The Bet by Rachel Van DykenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A fake engagement + childhood friends and rivals + a mischievous, meddling Grandma = an endearing love story.
“Kacey watched in agony as the man who still held her heart whistled, thrust his hands into his pockets, and walked out of the coffee shop. Seattle’s most famous bachelor had just proposed marriage. Albeit a fake marriage, it was still a proposal. She should be thrilled.
But it was hard to be thrilled when the love of her life, the boy who used to make mud pies with her and kiss her knees when she fell, thought of her as nothing but a way out of a crappy situation.
She suddenly wished she was at a bar instead of downtown Pike Place Market.”
Kacey is a better person than I am. I would’ve told him to shove it, but this is how the story begins.
Jake Titus made a mess of his image and now he needs his childhood friend/ex-girlfriend to fill in as his fiancé to convince the board of his company that he’s reliable and stable enough to run the billion-dollar company. Kacey knew her heart couldn’t handle being around Jake after their last encounter. She should’ve said no to his proposal, but the bastard uses his ill grandmother to wrangle her into this deal. Now she’s on her way to her childhood home where she must face her demons and Jake’s brother, “Satan.” Travis tormented Kacey for as long as she can remember, but things are different between them now and Travis is HOT. Remember Kacey is “engaged” to Jake. Yep, it’s a mess.
We hear a lot of about their childhood and learn things were not always as they seemed. The story unravels nicely, although as the reader, I was clued in early as to the true dynamics of the trio. There’s no surprises or big reveals. Kacey just finally opens her eyes to what was really there all along. There were a lot of silly moments and sweet, sexy times too, but I think a big part of the story is Kacey finally letting go of her past and looking at the future.
I was really looking forward to this book after reading the summary, but it just didn’t have the hilarity I thought it would have. Don’t get me wrong; it had its moments of good laughs. Grandma Nadine was hilarious and I loved her character, but there wasn’t enough hijinks in the story. I felt with the plot of the story, it could’ve been so much funnier. Maybe humor was not Rachel Van Dyken’s intention, but that’s what I expected from the summary.
THE BET really is a sweet and funny story. I was hoping for more, but it was still entertaining and enjoyable. It is very cute and the follow-up story, THE WAGER, surrounding Jake and Kacey’s best friend, Char, sounds just as adorable.
✳✳ Copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.
✳✳ Reviewed on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews by Tickled Pink for Book Ink
No comments:
Post a Comment