A review by jackiehorne
Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton

4.0

I'm usually not a big fan of heroines who are too lacking in introspection to understand their own feelings, but in a comedy (which this surely is), I'm open to giving characters more leeway. After some early twenty-something rebellion (a year in France painting), Viv Franklin returns home to follow in the footsteps of her father and four elder brothers, establishing her own successful software company. But when her great aunt leaves her a beach house in Mendocino, Viv decides to check it out herself before she decides to sell it out of hand. And of course Viv falls in love—with the town, with the house, and, so she believes, with the hunky cowboy Hank, who's been hired to take care of the house's two horses. It's destiny, a plot right out of one of her favorite romance novel, she believes. All she has to do is make the rather oblivious Hank notice her...

While Viv waits. though, she has to content with town librarian and historical preservation society director Clark, who takes issue not only with Viv's brash personality, but with her on-the-fly plans to renovate her historically significant house. Will secret rebel Viv bend the surly cowboy to her will? Perhaps, if she can stop fighting with nerdy Clark...

A lighthearted comic romp, with an appealingly beta hero. Though sexy times don't ensue until far into the book, when they do, they are suitably Clayton-worthy.