REVIEW: TROPHY HUSBAND BY LAUREN BLAKELY

Sometimes you can't help falling in love, even when you try to do the opposite...

Successful fashion blogger McKenna Bell has spent far too long protecting herself after the way her ex-fiancé left her at the altar for a college chick he met the night of his bachelor party. Loving again, trusting again, well, that's just not in the cards. Especially now that her ex is back in town with his new woman, demanding custody of McKenna's favorite creature in the whole world--her dog.

No effing way. McKenna's had enough of him, and she decides to even the score by finding her own hot young thing -- a Trophy Husband. Sure, she's only twenty-seven, but doesn't that make it even more fun -- and infuriating to her ex -- to pursue a younger man?

When she declares her intentions on her daily blog, her quest quickly skyrockets in popularity, and that's when Chris enters the picture, and he’s got all the assets. He's handsome, successful, and turns her inside out with a kiss to end all kisses, the kind that makes you feel like a shooting star.

But loving again could mean losing again, and it's so much easier to focus on getting even, isn't it? Unless, you just can't help falling in love. Which means McKenna will have to come face to face with what she really wants in life -- protecting her heart from hurt, or letting go of her fears of a new beginning.

Kindle Edition, 222 pages

Published May 21st 2013 by Lauren Blakely Books

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Where to Find Lauren Blakely:

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***4 Stars***

1) McKenna. This girl is awesome. She's a successful fashion blogger with a retro style, she's got a great group of girlfriends, and an awesome dog named Ms. Pac Man (for real!). The only thing she doesn't have is   balm to heal the huge gaping wound her ex-fiance left behind. After one particularly hurtful run in with her ex, McKenna dreams up her plan to find a Trophy Husband. She makes this plan her cause..her mission...she's gonna make a point, dammit, to all of the men and women of the world that women can do what men can do (ie find arm candy). As she starts 'trying out' possible candidates for her trophy husband, her mind keeps floating to one man in particular...and by floating I mean vividly daydreaming. McKenna has got quite the imagination and Chris seems to be the star of it.

2) Chris. I feel like I say this about lots of the men I read about ...but SWOON. He's Stanford smart, a blogger, and...sigh...a surfer..a gorgeously hot one. He's fun and funny and so patient and understanding with McKenna. He humors her love of old school games, her quest to find a Trophy Husband, and her insistence that she become part of the game. As the game continues, he goes along for the ride until their turn to go out on a date. Their date is HOTNESS. It's the date to end all dates. I love that he's as in to her as she is in to him and that he just seems to appreciate all of the wonderfulness that is McKenna. 

3) The supporting cast. McKenna's group of girlfriends are funny--I love their 'girl code' and how much they support one another. The ex and his new wife are sufficiently annoying--especially him. UGH. The dates McKenna goes on--the level of loserness would be sad if it weren't so hilarious. Those guys were AWFUL. It makes me glad that I will never have to do that again. EVER. 

This was the perfect summer beach read--light, funny, easy to read with a great cast of characters. If you are looking to load somethings on your e-readers to take on a vacation, this one would be a great choice!

*4 stars* 

I truly owe my desire to read this book to a random photo teaser I found on Twitter from a Book Whores Obsession. (Go visit them...they're fun!)

And I shall state for the record, Yes I read what it said. After I sent it to Shelley to oggle with me. Do we objectify men in photos with their heads cut off? Abso-freaking-lutely. But I digress...we started seeing more and more about this book and the photo sealed the deal for me! 

1) McKenna. She is a fun girl who was jilted by her fiance the night before their wedding. By voicemail. To say that there was no closure with that one would be the understatement of the year. Then..the DB marries a pretty young thing he met at his bachelor party and they apparently never speak again. Until...she runs into the happy couple doing all of the things that she tried to get him to do with her while they were together. That just made me want to junk punch him then...and was pretty early in the story. So you probably can figure out how I felt about him when he pulls all sorts of crap on her later. Besides Todd, McKenna has built herself a really awesome life. She is a fashion blogger in San Francisco who was able to sell her show and get quite an online following. Her decision to find a trophy husband just like men do when in a mid-life crisis was admirable from the start, but I had a feeling that I would get to laugh at all of the awkward hijinx that she was bound to encounter. She has a lot of fantasy ideas about how she wants her life to go, as I would like to call McKenna-land, and most of her fantasies involving Chris were pretty steamy before they had even kissed each other. I was very impressed with Blakely as I don't think many could pull off that sort of tension without anything really happening in real life.

2) Chris. I looovveedd Chris. He's also a blogger, but video games are more his forte. He's quite the techie guy and McKenna meets him by chance in the midst of all of her plotting for the TH. Him joining in and putting up with the madness was hilarious. Not a lot of single guys out there would go through with all of that nonsense to get closer to the girl they like, so I think it said a lot about him. I think he realized that McKenna had to do what she had to do, but he was a cool enough guy that went through anything to get to know her better. Their times together just hanging out and playing video games appealed to me because I find that stuff fun too! So, I sorta felt like there was a little something for everyone. 

3) The girls. Oh they were some of the best group of girlfriends I've read. They all has something different to bring to their little group and I loved her friend Hayden the best. Maybe because she was a working mom and still had enough time to spare to spend with her friends, but there really isn't enough of that out there. It usually consists of a stressed out working mom whose husband doesn't help with the house or kids and she hates her life. Needless to say, their little family was great and I loved her advice to McKenna. Thanks to Alice Clayton, I also have a love for funny cats in books. Chaucer the cat was great, and we can thank him for how things turned out and led to McKenna meeting Chris! I am definitely no dating expert, but the scenes with the TH dates she has to go on had me practically rolling on the floor laughing. Gosh, I feel bad for the poor souls who have to deal with guys like these, so read to get a look at that and appreciate your significant other if you have one and that you're no longer in the dating pool.

I thoroughly enjoyed Trophy Husband mostly because it was funny. It was a very fun journey back to love after being heartbroken by someone you had invested a lot of time in, as McKenna had. This book is mostly light, a teeny bit of angst, and seriously just a lot of fun.