Codi Gary

While the premise was interesting I felt Gary a) relied on the repetition of Katie being a pushover and Chase having inferiority issues to push too much contrived obstacles and b) it was filled with one note secondary characters.

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I wanted to like this book so much more then I did. Good Girl meets Bad Boy (or at least Tarnished Boy) is a well honed and loved trope for me. However Chase and Katie didn't feel genuine, passionate or interesting. What started as something intriguing--Katie writes up a list of things to do that her mom told her "Good Girls" don't do, which Chase finds and offers pointers on what would and wouldn't be a good idea--devolves into an angst fest.

Katie has issues ranging from inferiority to depression. Her boyfriend of more then half a decade dumps her, her best friend has started to become more like her mother, the townspeople alternate between pitying her for what happened and chiding her for not living up to her mother's sterling image and her prospects for a boyfriend never mind a husband aren't likely in her small town.

Chase meanwhile has issues even bigger. He definitely feels inferior (though doesn't admit that), is surly about how folk have always looked down on him for living in a trailer, strained relations with his mother due to a childhood of neglect, a poke the snake instinct when it comes to dealing with disdainful townspeople and a longing to belong that he won't admit to under pain of death.

The two together shouldn't have worked the way that the author wanted them to. But this is romance so they completed each other and made the others' darkness fade away. :rolls eyes:

I did like that Gary made it clear from the get-go that Chase needed Katie far more then she needed him. Katie was content, if not overwhelmingly happy, with her life. Likely in a year or two, after the sting of her ex's idiocy finally faded, she'd've moved on and found someone. Chase...well. He grows because of the protectiveness he feels for Katie. He's interested in her development and as such begins to see the dark spots he needs to fix in his own life. Regardless of what Katie's ex did she wasn't a moping violet. Chase helped her open up--because she liked seeing him glowing with approval at her actions--but it wasn't anything she wouldn't have found on her own one day.

I also found it amusing that when they got to the 'one night stand' portion of her life Katie told Chase that he couldn't be her one night stand because its supposed to be between strangers. Love'em and leave'em in other words, which apparently was Chase's MO, but which he got grumpy about when Katie told him it was best for them.… (more)

Veterinarian Kara Ingalls is putting her life back together after a disastrous breakup with her boyfriend that ended with him going to prison for theft. She opens a combination cafe and cat rescue center and plans to expand to include a cat clinic. She meets a marketing genius who is reeling from his own devastating breakup. And while their first encounter is not promising, (he doesn’t like cats), before very long they find they can work together. An abandoned kitten ultimately is the catalyst that brings them together. While both have trust issues and seemingly little in common, they soon realize that in the larger scheme of things, they just might be perfect for each other. It’s a lovely romantic tale, and the introductions to the chapters which feature the adoptable cats are quite humorous. Well written with likable characters placed in an entertaining story, it’s a heart-warming Christmas novel.… (more)

I was sold on the title alone. Kara is looking for a fresh start so she decided to co-open a cat cafe with her best friend as she tries to hide from her past. When Ben, a fresh faced reporter new to the area, decides to promote the cat cafe as part of a new promotion their paths cross although it is not quite love at first sight. Ben has some baggage and Kara doesn't want any attention. But when a little kitten lands on Ben's doorstop Kara has no choice but to help him out and there is no denying the attention that starts to blossom between them. Can they both move past their trust issues and look towards the future? Sweet, but a little over the top at times. Romance is closed doors which is a shame. A fun, fluffy read.… (more)