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A review by judyc_elementz_mj
Poker Face by Maggie C. Gates
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall a good contemporary romance with some fun moments. You get the basic guy meets girl and they are attracted, but somehow she doesn't recognize him (which makes no sense whatsoever). Well never mind that she competes in a baking show and he's a judge (which she knows, yep there's that). She wins because she's the best baker ever and goes home.
Turns out said judge just so happens to be buying the restaurant she works in and did I mention she hates him ... which you never ACTUALLY find out why she hates him.
Anyway, it's a typical enemy to lovers, on her side. He chases her, she gives in, they have sex, they fall in love, she thinks he's cheating, he's not, comes home after being away for a bit on business and apologizes ... we're all good.
Honestly, it was a good story overall and not badly written, but Maggie, the main character, was a complete nutjob and all over the place. And as I mentioned above, I never could figure out why she didn't like him, or how she didn't recognize him because that was just stupid. But in the end, she marries him, so I guess it's all good.
Now to the huge elephant in the room. In this story, right near the beginning, a close friend dies. And well that's it. She's mentioned a bit here and there, and she was married to her best friend Steve, but it's like "poof" and she's gone. It was the sort of thing that I felt could have been left out of the story, i.e. the actual death part, and could have still been part of the storyline because it will, of course, impact Steven's story in a later book. It didn't lend much to the overall story and left me feeling that none of them, i.e. Maggie and all of her poker friends, who were all supposed to be close to this person, didn't care. And I don't think that was the case.
Anyway, I may continue to book two at some point, but I'm not in any particular hurry to do so.
Turns out said judge just so happens to be buying the restaurant she works in and did I mention she hates him ... which you never ACTUALLY find out why she hates him.
Anyway, it's a typical enemy to lovers, on her side. He chases her, she gives in, they have sex, they fall in love, she thinks he's cheating, he's not, comes home after being away for a bit on business and apologizes ... we're all good.
Honestly, it was a good story overall and not badly written, but Maggie, the main character, was a complete nutjob and all over the place. And as I mentioned above, I never could figure out why she didn't like him, or how she didn't recognize him because that was just stupid. But in the end, she marries him, so I guess it's all good.
Now to the huge elephant in the room. In this story, right near the beginning, a close friend dies. And well that's it. She's mentioned a bit here and there, and she was married to her best friend Steve, but it's like "poof" and she's gone. It was the sort of thing that I felt could have been left out of the story, i.e. the actual death part, and could have still been part of the storyline because it will, of course, impact Steven's story in a later book. It didn't lend much to the overall story and left me feeling that none of them, i.e. Maggie and all of her poker friends, who were all supposed to be close to this person, didn't care. And I don't think that was the case.
Anyway, I may continue to book two at some point, but I'm not in any particular hurry to do so.