Crazy Thing Called Love (Crooked Creek Ranch, #3) by Molly O'Keefe

Jan 31, 2013 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: awwwwwwww, 2013-favorites

This review was originally posted on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.

My reviews of Molly O'Keefe's Crooked Creek Ranch series are probably starting to get a bit dull.

Here's a quick synopsis of the crux of each of my reviews,

Wow! These characters are fully fleshed-out, complex people. I completely believed in their romance because their path toward happiness was hard and took work, but the payoff was completely worth it! This pushes the boundaries of what we talk about when we talk about characters and

...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Ana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: z-read-in-2012, contemporary-romance, sports-romance, z-netgalley

3.5 stars

Madelyn Cornish is a successful morning show host. She spent the last fifteen years or so trying to erase her past. As we all know, that is hardly ever possible. What she never ever imagined is her past showing up in such a way - the newest idea for her show - a makeover for a rough around the edges hockey player, one Billy Wilkins who just happens to be her ex-husband and a large part of her unfortunate history.

When Billy first heard the idea of a makeover, he was violently against it,...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Michelle [Helen Geek] rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone, especially if you like Rachel Gibson

Shelves: arc-netgalley, tbr-kindle, 5_star, author_love, ntm_authors_2012, favorites

11/03/2012 -- we have an interview with this remarkable author; http://www.2GeekGirlsReviewBooks.com.

We asked her all sorts of questions and she gave us truth! Love it!! Plus, she has given us 2 Freebies to offer two [2] LUCKY winners, so head over to see what you have to do ... HINT: Do you know a HAWT Hockey Dude?

10/30/2012 Hope's Full Review now posted on: http://2geekgirlsreviewbooks.com/book...

Tomorrow we have an interview with the author. Do you feel the author love?? The book is being r...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Chanpreet rated it 5 of 5 stars

He's back! Madelyn Cornish's world will never be the same when her ex-husband, star hockey player Billy Wilkins comes back into her life. Madelyn, or Maddy as her ex-hubby so lovingly refers to her as, has moved on. She's picked herself up and has become the popular host of a Dallas morning TV show and she doesn't want anything to do with Billy. She's horrified when he appears in a morning meeting as her newest segment!

Billy just wants Maddy back. He will do anything to get her to spend time wit...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Janga rated it 5 of 5 stars

Molly O'Keefe does it again. She's written yet another book that grabs me by the heart and pulls me into the story and makes me fall in love with characters I can't forget. Reunion stories are my favorites, and I was already a little bit in love with Billy. Thus, it's hardly surprising that this is my favorite of a trilogy in which I loved all three books.

Like the characters that preceded them in the Crooked Creek series, Maddy and Billy are messy, complex characters scarred by their pasts. Some...more Molly O'Keefe does it again. She's written yet another book that grabs me by the heart and pulls me into the story and makes me fall in love with characters I can't forget. Reunion stories are my favorites, and I was already a little bit in love with Billy. Thus, it's hardly surprising that this is my favorite of a trilogy in which I loved all three books.

Like the characters that preceded them in the Crooked Creek series, Maddy and Billy are messy, complex characters scarred by their pasts. Some of the scars cover wounds that are still infecting the present. Billy’s scarred face, a visible reminder of his violent childhood, is a metaphor for the psychic wounds those childhood experiences inflicted. Maddy’s wounds are from emotional rather than physical violence. She casts herself as Billy’s defender from an early age. Her focus is on seeing Billy succeed not only in hockey but in becoming the man she believes him to be. When Billy’s desire to belong in the world where his talent has taken him leads him to betray her belief in him and, by extension, in them, she is devastated. She feels that she has lost not only Billy but also her very self.

O’Keefe both operates within the conventions of romance and undermines those conventions. The chemistry between Maddy and Billy is so powerful that not even betrayal and a separation of well over a decade can diminish it. Sex scenes provide not merely the almost mandatory sizzle of current romance fiction but also a means of revealing the emotional vulnerabilities of the protagonists. And Maddy and Billy’s story gives lie to one of the great myths of romance. Love does not conquer all, at least not until it is accompanied by self-knowledge, self-acceptance and forgiveness. If I were creating a sound track for this novel, I’d include Roy Orbison’s version of Boudleaux Bryant’s “Love Hurts” as a recurring theme: “Love hurts and scars. / Love wounds and mars / anyone not tough or strong enough / to take a lot of pain.”

Secondary characters add dimension and complications to the central story. Readers who share my series addiction will enjoy seeing Luc and Tara Jean from the first book, but their appearance is purposeful rather than pandering to readers. They serve to give context to Billy’s character. In the same way, Ruth, an intriguing character in her own right, reveals Maddy’s isolation and loneliness. The children, Becky and Charlie, heartbreakingly real, play a vital role.

When I reviewed Can’t Buy Me Love, the first Crooked Creek book, I referred to a quotation I found thematic: “We’re more than our mistakes. . . . More than our pasts. We can be more than the things we let define us.” Although the words do not appear in Crazy Thing Called Love, the truth they embody resounds throughout this book, and indeed, throughout the entire series.

Recently I’ve heard some complaints about the lack of tough, flawed, credibly 21st-century characters in contemporary romance. It’s clear those readers haven’t discovered the books of Molly O’Keefe. Her Crooked Creek books are among the most courageous and complex romances I’ve ever read. I highly recommend this book. It ensured that I started my Best of 2013 list early.

See full review ay The Romance Dish:
http://www.theromancedish.com/2013/01...(less)

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Jan 04, 2013 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review

This was the first book that I've read from Miz O'Keefe and it definitely won't be my last. It was very good and brimming with heat and romance. Not only was I a fan of the romance between Billy and Maddy, but these two were hot together and I loved watching them both work through the problems of their past and get their long deserved HEA.

For as long as Maddy can remember she's loved Billy but love doesn't always work the way you want it to. Fourteen years ago Billy and her were married for two...more This was the first book that I've read from Miz O'Keefe and it definitely won't be my last. It was very good and brimming with heat and romance. Not only was I a fan of the romance between Billy and Maddy, but these two were hot together and I loved watching them both work through the problems of their past and get their long deserved HEA.

For as long as Maddy can remember she's loved Billy but love doesn't always work the way you want it to. Fourteen years ago Billy and her were married for two years and their relationship was anything but perfect. Yes there was love, but love isn't always enough. Their relationship was tumultuous to say the least and Maddy felt like everything was about Billy. She had no voice and no identity. After a fight between the two Maddy decides to walk away.

Billy has always regretted the way things worked out between himself and Maddy. He thought he was over their split and his feeling for her until he runs into her at an event. Neither has seen one another in fourteen years and as soon as Billy lays eyes on Maddy all of his feelings come rushing back to the surface. Maddy was the love of his life and he is determined to make things right between them both.

Billy is a hockey star with a bad temper, attitude and manners and if he doesn't change his bad boy ways he may loose his position on his team. When his agent comes to him with the idea of an image makeover on live television his immediate response is "no". Then he realizes that the show behind the makeover idea is none other than Dallas AM, the show that Maddy just happens to host he quickly changes his mind. This could be his chance to finally be able to talk to Maddy and he could apologize for his past behavior.

Maddy is not happy. She doesn't want to see Billy and she definitely doesn't want to reminisce over the past and the mistakes they both made. No, Maddy is now Madelyn Cornish celebrated morning show anchor. She is tough, polished and cares only about her career. She lost herself once before and she is determined to never let that happen again. But when Billy shows up and starts telling her things she always wanted to hear and he's just so sexy, how can she resist?

Pretty quickly these two realize that the attraction is still there, though Maddy is doing everything she can to push it away. When she does finally let Billy in a little it's by her rules and her rules only. After a few intense and heated encounters Maddy is beginning to realize that things may not be all that simple.

I really enjoyed the relationship between these two. It was steamy, yet I got a complete sense of how much these two truly loved one another. I love that we were shown bits from their pasts because it helped me realize just how much they cared. I was rooting for these two from the beginning and I'm so happy they finally got their well deserved HEA. This book is definitely going on my all-time favorite list. It's been a few months since I read it and my heart still tingles when I think about Maddy and Billy. Just so good.

**ARC copy provided by Edelweiss**(less)

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Nov 04, 2012 Sheryl rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-contemporary

Well, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF HORSE DROPPINGS THAT I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME!

This wasn't a romance story at all; it was in fact a story about delving into the psyche of a very immature, utterly selfish and a total bitch of a person; Madelyn. I HATED HER! She had NO REDEEMING QUALITIES and i failed to see WHY Billy wanted to be with her so badly. He loved who she WAS, i do not understand how he could love who she had BECOME! I felt slightly sorry for Billy, but that was about it. Other then...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Stephanie Collins rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful story with a huge amount of heart and angst. It is heartbreaking but beautiful and you really do want to be along for the ride.

Billy has hit rock bottom in his career and life. He doesn't want to acknowledge it but that is where he is at. He's angry, hurt, stubborn and incredibly vulnerable to the one thing he never had as a child, family love. He decides to play along with a local Dallas morning show and be made over because it gives him a chance to be near the one person wh...more This is a wonderful story with a huge amount of heart and angst. It is heartbreaking but beautiful and you really do want to be along for the ride.

Billy has hit rock bottom in his career and life. He doesn't want to acknowledge it but that is where he is at. He's angry, hurt, stubborn and incredibly vulnerable to the one thing he never had as a child, family love. He decides to play along with a local Dallas morning show and be made over because it gives him a chance to be near the one person who ever meant anything to him and that he knows he treated poorly, Maddy. He's so incredibly in love with her and always has been even when he was ignoring her in favor of his own needs at the expense of hers and their marriage. This is a man who had a horrible childhood and really never learned how to be a grownup or a family man but needs this with all his heart/soul. I adored seeing him open up to her and fight for what he wanted but still be willing to listen to her this time. He realizes he made major mistakes in the past (seeing them was painful but needed as it brought the issues more in to focus as we got back to current time) and wants nothing more than to make things right for her. If this means he gets the only woman he has ever loved and has loved him in return then he'll be happier for it. He's confronted with a lot of items during the story and while he didn't always handle them the best he was unflinchingly honest in his reactions plus apologies as they were needed. Such a hurting wonderful man that deserved everything good that comes out of this story.

Maddy loved Billy with everything her young heart had to give but he just kept taking, taking, taking and not really giving her anything back other than money. She ends up leaving him and making a name for herself in a world he is not a part of. She's buried her past including her marriage to Billy but seeing him again brings up those feelings of inadequacy and a huge fear that if she lets him in she'll lose herself again. I understood where she was coming from in that Billy took up every ounce she had to give when they were younger and didn't realize that all he gave her in return was things. She does the show with the intent of just getting it over with but as they work on the show the cracks start to form and who she really is starts to come through. She's strong but I loved how as the walls came down and the real woman came out she became someone I would really like to know. She's got a huge heart and the only thing that keeps her sane is building a huge wall around it so no one can ever let her down again. She lashes out at Billy many times during the book and while some were deserved I did get a little pissed that she took so long to come around and see who he really is now versus then.

This was a very sweet story that had moments where I was sniffling at all the pain they put each other through due to youth and inexperience. I think you can read this without reading any of the other stories in the series but read them anyway plus the prequel of Billy and Maddy's marriage when she was just getting ready to graduate high school. The prequel will show you how much love they really do have for one another and as many say at times love just isn't enough but in this case while it wasn't originally the reunion story is very much worth it.

Thanks to NetGalley.com and Random House for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.(less)

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Mar 20, 2013 Kathy Altman rated it 4 of 5 stars

"I don't know you. Not really. Not Madelyn Cornish." As he talked, she sobered. It was as if she'd dropped her mask for a moment. And he saw her—the real her—nervous and worried but pleased, somehow, though she didn't want to be. "And I want to know you. I really do."

"So you sent me a ticket to a charity fund-raiser, dressed up in a tux, and braved my anger just to get to know me?"

"I know, I amaze myself sometimes. But you amaze me all of the time. My whole life, I've been grateful for the chanc...more "I don't know you. Not really. Not Madelyn Cornish." As he talked, she sobered. It was as if she'd dropped her mask for a moment. And he saw her—the real her—nervous and worried but pleased, somehow, though she didn't want to be. "And I want to know you. I really do."

"So you sent me a ticket to a charity fund-raiser, dressed up in a tux, and braved my anger just to get to know me?"

"I know, I amaze myself sometimes. But you amaze me all of the time. My whole life, I've been grateful for the chance to be with you and now isn't any different. I want to know you, Maddy. The real you. Not the reflection of me you were for so long."

This book is everything you'd expect from the back cover copy — and from award-winning author Molly O'Keefe. The story is intensely emotional, enthralling and jam-packed with passion. But Crazy Thing Called Love is also a lot that you probably don't expect. While Billy struggles to save his career and snag a second chance at a happy ever after, and Maddy fights her still-strong feelings for her ex so she can hold on to the safe and successful life she exhausted herself earning, they're both trying hard not to fall in love with two kids who share a tragic background and the heartbreaking belief that they don't deserve a family, let alone love. Ironic, considering Maddy and Billy both harbor the exact same belief.

O'Keefe's characterization is phenomenal. Billy may be damaged and hot-tempered, but he's also valiant in his determination to change, and to do the right thing. At the same time, he's boyishly pleased with the new wardrobe he models on Maddy's show. And he's a heartbreaker in more ways than one — when you find out how his face became scarred, you'll want to weep. Maddy, meanwhile, is bitter and brittle and more difficult to bond with — which makes perfect sense, considering she's closed herself off. But the author provides touching, well-timed glimpses into Maddy and Billy's past — from the bittersweet beginning of their relationship to the agonizing end — which ups the emotional suspense and renders Maddy more sympathetic. Having to suddenly care for two motherless children shows us the softer side of both Maddy and Billy, too. In fact, Maddy's growth is goaded by the older child, a 13-year-old girl. Our heroine can't help but be humbled by the sacrifices the teen is willing to make for her little brother.

Crazy Thing Called Love is sometimes tender, sometimes combative, often humorous and sexy, but always genuine and stirring and absorbing. And you won't want to miss the hopeful, heartwarming ending.

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Mar 06, 2013 Joyfully Reviewed rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, bad-boy, joyfully-reviewed-miranda, recommended-read, series, reunion-romance

Dallas AM Talk Show Host Madelyn Cornish has worked her way up from the bottom to get to where she is now. However, her past is about to come back to haunt her. Madelyn’s ex-husband has just become part of her day job.

Hockey star Billy Wilkins has a horrible reputation and if he doesn’t fix his bad boy image he’s going to be out of a job. A makeover opportunity arises and Billy’s against it until he learns it will be on his ex-wife’s show. Billy will use any excuse to get closer to his Maddy onc...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Ni_kii rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sports-man, previous-relationship, smexy, made-me-cry

Originally reviewed at http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot....

I picked up this book expecting Chick-Lit. The blurb, the cutesie purple cover? It looked like a nice easy romance that would fill some time. Jesus, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is a book about broken children and the damage that it does to the human psyche, how people often make choices based on the things they think they want rather than what they actually need. I read this book in one sitting, mostly chewing my nails and...more Originally reviewed at http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot....

I picked up this book expecting Chick-Lit. The blurb, the cutesie purple cover? It looked like a nice easy romance that would fill some time. Jesus, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is a book about broken children and the damage that it does to the human psyche, how people often make choices based on the things they think they want rather than what they actually need. I read this book in one sitting, mostly chewing my nails and occasionally crying. It started off as something with a mild undercurrent humour and then it became something else because of an event that turns Billy’s life upside down, an event I can’t mention because it happens at 60% of the freaking book!

Billy is a broken man from a broken home that gets money thrown at him when he gets drafted in Hockey. From that day forward his life with Madelyn changes. She is the girl that he has loved since they were children, the young woman he married as soon as he could and he throws it away because money and fame get involved. I completely fell for Billy. He was young, stupid and had never had money. For him, this was the world that he wanted to be in, a world he would do anything to be part of. He didn’t mean to push her away, was even devastated when that was the outcome, but he just wanted the “dream”.

From that day forth his career was turbulent but then he has one fight too many and some PR is needed. Enter Madelyn and the show she has worked her ass off to protect. She doesn’t want Billy anywhere near her, had worked to become something more than just his wife and she is absolutely terrified that all that will be taken away if anyone finds out about their past. She is so cold with him it is heart-breaking. He is so upfront, allowing her to humiliate him with her “makeover” of him on National TV, all because he wants her back in his life. The thing is she doesn’t want him back in.

I didn’t really like the way that he practically eviscerates himself on national TV to make penance for his sins. It wasn’t that it made him weak, the opposite in fact, but it did make me think less of her. She was in a difficult position job wise, but that was no real excuse for what she did. She sat back and let him do all this when she had no real intention of letting him back in. She had hidden the girl that loved him so deep, she was pretty hard to let her feelings be known. Even doused in humour, it was still a very cruel thing to do. I liked that it was him that had the makeover though J

He is in a place in his life where he feels that he can commit; she is in a place where she feels she is happy without him. Him forcing himself back into her world leaves them with some occasionally hot sex and whole heap of pain. I couldn’t help feel that they were repeating the whole vicious cycle again, that they were doomed to fail. Then the “surprise” guests appear on the makeover show and Billy realises that maybe they can’t make it work after all. I really don’t want to mention who the guests are as I feel it’s a massive spoiler. These “guests” though were the best part of the book, the part that broke my heart and made me realise that Billy and Maddy may not get their HEA as the relationship they had wasn’t healthy for anyone to be around. To be together, they would have to accept that they were a product of their past, that denying wouldn’t change the damage that it had done. Only when they accepted their fears and desires would they evolve to a place where they could be together. The problem was that neither of them wanted to face and accept the place that they had come from, the place that had created a woman determined to be something in her own right and a man who never wanted to feel that impoverished or unsafe again. My heart bled all over the pages for these characters, especially during the flashbacks that littered the book, filling in the gaps of their history together.

I will say no more on this book and its tale. It was a book that made ripped me apart a little on every page. Yes, Billy and Maddy are a hot couple but their chemistry isn’t the thing that kept me going. I didn’t know how they would make it work or if it would even be enough to create a good relationship, but I had to know they were OK. They say a good writer puts their characters through hell to put them back together again and by God these two were put through the ringer.
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Feb 14, 2013 Julie Barrett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O'Keefe
Book first starts out with Maddy Baumgarten and Billy 14 years prior to the present day where she's walked away from him for the last time...
Present day: Billy Wilkins has just been benched at the end of the hockey season for the team he plays for in Dallas, TX.
She works as a reporter and hopes to move up to The Today Show and needs more big stories. The crew come up with one and she hates it: having a Billy total makeover.
What have they gotten themselves...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Paranormal Haven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-by-ronnie-guest-reviewer

I had overheard on Twitter a few bloggers talking about Molly O’Keefe’s latest book, Crazy Thing Called Love, and immediately emailed my blogmate asking her to request the book so I could review it. I’ve never read any of her previous novels, an oversight which I intend to fix ASAP. As the book opens, we meet Billy Wilkins, a hockey star who has been sidelined because of his penchant for fighting on the ice. Madelyn Cornish, Billy’s ex-wife, is the morning show host on AM Dallas, and the produce...more I had overheard on Twitter a few bloggers talking about Molly O’Keefe’s latest book, Crazy Thing Called Love, and immediately emailed my blogmate asking her to request the book so I could review it. I’ve never read any of her previous novels, an oversight which I intend to fix ASAP. As the book opens, we meet Billy Wilkins, a hockey star who has been sidelined because of his penchant for fighting on the ice. Madelyn Cornish, Billy’s ex-wife, is the morning show host on AM Dallas, and the producers on her show want to give her ex an on-air makeover in order to boost their ratings. Billy, to Maddy’s chagrin, immediately agrees to the makeover for the chance to be near Maddy again. He wants desperately to make up for the way things ended between the two of them, but Maddy has serious doubts when it comes to her ex-husband.

I should probably clarify that I’m not a fan of the re-united lovers trope. Given my druthers, I’d totally go for a different storyline, but the chatter on Twitter was pretty positive and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. Well this Doubting Thomas was made a very happy reader. I thought the relationship between Maddy and Billy was very well done. The author uses flashbacks (and me, again, not a fan of that particular device) to illustrate how the relationship came to be, and how it went south. In those flashbacks, Billy is portrayed as a young man who is often selfish and careless but not irredeemable. He knew that he had made some serious mistakes with his ex-wife when he was younger and this colors his actions towards her as he tries to show her how he’s changed throughout the years. On the opposite side of the coin, Maddy is desperate to keep her distance from Billy but can’t quite manage to do so. I felt and believed in Maddy’s determination to not let herself lose her identity and everything she’s worked so hard for in the past years since she and Billy split up. O’Keefe does a remarkable job with the emotion and angst, but she keeps it subtle, yet poignant.

When Billy is on AM Dallas, unbeknownst to Maddy, his past returns to haunt him. This was the only part of the book I felt was a bit heavy handed. The ambushing of Billy and Maddy really didn’t work for me, but how Billy handles the revelations about his family was spot on. He doesn’t always say the right thing, although his heart is certainly in the right place. He still has his infamous temper that escapes him at inopportune times. This made him come across as real and accessible to me and kept me rooting for him throughout the entire book. If you’re looking for a smart, sweet romance, I think Crazy Thing Called Love would certainly fit the bill.
- Ronnie(less)

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Jan 30, 2013 Chucha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-with-super-hot-men, boy-in-love-forever-with-the-girl, childhood-friend, family-problems, girl-in-love-forever-with-boy, girl-power, good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy, journalist-media, made-me-cry, married-couples, sports-buff, second-chances

Originally Posted at: Book Freak

And this was his chance to fight for her. A chance to make this right what he'd gotten so wrong.

They have a past.

After over a decade of being apart, he decided he want her back - but she doesn't.

The Hockey Star

some_text

PAST Billy

He was an ass, career was his priority rather than Maddy. But Maddy was his life and he loved her since they were kids. So when she finally left him, he didn't really know what to do. He came back to his family. But then, his family was almost no...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Brie C. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Originally posted at Romance Around the Corner

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

As you guys know, I’m a fan of Ms. O’Keefe’s books and I really liked her single title debut, Can’t Buy Me Love. I was apprehensive about the second book, which turned out to be just as good. So now we’re here with the conclusion of the series, and a new take on romance, relationships and old genre tropes.

Crazy Thing Called Love is about second chances; not...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Kim (Read Your Writes Book Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-read

Reviewed on: http://readyourwrites.blogspot.com

For Read Your Writes Book Reviews

Crazy Thing Called Love is the third book in the Crooked Creek Series. I’ve read the entire series and can tell you without a doubt, this is the BEST book by far. If you want a book where the hero has a tortured soul and a less than perfect past, this is the book for you. I found myself holding my breath one minute and crying the next. Billy and Maddy are two people you actually want to root for.

Billy Wilkins and Mad...more Reviewed on: http://readyourwrites.blogspot.com

For Read Your Writes Book Reviews

Crazy Thing Called Love is the third book in the Crooked Creek Series. I’ve read the entire series and can tell you without a doubt, this is the BEST book by far. If you want a book where the hero has a tortured soul and a less than perfect past, this is the book for you. I found myself holding my breath one minute and crying the next. Billy and Maddy are two people you actually want to root for.

Billy Wilkins and Madelyn Cornish aka Maddy Baumgarten are both from the the same working class neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Neither one of them grew up with money, but they both dreamed of getting far away from Spruce Street. Their love affair started out when Billy was eight and Maddy was six. Well, at least for Maddy, it started then, with a little girl’s crush.

Both Billy and Maddy have bad memories of living on Spruce. Maddy, an only child, had an idyllic family, who may not have been able to give her what her heart desired, but she had a mother and father who both loved her tremendously. Billy, on the other hand, had an older and younger sister, an abusive drunken father, who left the family, and a mother who used alcohol to dull all of her pain. In Billy’s house, he was the one who took care of everyone, even though he was only a child.

When Billy was eighteen, he was drafted by an NHL hockey team. When he was twenty, he married the love of his life, eighteen year old Maddy. By the time he was twenty-two, he lost the love of his life, due to his inability to treat her properly. Billy Wilkins is a man full of anger and rage but rightfully so. His background and the things that he’s had to endure over his life have made him nothing but angry and a fighter. There was a time during his hockey career when being the number one fighter in the league was what his team needed. But as things started to change in the league, Billy didn’t. He just got angrier and caused more and more fights. His anger and brutality is what brought him back face-to-face with the love of his life Maddy, who now calls herself Madlyn Cornish, the host of Dallas, Texas’ AM Dallas.

For Maddy’s part, she doesn’t want to have anything to do with Billy. He truly was and still is the love of her life. But for Maddy, that love cost her herself and her identity. She’s overcome and sacrificed a lot to become the host of Dallas’ number one daytime talk show. She believes because Billy is still the fight first type of guy that he hasn’t changed. And if he hasn’t changed, then her admitting that she’s still in love with him will cost her everything all over again.

But Billy isn’t truly the same guy. True, he keeps his feelings close to his chest, but he’s a better man than anyone has ever given him credit for. While on the set, taping a live segment of Maddy’s show, Billy comes face-to-face with members of his family. Members he hasn’t seen in years. What ensues forces Billy to come to terms with the person he has become and gives him the strength and courage he needs to become the man he and his family needs him to be.

Maddy realizes her life isn’t what she wants it to be. She has to truly have a heart-to-heart talk with herself and realize that Billy is offering her everything she has always wanted. She has to realize that he's willing to give himself to her and love her the way love is supposed to be.

If you're a fan of the Crooked Creek Series, you will be happy to know Luc and Tara Jean make several appearances throughout the book. You're allowed to catch up with them a little bit.

Sadly, I’ve been told this is probably the last book in the series. If this is truly the case than Molly did an excellent job. The Crooked Creek Ranch series doesn’t get any better than Crazy Thing Called Love.(less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Capri rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, hockey-hero, molly-o-keefe, part-of-a-series

After reading the first 2 books in The Crooked Creek Ranch series and they were only 2 stars - ok for me because the characters are so hateful. I thought I would give this series one more chance and was really hoping Crazy Thing Called Love would have better characters that were some what nice. Did not happen. Right at the beginning I could not connect with Billy who seriously needs anger management. I really wanted to feel Madelyn’s pain when she decides to give Billy another chance at the begi...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Guilty Pleasures rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: guiltypleasures-lee

Lee's review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

5 Stars

Oh, where to begin, where to begin… I have been waiting to get my hands on Crazy Thing Called Love since I was first introduced to Molly O’Keefe’s Crooked Creek series with book one, Can’t Buy Me Love. I have had a soft spot for Billy, the tough as nails hockey player, when he was first introduced as Luc’s best friend and Ms. O’Keefe DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

I can honestly say that I was not expecting Billy and Maddy’s story to be such an emot...more Lee's review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

5 Stars

Oh, where to begin, where to begin… I have been waiting to get my hands on Crazy Thing Called Love since I was first introduced to Molly O’Keefe’s Crooked Creek series with book one, Can’t Buy Me Love. I have had a soft spot for Billy, the tough as nails hockey player, when he was first introduced as Luc’s best friend and Ms. O’Keefe DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

I can honestly say that I was not expecting Billy and Maddy’s story to be such an emotional roller coaster. But that’s the talent of a good author, isn’t it? Molly O’Keefe didn’t even breach the surface of Billy’s character until Crazy Thing Called Love. And boy, did she do these two justice.

The raw emotion that this author is capable of putting to page with these two lovers sucked me in from the heart wrenching prologue and didn’t let go until the very end. I knew that there was going to be an intense story between Billy and Maddy, but to read about Billy’s troubled childhood and how Maddy stood by his side the whole time when they were just children had me tearing up through a good portion of this book.

I can’t remember the last time I read a story where I was this invested in two characters’ HEA. There were times I wanted to reach into the book and slap Maddy around for not jumping on Billy every chance she got. But the build up made the ending to this story so much better.

There are so many obsticals in Billy’s way that I was worried he wasn’t going to be able to overcome. From his damaged career to his abused niece and nephew to his own emotional demons. It seemed as though everything was working against Billy and I couldn’t really blame him for the anger issues that he suffered with throught this story. Ms. O’Keefe really knows how to write a brilliant heroine in Madelyn Cornish. Although she is fighting her own demons it is obvious that these two were meant two pick each other up when one is knocked down.

There is nothing lacking in Molly O’Keefe’s Crazy Thing Called Love. I am glad to say that it has every possible thing a woman could want in a good romance story. The Crooked Creek Series is something that you will definitely want to get your hands on.

Review copy provided for an honest review.(less)

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Jan 06, 2013 CoffeeTimeRomance andMore rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance

Hockey is the only thing Billy Wilkins knows. As a child it literally saved him from a life of poverty and abuse, and now he is on the verge of losing a career he has worked a lifetime to build.

Recreating her life, Maddy Baumgarten became Madelyn Cornish, host of the hit morning show AM Dallas. She refuses to even remember the time she spent losing her identity to a man whose entire life revolved around hockey.

The harder Maddy tries to crush any feelings she has for Billy, the tougher it gets. H...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Jackie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

I'm not really big into romance novels with major league sports guys as heroes, but O'Keefe's first book in the Crooked Ranch series, CAN'T BUY ME LOVE, was one of my favorite reads this past summer, and so I was pleased to receive an advanced copy from Netgalley. CRAZY THING started off strongly, with a second-chance storyline (my favorite romance trope!) and a potentially interesting take on contemporary masculinity, with a hero known for his aggressive hockey skills and persona suddenly confr...more I'm not really big into romance novels with major league sports guys as heroes, but O'Keefe's first book in the Crooked Ranch series, CAN'T BUY ME LOVE, was one of my favorite reads this past summer, and so I was pleased to receive an advanced copy from Netgalley. CRAZY THING started off strongly, with a second-chance storyline (my favorite romance trope!) and a potentially interesting take on contemporary masculinity, with a hero known for his aggressive hockey skills and persona suddenly confronted with a coach and a league newly concerned with player safety. The heroine's determination to carve out a life for herself so that she isn't just the wife of a famous athlete also made this seem like the book would be a perfect fit for my ROMANCE NOVELS FOR FEMINISTS blog.

Yet as I read past the first few chapters, I found myself less and less interested. Because we don't see much of why the heroine, Maddy, found her married life so painfully unsatisfying, we're just told that it was, Maddy comes across as a self-centered, uncaring person, making it difficult for readers to root for her. And the way she swings back and forth between having hot sex with Billy and then rejecting him for no real reason besides thinking he's going to hurt her again seems completely unmotivated, serving only as a way to keep the two separated for the sake of additional page length. The flashbacks to their initial romance show why the two loved each other, but one short scene of Billy taking Maddy (and not on purpose) to a strip club so he can hang with his new NHL teammates is not enough to demonstrate what the real problem was with this marriage.

Billy, for his part, has some serious anger management issues, but he never gets therapy, or even seems to recognize that his angry outbursts are the sign of a person with scary emotional problems. Bring on some cute/recalcitrant kids, and suddenly we're supposed to believe that Billy won't ever get angry again? Personally, I would have found it scary to be with such an easily angered person, and worried about the safety of those kids.

And P.S. Having crazy monkey sex in the room down the hall from where your 13-year-old niece is awake and reading is so not cool.

Wish the publisher hadn't been in such a rush to get three books out in such a short span of time. This one had a lot of potential, but would have benefited from another round of content-editing before it hits the stands.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Deborah rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was an incredibly deep & emotional rollercoaster that pulls you in & doesn't let go. It features two strong & believable characters who can't seem to let go of their anger & disappointments in each other. The story brings to light some of the lasting consequences of childhood abuse. I don't usually like my romance with quite so dark overtones. However, Molly O'Keefe used such a delicate finesse with the scenes that they weren't as upsetting to the reader. Those backflashes...more This was an incredibly deep & emotional rollercoaster that pulls you in & doesn't let go. It features two strong & believable characters who can't seem to let go of their anger & disappointments in each other. The story brings to light some of the lasting consequences of childhood abuse. I don't usually like my romance with quite so dark overtones. However, Molly O'Keefe used such a delicate finesse with the scenes that they weren't as upsetting to the reader. Those backflashes gave the readers a greater understanding of the hero . They also explained a bit of Billy & Maddys backstory . They showed the readers what a special love they shared & got this reader cheering for a reconcilliation even though I did not care for the heroine much at all. I fell head-over-heels in love with the tortured but vulnerable hero who wasn't hard to love at all.
Hockey bad-boy, Billy Wilkins, has never forgot his first love / ex-wife Maddy. When he realizes that she is living in the same town he yearns for a chance to earn back her love. Billy gets his chance when Maddy's boss approaches him about appearing as a guest on her TV talk show. Billy has recently landed himself in hot water (once again) on live TV. So the show wants to do a self improvement show on Hockey's bad-boy. Billy seizes this opportunity to get close to Maddy hoping to re-kindle the love they once shared.
As much as I loved Billy , I just did not feel the same way about Maddy. She kinda reminded me of a shrew. I did not care for her character at all. Billy tried so hard to make things up to her. Yet, she shot him down at every turn . With most stories it is the hero that I love to hate. In this story it was the heroine. Because of the crappy things she did to Billy. And for the really lame reason she acted the way she did. But hey, the author sure suceeded in eliciting some strong emotions toward the characters. Love & Hate ! I loved Billy & I hated Maddy because of that love. Oh my, I really should stop becoming so invested in these characters I read about. But isn't that the hallmark of a great author ? Getting the readers invested in the characters. Well, this book certainly did that !
I loved the wonderfully, twisted journey that Billy & Maddy took to find their way back to each other. As the story unfolded Billy slowly learned how to accept the past & to deal with his anger problems. Just as Maddy slowly let go of her anger & resentment toward Billy for his part in their failed marriage. Seeing how he came through for his sisters kids made her realize that he was no longer the irresponsible boy he once was. She finally understood that she didn't have to loose her identity to be with the love of her life.
Shew ! If you are looking for a really emotional story to loose youself in then I recommend trying this one. It's a rollercoaster ride of emotion as two lost loves find their way back together again. I give this story five flying stars for the tears I cried during some of those scenes.

I received this ARC courtesy of Edelweiss & Random House in exchange for an honest review.

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Feb 22, 2013 Becky Moe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, won-it, sports-theme

I loved this book. LOVED it. I didn't always love the characters--grown-up Maddy in particular rubbed me the wrong way through a lot of it--but I loved the story. The flashbacks were handled well, and fleshed out Maddy and Billy's early story that started in the novella "All I Want for Christmas is You" and made me so want to read this book in the first place. Grown-up Billy, once he gets his head out of his butt, is awesome. Loved him. Wanted to take him home myself, and not just because he's a...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Mskchick rated it 5 of 5 stars

I won this book through First Reads from Goodreads. I have loved all 3 of these books in the Crooked Creek Ranch storyline, but I think this one was my favorite. I did like that I came into this book having read the prequel to it (All I Want for Christmas is You), which was in the Naughty and Nice anthology, first author Ruthie Knox.

Maddy and Billy grew up poor in the same neighborhood. Billy had an abusive father and also had poor white trash sisters with lots of problems. Billy finally made it...more I won this book through First Reads from Goodreads. I have loved all 3 of these books in the Crooked Creek Ranch storyline, but I think this one was my favorite. I did like that I came into this book having read the prequel to it (All I Want for Christmas is You), which was in the Naughty and Nice anthology, first author Ruthie Knox.

Maddy and Billy grew up poor in the same neighborhood. Billy had an abusive father and also had poor white trash sisters with lots of problems. Billy finally made it out of his bad environment by his amazing hockey skills, and took Maddy with him. Maddy and Billy were married when he was just starting his professional career, and she was 17 years old. Let's face it, no one should get married that young, and the added pressures of being a professional sports player with a lot of travel only compounded the problems that they had in marrying. Billy had a lot of anger due to all his family problems growing up, and Maddy helped him manage that anger as best she could, as a very young woman herself without the maturity to help him conquer it, just helping him channel it.

They are immature in their emotions and coping skills, due to their age and Billy's poor family background, and their marriage breaks up with all the pressures that they face. 14 years later, they are brought together again. Maddy has put Billy behind her, changed her name, gone to school, and become a news talkshow host. Billy's career is going downhill. As a fighter without a lot of other hockey skills that he can use now, Billy is doing a lot of bench warming this season. In frustration, Billy cheapshots a player from another team after the hockey game has ended, and his coach and agent are trying to rehabilitate his image. Billy goes on Maddy's talkshow for a mutliple week makeover, and the sparks begin to fly. Neither of them has gotten over the other, and being in proximity forces them to realize this.

There are a number of crazy situations that happen after the makeover starts, and I'm not going to give details because I dont want to give away any spoilers. But all the bad tings that happen allow the charaters to both demonstrate how they have matured and/or coped with their issues thus far, and gives them opportunities for personal growth that they finally choose to take. I cried at the end of this book, and I was SO glad for their HEA. I can't wait for Molly's next book! She is totally on my autobuy list.

Many sports romance books don't do a good job of portraying the sport realistically, and so it always makes me nervous when there is an athlete as one of the main characters, because it's so easy to get it wrong. I thought the sports parts of this story were well done, which was especially thrilling to me as a hockey fan (go Preds). The only beef I had was the cover, because an NHL enforcer would be more bulked up, especially given the descriptions of his body from the book. This is not Molly O'Keefe's fault, but the publisher's/editor's fault for the cover error, and should not be held against O'Keefe at all.

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Dec 06, 2012 Wanderlust rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: quit-your-whining-bitch, plight-one-s-troth

Cover & Title - 3 out of 5
Favorite line - "Love was the least of their strengths"
Favorite Character - Billy

I expected a lot from this book, i liked the blurb & was interested to read it. I was a bit disappointed with what this book turn out to be.
It was described as "perfect for readers of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson", i wouldn't disagree entirely but i think that both of those authors books have more.. je ne sais quoi, something was missing from this book to really ma...more

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Jan 27, 2013 ⒼⓘⓝⓐⓇⓈ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: will-do

How could I pass up a story that involves a hockey player? Billy Wilkins and Maddy Baumgarten once upon a time were married. But youth and fame at a young age can be challenging and after two years of marriage, Billy and Maddy go their separate ways.

Known in the hockey world as the "enforcer", a goon in skates, there was nothing finesse about Billy. And there was no one else Billy ever wanted but Maddy. So fourteen years later, he could not pass up the opportunity to get close to her once again...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: edelwiess-arc

**This book was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.**

Judging this book by it's cover:
While I think the cover of this book is absolutely adorable, I don't think it's fitting for the book. The hero had a slash mark across his face and many scars on his upper body from hockey brawls, and I think if you're going to show a face/body on the cover of a book, it should be reflective of the characters.

Plot:
I love the plot of this book. Marriage gone bad, divorce, meeting up again fo...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Dianne Socci-Tetro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Can be read as a standalone novel.
In this the third installment in the Crooked Creek Ranch Series (and be careful looking up the ranches name since there is really such a place!), we have the story of TV personality Madelyn Cornish (at one time known as - Madelyn Baumgarten.) and ice hockey star Billy Wilkins. Billy is in very sore need of a makeover - from head to toe. So, he shows up for a meeting with Maddy and her crew about having a total make-over done on her show. He has a huge ulterior m...more Can be read as a standalone novel.
In this the third installment in the Crooked Creek Ranch Series (and be careful looking up the ranches name since there is really such a place!), we have the story of TV personality Madelyn Cornish (at one time known as - Madelyn Baumgarten.) and ice hockey star Billy Wilkins. Billy is in very sore need of a makeover - from head to toe. So, he shows up for a meeting with Maddy and her crew about having a total make-over done on her show. He has a huge ulterior motive though. What nobody seems to know, is that a long time ago he and Maddy used to be married. It did not end well.

The relationship and marriage left both Maddy and Billy crushed, with each of them struggling to go about their lives. It left Maddy to continue her education and get a job and Billy to keep on being hockey’s very, very bad boy. At this juncture of their lives Maddy seems to be doing well but is lonely, and Billy is at the point where he is going to throw his career in the garbage if he doesn’t soften up some.

And this is where the author attempts to take us – to the softer side of these characters. Ms O’Keefe attempts to steer us through the emotional land mines that make up the relationship between Maddy and Billy. The awful past that they shared…getting married too young and being dumped into a life they were not ready for. Moreover, I admit Ms. O’Keefe does a fairly fine job of it. Reading flashbacks about the childhood and young-adulthood of both of these protagonists made it simpler for us the readers to see that Billy wasn’t just an arrogant jerk and Maddy wasn’t just a cold fish…there are perfect reasons for them to be who and what they are. I am just happy that the author took it that needed step further to make us stretch our credibility a little more when Billy’s niece and nephew are used as pawns.

This was another very realistic look at the back end of sports, and an especially vivid look at morning TV

I enjoyed reading this book as much as I have the last two books in this series and hope there will be more in the future. This book will keep nearly any kind of romance fan content and happy. In fact, I almost viewed it less of a typical romance and more of flat out female fiction type of book.

Well, however you view it, it will be worth your time to pick this up and immerse yourself in a couple of hours of pleasure.
Oh and don’t worry, this book can be read as a standalone book.
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Feb 15, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have put off reviewing this book because I am unsure how I feel about it. I had high hopes for it. Hot Hockey Player Billy and Morning Show Host Madelyn are ex-husband & wife - who through a series of events end up working together on Maddie's TV show. Sounds like a great romance.

When it started I didn't really understand Madelyn's character or the decisions she made. She had reservations and was constantly shutting down her emotions. I found this frustrating because I didn't see what sh...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Blackraven's Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you’re looking for an inspiring story that portrays real life, where the characters have their own faults and demons to conquer, the emotions are raw, the sex sizzles, the hurt is palpable and will bring a tear to your eye, the banter is witty, the dialogue is fresh, and the love is so darn endearing that it will make you swoon, then Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O’Keefe is definitely the book to read. Ms. O’Keefe has quickly made her way to my auto-buy list because of her mesmerizing stor...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Crista rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star, bad-boys, contemporary, hot, kindle, netgalley, series, sports-themed, tortured-heroes

3.5 stars

I really love this author and the newest installment in her Crooked Creek Ranch series continues with the same "feel" of the previous books. On the cover these books may look like light and fluffy romances, but don't be fooled. These books are all filled with characters who have deep hurts and pasts filled with pain. Billy Wilkins is one of those characters.

Billy Wilkins by himself would've made this book a 5 star read for me. He is a professional hockey player who is a "fighter" and "e...more

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Crazy Thing Called Love (Crooked Creek Ranch #3)

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