Review: Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O'Keefe

Crazy Thing Called Love

By Molly O’Keefe

Book #3 in the Crooked Creek series

Contemporary Romance

 

Dallas TV morning show host Madelyn Cornish is poised, perfect, and unflappable, from her glossy smile to her sleek professionalism. No one knows that her iron will guards a shattered heart and memories of a man she’s determined to lock out. Until that man shows up at a morning meeting like a bad dream: Billy Wilkins, sexy hockey superstar in a tailspin—still skating, still fighting, and still her ex-husband. 

Now the producers want this poster child for bad behavior to undergo an on-air makeover, and Billy, who has nothing to lose, agrees to the project. It’s his only chance to get near Maddy again, and to fight for the right things this time around. He believes in the fire in Maddy’s whisky eyes and the passion that ignites the air between them. This bad-boy heartbreaker wants a last shot to be redeemed by the only thing that matters: Maddy’s love.


Billy Wilkins was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, an NHL hockey team and he's miserable. The coach doesn't believe in his rough playing style and Billy is resisting change. Madelyn Cornish wants nothing to do with him following her surprise confrontation with him at Victoria's party but she's being forced to because her producers have put Billy on her show as part of a short term makeover project. No one knows of their history and that he's her ex-husband. 



I wasn't excited about reading this story as Billy seemed to be a bit of a wreck in the earlier books. Well, this turned out to be my most favorite of the series.



Billy IS a wreck but not for the reasons I thought. Instead of being just a wild man on hockey skates, brutal for the sake of the fight, Billy was expressing his anguish in the only way he knew how. When he and Madelyn ended their marriage, it seemed it was a choice he was ready to make. We learn so much more about this man, what led him to ultimately destroy his marriage and his relationship with Madelyn and the toll it ultimately took on his life.



Madelyn expressed her pain caused by the demise of their relationship so completely differently. She reinvented herself, becoming a glossy on air professional who was the picture of perfection, never losing her cool or displaying any extreme emotion. She was a brittle woman with no meaningful relationships in her life but on the surface appearing to be a model of success in her business.



This is a heart wrenching story as both Billy and Madelyn have to give up their protective shells in order to find their own hearts and the way back to each other. At times it is excruciatingly painful to experience but the payoff is huge. Billy's family unwittingly plays a significant role in their reunion as well. It all plays out in the midst of both of their careers, forcing them to reassess what is really important in their lives. I ached for both of them individually and for their fractured relationship. I really admired Billy for the risks he ultimately took to get this woman back and how vulnerable he was willing to be, publicly and privately. 



I'm so glad I didn't put off reading this book. It was tough, funny, steamy, sad and romantic with an ending that was so very satisfying. I don't often read a story that has me be quite so emotionally strung out and it pushed me to my limits. It was a perfect ending to an extraordinary series and this story will always be one of my favorites.

 (NetGalley ARC)

Review: Naughty and Nice by Knox, O'Keefe, Sloane

Naughty and Nice: Three Holiday Treats 

by Ruthie Knox, Molly O'Keefe, Stefanie Sloane

ebook, 210 pages 

Published November 5th 2012 by Random House Digital, Inc.

’Tis the season for romance with three original holiday-themed novellas! Unwrap this festive eBook bundle and discover why these authors are quickly becoming the biggest names in the genre. Ruthie Knox tells a heartwarming contemporary story of first loves given the gift of a second chance; Molly O’Keefe releases the ghosts of Christmas past with a prequel to her novel Crazy Thing Called Love; and Stefanie Sloane weaves an irresistible Regency tale of fiery passion that burns deep on a cold winter’s night.

ROOM AT THE INN 

by Ruthie Knox

Carson Vance couldn’t wait to get out of Potter Falls, but now that he’s back to spend Christmas with his ailing father, he must face all the people he left behind . . . like Julie Long, whose heart he broke once upon a time. Now the proprietor of the local inn, Julie is a successful, seductive, independent woman—everything that Carson’s looking for. But despite several steamy encounters under the mistletoe, Julie refuses to believe in happily ever after. Now Carson must prove to Julie that he’s back for good—and that he wants her in his life for all the holidays to come.



REVIEW:

After falling in love with Ruthie Knox's other books, I knew I had to read Room at the Inn for a little holiday hotness and cheer.

I'm slowly getting into Contemporary Romance and Knox is one of the authors that is on my audio buy list for the genre. She knows how to write a story with heart. Her couples not only have hot sex but their is a real romance between them and a great plot in each of her books.

Room at the Inn is a great holiday romance where a couple that have been on and off over the last few years get a second chance to make it work. I love that Carson and Julie have always loved each other, even though they moved on after Carson left town they both pined for the other one.

Their love is true, it was just a case of wrong timing and both being scared of getting want they want out of life even if they weren't sure what that was until now. They both had to do some growing up to realize that the other was their perfect future, no matter where they were.

The only reason Room at the Inn didn't get a full 5 star rating is because I would have loved to have this story in a full length book.

Check out other reviews of books by Ruthie Knox.

  

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU 

by Molly O’Keefe

Maddy Baumgarten and Billy Wilkins are spontaneous, in love, and prepared to elope the day after Christmas—that is, if Maddy’s family doesn’t throw a wrench in their plans. After all, Maddy’s barely out of high school and Billy’s a notorious bad boy. Maddy doesn’t care about Billy’s rough past—all she cares about is living in the here and now. But after Maddy’s mother stops speaking to her in protest, and a Christmas Eve heart-to-heart with her father leaves her with butterflies, Maddy starts to get cold feet. She loves Billy, but is she taking this big step too soon?



REVIEW:

This is the backstory for Maddy and Billy's upcoming story in the Crooked Creek series and it is really effective as a teaser. In Can't Hurry Love, we discovered that they had a past and here we find out how they started as a couple. It's short but packs a lot in a few pages. They were pretty well developed and also managed to steam it up without it feeling gratuitous. Theirs is not your typical holiday story but it captures the sentiments of the season. I'm hooked and cannot wait to read the next book.

 (ARC from NetGalley)

Check out other reviews of books by Molly O'Keefe.

  

ONE PERFECT CHRISTMAS 

by Stephanie Sloane

After being jilted by her fiancé, Jane Merriweather turns to her dear childhood friend, the Honorable Lucas Cavanaugh, for support—and unlocks the smoldering desire simmering in the man’s troubled heart. Frightened by his newfound feelings, Lucas flees to Scotland. But when the Christmas season brings them together again, one glance is all that’s needed to reignite his yearning. If Lucas can convince Jane that his intentions are as pure as the falling snow, they’ll turn a dreary December into a joyous Yuletide affair.



REVIEW:

N/A