LauraJ’s review of Loves Me, Loves Me Knot (Chicks with Sticks, Book 2) by Heidi Betts
Contemporary Romance released by St. Martin’s Press 4 Aug 09
I could be the only person who does this, but have you ever wanted a book so bad that come hell or high water you were going to get it? Now, for those of you who have wanted a book that badly, have you actually had to go through hell or wade through high water to get it? I have, and believe me when I say it was worth it. See, on August 4th, 2009, this book was released along with eight inches of rain in one hour.
Yes, eight inches of rain in an hour causes a lot of problems, cars washing away, basements flooded, police telling folks not to go out unless it’s an emergency and in some places saying they will arrest you if you are out and there is no emergency. So I’m trying very hard to come up with what would sound plausible to a police officer if he should happen to catch me on the road, and I came up with nada.
So I go to Plan B. Check with the bookstore that is located right next to my husband’s work, and it looks like Plan B is going to happen, because they have a copy in the store and it is placed on hold for me. Simple plan, really – husband picks up book and brings home, I’m happy. Except guess who forgets to pick up book? Yeah, that would be the one sleeping in the doghouse that night.
On to Plan C. I hear from someone that they got a copy of the book at Meijers (for those who don‘t know what Meijers is, it‘s kind of like Wal-Mart). There is one down the road from my house and the ban on driving unless it’s an emergency has been lifted. All I can say now is they better have a copy of this book or someone is going to be in the doghouse a lot longer than just one night. Yes, I want to read this book.
Since it’s been six months since the first book in this trilogy has been released, I have been on pins and needles (thankfully and lucky for my husband, I was able to buy the book that night) waiting to see what was going to happen with the next couple, Jenna and Gage. In the first book, Tangled Up in Love, we first meet the couple. They are divorced, but still it’s very obvious to everyone but themselves, and Jenna’s aunt Charlotte, they are still in love.
When they divorced it had been over children. Jenna wanted them, Gage did not. He is an undercover cop who has seen the worst and it has pretty much left him without any hope that there is good out there. Thanks to some good margaritas and some scheming good friends, Jenna sets out to have the child she wants from the only man she wants to have a child with.
With the deed done, Jenna lets her friends Ronnie and Grace know that the plan has worked so far. Problem is Gage overhears the conversation. He is, of course, outraged and tells Jenna that he plans on sticking to her until they know for sure whether or not she’s pregnant. Now if they can just keep things between them sexual (and protected sexual at that), everything will just be fine. Well, you know what they say about those best-laid plans.
This is such a great cast of characters, I don’t know where to start, but since this is Jenna and Gage’s story, I’ll start with them.
I love them. Although they aren’t my top couple from the first book, I quickly found I really like their story. It’s not often that you see a reunion story of a divorced couple. I think I’ve only read one or two myself, so I like this unique take on it. Their marriage ended because of a lack of communication, which is probably the cause of a large number of failed marriages. Gage had to submerge himself in his work and, because of that, he lost touch with part of reality, the part where there are good people.
This is not a “I had a bad childhood, woe is me” kind of story. Both he and Jenna actually came from families who loved each other – not perfectly, but their upbringing were still nothing like the things Gage saw in carrying out his job. By shutting Jenna out of his life and letting her go, he thought he was protecting her from the evils that he saw so regularly on the job. Gage is a man who doesn’t express much, even to his best friends, Dylan and Zack. I really like watching him emerge from his cocoon to express those feelings to Jenna and to learn to have faith again in the world around him. He still has work to do and it’s going to take a while (something I like – I really hate when things wrap up nice and neat in a few pages). No one can change overnight, but he is well on his way.
Jenna is the quiet one of the three best friends. She is also the niece to Charlotte. I did kind of expect her to be more whiny, but she’s not. Even though she is the “quiet” one of the group, she has no problem standing up to Gage when he tries to be all alpha male. She ends up being a much tougher person that I expected. She has been putting on a brave face and trying to move on for nearly a year, well aware things are definitely over with him. At least she keeps telling herself that. She’s dated, but no one has come close to what she felt for Gage and she is okay with that. What she is not okay with is being deprived of the child that she and Gage had always wanted, until he became disillusioned with the world. He is the only one who she would ever want to father her child.
Aunt Charlotte is such a lovable lady. She believes an antique spinning wheel that belonged to her mother and grandmother is enchanted and the yarn that is spun on it will bring the person who uses it their true love. She makes a special yarn for Jenna, hoping to get her over her sadness for losing Gage and help her find a new true love. If anyone remembers the show Facts of Life and the lovable Mrs. Garrett, you have Aunt Charlotte.
Dylan and Ronnie from Tangled Up in Love are back and are still blissfully happy. Zack and Grace, who we also met in Tangled (and who I think are going to be my favorite of the three couples) are still engaged (another unique aspect of these books that I haven’t read in any before), but something happens and things get a bit rocky for the two. What happens with these two in this story is some of the funniest moments in the book and another reason that I can’t wait to read their story.
These books are exactly the kinds of stories I want to read. They are sexy, funny, and have characters who could easily be real. They are characters who jump off the pages from the very beginning and keep you engrossed until the end, when they finally get their happy ending. Loves Me, Loves Me Knot is a keeper book for me. It’s a book that I know I will re-read more than once, going to it like comfort food when I’m in need of a story that will leave me feeling happy.
Grade:A
Summary:
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THIS IS KNOT YOUR AVERAGE LOVE STORY
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Jenna Langan knows what she wants, and as she tells her best friends after their weekly knitting group, she doesn’t need a man to give it to her…only a few of his best swimmers. And just because her marriage to undercover vice cop Gage Marshall ended badly doesn’t mean he can’t still give her the baby she’s always wanted. In fact, she’s willing to bet a couple of her favorite hand-knit boas that she can tie him up in knots he’ll definitely enjoy…
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BUT TRUE LOVE IS MORE THAN JUST SKEIN DEEP
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An unexpected seduction is one thing, but stud service? No, thank you. Gage had his reasons for pulling the plug on his happily ever after with Jenna, and nothing that’s happened since their divorce has changed his mind. That is, until Jenna got it into her head to tie him up and drag him down. Now he has no choice but to stick around until he knows for sure if his ex-wife is pregnant. But the more time he spends with Jenna, the more his resolve begins to unravel…
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Read an excerpt here.
Other books in this series:
