man, what led him to ultimately destroy his marriage and his relationship with Madelyn and the toll it ultimately took on his life.
Madelyn expressed her pain caused by the demise of their relationship so completely differently. She reinvented herself, becoming a glossy on air professional who was the picture of perfection, never losing her cool or displaying any extreme emotion. She was a brittle woman with no meaningful relationships in her life but on the surface appearing to be a model of success in her business.
This is a heart wrenching story as both Billy and Madelyn have to give up their protective shells in order to find their own hearts and the way back to each other. At times it is excruciatingly painful to experience but the payoff is huge. Billy's family unwittingly plays a significant role in their reunion as well. It all plays out in the midst of both of their careers, forcing them to reassess what is really important in their lives. I ached for both of them individually and for their fractured relationship. I really admired Billy for the risks he ultimately took to get this woman back and how vulnerable he was willing to be, publicly and privately.
I'm so glad I didn't put off reading this book. It was tough, funny, steamy, sad and romantic with an ending that was so very satisfying. I don't often read a story that has me be quite so emotionally strung out and it pushed me to my limits. It was a perfect ending to an extraordinary series and this story will always be one of my favorites.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley)
shadowmaster13's review against another edition
3.0
The most remarkable thing about this book is that Sheryl didn't like it.
cindai23's review against another edition
4.0
This story had alot of heart. A story about change, second chances, trusting yourself and believing in another person without losing yourself. Quite a tall order for a contemporary romance, but one it ultimately pulls off quite nicely.
cocktailsandbooks1's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this one. Look for review on Night Owl Reviews.
turophile's review against another edition
2.0
This book didn't work for me. My review captured here:
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/rita-reader-challenge-crazy-thing-called-love-by-molly-okeefe2
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/rita-reader-challenge-crazy-thing-called-love-by-molly-okeefe2
ajcousins's review against another edition
4.0
Man, I love reunion stories. And redemption stories. And bad boys. Ok, so this book was pretty much made for me.
The beginning of this book was hard for me, because watching young people in love screw up is never fun. But I like it when an author isn't afraid to have a character walk away from someone they love because they aren't willing to accept how they are being treated and what their relationship is turning them into. So the back story is terrific and their reconnection is bittersweet, especially as more details about their childhoods are revealed and you just sort of wish they could have found a way to work through their problems years ago, because these two are perfect together but have missed out on so much time. I think I particularly liked how much of the story was from Billy's POV. Watching him struggle with his issues was moving. Great book, and I definitely got teary more than once, so grab a Kleenex.
The beginning of this book was hard for me, because watching young people in love screw up is never fun. But I like it when an author isn't afraid to have a character walk away from someone they love because they aren't willing to accept how they are being treated and what their relationship is turning them into. So the back story is terrific and their reconnection is bittersweet, especially as more details about their childhoods are revealed and you just sort of wish they could have found a way to work through their problems years ago, because these two are perfect together but have missed out on so much time. I think I particularly liked how much of the story was from Billy's POV. Watching him struggle with his issues was moving. Great book, and I definitely got teary more than once, so grab a Kleenex.