Lady Be Good

My Review:

Lady Be Good is the second book in the "Wynette Texas" series and this one is where we get the story of Kenny Treveler. We saw the hero briefly in the first book of the series "Fancy Pants" and I was curious to see how his story would be developed. I enjoyed it way more than I did the first book. The romance was definitely way stronger in this one here and the dynamic between Kenny and Emma was purely delightful. I loved that the heroine and hero had a class difference. Emma is a fine lady from England, she is trying to escape a marriage with a man who is holding her girls school from her. She has devised a plan to turn off his interest....but she will need a partner for her adventures in Texas. While Kenny and Emma go on a show more journey throughout Texas of Emma trying new things, there is a love that is building between them.

This was such a interesting story and I was all behind it. The audio was pretty decent. I really enjoy how the accents are done in this one. They aren't too heavy which is very refreshing. The slight angst and banter in this one was just delightful to read. Their interactions was so entertaining but deeply layered all at once. Definitely a keeper for the library. show less

As the reader opens the paperback, there is a brief letter to "Dear Reader" from the author, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Here are my favorite sentences, "Please believe me when I tell you that--each morning as I sat down to write--I never knew what these two would be up to! All I could do was hang on for the ride...I hope these characters who've become so dear to me bring you pleasure. Happy reading!"
Usually, I read paperbacks first and then share them with my Mother. In this case, my Mother shared this title with me and said, "You have to read this one next!" A little post-it note on the front cover of the paperback said, "...I hope you enjoy Lady Emma as much as I did. I began to laugh out loud early as the author described Lady Emma's show more shenanigans in Texas..."
With those two introductions to the title, I started my read. I love to read and I smile sometimes as I'm reading but it is a rare moment when I laugh out loud. And I did...off and on throughout the entire story. I can't tell you which character I loved the best - Lady Emma, Kenny Traveler or all the supporting characters. I just "enjoyed the ride" for as long as their story took to unfold. The title is a delight in every way. It took me awhile to discover this title as I've read many others by SEP. I'm so glad I didn't miss out on this one! show less

Lady Emma Wells-Finch, headmistress of St. Gertrude’s School for Girls, is being blackmailed into marrying the insufferable Duke of Beddington, the school’s benefactor. At stake are Emma’s job and the school’s future. Arriving in Texas on a working holiday, headstrong Emma is determined to cause just enough of a scandal to force the Duke to end their ‘engagement’.

Misunderstood playboy pro golfer Kenny Traveller has caused a scandal of his own, and been suspended from the PGA as a result. His only hope of being reinstated to the tour in time to play at the Masters is to chauffeur Emma around while she's in Texas, avoiding any more trouble …

This is the kind of story Susan Elizabeth Phillips is known for - fun, contemporary show more romance with sparkling dialogue and a character driven narrative.

Emma and Kenny are complete opposites, but as they say, opposites attract and watching the conflicts and antics of these two is great entertainment and there is some laugh out loud moments throughout. There’s also a cute secondary romance and some family issues that need to be resolved to add some depth.

If you’re looking for a light romance that’s all about the characters and their relationships, Susan Elizabeth Phillips is sure to entertain. show less

Texan Kenny Traveler has one goal: to stay out of trouble long enough to be reinstated by the PGA before his winning streak can run out. His penance: to play chauffeur to a friend of the PGA commissioner's wife, the prim and proper Lady Emma Wells-Finch. English Headmistress Emma also has one goal: to keep her school from closing, without having to marry the Duke of Beddington. Her method: to lose her virginity, and with it her acceptability, in a public and scandalous manner. The result: a Mary-Poppins look-a-like who tries to get the self-proclaimed laziest man alive to visit every dive while painting the town of Dallas red. The action of the main plot is mirrored in the story of Kenny's sister and her own romantic woes. Phillips has show more written a throughly contemporary romance, with a few regency elements to add to the flavour, filled with humorous plot twists and antics sure to entertain. show less

Kenny Traveler, currently suspended golf pro, is offered a chance to redeem himself if he behaves himself while playing tour guide to a visiting Brit scholar. Lady Emma Wells-Finch arrives in Texas for her working holiday hoping to immerse herself in a scandal large enough to break her engagement to a wealthy Duke who’s blackmailing her with her job.

Kenny thinks Emma is bossy, too controlling, too much like his mom. Emma thinks Kenny is lazy but soon realizes he’s smart, reliable, and really very seductive. It occurs to her that an affair with Kenny is just what she needs. It occurs to Kenny that an affair with her will land him in even more hot water.

Great Texas locales, great secondary characters, Phillips keeps us right there show more with Kenny and Emma and shows us straightforward character growth. Sparkling dialogue and a couple GREAT twists to the plot--oh, and her sex scenes are really well written, clever, unique, and heart-wringing. show less

Blurb from Amazon

Lady Emma Wells-Finch is determined to cause a scandal. Nothing big, you understand, just enough to convince her pompous British suitor that she's not an eligible candidate for marriage. She's thinking along the lines of, oh, maybe a discreet tattoo. But when suspended Texas golf pro Kenny Traveler meets her plane at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, Emma decides that he's the perfect candidate to destroy her reputation.
Kenny, on the other hand--who desperately wants to be reinstated on the golf tour--is just as determined to keep a low profile and remain squeaky-clean. If Lady Emma weren't a close personal friend of the golf commissioner's wife, he'd never have agreed to squire her around town. Unfortunately for Kenny, his show more weakness for the British beauty is growing daily, and it seems as though Emma may have feelings for him as well. In a bizarre turn of events, wild man Kenny finds himself trying to keep the prim and proper British lady from causing a scandal the size of which even the lone-star state has never seen.

My Review

This is only my second book by SEP and although I didn't enjoy it as much as "Kiss an Angel" it was still one of the better books that I have read this year. Emma and Kenny are both characters that come to life on the page and they were made all the more realistic by having flaws. The chemistry between these two was sizzling almost from the get go and while at first glance they seemed totally wrong for one another by the end of the book I knew they could never be with anyone else.

If all character driven plots were done this well I'm sure I would read a lot more of them. There is no mystery, no suspense, no vampires or werewolves but the book still kept me turning pages well into the night. Just waiting to see what Lady Emma was going to do next while poor Kenny tried to keep his reputation in tact was more than enough suspense for me. Oh and did I mention the book was laugh out loud funny?

SEP is truly a genius at dialogue. I normally don't notice dialogue unless it's really horrendous but both books that I have read by SEP now have had outstanding dialogue that flowed so well with the story and stayed so true to the characters that even without dialogue tags I always knew who was speaking.

There is also a great secondary romance going on in this book and my only complaint is that we didn't get to see more of it.

Rating this book was difficult for me because I'm a touch conflicted about the ending. On one hand this book has one of the best endings* I've read in a long time but on the other hand the events that lead up to this particular ending didn't really feel like they were necessary for the story. It's a bit of a catch 22 the only part of the story I didn't think was 5 stars worthy was the portion leading up to the ending but without that part we wouldn't have had such a fabulous ending. I think I will just split the difference and give it 4 1/2 stars.

All in all if your a fan of contemporary romance I highly recommend this book. show less

This is a really fun story by Phillips and underneath all the joking; you have characters with real psychological problems that makes them all the more real and interesting. The only problem I have with this book is that it had a relatively odd plot twist. But, if you’re a fan of Phillips writing then this is a must and if you’ve never tried anything of hers I’d think this is a pretty good place to start.