Just One of the Guys

Gets a few points for having a smart, capable heroine who doesn't fit the usual physical profile for a romance novel leading lady. But loses far too many points for the heroine's obsession with getting married and having babies and, mostly, for the utter lack of romance. Granted, there has to be some kind of conflict that keeps the hero and heroine from finding their HEA until the novel's resolution, but in this case the hero and heroine are never really together in the first place. They are both with other people for the entire book until the last 10 pages for a rushed ending. Since we never get a sense of how they would be together,the ending doesn't resonate. Higgins is capable of better.

Ah, sweet romance. Unconventionally attractive tomboy heroine who still manages to, stereotypes aside, have an aversion to blood. Chastity, middle name Virginia, has been in love with Trevor since she was ten-years-old, and they even had a brief fling, but he seems to see her as a little sister/one of the guys. The secondary characters, particularly Chastity's large family, are also well-written and with secondary storylines. I particularly like that another storyline paralleled some of what Chas was going through, but ended with a different (but equally valid) decision. I would have liked a slightly longer resolution scene, but enjoyed this book quite a lot.