Take A Chance On Me - Susan Donovan

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Take A Chance On Me - Susan Donovan

Description~
Thomas Tobin-an undercover investigator of paid "hits"-discovers little Hairy trembling near the body of a key informant. Feeling responsible for the man's death, the usually cynical Thomas takes Hairy home, then consults animal behaviorist Emma Jenkins to help fix the dog's decidedly weird behavior. Emma responds immediately to Thomas's blinding sex appeal, but her recent divorce and her adoption of her best friend's orphaned daughter leave her with little energy for romance. Despite painful baggage of his own, Thomas is less ambivalent. The discovery that Hairy may hold a clue to the murder gives him an excuse to hire Emma again. Meanwhile, Emma's shady ex-husband Aaron-the murderer Thomas is seeking-re-enters their lives in a dramatic way.

I love Susan Donovan. In this book she totally shows why she holds a special place in my book lovin little heart! Oh btw ***SPOILERS***

Emma is a dog behaviorist. She meets Thomas Tobin while examining his prissy pooch in her office one day. Thomas is an undercover investigator...he doesnt let this be known obviously until later on. The dog he has apparently witnessed the murder and its his job to find out the details. With the help of Emma he thinks he stands a chance at bringing down the killer. If only he could drag his eyes off of her for two seconds he might get some work done.

This book was adorable! It totally kept me interested even though we didnt get "down and dirty" until like 245 pages! lol

I loved the fact that this book was a lot deeper than I expected! First off you have Leelee and Emmas relationship. Leelee is the daughter of her best friends that dies in an accident about a year ago. Leelee is twelve years old and as you girls know thats a very difficult age for a girl. Their relationship at times almost brought me to tears. Leelee led a rough life with her mother and now is somewhat having a rough time adjusting without her mother. Another serious aspect to the story has to do with Thomas. Thomas plays rugby and a few years back hurt himself so badly it made him unable to father a child! When he found this out he was with his girlfriend at the time and she blew up in front of the doc and him and dumped him! Horribly sad. Hes fallen into a deep depression at this point and is scared to get close to any woman in fear that he cant fully give them what they need out of life. :*( The last serious aspect is Emma and Aaron her ex husband. Aaron and Emma had been together for 13 years. Aaron had never treated Emma correctly and she just assumed that was the best she was going to get. Obviously being a part of this situation for a long time one would get used to it so when she meets Thomas and he practically worships her (and her body that Aaron wasnt a fan of) she doesnt know what to do. Her insecurities leave your heart wrenching for her while she struggles to let herself open up to a man who truly loves her for who she is.

One thing I love in my contemp romances is a bit of suspense. In this story Aaron (Emmas ex-hubby) has totally mooched off of her their entire marriage and even after! He comes to her asking for money one day and she denies him once and for all! His reaction was to tell her "You dont know what youve just done". Emma shrugs it off thinking hes being ass crazy like always! BUT when things start to go crazy at her house with a gun she soon understands his meaning. Aaron was such a douche in this book! BUT I have to say that I enjoyed his character. He went to Thomas while he was undercover and tried to hire him to kill Emma! He goes after Leelee and Emma by the end of the book and roughs them up in a hotel room! A lot of times the suspense in contemp romances isnt that strong...its more of a filler, but in this story it was a pretty strong lead! :o) That I really enjoyed!

Lastly I have to mention how excited I am that they threw in Emma getting preggers! EPP! I am all for the HEA of the couple getting married and having babies! I loved that he was unsure of who the father was b/c he always thought he could have kids and it was their small hurtle to overcome. BUT this leads me to my one small issue...not even REALLY a big one but something that made my eyes roll every now and then. It seemed like Thomas was messing up at every turn. I understand he had issues but he kept saying "Ill never hurt you" then it went to "Ill never hurt you...again"...etc. I think he messed up a total of three times and I thought it was like JEEZ GET THE PICTURE MAN!

Snib Bit~
When Thomas ended the kiss he pulled back, Emma saw his eyes were filled with tears. "Emma, I'm sterile. The woman I was with for four years - Nina - she left me when we found out."
Emma went completely still. He brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones. His hands trembled.
"I want you so much." Thomas laughed at his own confession and shook his head. "So damn much. But I think you deserve a real relationship with real possibilities - and I shouldve stopped this right at the start."
"Oh Thomas..."
"I tried but..." Thomas lowered his head and his voice. "I couldnt. Im falling..." He raised his eyes to hers again. "Im crazy about you, Emma."

:*) Yay that was probably one of my favorite moments in the book. He lets her have all of him and bares everything! So ya this book was great! It proves why I love SD so much and I just cant wait for her new book out in November 2009 Ain't To Proud To Beg.

I give this book a total of...