REVIEW: The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood

Title: The Ideal Man
Author: Julie Garwood 
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: NetGalley
Published: August 9, 2011 by Dutton Adult

Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter’s face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation.

Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he’s definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she’s attracted to him in a way she can’t explain.

Ellie heads home to Winston Falls, South Carolina, to attend her sister’s wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, she receives a surprise visitor: Max Daniels. The Landrys have been captured, and she’ll be called to testify. But they’ve been captured before, and each time the witnesses are scared into silence—or disappear before they can take the stand. Max vows to be Ellie’s shadow until the trial, and it isn’t long before sparks fly.

Why I Read this Book: I was browsing NetGalley when I came across this book. The cover immediately caught my attention (yes, I’m a cover whore). I saw that it was a romantic suspense novel by an author I hadn’t read before so I decided to give it a try. I’m always on the lookout for new romantic suspense authors and I just found me a new author.

What I Liked: The author did a great job at bringing the characters, even the secondary characters, to life. I hated Ava with a passion for what she did to Ellie. The attitude Ava had about what happened and the way she justified it as to not take any blame was just incredulous. I couldn’t believe Ava thought she didn’t do any wrong. I wanted to smack the woman!

There wasn’t a whole lot of mystery in The Ideal Man but it was pretty suspenseful and there was quite a bit of action. There was an interesting twist to the plot that spiced things up – not one but two people are after Ellie and for different reasons.

I like how Max sets up a date with Ellie. He’s a man who knows what he wants and how to get it:

“Are there any good restaurants around here?”

“If you like Italian, you should go to The Hill. There’s a great restaurant called The Trellis. You’ll love it. It’s casual dress. You’ll see everything from suits to shorts.”

“Okay. I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow night.” He shut the door before she had time to react.

“Wait...what?”

Smooth Max, really smooth.

And Max was straight up with Ellie about his relationship history. He didn’t try to sweet talk her into bed; he just told her how he rolls:

“Any long-term relationships?”

He glanced at her. “Define long-term.”

“More than three months.”

He had to think about it. “No,” he said. “I like women, Ellie, and the women I take to bed know there isn’t going be a long-term anything.”

What I Didn’t Like: I like what Max had to say to the Ellie at the airport in Hawaii, I just didn’t like how he said it. It felt too caveman like. Not smooth Max, not smooth.

The Ideal Man was a fast-paced read in the beginning but when Ellie returned to her hometown, gears switch a bit and the focal point becomes Ellie’s family and their drama. Ellie’s two sisters each stole a bit of the spotlight and at times it was distracting. There was Ava with her pre-wedding drama. Then there was the story arc surrounding Ellie’s other sister, Annie. It felt like the author was trying to squeeze in Annie’s HEA at the very end of the book and it felt a bit rushed.

Overall Impression: The Ideal Man was a 70/30 romantic suspense read – 70% romance, 30% suspense. I prefer more of a balance between the two but the story was still enjoyable to read. I will definitely check out other books by this author.

The Book Vixen’s Rating: