MUST HATE DOGS
Do you hate dogs? Only want to talk about yourself? Is having a sense of humor something youāve never been accused of? Think eating for pleasure is a complete waste of time? Agree that tipping is for suckers? Then youāre the date for me.
Dixon Beckett is the kind of guy who loves his mama, treats women right, and never ever wants to fall in love again. Thatās why heāll do anything to win a bet to be the last single man standing by Christmas.
Heās got a plan, too. Create the most no-good, horrible, very bad dating profile in existence. Only someone actually responds to his ad…
The rules say he has to go on six dates with the first (or in his case, only) person who answersāeven if that person is Fiona Hartigan: Hater of dogs, non-lover of any delicious food, and zero sense of humor.
But something feels off about this pariah. In fact, Dixon is almost positive Fiona is just pretending to be awful. Pretending to be the most horrible date in existence. And sheās most definitely pretending to not be as interested in him as he is in her.
The more Dixon Beckett starts to unravel the mystery of why Fiona answered his ad in the first place, the more he starts considering the most vile, awful, terrible idea everā¦falling in love.
Title: | Mama’s Boy |
Author: | Avery Flynn |
Series: | Last Man Standing (Book 1) |
Pages: | 356 |
Genre(s): | Contemporary |
Trope(s): | Bet / Wager Enemies to Lovers |
Point of View: | Third Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
Location: | US |
HEA: | āļø |
Release Date: | 27th September, 2021 |
Silly premise – cute romance
Iām a huge fan of Avery Flynn and her writing but although it pains me to do it – I have to give this book 3 stars. Itās the first time Iāve not been raving about one of Ms. Flynnās stories. In fact, itās the first time Iāve not given one of her solo-written books 5 stars. Sigh.
This is the first in a new series (Last Man Standing) of 3 books featuring 3 cousins of which our hero, Dixon, is one. Each book features a different couple and completely stand alone complete with HEA. This also features Ms Flynnās beloved Hartigan family and we do get plenty of cameos from said clan for those who have a special affection for them. For those that donāt know them – thatās fine, too – they just become a fun and quirky addition to the tale.
Iāll start with the premise for the whole series – a bet between the cousins. The prize (which I acknowledge is worthy of being won) is given to the last man standing (hence the seriesā title) or the only person not married by Christmas time. But first, each man must date the first person who responds to their ad on a dating app, and then go on 6 dates organised by the other 2 men. For a premise itās cute and quirky, sure, but it also MAKES NO BLOODY SENSE! My brain almost exploded every time it was mentioned because it was ridiculous. It would be so easy to not lose this bet (because itās not possible to win it) and while I get that thatās the point – it still made my ass twitch.
And then thereās the fact that Fiona is pretending to be someone sheās not. Again for absolutely no reason. Dixon is up front with her when they meet and while I get that she didnāt want to admit her own reason for āswiping rightā on his dating ad, there was no reason for her to continue with her personality subterfuge. The fact that Dixon didnāt believe it for a minute is neither here nor there.
Once the bet was no longer at the forefront of the story, the tale definitely picked up. It was cute and funny and definitely a light read. I would have preferred if Dixon wasnāt so hell-bent on winning everything, and if Fiona wasnāt so down on herself, her looks and her (real) personality, but I did enjoy them together and believed that they were good for each other. And tent shenanigans never hurts any story, in my opinion.
It would seem Iām FIRMLY in the minority regarding my opinions with this book. Which is good because that means itās more likely I was having a bad week than Ms Flynn! My advice – ignore me and give this book a go. I truly hope you love it where I could not. Just 3 stars from me.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review *
USA Today bestselling romance author Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.
She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindseyās Mallory books. It wasnāt long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequinās four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasnāt long before the local book storesā staffs knew her by name.
Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.
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