Worth the Trouble (by Jamie Beck)

Contemporary Romance

Two years earlier Cat chose another man over Hank, a man who turned out to be violent and abusive. Now she has kicked him to the kerb but fate once again throws her a curve-ball. In quick succession she learns that for a model 28 is over the hill, and adding to her problems she is diagnosed with early onset menopause and will not be able to have children.

Despite that she is determined to forge a new path, to land on her feet. When Hank delivers a hand-made end table to her best friend, Cat sees her chance. She sets out to convince him to partner with her in a business making exclusive hand-made furniture. But with an ailing mother and a younger sister he is putting through college, money is tight and he can’t afford to risk what he has to follow his dreams.

Hank never did get over Cat, he is perhaps the only man who can see past her façade and into the vulnerable woman desperate not be a failure. He knows she is attracted to him but every time they seem to be getting closer she pulls away and she won’t tell him why.

If they are to have any chance, Cat will need to open up to Hank and risk her heart. Something she has never done before.


 

 
Jamie Beck writes fairly typical contemporary romance. She follows the rules of the genre and honestly I can name a few books that share the same basic plot as Worth the Trouble. I would also say they don’t do it as well as Jamie Beck.

The big names in Contemporary Romance, names like Jill Shalvis and Susan Elizabeth Phillips need to watch their backs. There is a new generation of writers who are making the genre their own, and Jamie Beck is one of them.

Screen Shot 2015-11-09 at 4.24.20 PMMany thanks to Montlake Romance and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

Orange, Red, Yellow. What it means:  YOR-Guide

Worth the Wait (by Jamie Beck)

Contemporary Romance

When Vivi travels with her closest friend Cat to Block Island she’s expecting a relaxing holiday and a chance to catch up with Cat’s brother David, who she has loved since she was thirteen. But almost immediately she learns that David has a girlfriend and he’s brought her along.

She’s determined to salvage her pride and make the most of her time on the island. But it’s not so easy to brush off a decade of love and making matters worse, David is sending her mixed signals.


 
Worth the Wait is great. If I have a criticism it’s only one. I think there is just a little too much going on in the book. The story of Cat and her troubled relationship, as well as Jackson and Hank didn’t quite fit and were a bit of a distraction.

Having said that, I all but abandoned Contemporary Romance a year or two ago –– the genre felt dated and most of the books I was reading felt recycled, but there are a few authors right now who are delivering fresh and exciting stories and bringing me back. Jamie Beck is one of those authors.

Screen Shot 2014-03-17 at 5.42.32 pmMany thanks to Montlake Romance and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

Yellow, Orange, Red. What it means:  red-orange-yellow-guide

In the Cards (by Jamie Beck)

Contemporary Romance

Lindsey has an ivy league education, a trust fund, and the perfect fiancé. That is until she discovers her fiancé had a fling with a woman he met at a bar and might have given her an STD. Heart-broken she leaves New York and rents a beach house in Malibu hoping to make some life changing decisions.

Levi is a gambler by nature who made his money by pushing his luck at the card tables in Vegas and shrewdly investing his winnings. Having a con-man for a father and being abandoned by his mother has left him with trust issues and a reluctance to form attachments.

When Lindsey moves in next door his world views are immediately challenged. She somehow manages to keep breaking down the walls he built to protect himself. Then after a motorcycle accident he finds himself depending on her more than he’s depended on anyone since his mother abandoned him.


 
I really loved this book. I was expecting a lot of angst and was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t materialise. It’s contemporary romance and the story is typical in one sense but with quite an interesting take on things.

Screen Shot 2014-03-19 at 7.25.29 pmYellow, Orange, Red –– what it means: http://wp.me/P2B7b5-9l