Fool's Gold #1
Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery
From Susan Mallery's website:
"Welcome to Fool’s Gold, California, a charming community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. There’s lots to do and plenty of people to meet, especially women. Because there’s just one tiny problem in Fool’s Gold: the men don’t seem to stick around. Maybe it’s the lure of big-city life, or maybe it’s plain old bad luck, but regardless of the reason, the problem has to be fixed, fast. And Charity Jones may be just the city planner to do it.
Charity’s nomadic childhood has left her itching to settle down, and she immediately falls in love with all the storybook town has to offer — everything, that is, except its sexiest and most famous resident, former world-class cyclist Josh Golden. With her long list of romantic disasters, she’s not about to take a chance on another bad boy, even if everyone else thinks he’s perfect just the way he is. But maybe that’s just what he needs — someone who knows the value of his flaws. Someone who knows that he’s just chasing perfect."
Having read Chasing Perfect almost as soon as it came out, I had to browse through it again and I must commend Mallery for doing a fine job of weaving this story and maintaining passion that is felt by both hero and heroine. Josh's character was fun and fresh and he's exactly as his name states - the golden boy. I admired his character and where he came from, though I did get a bit annoyed by his "tortured soul" routine, I understand that he felt guilty after the tragedy but, really, it wasn't his fault and the constant sulking was a bit superfluous.. to go as far as to never ride openly again is a bit dramatic, however, I did enjoy Josh and I admired Charity's calm, witty nature. The second time I looked through the book, I realized that she was a bit bland in the first half of the book, but she made up plenty for that in the second half when she let out her inner tiger. The characters did well on their own, but even better together, the passion was almost tangible and the love scenes were great - a lot of the time I found myself eager for them to meet again. Not only were the characters fun, but I enjoyed the reading about the town, it gave a feeling of security and warmth, even to the reader, although I must admit I got a bit confused where size was concerned. I am a Susan Mallery fan and this book has allowed me to keep the faith, I look forward to many more Fool's Gold books(this series is one that will continue as long as readers desire it) that will bring great characters with fun stories. Overall, this was a great start to the series..with a cute end.
"Welcome to Fool’s Gold, California, a charming community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. There’s lots to do and plenty of people to meet, especially women. Because there’s just one tiny problem in Fool’s Gold: the men don’t seem to stick around. Maybe it’s the lure of big-city life, or maybe it’s plain old bad luck, but regardless of the reason, the problem has to be fixed, fast. And Charity Jones may be just the city planner to do it.
Charity’s nomadic childhood has left her itching to settle down, and she immediately falls in love with all the storybook town has to offer — everything, that is, except its sexiest and most famous resident, former world-class cyclist Josh Golden. With her long list of romantic disasters, she’s not about to take a chance on another bad boy, even if everyone else thinks he’s perfect just the way he is. But maybe that’s just what he needs — someone who knows the value of his flaws. Someone who knows that he’s just chasing perfect."
Having read Chasing Perfect almost as soon as it came out, I had to browse through it again and I must commend Mallery for doing a fine job of weaving this story and maintaining passion that is felt by both hero and heroine. Josh's character was fun and fresh and he's exactly as his name states - the golden boy. I admired his character and where he came from, though I did get a bit annoyed by his "tortured soul" routine, I understand that he felt guilty after the tragedy but, really, it wasn't his fault and the constant sulking was a bit superfluous.. to go as far as to never ride openly again is a bit dramatic, however, I did enjoy Josh and I admired Charity's calm, witty nature. The second time I looked through the book, I realized that she was a bit bland in the first half of the book, but she made up plenty for that in the second half when she let out her inner tiger. The characters did well on their own, but even better together, the passion was almost tangible and the love scenes were great - a lot of the time I found myself eager for them to meet again. Not only were the characters fun, but I enjoyed the reading about the town, it gave a feeling of security and warmth, even to the reader, although I must admit I got a bit confused where size was concerned. I am a Susan Mallery fan and this book has allowed me to keep the faith, I look forward to many more Fool's Gold books(this series is one that will continue as long as readers desire it) that will bring great characters with fun stories. Overall, this was a great start to the series..with a cute end.