About the book:
Can lives based on lies lead to love?
Joe DeMarco of Nowhere, West Virginia, believes in love at first sight. From the first moment he sets eyes on the gorgeous, long-legged beauty stranded on the side of the road outside his town, he knows. She’s the one. Even if she’s standing in front of him, brandishing a bottle, threatening to blind him with hand sanitizer. He likes her idea of foreplay. He likes everything about her. Even when she’s maligning his character, calling him a terrorist — and he, the chief of police. He should tell her who he is. And what he does. And he would… soon.
Julia Stockton of New York City is having a bad day. Bad year, actually, now that Karma has it out for her. Or maybe it’s because of Karma. More likely, it’s because of the rat bastard of a man she’d loved. The one who lied to her, betrayed her and carved out her heart, taking her savings account and apartment as a departing gift. She’s done with lying men! So why has Karma dropped her on the side of the road in god-forsaken West Virginia? Taunting her with a handsome, blond-haired, broad-shouldered god? The kind of man she harbors secret fantasies about? The kind of man she could so easily love, if she was looking for it. Which she isn’t.
But Joe is very persuasive. And Julia willingly gives him a weekend. One she’s sure she’ll never forget. And then she gives him so much more. She gives him her fragile heart. And for a while, Joe is everything she wants. Until she finds out he isn’t what she thought. Or who. So, is it Karmo in Camo? Or is it love?
Review:
Oh God, I wish I hadn’t read that. Historically I’ve not been a fan of contemporary romances. I often find the female leads weak-willed, and the plots too sappy for me. I know that’s what some people like most about the genre, but me not so much. Despite my hesitations about the genre, I was tempted by the sarcastic tone of the book’s description, and this same tone runs throughout the story. It is just as funny as the description led me to believe, which was good. But I can’t say I much liked the story. Honestly, I’m not even saying it’s not a good book and everything that women who like mushy love stories and frail save me from myself heroines appreciate about the genre. I’m just not one of those women.
At 27% through the book, I posted this status update here on Goodreads,
I’m ~25% in and I know things are going to change, but as of this moment I’ve decided that a more satisfying rewrite of this story would be: Julia was having a bad day, week, month year. Stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire she doesn’t know how to change, Joe stops to help. She is then such a bitch to him that he gets back in his van, drives away and leaves her there like she deserves. Seriously!
The problem is that it didn’t change. Julia remained a completely bipolar, possibly psychotic witch who did NOTHING to deserve Joe–who was, of course, wonderful in every tall, blond, muscled, 8-inch, committed, loving way. I loved Joe, but despite my best efforts I couldn’t like Julia, outside of whether I generally like this sort of story or not. I just found her selfish and flat-out mean.
To top it all off, I don’t get the ‘he lied about being a cop’ theme that the plot hinges on. First off, so what? He a cop, big deal. Second, he DID TELL HER he’s the chief of police. The fact that she didn’t believe him doesn’t negate the fact that he told her. Plus, even if he hadn’t told her, he told her enough of what he does for a simpleton to figure it out. It’s not his fault if she’s just too stupid to read the large, neon, flashing, heroic sign he painted for her. It all left me groaning.
Wylde’s writing is perfectly readable, and, like I said, it is funny. But This was definitely not a good match for me.