Sunday, August 22, 2021

The Trouble with Bad Boys - Katherine Garbera (HD #2803 - June 2021)


A playboy who's all about the likes…
 
Is about to get a lesson in love!
 
Notorious social media influencer Zach Benning is happy to swoop into Royal, Texas, promote the Soiree on the Bay and leave with a fat paycheck. While he's at it, he'll give plain-Jane event planner Lila Jones a makeover, online and off. The last thing he expects is to fall for his ravishing creation! But is he really seeing the captivating woman underneath all the newfound hype?

 
This is the fourth book in the series, and the Soiree on the Bay is beginning to come together. The venues are built; now they need the acts to fill them and the publicity to sell the tickets and bring the customers. The ticket sales aren't where they should be, which worries Lila, who works the event for the Chamber of Commerce.
 
Lila is a born-and-bred Royal resident. Everyone who knows her likes her, but nothing about her stands out. She's sweet and smart and determined to do her part to make the Soiree a success. She gets the idea to ask social influencer Zach Benning to mention the event and hopefully get some buzz going. She never expected him to show up in person.
 
Lila's message arrived at the perfect time for Zach. He unknowingly crossed a line with one of his women and needs to let the scandal die down. When he arrived in Royal, he didn't expect his instant attraction to Lila. The quiet, girl-next-door woman is nothing like the women he usually dates. In addition to promoting Soiree on the Bay, he decides to give Lila a personal and social media makeover. If he can turn her into the kind of woman he usually dates, he can sleep with her without feeling guilty.
 
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Lila and Zach. Both of them are more than what they appear on the surface. Lila looks like a quiet, unassuming woman, content to stay in the background. In reality, she is a vibrant, passionate woman who simply lacks the confidence to stand out. Under Zach's tutelage, Lila changes the way she dresses, gaining confidence from the positive feedback. She also learns how to use social media for herself and her job. As for Zach, in the beginning, he appears to be all flash and no substance. Everything he does is staged for maximum public display and to put himself in the limelight. But it isn't long before we see a vulnerable side to him.
 
I loved seeing them spend time together. While Lila really gets into the whole lifestyle, there is still a part of her that sees its superficiality. When she spends a few days in LA with Zach, deep down, she misses Royal. She knows she is falling for him but can't see him giving up the fast pace of LA for the quiet of small-town Texas. Zach has it a little rougher. Spending time with Lila stirs up emotions that he has spent his life avoiding. When he realizes the depth of his feelings, Zach freaks out and pushes her away. It takes some straight talk from an unexpected source for him to accept the changes in himself and see what he needs to do. His big moment was terrific, and I loved seeing his plan for the future.
 
Near the end of the book, during a Soiree on the Bay committee meeting, head organizer Rusty Edmonds drops a bombshell that could derail the event. Since the start, one character has rubbed me the wrong way, and I suspect this person is involved. I can't wait to see if I'm right. 


 

No comments:

Post a Comment