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The Great Escape (Wynette, Texas #7)

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Goodreads Author)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 4,318 ratings · 562 reviews

The Great Escape

Where do you run to when your life has fallen apart?

Lucy Jorik is a champ at never embarrassing the family she adores--not surprising since her mother is one of the most famous women in the world. But now Lucy has done just that. And on her wedding day, no less, to the most perfect man she's ever known.

Instead of saying "I do" to Mr. Irresistible, Lucy flee...more

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published July 10th 2012 by William Morrow

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Jul 11, 2012 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

3.5 stars

He jerked his head toward the rear of his bike. "Wanna go for a ride?"

Lucy Jorik has just run out on the most perfect man in the world on her wedding day. And made the great escape from Wynette on the back of a motorbike with a stranger named Panda.

The Great Escape is the sequel to Call Me Irresistible where Ted (Lucy's fiancé) and Meg (Lucy's best friend) find their hea. The Great Escape runs in parallel time with Call Me Irresistible so while Panda and Lucy are running away, Ted and M...more

27 likes · like · see review

Jul 13, 2012 BamaGal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cont-romance

A little disappointing. The main story was not bad at all; and I really liked the substory about Bree, Toby, and Mike. I didn't like the Temple story at all, however. She drove me nuts and and she served absolutely no purpose in the story except to bog it down. I would have skimmed every time she opened her mouth; but her story was so intimately tied to that of Lucy and Panda that I couldn't skip anything. I was forced to suffer through her angst and silly issues.

The other big thing was the endi...more

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 20, 2012 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance

I felt good while reading this. And I felt good at the end.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I’ve read most of her books and gave 4 or 5 stars to all but two. I love her style. I love her dialogue. I love the way her characters bicker and insult each other. It’s her trademark. When I opened this book and began reading I felt like I had just been reunited with an old friend. A lot of her stories are similar, but I like her kind of stories. And I’m so pleased that she doesn’t use my pet peeves.

Some reviewers cla...more

12 likes · like · see review

Jul 21, 2012 Amanda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: couldn-t-get-in-to-it, hated-loathed-and-despised, i-was-bored, too-corny-cheesy-and-or-crap, on-my-kindle, not-my-fave-from-this-author, didn-t-do-it-for-me, writing-style-drove-me-nuts, returned-for-refund, worst-book-ever, really-disappointed

There was nothing redeeming about this book for me. Nothing. I was so fed up with it that I finally returned it at 92%. I didn't even care about the ending. I couldn't stand any of the characters. They were all stupid. And annoying. And had no depth. SEP is one of my favorite authors, but I REALLY hated this book.

Ok, here is the rest of my review....I just didn't have the energy to type it out on my phone. I have to say, it about killed me to give SEP a 1 star rating. Even the books that weren'...more There was nothing redeeming about this book for me. Nothing. I was so fed up with it that I finally returned it at 92%. I didn't even care about the ending. I couldn't stand any of the characters. They were all stupid. And annoying. And had no depth. SEP is one of my favorite authors, but I REALLY hated this book.

Ok, here is the rest of my review....I just didn't have the energy to type it out on my phone. I have to say, it about killed me to give SEP a 1 star rating. Even the books that weren't my favorite by her got a decent rating, this one just simply contained all of my pet peeves in one book. AGH!

1. Seriously, I was over 30% through the book before there was an actual conversation in the story. 30%. Ugh. My issue with books that have little dialogue is that they tend to read as overly dramatic, to me that is. And it's hard to feel like the plot is driving the story, and then I start to feel like the author is "info dumping" on us-- it feels text bookish-- character A does this and so character B feels this way and then does this. It's not my favorite style.

2. Once again, a book that has the h/h "fall in love" without A) having a conversation, B) communicate with any method other than a passive aggressive one, C) get to know each other. But hey, why don't we just fall into bed together and then because we had great sex it's obvious that we HAVE to be in love and everything is just going to be hunky-dory. ugh. Oh, I why don't I throw in some minor stalking while I'm at it?

3. This isn't a pet peeve, but usually I like SEP's secondary characters. I really didn't this time. To be honest I didn't think any of the characters were all that likable. She TOLD us that they were, but I didn't particularly care for them. Nothing really drew me in.

4. I couldn't help but feel like this book was a recycled "Natural Born Charmer," which I love, but this was a watered down, boring re-write of it. And I was so excited for it....heck, I pre-ordered it months ago.

5. And can I just roll my eyes at the token gay character????? Yeah, I felt like that entire story line was thrown in there just to have a token gay character-- it read quite disjointed to me, I didn't believe it and so it pushed the "drama for drama sake" button for me. I don't have issues with gay characters, this one just didn't do it for me. I can't really explain why, maybe the entire book just soured me on any twist and turn.

6. I left my biggest frustration for last-- apparently calling a half black little boy a "boy" is racist????? What the crap???? I grew up in the south and never heard that one. Maybe I was just too sheltered in my over-half black school???? The racial storyline REALLY got on my nerves. REALLY. The kid didn't feel persecuted, held back, different, etc, so why, WHY, did she feel the need to try and make him feel that way???? Isn't the point of all the racial awareness/education to have everyone judged on their own merit, not their skin color???? I get that she was trying to have Bree bring an avenue for him to feel pride in his heritage, but it's not like he was ashamed of being half black! He simply didn't focus all of his energy on his skin color. It just frustrated me.

I'll stop now and maybe just cross my fingers that her next one is more my style.(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 18, 2012 Dija rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Dija by: Aly (Mircea) Basarab

Shelves: july-2012, buddy-slash-group-read, read-in-2012, authors-i-stalk, awww, cotton-candy-fluff, cr, my-reviews, surprisingly-good

*Buddy read with Anzu~ You can read her review here.*

3.8/5 stars

After the mega-disappointment Call Me Irresistible was, I was prepared for this one to be at least as bad, if not worse. And really, with a hero named "Panda", how great could it possibly be?

I was spot-on for about the first half or so. Panda was disgusting and I didn't recognize grown-up Lucy at all, who used to be so brave and courageous in First Lady. All the characters were acting like snobs and I was sure this would be another...more

13 likes · like · see review

Jul 16, 2012 Nisha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, married

Finally! I'm so excited for Lucy's book, but a hero named Panda... He's got to have a cooler name.

8 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2012 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was very disappointed in this book. I couldn't figure Panda out, nor even why he was called that. I couldn't believe how clueless Lucy was. A high profile wedding and no security ?!? Then balking because her family wanted to keep her safe? I can understand and even relate to the parts where she wants to reinvent herself, but come on. To go from polished society to local skank didn't work for me. I also didn't understand the PTSD angle. While that seems popular in romances, Panda was nothing bu...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Lissa D'Angelo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sigo a Susan desde los 18 años, tal vez más, tal vez menos, no soy buena con las fechas, pero me parece que ha sido toda una vida.
Cada libro mejor que el anterior, cada historia más loca que la otra.
Comprenderán que con esta mujer es difícil escoger un protagonista preferido, pero aún así tengo los míos, cof cof Kevin y Dean. El caso es... SEP es de esas autoras con las que te vas a la segura, de esos escritores por los que esperarías diez años con tal de que te de ese libro, esa dosis, tu droga...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 AnneOK rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

Lucy's made her escape; she ran from Mr. Perfect Ted Beaudine, and now in "The Great Escape" she's hooking up with a biker guy named Panda. Oh but hang on gang, the fun is just beginning. SEP is about to take us on another fun-filled, glorious trip into romanceland where she'll introduce us to another group of unforgettable characters. This one kept me captivated from beginning to ending. A little stretch of the imagination is required but still yet what I expect from one of my favorite contempo...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jul 15, 2012 Janelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a huge SEP fan having, like the reviewer below, read all of her books, soI've been looking forward to Lucy Jorik's story for quite awhile. When I saw that it had finally been released, I wasted no time running down to Barnes and Noble to plunk down my money for the hardcover...

...only to get it home, read it and feel, well, MEH. Super disappointed.

There's a dynamic between the main characters in SEP's previous books that is exciting. The banter is snappy, the chemistry electric. This book s...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Shea Donahue rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-2012

Wow. You know when you read a book from one of your favorite authors of all times and wonder if it's a test... that she didn't really write this book and you're supposed to call foul?

Also, instead of reading this book, just go rent Chasing Liberty. Same premise, much cuter.

The secondary story felt incomplete, the characters never really connected, the transformations were stilted, the Ah-ha Moments were more like, Yeah? And?

I ADORE Ms. Phillips. I think the woman's whole house and yard belong on...more

9 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2012 Miki rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: never-read-again

And there goes another writer off my "must read" list. I like -and still re-read- SEP's earlier books. She used to be an automatic HB buy for me. Then she slid down to "wait for the paperback" and from there to "borrow from the library" but now I'm done. No more Ms Phillips from any source. Lucy - who is presented as an intelligent, 30-something woman - leaves her fiance at the altar and runs away with a strange - in EVERY sense of the word - man on a motorcycle, to Find Herself. In order to do...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Natalia Sulca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Noooo! I finished it! :( I loved this book! Its a must read! I loved all the characters. I loved especially that even though Lucy didn't know who she was, she remained true to herself, and didn't change drastically in the book, internally. I wish I could've seen more of winette, and ted and meg, but alass. We can't have everything. Here's to hoping she comes out with a new book sooner!

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 28, 2012 Babyfishmouth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, library, kindle

2.5 Stars

Susan Elizabeth Phillips found a formula for writing romances and she's sticking to it. So much so that I felt like I had already read this book. It was all so predictable. The heroine who has hit rock bottom. The hero who can't commit. The eclectic new friends the heroine makes. The troubled young teen. The secondary romance. Et cetera, et cetera.

I've been a fan of SEP's books in the past so I don't know if my tepid reaction to this one is because I've read too many others just like i...more

1 like · like · see review

May 13, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now, even though you didn't read the prequel, you can still love this book. Love it times a million. I didn't read the sequel, I didn't feel lost at all. I didn't feel like I missing key components of the story and you won't either.
First up, I loved all of these characters. Even though they are all crazy and flawed, I loved them because they were true to real life. I admired Lucy's totally ballsy move and lack of greater plan. I love Panda (the rough looking stranger) because he's scary but ado...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would give this book a 3.5 stars but have rounded it up to 4 because of how much I was entertained by the book. After reading "The First Lady" and "Call Me Irresistible" I was really looking forward to a book from Lucy to find out where she went after fleeing her wedding. I was a little disappointed in this book because it made Lucy seem so juvenile thought out the book. Since we meet Lucy as a 14 year old girl in "The First Lady" some part of me remembers being in the perspective of a 14 year...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Juliet rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, favorite-authors, funny, romance

3.5 stars
I am kinda disappointed in this, as SEP is a fave author of mine. I think maybe I would give it more stars if it was a different writer, which is unfair. I am comparing this to her other books, which were so great that they set a high standard.
When I first started this book, I felt like i was retreading one of SEP's old plots. The rich girl runs off or is left stranded and hitches onto a gruff, sexy stranger who doesn't know what to do with her. Thank goodness the story takes a turn and...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Ori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, romance, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 14, 2013 Littlebee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

SEP is so funny, it's hard to complain that I'm getting sick of a good thing. She's got it down to a formula...

1) interesting side characters
2) funny dialogue
3) big miss
4) guy sorts it all out somehow

but the formula works that this time is no different. I loved the start of this, where Lucy barely speaks and Panda just grunts and burps and behaves as grossly as possible. A sentence as simple as, "If he weren't gross, stupid and scary, Panda would be hot," is funny when SEP writes it. And the who...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Liz B rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1. If this were the first book I had ever read by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, I probably wouldn't have read any more.

2. It really angered me that (view spoiler) for the "crime" of trying on a new personality. I wish SEP would stop tearing down her heroines. Can't someone fall in love and change without having to be brought to rock bottom?

3. Panda. Are you kidding?

4. I am tired of her working with the same limited set of characters.

5. I am really glad t...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Diana Hockley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel was okay, in spite of a few puzzling things. Firstly, I couldn't believe that a girl like Lucy with all her attitude in First Lady turned out such a drone, but the adult Lucy covering herself in fake tattoos and nose rings didn't ring true either. When she gets into real difficulties one night, although no woman deserves this kind of trouble, I couldn't feel that sorry for her. Her game playing got quite irritating, particularly at the end of the book.

Panda (where did that knickname c...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Andreasoldier rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 19, 2012 Julie Barrett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
After running away from going down the aisle, Lucy is the adopted daughter of the president, to Ted Bodine she gets on the back of a motorcycle with Panda. He is one of Ted's friends and looks scruffy.
He's agreed to take money and go with him, she can't go back home.
She arrives in Wisconsin at Panda's house. He's yet to arrive. She does know that after that one night of lovemaking she wants more of him and it never felt like that with Ted.
Love all the...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Olga Godim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, mainstream

This review was originally published at StoryCircleBookReviews:
http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org...

I enjoyed this book. The narrative flows effortlessly, the descriptions are vivid, and the plot plugs along nicely. The beginning is intriguing: the protagonist Lucy runs away from her wedding by hitching a ride on a motorcycle of a stranger. What follows is an amalgam of a love story and a self-discovery story; both geared toward female readers.
Unfortunately, unlike most other books by this a...more This review was originally published at StoryCircleBookReviews:
http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org...

I enjoyed this book. The narrative flows effortlessly, the descriptions are vivid, and the plot plugs along nicely. The beginning is intriguing: the protagonist Lucy runs away from her wedding by hitching a ride on a motorcycle of a stranger. What follows is an amalgam of a love story and a self-discovery story; both geared toward female readers.
Unfortunately, unlike most other books by this author, I didn’t sympathize with her heroine Lucy. I must admit, I read about her exploits with pleasure. It was fun and a fast romp. But after I finished the book, I was left with vague dissatisfaction. I really disliked Lucy. I think this novel suffers from a rare ailment: a misplaced protagonist.
After her disappearance act at the wedding, Lucy is wrecked by guilt and uncertainty. Hiding from the world on a small island, she tries to figure out who she is. She goes about it in an odd way – by shedding her skin of a polite, well-dressed, thirty-one-year-old society woman and plunging into her second adolescence. She dons trashy clothing, wears too much makeup like a cheap hooker, and decorates herself with tattoos and piercings. She uses bad language and pretends to be a tough biker girl, but that’s all it is: pretense. Because Lucy is a fake.
A beloved daughter of a former President of the United States, Lucy has money unlimited, and her parents are firmly behind her. Her tattoos are fake, her piercings are fake, and her clothing and haircut are easy to change. Continuing her charade of a spoiled brat, she treats a house of her bodyguard Panda as if it was her property: rearranging furniture, throwing out things she doesn’t like, and appropriating his bedroom for herself. She doesn’t pay him rent, ignores his feeble objections, and he lets her. She is an American royalty after all. As a result, the mutual attraction between Lucy and Panda seems as bogus as everything else about her.
Fortunately, the novel has the real thing too: a secondary character, Lucy’s neighbor on the island, Bree. Bree is all Lucy isn’t. A bitter divorcee whose husband left her for a younger woman, Bree has no money and no job. She settled on the island after her older friend died and left her a dilapidated cabin in her will.
By the same will, Bree is named guardian of a twelve-year-old boy Toby, her late friend’s grandson. The orphan boy resents Bree’s intrusion in his life, and Bree isn’t enamored of her guardian duty herself. Damaged and lost in her self-loathing and self-pity, she needs to rebuild her life, to find a way to overcome Toby’s hostility, but she doesn’t know how. Poverty gnaws at her, eroding her soul and her pride, and she distrusts everyone, including herself.
As the story progresses, Bree claws her way through doubts and fears, towards courage and self-respect. Her journey is a hard but genuine one, balancing Lucy’s tale of a rich princess slumming. Both women’s romantic lines also mirror each other, although Bree’s love story is much more complicated, resembling a cat-cradle of confusing emotions, just like in real life.
I wish the writer had made Bree the protagonist. Even in her supporting role, with a minimum of page space, Bree engages the readers’ interest, plucks at their heartstrings, and makes this novel worth reading.
(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: SEP die hards, not people who haven't read her backlist

Shelves: romance

So, I know I'm going to get a good read whenever I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips as I've been reading her since the mid-1990s. We know it will all work out in the end. Emotionally stunted people will grow and help others to grow. She will always get a 3 or higher star rating from me. Usually there isn’t any true “suspense” or “action” but just a solid story about character development.
That being said: I had several problems with this book: 1. SEP never explained the origins of the nickname of t...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

In this sequel to "Call Me Irresistible," we discover what happened to Lucy after running away from her wedding to Ted. I had a lot of fun with Ted and Meg, and was looking forward to following Lucy's adventure.

Lucy and Ted weren't right for one another. That was well established in the prequel, and I continued to understand it in this novel. Lucy felt pressured into the match as she tried to live up to high expectation she had dealt with her entire life. I even though I understood why she got...more In this sequel to "Call Me Irresistible," we discover what happened to Lucy after running away from her wedding to Ted. I had a lot of fun with Ted and Meg, and was looking forward to following Lucy's adventure.

Lucy and Ted weren't right for one another. That was well established in the prequel, and I continued to understand it in this novel. Lucy felt pressured into the match as she tried to live up to high expectation she had dealt with her entire life. I even though I understood why she got on the back of Panda's motorcycle and went on a joyride with him for a while. I wasn't sure why she stayed with him for the next two weeks, and then, when he ditched her at the airport, I REALLY didn't understand why she looked him up, went to his home, and discovering he wasn't it, broke in and started living there.

There was a lot to like about this book. Ultimately, I did buy into the comparability of the two main characters, but I didn't buy into the early chemistry or the reasons that they even spent time together. There were a couple of secondary stories, one of which I found compelling -- the Jillian Michaels type woman, host of a sensationalist weight loss program, hiring Panda to help her lose weight was really very well done. Best part of the book, IMO.

I liked that the characters had issues, and had to deal with them. (Both primary and secondary.) But in the end, I did not enjoy the reading of this story nearly as much as I enjoyed "Call Me Irresistible." That one was fun, sassy, and the chemistry was there from the start. This one was more sober, serious, and I had trouble buying into the chemistry at first. Two different approaches by the same author -- which I can respect. Some will like the first approach more, some the second. I tend to read romance for entertainment value more than anything else, so while I appreciated what she did in this book, I liked the other one better.

Whichever way you prefer it, serious or sassy, Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a talented romance writer, and I recommend many of her books, including this one.

www.christineamsden.com (less)

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Nov 23, 2012 Lea's Audiobooks Hensley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Narrated by Shannon Cochran

I’m always on the lookout for the next Phillips’ release and I mark the calendar in my head when I see one on the horizon. She’s an auto buy for me and fortunately her audio releases are simultaneous with her print releases.

The Great Escape features Lucy Jorik, the bride who left perfect Ted Beaudine at the altar in Call Me Irresistible (CMI). Lucy is tied to another past SEP book, First Lady, and is a daughter of the former President of the United States. Since the...more

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Sep 30, 2012 L rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

Ok, so I'm on a popcorn reading jag. Everything right now is calorie-lite. Susan Elizabeth Philips is good for that, and I really enjoyed The Great Escape. Spunky heroine, hot, damaged hero, and a host of secondary characters with issues and lives of their own. I haven't read Call Me Irresistible or First Lady, but reading this made me want to. I was only supposed to read the first chapter, but ended up finishing the whole damn book.

I love the way men in Philips books are so complex (and not jus...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER! Reading the latest by SEP reminded me at times of the famous line from Dirty Dancing when after bad boy Johnny Castle returns to triumphantly reassert his place among the hoi polloi he seeks out the object of his affections and utters this now famous line.

Fast forward to The Great Escape and at times you feel so much empathy for poor little adopted rich girl Lucy Jorik that this line keeps popping in to my head. For me it was the almost incessant descriptive of her...more NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER! Reading the latest by SEP reminded me at times of the famous line from Dirty Dancing when after bad boy Johnny Castle returns to triumphantly reassert his place among the hoi polloi he seeks out the object of his affections and utters this now famous line.

Fast forward to The Great Escape and at times you feel so much empathy for poor little adopted rich girl Lucy Jorik that this line keeps popping in to my head. For me it was the almost incessant descriptive of her being this petite, small breasted, stoic, honorable girl who is living a life she really does not want. One that does not fit and Panda (don't get me started on that one) rescues her literally and figuratively. Showing her that there is a big bad world out there that can be hers if she's balls enough to take it.

The characters in this book spend too much time being ditsy, flightly, slightly unhinged and none of it seems to work until by the end of the madness all of it works. To be sure it lacked the smoothness of SEP's previous works in that at times it felt like a character plot was just dropped in because... Awwww hell, BECAUSE, that's why?! The sex was also pretty tame which disappointed me a bit because what thing I love about authors like SEP is that they can write pages and pages of THOSE PARTS without it coming off as smutty or too hard core. Instead this books gives us brief paragraphs sprinkled here and there to let us know they got it on and while not the worst they were certainly not her finest. The addition of the "Fat Island" character was to me unneccessary but it seems that along with that character, SEP wanted to tackle every politcally correct hot topic from today in this book.

The hero Patrick "Panda" Shade was potentially a great Alpha male but in the end turned out to be as fragile as an egg that has been drained of it's yolk. I was actually missing the robotic Ted Beaudine character after a bit. Panda was too one dimensional for too long in this book and by the time he perks up... Book over.

So my final vote is 3.5 stars. It was a not unpleasant but not truly strong SEP effort but fans will enjoy it and await more of her offerings with fingers crossed.(less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books-read, romance

I enjoyed the book. Lucy leaves Ted at the altar, realizing that she doesn't actually love him. She grabs a ride with a guy on a motorcycle who just happens to show up at the back of the church. He is rude and obnoxious and does his best to get her to go back to her fiance. After helping her hide out for two weeks he dumps her at the airport and tells her who he really is. She's pissed at him and still not ready to go home, so she heads for Michigan and the house she discovered he has there. She...more I enjoyed the book. Lucy leaves Ted at the altar, realizing that she doesn't actually love him. She grabs a ride with a guy on a motorcycle who just happens to show up at the back of the church. He is rude and obnoxious and does his best to get her to go back to her fiance. After helping her hide out for two weeks he dumps her at the airport and tells her who he really is. She's pissed at him and still not ready to go home, so she heads for Michigan and the house she discovered he has there. She disguises herself so that no one recognizes her. Then she breaks in and takes up residence there as she tries to decide what she wants to do with the rest of her life. When Panda/Patrick shows up he isn't happy that she's there, but lets her stay as he heads out for another job. She gets to know the beekeeper and her ward next door. When Panda comes back with his latest protectee, Lucy stands up to him and refuses to be chased off. They are still attracted to each other, but spend most of their time pushing each other away. As Lucy begins to find herself and her new direction, she also wants to find out more about Panda and what makes him tick. When he finally chases Lucy off for good, she has at last decided what she wants to do and makes a start on that new life. She's still unhappy without him and decides to try to get him back.

I did like both Panda and Lucy. Panda is a protector. His initial time with Lucy is part of that, but he finds himself attracted to her also. He tries very hard to get her to go home by acting like a really obnoxious jerk. When he finally drops her at the airport he figures that's the end of it and he can move on. Finding her at his home in Michigan was not in his plan and he didn't know what to do. He ended up letting her stay, even while he had someone else there he had to protect. He is still drawn to her, even as he wants her to leave. He finally admits to himself that he wants to be with her, but feels his past and his other issues make it impossible. He eventually drives her away and tries to go on without her, before he admits he needs help. I liked Lucy also, though she did occasionally irritate me. I was glad to see that she didn't go through with the wedding since she knew that she didn't actually love Ted. Her initial attitude toward Panda bugged me, since it really made her look like quite a snob. She did have the smarts to know that she really needed to get her life back in order. She had buried herself in what she thought was expected of her and now had to decide whether to go back to being that person or reinvent herself. When she headed for the island, she donned a "bad girl" disguise that still didn't seem to really fit. Her time on the island was spent trying to get to know the real man, plus getting to know the other people. She spent time getting to know the people next door which helped her decide what direction her life was going to take. She was also finally able to take care of writing about her mother that he dad had asked her to do. I really enjoyed the way she finally decided to go after Panda. There was a lot of good interaction among all the characters. I liked the character development of all the people. I could see how they changed throughout the book. The romance wasn't very intense between Panda and Lucy, but it did develop. I loved the scene at the end at Lucy's parents' home.(less)

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About Susan Elizabeth Phillips

SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

The Huffington Post says the books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips provide a “gateway drug to the whole [romance] genre,” which she assumes is a good thing. Bookpage magazine calls her “the crown jewel of romantic comedy writers,” which is definitely a good thing. Since she wrote her first novel on a typewriter in her kitchen, her books have been published in over 30 languages...more

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