For What It's Worth


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Review: The Rebound Girl (Getting Physical #1) by Tamara Morgan


17447116Plastic surgeon Whitney Vidra knows all about getting over a cheating ex. She followed her boyfriend halfway around the world before she found out about his infidelity. Now she's focusing on her career and her friends, and using men just for single-serving, no-strings fun. Until she meets charming Matt Fuller.

Newly single Matt is captivated by the vibrant Whitney, in every way the opposite of his cheating ex-wife. When he confesses to Whitney that he hasn't had sex since his divorce, she volunteers to be his rebound girl. But Matt's not a no-commitment kind of guy—he's either all in, or all out.

Whitney is determined to remain attachment-free, but Matt is equally determined to prove to her that what they have is more than just a rebound fling.

Goodreads | Author | Amazon

Source: Purchased

Review:
I’ve been wanting to read The Derby Girl – book #2 in the Getting Physical series by Tamara Morgan since reading this review over at Dear Author last year. But as you know I already have way too many books to read so I just never got around to it. Then I noticed that The Rebound Girl was on sale for .99 so I snapped it up along with The Derby Girl to give me the push I needed.

Well, three days later – I read those two plus an ARC of The Party Girl (Getting Physical #3 – release date: Feb 3rd, 2014)). I love this series! It was so much fun. I tend to read romance novels on auto pilot these days. They are so predictable. While the basic structure is in place with the series romances, it’s the characters that were a breath of fresh air. Morgan has a way of taking the bad boy, the tough girl, the jaded girl and gently pushing the boundaries to give us flawed, vibrant people.

But back to The Rebound Girl….

Matt is totally my kind of guy. A kindergarten teacher - slightly nerdy and awkward - with values that he sticks to with a stubborn tenacity. Whitney is a snarky, bold, sexually confident plastic surgeon that wants to sleep with Matt. Now.

Whitney is someone who is the polar opposite from me, and honestly I wouldn't even want to be like her, but I still liked her quite a bit. While reading reviews I noticed how many readers were put off by her and I can see that but I’m glad I didn’t read those before I started. I can be very hard on characters but Whitney worked for me. For one, I’ve read about 100’s of guys in romance novels that are just as bold as Whitney and we swoon. And while I do think Whitney occasionally crossed the line – those actions had consequences.

And holy hotness these two were beyond sexy and perfect together!

Whitney and Matt are two deeply flawed characters and I thought Morgan did a fantastic job of walking that line where you feel compassion for, rather than irritation with thier actions. I did want to shake them both at times but I got where they were coming from and still rooted for them.

My one nitpick would be the abrupt POV changes within a chapter. I had to stop and refocus. I guess I'm used to alternating chapters for characters and it took me a little bit to get used to that.

The Party Girl is .99 until Saturday.

I highly recommend this whole series if you’re looking for angsty romance that still allows the characters to function, have professional careers and friendships. I was so impressed by the relationships outside of the romance and how, even when things got bad, they didn’t just wallow in despair.

These people aren’t cookie cutter perfect, you will get annoyed at them, but I had a hell of a lot of fun yelling at them and rooting for their HEA, which I don't say very often.

13 comments:

  1. THere's just something to be said for the awkward, nerdy type. I mean, I love the alpha in stories but IRL, I always go for the other type. Plus, .99 cents is an AWESOME deal!

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    1. He is nerdy but also alpha in his own quiet way.

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  2. I am so happy I bought this, Karen. You and I seem to be on the same page lately, so if you like it, I likely will, too. And I love that Whitney is the challenge. I want more complicated heroines.
    Thanks for the great review!

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    1. I think you would like this one Andrea. Whitney come son strong but I don't' think you would care and Matt makes his share of mistakes even if he is a really great guy.

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  3. Yelling and rooting for them...ok ;)

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  4. I always say I don't like angst, but I must be honest. When it isn't too bad, it works for me. Sounds like it isn't too bad here. Oh I do like the sound of the characters! :D

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    1. There are a few authors that I've found recently that write angst in a way that I can handle. I don't like when it's so over the top that characters cease functioning in the real world or if their jerks.

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  5. I haven't heard of this one, but then again I don't really read adult books. I hope to soon though, and you really make this one sound good! Thank you for your review, and thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment!

    Lisa
    www.turningpages94.blogspot.com

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  6. Ah... the temptation of those 99 cent books! Glad the angst wasn't too much for you!
    How are you enjoying Cruel Beauty???
    Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics

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  7. It's good to hear a dissenting opinion - and I think it's accurate to say that we allow romance heroes to be outright idiotic dicks and still love them. Unlikable characters aren't necessarily nonsensical characters - which is why I think I may pick this up for a read. This author has been cited as writing good contemporary romances, so let's hope it's the start of a beautiful reader-author relationship. ;) Thanks for the excellent review as always!

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    1. I always find I'm hard on both sexes. A jerk is a jerk is a jerk to me lol

      I am trying to lighten up some though. As long as the behavior isn't written off as ok because of looks or they grow as a character I'm good.

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  8. oh gosh that's why I been mixing stuff up, you are right the romance novels are predictable. I have never heard of this author until now but I am so glad to hear that she pushed the boundaries with her characters! It sounds like they made this one well worth it.

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