Limecello’s review of She’s Got It Bad by Sarah Mayberry
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Blaze on 1 Apr 09

Sarah Mayberry is one of my favorite authors, and definitely one of my top five favorite Harlequin/Silhouette authors. I was very excited to learn she has this new book out – and I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the basic premise of it that Ms. Mayberry describes in her “Letter to the Reader” where a hero walks into an art gallery and sees a nude portrait of the one woman who “got away.” It’s perfect, and Ms. Mayberry wrote the story beautifully.

It may just be me, but I feel like Ms. Mayberry’s newer Blaze books have been getting a bit darker in tone. However, I still really enjoyed the book.  I normally adore friends to lovers stories, but this didn’t really feel like one. Maybe because there were twelve years in which the hero and heroine had no interaction. Or (and) the fact that teen sex squicks me out. Either way, the original relationship was a great foundation for Zoe and Liam.

Zoe Ford is a very real heroine. She’s incredibly sexy, warm, talented… and self-destructive. There was one (well, a few) bad incident in her past, and unfortunately Zoe has let that color her life. However, I was sympathetic to her situation, and understand the reason for Zoe to act as she did. I also felt that Ms. Mayberry did a wonderful job in making it believable, yet not mopey or annoying. I felt bad for Zoe, sometimes wanted to shake her so she would start caring for herself, but never did I think she was being stupid. I liked that Zoe was so complicated. She’s the sex kitten, artist, brass-balled woman, but also vulnerable, uncertain, and sexless.

Liam Masters is a fantastic hero. He’s old enough to have outgrown the chip on his shoulder, and has done incredibly well for himself. He’s a big softy, really, which is impressive considering all the hard knocks that life has dealt him. Normally I hate the “I’ll save you from me/yourself” hero – but here it works because he was so young, which made it more noble, albeit still misguided. I like that he bumbles around, yet is determined to help Zoe. While Liam has a few stupid moments when he won’t admit how emotionally invested he is, or accept that he wants a real relationship with Zoe, all other aspects indicate otherwise. I liked and appreciated the fact that Liam was over all self-actualized by the time he meets Zoe again.

I enjoyed how realistic this story was – it was believable, although a bit fantastic that Liam would have “found” Zoe in the manner that he did. Nevertheless, I love the interaction between all the characters. Liam goes after Zoe full throttle, and their relationship is well balanced by all the secondary characters. It was nice to see how the subtleties of the interconnected relationships played out. I also appreciated how honest the characters were with each other. Yes, they had conflict, but it was natural, and their reasons for keeping secrets was understandable.

In terms of the story line, I liked how Liam got closure by actually visiting his abusive father. That, and how the guy who “ruined” Zoe also makes a cameo appearance in the book and is dealt with. There was a lot of tying up of loose ends and general closure in She’s Got It Bad that I really liked. One thing I’m less enamored with, however, is the “I’m not a woman because I don’t have a uterus” angle. Don’t get me wrong – I’m sympathetic, and I know it’s a huge issue. I don’t know if this is a new trend, but I read a number of books all written by different authors, and even different publishers/times that featured a heroine with a hysterectomy. However, that doesn’t detract from the book itself.

The interaction between Zoe and Liam is hot, entertaining, and endearing. I liked how Zoe was sassy (and annoying!) and acted to provoke Liam. It was sweet, and humorous to see how each annoyed the other, but everything was underlined by the care and concern each had for the other. I liked that Zoe was able to take the final steps and regain her life.

This is a well-written, very enjoyable story, and I recommend it to everyone – especially the readers looking for a good, yet quick read.

Grade: A

Summary:

Twelve years ago Zoe Ford let Liam Masters break her heart. But now? There’s not a chance. Zoe is as tough and wild as they come. So when Liam shows up at her tattoo parlor, she’s more than ready to take him on again. That’s not going to be a hardship, since he’s hotter than he ever was.

This time she’s staying in charge. And she’s not going to consider their score settled until he’s hot, bothered and begging for more! Then she’ll move on as callously as he left her. Unless all that deliciously bad sex is just too good to give up….

Read an excerpt here. Also new and exciting, read Liam’s “blog” here! (Warning, the blog contains spoilers, of a sort.)