Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?
He’ll tell you he has the flu.
But we all know that’s not really true.
Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.
Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?
Can Drew Evans win at love?
Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.
Kindle Edition, 254 pages
Published May 20th 2013 by Omnific Publishing
Where to Find Tangled:
Where to Find Emma Chase:
***4 Stars***
1) Drew. For about half of this book I thought Drew was a complete douche. He's so self absorbed and egotistical and arghhhh FRUSTRATINGLY cocky that I wanted to throttle him when I wasn't laughing at him. Luckily I was laughing at him a lot and that took the edge off the douche bag vibe I was feeling towards him. Drew is a wealthy, entitled, confident, hard-working, single man. He's used to getting everything he wants, when he wants it, the way he wants it. The word "no" doesn't seem to be one he's used to hearing. He has absolutely no interest in a relationship and has a philosophy that he only rides a roller coaster once (ie he has one night with a girl and then moves on). This is all fine and good until he hits on and is promptly rejected by Kate Brooks. At first it appears that she is just a challenge and once he 'wins' this challenge he'll move on. But, of course, we all know better and once she refuses to capitulate to him, he's smitten.
2) Kate. Kate is a beautiful, smart, confident woman. She's been engaged to a struggling musician for...like ...EVER and considers herself off the dating market. Because I imagine she felt no threat by Drew to her current relationship she is able to persistently reject Drew with clever quips and a bemused distance. We don't get much insight into her feelings about their friendship/relationship as this entire novel is seen through Drew's perspective, but having read many a novel from a female's POV I can only imagine what she was thinking and feeling. I bet she probably evolved from feeling amused to annoyed to frustrated to confused to ....well, where she ends up. She puts up a good fight and is quite resistant to his tactics but the perfect storm of events propels her to open herself up to all things Drew. Foolish or fantastic idea? Only time will tell.
3) Alexandra/Mackenzie/Dee. I love all three of these lovely ladies for a variety of reasons. I LOVE Alexandra (AKA "The Bitch") because she takes absolutely no crap from her brother, Drew, and can match his devious ways with her own, perfectly. She's also a great big sister and would protect her brother at all costs. Mackenzie, Alexandra's daughter and Drew's niece, is adorable and a great repeater of words/phrases/and stories at the most inopportune time. She's gives us a great bit of comedic relief. Finally, Dee is just a badass and what every girl needs in a best friend. She does not mess around and protects Kate with the ferocity of a mama alligator.
I think this is the first contemporary adult novel that I've read that was told from a strictly male POV. It took me a little while to get used to it but I truly enjoyed it; it was a refreshing perspective and I cannot even imagine how Emma Chase was able to write it so convincingly, but she did!
**5 stars**
I think we decided to start reading this about the same time that it absolutely exploded online as well. I was sold the second I read a recommendation that said this was going to be funny. I think we were desperately needing some funny, and I know I was and it couldn't have came at a more perfect time.
1) Drew. I thought his douchebaggery was cute. He was funny. Eh, it is true that I would totally hate a guy like him in real life, you know the ones who think that because they are gorgeous and have a lot of money that they are God's gift to women. But since apparently I am a glutton for punishment, I can't seem to resist a book with a bad boy. Drew, is mostly a spoiled boy so I couldn't help but laugh even harder when he got knocked down a few notches by his sister and father. He had me at his nickname for his sister, his relationship with Matt and Steven, his denial that he could ever fall in love and thought love 'em and leave 'em was a completely normal behavior. The part's I absolutely adored though, well aside from his persistence in pursuing Kate, and his flu, were his interactions with his niece Mackenzie. This is where I knew that he wasn't quite the douchebag he pretended to be.
2) Kate. While I wish that I could've known more about what she was thinking, the strictly Drew point of view was fun. Only being able to see what her reactions to things were like through his eyes and how he dealt with it was even more fun! Kate was strong, independent, driven to find her place in her new job, and surprisingly unavailable. I was ready for the cheating plotline, and while I hate it, I knew that I would be rooting for Drew to come out on top. (Yes, I feel horrible about it...) Just an FYI, she doesn't cheat per se. Okay, enough that I would totally cut my husband's balls off and choke him with them if he did the same to me, but Billy has been with her for 10 years, and kept her as his fiance for 7. If he really wanted to be married to her he should've done it at least 8 ago...or that is my justification.
(YES, I am psychoanalyzing the lives of fictional characters daily at this point, so do not judge me!)
3) The rest of the cast. I am going to gush a little bit more of my love for secondary characters. Mackenzie and her swear jar, that inflation has totally gotten a hold on, and her honesty that only a 4 year old can give you. Alexandra for being the best big sister. She keeps his feet planted firmly on the ground and never lets his ego get out of control, but mostly just loves and believes him for who he is anyways. She is married to one of his best friends, and I found that awesome. Drew's monologues about Steven going over to the dark side by marrying his sister were highly entertaining. Matthew and Dee were a lot fun together and complemented each other, but were amazing apart too. Matthew was a great support for Drew as another bestie, and Dee was that amazing BFF that we all dream about. She has the most reason to not be on Team Drew, so read ASAP to find out 1) why and 2) what she decides about it!
My favorite line:
Drew: "I'll be a perfect gentleman. Scout's honor. Then again, I never was a Boy Scout.
So. I loved this book. Read it and have some fun. I hope you will anyways. I enjoyed it because it was definitely a light in all of the dark that I've read lately. Great book hangover remover!
