Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises, #3) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Nov 17, 2009 Blue Eyed Vixen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, series, would-re-read, take-charge-men, alpha-male-heroes, romance, oh-god-yes-sexy-heroes, favorites, ebook-i-own

OK ladies .... I'm packing my bags and moving to Texas because if this guy Jack Travis is alive and out there, I am in LURVE and ready to have his babies .... yep! I'm willing to take one (or 2 or 3 or 4) for the team!

This guy is as smooth as Lindt chocolate but without the calories (can it get ANY better I say!!!)

Ella Verner walks into Jack Travis' life with a week old and a demand for a paternity test to prove he is the father of her sisters child. Ella is certain of what the chid needs and a ...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Beanbag Love rated it really liked it

Straight four stars for this one.

This book is enjoyable but ultimately I was left with a slightly dissatisfied feeling. I wasn't a huge fan of the heroine throughout most of it and that's pretty rough considering it's all in her POV. A somewhat self-righteous, bigoted, judgmental, over-reacting, often rude POV. Now, she's not over-the-top. She's no Portia Malloren, to be fair. But it's like a splinter you can't get to. Not devastating, just annoying.

Jack Travis is great. Yes, he has a man slut p Straight four stars for this one.

This book is enjoyable but ultimately I was left with a slightly dissatisfied feeling. I wasn't a huge fan of the heroine throughout most of it and that's pretty rough considering it's all in her POV. A somewhat self-righteous, bigoted, judgmental, over-reacting, often rude POV. Now, she's not over-the-top. She's no Portia Malloren, to be fair. But it's like a splinter you can't get to. Not devastating, just annoying.

Jack Travis is great. Yes, he has a man slut past, but those Travis guys seem to have been raised to take care of their P's and Q's. So, even when he was dating multiple women at one time, he still had an honorable core and, of course, that's why he's so easy to love now.

Ella was raised by a crazy lady and has a crazy sister. Both the mother and the sister are selfish and unlikable. Ella's the best of the bunch, but her crazy manifests itself differently. She's a rescuer for her family and, frankly, I don't see that going away. She also has the negative traits I listed above, although they can be subtle and she does get shown up multiple times and acknowledges it. Without those moments, she might have tipped the other way.

At the end I didn't completely trust the HEA. Not that their relationship would end, but that Jack wouldn't eventually be taken advantage of because Ella can't cut her two parasitic family members out of her life. I mean, the mom's downright emotionally abusive and the sister is completely self-centered. I know we're not supposed to like the mom, but I think we're supposed to have some sympathy for the sister. Sorry, I have some for her past, but not much for her present.

Still, this is a great read. I don't want to give the impression that Ella is outrageously unlikable, she's not. And she's a really good match for Jack, for the most part. I did think she needed more emotional growth by the end, though.

It was great to see Haven and Hardy again, as well as Liberty and Gage. They were a part of the story in an organic way rather than fan service, and I always appreciate that.

It seems like this is the end of the Travis series, although Joe is hanging out there needing a mate. Let's hope Kleypas comes back for one more, because I don't want to have to worry about one of the Travis males not getting his romantic due. ;^) ...more

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Sep 04, 2009 Bekah rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-own, 2011-reads

4.5*

My review for:

Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises, #3) by Lisa Kleypas

Ella Varner has worked hard to maintain some proper boundaries between herself and her dysfunctional family. All those boundaries come tumbling down when she’s called to Houston to take care of her nephew for three months. However, it takes one day for Luke to change all of her ideas of motherhood and babies. In searching for Luke’s biological father, she meets the smooth talking stranger Jack Travis – who is too delicious for words. The combination of this big Texas alpha ...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Fiendishly Bookish rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

In Kleypas' contemporary novels she has managed to throw out the modern romance template with the bath water. Her concept of what romance should be and could be in any situation is so successful in Smooth Talking Stranger that not many would have been able to pull it off.

Why can't Kleypas craft a story about a not-so-perfect heroine who might actually have some real life emotional "baggage" (like most of us!), toss in an unwanted child abandoned by her sister and a hunky but perhaps slightly fl ...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Aimee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-romance, i-need-a-cold-shower, made-me-cry, made-me-laugh-out-loud, own-it, absolute-faves, chick-lit, addictive-like-literary-heroine, lisa-kleypas, holy-hotness-hall-of-fame-hero

Oh yeah. This is one of the books you walk away from with a big goofy grin on your face. I loved it!

Ella Varner is a columnist in Austin who finds herself in the predicament of taking care of her sister's abandoned newborn. So she sets off to find the father and make him take on some of the responsibility.

Jack Travis ::sigh:: walks out of a meeting one day to find Ella in his waiting room, newborn in tow, insisting that he take a DNA test. He's never been more tempted than by this headstrong, ...more

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Aug 29, 2009 Ashley rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-absolute-fave, hot-men, guy-falls-hard, alpha-males, gave-me-good-shivers, great-tension

What a great read. Again, I took a break from the paranormal world and delved into this one. Lisa Kleypas has given her readers another beautiful heroin with another gorgeous lovable hunk. Jack Travis has officially became my top favorite of the Travis siblings. If you haven't read it, then get to it or else you'll regret it. ...more

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Feb 07, 2010 Teri rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, 6-stars

It is so wrong that I fell in love this hard with Jack Travis. How can people rate this book 3 or 4 stars? I don't get it.

Jack and Ella's relationship developed perfectly! The only problem with the book is that I didn't end up with Jack in the end ;) ...more

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