Book Review: Two of a Kind by Susan Mallery

Title: Two of a Kind
Series: Fool’s Gold, Book 11
Author: Susan Mallery
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy provided by publisher
Published: June 25, 2013 by Harlequin

Felicia Swift never dreamed she'd hear a deep, sexy voice from her past in tiny Fool's Gold, California. The last time Gideon Boylan whispered in her ear was half a world away...on the morning after the hottest night of her life. Her freaky smarts have limited her close friendships, and romance, but she came to Fool's Gold looking for ordinary. Gorgeous, brooding Gideon is anything but that.

Black Ops taught Gideon that love could be deadly. Now he pretends to fit in while keeping everyone at arm's length. Felicia wants more than he can give-a home, family, love-but she has a lot to learn about men...and Gideon needs to be the man to teach her.

As these two misfits discover that passion isn't the only thing they have in common, they just might figure out that two of a kind should never be split apart.

Why I Read this Book: I’m going to be honest, I was apprehensive about reading Two of a Kind because Felicia did not rub me the right way when her character was introduced in Just One Kiss. I was sort of hoping I’d have at least one more book until I got Felicia’s book, to get more acclimated to her, but as it were, her book was next.

What I Liked: For me, Two of a Kind was all about the secondary characters. I heart Consuelo; she is one kick ass chick. She’s one of the guys yet fits right in to the girls’ social circle. Then there was Mrs. Hendrix and what she did to (for) her sons Ford and Kent. And speaking of the Hendrix men, I can’t wait for both of their books. There are also some new people coming to town, some professional sports players.

One thing I did like about Felicia was her lack of a mouth filter. She just blurted out whatever she was thinking, without thinking it through first. This made for entertaining moments. Another thing that humored me was that Felicia took things so literally.

What I Didn’t Like: I don’t hate Felicia but I don’t like her either. (Though she is growing on me, albeit at a snail slow pace.) Her personality and perceived mental prowess has rubbed me the wrong way since her character was first introduced. Though I will say that she did become more sociable and more comfortable in her own skill in Two of a Kind. Felicia is unlike any character I have ever read. She’s inadvertently honest , blunt, direct, and very observant. But she also comes across as being very over analytical about mundane things, which translates into doing things in a very mechanical way. Even though Felicia isn’t my favorite character, she was a well-written one. The author masterfully crafted a nuanced character but in doing so imbued Felicia with traits I didn’t like.

There was a child plot moppet that came out of nowhere. Nowhere meaning there was never a hint of this child, either in past books or in the blurb for Two of a Kind. The kid, Carter, himself was a good kid but his presence felt contrived.

And finally, Gideon’s demons were patched up too quickly and too easily. The guy has some baggage, the sort of baggage that doesn’t get resolved in a matter of days or months.

Overall Impression: I knew going in that I wasn’t going to love Two of a Kind. I read it solely for the secondary characters, old and new alike. I am anxiously looking forward to Three Little Words, which is Isabel and Ford’s book. And I think I know who Consuelo’s HEA will be, and if I’m right, I can’t wait for that book as well.

Brianna’s Rating:

 

Brianna’s reviews for other books in this series:
Chasing Perfect, Book 1
Almost Perfect, Book 2
Only Mine, Book 4
Only Yours, Book 5
Only His, Book 6
Summer Days, Book 7
Summer Nights, Book 8
All Summer Long, Book 9
A Fool’s Gold Christmas, Book 9.5
Halfway There, Book 9.6
Just One Kiss, Book 10