Laugh

I don't know how she does it, but Mary Ann Rivers has taken the most unlikable character from Live (the first book in the Burnside Series) and turned him into someone my heart positively aches for.

This book is one of the most shining illustrations of the notion that what you see isn't always what you get when it comes to fucked up humans.

And it's amazing.

(Read the rest at http://www.mandikayereads.com/laugh-mary-ann-rivers-burnside-series-2-review/ on March 21, 2014)

Mary Ann Rivers isn't the easiest author to read because her characters FEEL so much and do so much thinking that sometimes they get lost in their own heads. But she credibly redeems Sam, who was pretty much a grumpy control freak in the previous book, Live, by showing how his ADD has had such a strong impact on his behavior and feelings about himself, and by emphasizing his skill as a doctor who genuinely cares about his patients. It's just as rewarding (and maybe more so) to see how he repairs his relationship with his siblings than to watch his romance with Nina develop.

Nina is a bit of a Mary Sue Earth Goddess. I wish we saw a few more flaws, other than her skittishness about commitment. But she does have one interesting characteristic that I don't think I have ever seen in a romance novel. Although the word "abortion" is never stated outright, she does indicate that 1) she was pregnant when her husband died and 2) she did not feel that she was capable of raising a child and 3) there was no mention of miscarriage, which is the usual "convenient" way this issue is dealt with.

The book is worth the cover price alone (if there is such a thing with an e-book) for Sam and Nina's absolutely hilarious and disastrous first date. Everything goes wrong, but their chemistry and connection is so strong that their relationship is strengthened instead of damaged.

I think I'm hooked for books #3 (PJ) and #4 (Sarah).

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.