Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of In His Good Hands (Summerside Stories, Book 2) by Joan Kilby
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin SuperRomance 01 Feb 11
I’m a sucker for reunion stories. I’m also a sucker for a heroine who isn’t a svelte size 2. The problem is that both of these tropes are a very tricky tightrope for an author to walk. Potential minefields abound. Ultimately it’s the minefields holding me back from enthusiastically enjoying Joan Kilby’s latest, the second book in her Summerside Stories series. Because while the story told is interesting, and the author’s writing certainly kept me engaged, I just couldn’t fully buy in to the romance.
Renita Thatcher is the pleasingly plump loans officer at the local bank in small town Summerside. Her latest potential client? None other than Brett O’Connor – former Australian football star, winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal, soon-to-be-ex-husband of a bleached, plucked, and augmented trophy wife, single father to a nearly teen daughter – oh, and the guy who broke Renita’s heart back in high school. Brett wants to buy a local run-down gym, refurbish it, yada yada yada. Renita agrees to push through a bank loan….the problem being not for the full amount he’s asking for. It’s just not a good risk for the bank.
Brett is determined to make something of the gym. His assets are currently unavailable because his soon-to-be ex is tying things up in court, so he needs a bank loan. Sure, Renita approves enough funds to buy the business and slap a fresh coat of paint on the walls – but what about replacing the old, broken-down equipment? He wonders if this has something to do with him saying no when she asked him to the high school dance? Oh well, maybe the way to butter her up is to offer her a gym membership, and use her diabetic father who recently had a health scare as the bait? Daddy and daughter can get in shape together!
Here’s the problem with this story: I thought this relationship was doomed from the on-set. First, Brett doesn’t have all his ducks in a row before he walks into the bank to ask for a business loan. Why? Well, because he knows he’s meeting Renita and he figures that they used to be pals and he’ll pour on the charm, and her brain will start dripping out of her ears. Then when she only approves a partial loan, he insults her by suggesting it’s because of something that happened back in high school. Thirteen frickin’ years ago!
For Renita’s part, I was pretty confident that wasn’t why she turns down his full loan application, but then later on in the story she starts musing that wouldn’t it be great if she gets in shape, gets hot, and turns Brett down flat when he inevitably gets interested in New Sexy Renita. So revenge is definitely on her mind, and it’s just sort of icky. Look, I know body issues haunt women, sometimes for their entire lives. I get that. But dang, high school was thirteen frickin’ years ago! Time to pull up your big girl panties, get over it, or get your ass to the nearest therapist!
Inevitably Renita starts getting in shape, and Brett asks her out. This whole thing comes off as…not romantic to me. Realistic? OK, yeah. I’m sure Renita did start looking more attractive as the various jiggly bits started firming up, but hey, admittedly the fantasy tends to be more appealing when the hero is at least a wee bit interested before Cinderella gets made over by the fairy godmother. Just sayin’.
At the end of the day, Brett’s lack of patience, his unwillingness to listen to reason, and the fact that the #1 reason most couples fight, and split up, is money left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. When it comes to finance, I find Renita quite competent and realistic, while Brett comes off as a spoiled jock strap who wants what he wants when he wants it. I mean, that doesn’t exactly instill a lot of hope for wedded bliss now, does it? Visions of Renita clipping coupons and asking her parents for a loan to buy groceries while Brett runs off to buy a boat or new car or a big house they can’t afford dance in my head. Sigh.
Which makes it sound like this book is a worse slog than my own recently adopted fitness routine. It’s not! By the end of the book I thought Brett had caught just enough of a clue to not hopelessly doom everything, and Renita seems to have caught a few clues of her own. And hey, Kilby can write. One chapter read quickly turned to two and so on. So while not a resounding success? I didn’t dig out that dusty bottle of whiskey sitting in my kitchen pantry either.
Grade: C-
Summary:
Renita Thatcher never imagined she’d see Brett O’Connor in town again—let alone in her office. Over the years, Renita has only caught glimpses of her old crush in the tabloids as Brett jet-set his way to football superstardom…. Oh, who’s she trying to kid? She’d followed his career religiously. And his marriage to the gorgeous, high-profile trophy wife. Ex-wife.
Now Renita, the only loans officer in Summerside Bay, has something Brett wants. Just like in high school, she’s in a position of power over him, but this time, she doesn’t want to mess it up. Her next move is critical. Does she want revenge or does she want to surrender herself to a guy who looks even better than her best fantasy?
Other books in this series:
Yeah, I went into this thinking I’d like it, but unfortunately ended with somewhat of a thumbs down. Brett was a berk frankly, selfish, impulsive, irrational and prone to magical thinking (I like than in my heroes about as much as I like it my heroines – that is to say not at all) and I couldn’t see what she saw in him other than the pretty. Nor was I impressed with her plans for saving the day – illogical and you could see the trainwreck coming a mile off. I did like the stroppy teenage daughter and the secondary relationships though and the writing was certainly competent.
FD: I made the decision to give this one a whirl after reading an excerpt – so yeah, I had high hopes for it as well. Our thinking seems pretty identical here. As much as the romance didn’t really work for me – Kilby’s writing did suck me in (I happily kept flipping the pages!), and I liked the other “stuff” floating around in the background….most especially the teen daughter. Those elements sort of saved this book for me, because if I had gone just on the romance alone, my grade would have very likely been lower.