Get a Clue

by Jill Shalvis

And You Thought YOU Were Having a Bad Day

Reviewed:   January 23,  2011

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

Series:   N/A ~ (Non-Series / Stand-Alone)

Rating:   3.5  Stars

Length:   320 Pages

Formats:   Print, eBook

What I Read...

She was left at the alter (again), and is now on her honeymoon with no groom. She's wet, freezing cold, stuck in a strange place, caught in a storm the likes of which hasn't been seen in centuries, with no electricity (she's afraid of the dark), no luggage (got lost in transit), a naked man in her shower (okay, so that's not exactly a bad thing), and all she's got as a flashlight is a glow in the dark vibrator that was part of the honeymoon package the exclusive rental home provided. To say that Breanne Mooreland is having a bad day would instantly vault you to the top of the Understatement of the Year Awards.

And then there's that dead body...

A reservation glitch put ex-cop Cooper Scott in the honeymoon suite at an exclusive rental home. He was minding his own business, taking a shower to ward off the chill of the storm, preparing for a week of skiing and snow bunnies while he tries to get his head on straight and his life back together. Turning around after bending to pick up the soap, however, brought him face to blushing face with a gorgeous woman holding a vibrator in her hand. A gorgeous woman obviously staring at all his many and varied assets. Well, he's had worse initial meetings.

But then there's that dead body...

Truthfully, both their vacations have turned into a hellish nightmare, but no amount of fear or tension can prevent the attraction that burns between Breanne and Cooper. The problem is, Breanne doesn't believe in love any more, and all Cooper wants is something real. Figuring out how a body got dead before the condition spreads may be easier than convincing the delectable Breanne to give him a shot with her heart.

What I Thought...

Get A Clue gets off to a bit of a rough start, focusing on how sucky Breanne's life is at the moment, and how scared she is about...well...everything. It made me wonder why she'd decided to go to the mountain retreat by herself to begin with if everything was going to make her so flighty and frantic. She got on my nerves pretty quickly and stayed there through most of the book. Her character seemed defined by her issues instead of by her personality, so she came off as more of a high strung damsel in distress than I prefer for my female leads.

Once the body was discovered, the plot turned from situational comedy to a more tense suspense, and the change didn't totally work for me, again because Breanne kept up this push-pull relationship with the one man who she's sure isn't responsible for the dead body. I couldn't figure out what Cooper found so appealing about her. Romances don't work for me if I can't understand why one of the two involved is falling for the other.

In contrast, Cooper was a solid male lead, and unlike Breanne, he made a good transition between the lighter, comedic first few chapters to wary concern when the body was discovered. His cop nature flipped on and it was a smooth switch, enhancing his protective nature to pleasant results. Secondary characters served more as red herrings and objects of suspicion, and weren't afforded much in the way of development, but what was there wasn't objectionable. I liked the cook Shelly and the butler Dante. Their ancillary romance was cute.

While the book started out shaky for me, I ended up being really pleased with the ending. I was concerned how it was going to play out, but the resolution to the suspense was satisfying, including a plot twist that I hadn't anticipated, and Breanne did eventually evolve into a decent romantic lead. In the end I felt Get A Clue was a bit uneven, but I like Shalvis' writing style and overall enjoyed the book. And many of Breanne's e-journal notes (kicking off each chapter) gave me more than a few chuckles.

...and You?

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Reviewed Books by Jill Shalvis