Monday, October 21, 2013

Ugly Ducklings Finish First by Stacy Gail [Review]

Ugly Ducklings Finish First by Stacy Gail
Format: ebook
Source: provided by Carina Press through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: August 10, 2013

Bitterthorn
1. Ugly Ducklings Finish First - Kindle
2. Starting From Scratch
3. One Hot Second
4. Where There's A Will

Stacy Gail
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Synopsis (Goodreads):
Metal Mouth. Queen Geek. Dr. Payton Pruitt heard it all growing up. But she's over it, and attending her ten-year high school reunion is the perfect way to prove it to herself. Even if there's only one person she's interested in seeing in Bitterthorn, Texas: Wiley Sharpe.

Now a respected lawyer, Wiley didn't live down to the label Most Likely to Be Slapped with a Paternity Suit. But recent acts of vandalism suggest someone still sees him as a heartbreaker, and the reunion seems a likely place to find the culprit. Instead, Wiley comes face-to-face with his old pal Payton—and is wowed not only by her transformation into a ravishing swan, but by the connection they still share.

Payton is pleased the playboy she used to tutor has grown into an honorable man, but she's too smart to fall for a guy with roots in a place she couldn't wait to leave. But while Payton is an academic genius, Wiley is the one with the PhD in pleasure, and he intends to use it to convince her to stay…
My Thoughts on Ugly Ducklings Finish First: I sat down to read this on a day when I needed something light and playful and I can say -- with confidence -- that I got just that. Wiley and Payton are SO DAMN CUTE together that it worked.

Which isn't to say that their relationship is without friction. It is. Payton knows that Wiley used to play fast and loose with the ladies and she's not willing to risk her heart. Wiley is dealing with his vandalizing stalker and he's not willing to risk Payton. Payton has a life outside of Bitterthorn that she's determined to get back to. Payton also might have a *few* issues with the way she views love and marriage after growing up with the ups and downs of her parents' marriage.

With the way the two of them light up around one another, falling into bed is easy. The hard part is deciding if what they have is worth going all in for. There's small town gossip and the fractured relationship between Payton and her mother to navigate. There's danger in unexpected places and the past keeps rearing up and poking at both Payton and Wiley.

As successful as they've both become, they still have to try to live down those pesky high school days when they were Baby Brain and the Coyote.

Stacy Gail delivers the sexy, small town fun and I'm in.

4 comments:

  1. This one sounds FUN. Might have to give a whirl.

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    1. It was VERY fun. Stacy Gail writes some GOOD characters!

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  2. I love the premise because well you always want the "She's All That" kind of thing to play out later in life :) Plus, how many of us want to show those HS protags how much we have accomplished? :)

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    1. It was very cute and I LOVED that both Payton and Wylie got to show the town they were more than what they had been. *thumbs up*

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