Deliah Lopez Dreser’s in town to take care of family business. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but there’s more to Lilah than meets the eye. Cole’s in danger of losing his heart when this firestorm throws sparks his way. However, is she simply playing him for the fool in order to exact revenge for her brother’s murders?
Maggie and Seth’s reaction when the truth is revealed pushes friendship to the limit. And this time around it won’t be a Dreser causing an uproar in Port Fare. It will be Cole's good friend Booker. But does Booker have it all wrong? Usually not!
Excerpt:
“So, this friend of yours, does he have a specific style in mind?” I asked, hoping to stay the memories as we approached the elevators.
Booker pressed the up button on the wall, and the steel doors creaked opened. “Cole’s style. Hmm.” Booker seemed to be fighting a grin as we stepped inside. He pressed the third floor button. “Tell me, is utter bedlam a style, really?” He laughed. “In truth, Cole is one of the most generous and unassuming men that I’ve had the luck of knowing. His organizational skills, or lack thereof, are pretty much his only fault.” He shook his head and continued, speaking with just a hint of envy now. “There’s not a bit of guile in the man. He gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, and he never, ever crosses the line.” Booker looked at my quizzical expressions and laughed again. “I’m not kidding. Cole’s never even had a ticket, ever. Not for speeding, not for parking on the wrong side of the road, nothing. The guy’s a saint.”
“I see. I’m not too fond of perfect people. They tend to make you feel inferior.” I ran a hand nervously over my hair again, smoothing the fly-aways down.
“I may have painted him a little too perfectly,” Booker admitted as we stopped and the doors opened. He put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me out. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to rip it off. A shiver tore down my spine.
“It’s a little chilly in here, isn’t it?” I said, trying to cover my reaction to him.
“Maybe a little,” he said, looking at me strangely.
Time to redirect. “What were you saying about Cole?”
“Oh, yeah. The guy has zero organizational skills. He’s a brilliant doctor, mind you, but he’s not organized. He was promoted last month and his office is still a shambles.” Booker pointed to the second hall on the right and we headed for the second door. “He’s also a klutz. A serious klutz.”
“Unorganized and a klutz aren’t such bad traits,” I pointed out as he reached for the door.
“You’re right, they’re not. All kidding aside, Cole’s the most pure hearted person I’ve ever met. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Mother Theresa had given birth to him herself. He makes me want to be a better man, know what I mean?”
“I think he’s lucky to have a devoted friend like you,” I said honestly. The sincere expression in his eyes left no doubt he cared deeply about the klutz doctor.
“Nope. I’m the lucky one,” Booker insisted as he shoved hard on the door. “It gets stuck. Think you can fix that while you’re decorating?” He rammed the door with his shoulder. It flew open and Booker stumbled inside, catching the door before it hit the wall.
A tall man dressed in blue scrubs spun around to face us, hands wrapped tight behind his back, reminding me of a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I opened my mouth to introduce myself when I looked up into the most amazing deep blue eyes I’d ever seen. The words froze in my throat. Booker forgot to mention that Cole was breathtakingly gorgeous.
My Review:
I'm a fan of Sherry's books. She's one of my favorite YA authors. The first time I read Unloveable (which is an awesome book and will soon be a movie! You can read my review from Amazon at the bottom of this post) I completely fell in love with Cole. You can ask Sherry how gaga I've been over him since then, and how excited I was when I found out she was writing a sequel starring the hunky, klutzy doc.
I had a hard time liking Lilah with him, but that has more to do with the fact that no one could be good enough for my Cole than any dislike of her character. I actually really liked Lilah. For growing up as a Dreser, the girl has an amazingly high sense of morals and knowing right from wrong. And while her reasons for heading to Port Fare are a bit devious, there's some sympathy for a girl who's being forced to do something she doesn't really want to do.
As for Cole . . . *sigh* Cole. Let me wipe the drool from my chin and calm my heart. I can't say enough good about this particular character. Is it weird to be in love with a fictional character? Cole is not just swoon-worthy. He's beyond swoon-worthy. He's dream-at-night-about worthy. A brilliant doctor who's a klutz constantly getting hurt and without much coordination, he is also gorgeous, kind, giving, and caring. Also, forgiving. He manages to find it in his heart to forgive what most people would find cause for hate. Hold on a minute while a have a little Cole fantasy . . .
Okay, I'm back.
Their love story is a cute one. I loved watching Lilah try to remain distant from Cole even as she tried to play him, but unable to resist the utter charm that is Cole. I won't give away too much of their story other than to say Sherry manages to play with your emotions and heartstrings throughout the book, and the ending was perfection (for me anyway). It was great to see Maggie and Seth again, and to watch them as they marry and begin their life together. It was also fun to see Booker (who I hope to see starring in his own book soon) and to see that Maggie hasn't let up on her teasing of him at all.
You don't necessarily need to read the first book to read Cole and Lilah's story in Unbelievable, but you might be a bit lost as to who some of the supporting characters are and why it means anything that Lilah is a Dreser if you don't. I suggest you read Unloveable, then immediately follow with this one. Lucky you, you won't have to wait as long as I did for the sequel!
Book Trailer
Author Bio
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Unlovable was Sherry's debut novel and quickly rose to many top seller lists on Amazon. She is pleased to announce that Unlovable is currently being made into a movie. She has added three more novels to her body of work. Souls in Peril, the poignant story of Max Sanchez who is on a journey to help the struggling JD Miller survive high school, and Pete & Tink, a fun, light-hearted novella of a manga-loving geek and and five-and-a-half inch fairy. And UNBELIEVABLE, Book 2 in the Port Fare Series
Sherry and her husband, along with their children and a couple of crazy dogs, call Upstate New York home. It is where she spends her nights writing instead of sleeping {:
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Prizes:
1. A Signed paperback copy of Unlovable and Unbelievable
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3. A signed book wreath made from the pages of Unlovable
4. Swag
6. An ecopy of Author Cindy C Bennett's new anthology Enchanted Fairytales
7. Ecopies of part one and two of Author Camelia Miron Skiba historical anthology.
I was here...Before You came and Born in Sin (due to be released in June)
My Amazon Review of Unloveable by Sherry Gammon
I found Maggie's story very enjoyably readable. This poor girl lives in horrible circumstances, trying to maintain some normalcy, while being contantly told how unlovable she is. Then she meets Seth, who to her seems too good to be true - and he is to a degree, but not in the he's-so-perfect-he-can't-be-real kind of way. He just isn't what he professes to be. He's not a high school senior at all, but rather an undercover DEA agent. He's assigned to Maggie, and finds himself falling for her rather than maintaining a professional distance.
I've read some of the reviews on here, and some people complained of Seth being too perfect. I didn't get that impression at all. During Maggie's narration, we have to remember we are seeing him through her eyes, and of course she's going to think he's perfect. During his narration, I think Gammon does a great job of showing his humanity, how he struggles with his job vs his personal feelings. There were also some mentions of predictability, and though that's true in certain areas - though not annoyingly predictable, I have to say - there are also many places where Gammon completely throws the reader for a loop. I won't give details, but the story with Maggie and her mother definitely do not go according to happily-ever-after. There was also talk of Maggie making foolish choices. Um, hello, the girl is 17. Who of us did not make foolish choices when we were that age? Teens believe they are invincible, which is a huge part of their charm, and Maggie is just behaving as a typical girl her age might.
As to the love scenes - or lack thereof - I'm grateful to Gammon for keeping it clean. I think the whole world is well aware of the raging hormones of teens, but I don't think it's necessary to write books where they have no self-control. I happen to think there are a great many teens who do have control over their actions, and understand the consequences of giving in to urges. So while Seth holds back because of his upbringing, I applaud Gammon for showing that a young couple can have a hot, loving, sweet relationship without being physical. I did not find the story lacking at all in that area. I applaud ALL authors who write YA books that are appropriate for teens, rather than writing an adult book disguised as YA, but full of adult matter/content. Gammon is absolutely on the right track in that area.
I definitely recommend this book for ages 14-90. There is some violence, and some of the death scenes are fairly graphic, so it might not be appropriate for a younger crowd. Overall, you're going to enjoy this book, as I did.
Oh, and excellent cover! Perfectly catches Maggie's struggle.
Awesome review,Cindy! Thank you for ALL your help!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. It's a worthy review!
DeleteHey Cindy, Thanks so much for a chance to win this great giveaway :) Good luck to all & Happy Reading :) my GFC is...Salena Smith
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