Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Full House Seduction (The Donovan Clan, Book 4) by A.C. Arthur
Contemporary romance released by Kimani Romance 1 Aug 09
Category romance is my last hold-out for impulse book buying. Every month I cruise the eHarlequin web site, read a mess of back cover descriptions, and make a shopping list. I don’t spend a lot of time investigating authors, titles, and series information. Sometimes this is a good thing, as I discover quite a few gems and new autobuy authors. Other times? Yeah, it bites me in the ass.
Full House Seduction has a terminal case of series-itis. I guess I should have gotten a clue when I saw “Donovan Clan” in the back cover description, but I obviously had not had enough caffeine that day. This is book four in a series featuring the powerful, casino-owning Donovan clan and reads like it. Buried underneath all of the name-dropping, references to past characters, and series baiting for future books, there’s actually a pretty decent romance.
Noelle Vincent is a drop-dead gorgeous former party girl. However she’s finally decided that it’s time to grow up, get herself an education, and cut out all the drama in her life. She’s been working really hard with her brother-in-law, who owns a very lucrative casino in Las Vegas. He’s been so impressed with her that he is sending her to Maryland to oversee the completion of a new casino they’re building in the Chesapeake Bay area.
For Noelle, this promotion couldn’t have come at a better time. She recently found out that the guy she fell head over heels for, and was burning up the sheets with, is married! Needless to say she dumped his sorry butt pretty quick, but he’s still calling her, sending her text messages, begging for forgiveness.
When she lands in Maryland she meets up with Brock Remington (best romance hero name ever!). Brock owns the construction company that’s building the new casino and he’s also an adopted member of the Donovan clan. However, even though the family welcomed him with open arms, and never made him feel “less than” – he’s still haunted by the memories of his biological family and past.
The moment he lays eyes on Noelle he’s attracted to her, but he has no interest in a steady relationship. Noelle may be free-spirited, sexy and fun, but she’s also tired of selling herself short. She’s determined to turn her life around, and that means no more hopping into bed with the first handsome face that looks her way.
I really liked Noelle and think a lot of readers will be able to relate to her. She’s made a lot of mistakes in her past, but she’s determined to make a better life for herself, work hard, and not disappoint her family anymore. She’s got gumption, spunk, and is a fairly straight shooter who will tell you exactly what is on her mind. While certainly Brock (and a multitude of secondary characters) ride to her rescue during the course of this story, she does stand up and make her own voice heard. She doesn’t sit back and wait for someone else to clean up the mess. She’s working right beside them.
Brock is your prototypical wounded hero. He’s still haunted by his past. Part of the time I felt he really needed to just get over it. Yes, his childhood was shit. It was really crappy. But he was adopted by the Donovan family who loved him, doted on him, and never made him feel like anything other than part of the family. Certainly feeling unworthy as a teen makes sense, but he’s a very successful businessman now. With an adopted family who loves him. I couldn’t help thinking he should just get over it already.
While Noelle and Brock are nice people, it’s the series-itis that really drags this story down. A lot of time is spent on past couples, name dropping, and rehashing old history. When this happens, the writing also suffers, because the author goes from “showing” us the story to “telling” us about all these characters, who they are, their relationships with each other, etc. None of it really pertains to the story at hand. Certainly these people have relationships with Noelle and Brock – but they aren’t Noelle and Brock. They aren’t the romance.
I suspect this story will work a lot better for fans of the series. Certainly they’ll like revisiting the former couples, and reading about Noelle, who from what I can gather, was featured in some of the previous stories. However for the uninitiated, it’s all a bit overwhelming.
Grade: C
Summary:
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Noelle Vincent may have led a wild and scandalous life, but really, isn’t every woman entitled to a few secrets? Now the former party girl is gambling on her future when she’s tapped to get a new casino off the ground. Suddenly she’s upping the ante when she gets her first eye-opening glimpse of gorgeous developer Brock Remington.
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Ever since he was adopted, Brock has followed a simple law of the Donovan clan: always play your cards close to your chest. But all bets are off when he falls for the sexy, free-spirited new site manager. They’re both consenting adults, but Brock wants more. Is Noelle willing to roll the dice on their future, even if it means defying the odds and playing for the highest stakes of all?
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Read an excerpt here.
Other books in this series:
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