Title: Madly
Author: Ruthie Knox
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept
Date of publication: March 14th, 2017
Genre: Romance
Number of pages: 273
POV: 3rd person
Series: New York
Truly – Book 1
Madly – Book 2
Completely – Book 3 (expected publication date: June 20th, 2017)
Where you can find this book: Amazon
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
An impulsive trip to New York City, a heartthrob from London, and a scandalous to-do list turn a small-town girl’s life upside down in this sultry romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Truly and About Last Night.
Allie Fredericks isn’t supposed to be in Manhattan, hiding in the darkest corner of a hip bar, spying on her own mother—who’s flirting with a man who’s definitely not Allie’s father. Allie’s supposed to be in Wisconsin, planning her parents’ milestone anniversary party. Then Winston Chamberlain walks through the door, with his tailored suit, British accent, and gorgeous eyes, and Allie’s strange mission goes truly sideways.
Winston doesn’t do messy. But after a pretty stranger ropes him into her ridiculous family drama with a fake kiss that gets a little too real, he finds out that messy can be fun. Maybe even a little addicting. And as the night grows longer, Allie and Winston make a list of other wild things they could do together—and what seems like a mismatch leads to a genuine connection. But can their relationship survive as their real lives implode just outside the bedroom door?
My review:
I really didn’t know what to think of Madly during the first few chapters. The whole premise of the book, Allie goes to New York to find her mother and ends up meeting a hot Brit, had been done before. But I liked the spin that the author gave to the storyline. Winston and Allie, after having bonding in a bar while spying on her mother and her mother’s “friend”, decide to make a naughty list. The list included everything from a simple 30-second hug to anal sex to mutual masturbation to stexting to mind-blowing, feelings involved sex. Just acting out the list would have made a great read for me. But the author decided to make Allie and Winston human and that is what sold the book for me.
I actually felt bad for Allie. She always felt that she was the outsider and when she found out that she was the result of an affair that her mother had, the bottom of her world dropped out. I can’t even imagine being told that. It must have been awful finding that out and it must have been awful to keep it a secret from her sister, May. I can understand the anger she had towards her mother and I can understand why she went after her to drag her to her wedding anniversary. I can even understand why she was in disguise, spying on her mother. She was hurt and trying her best to get her family back together.
Let’s talk about Allie’s ex-boyfriend, Matt. OMG, he was the biggest pain in the butt in the entire book. Honestly, I think Allie should have had the personal boundary talk way before she did. The guy was a borderline stalker.
Winston, I really wasn’t too sure of at first. He came across as stiff and he really didn’t know what to think of Allie (which I didn’t either). But he really grew on me when he was Allie’s mailman and when he agreed to make that list with Allie. What really cinched it for me was his love for his daughter (who, I loved). He moved from London to New York City to make sure she had a parent nearby. Which was pretty awesome. I also liked how honest he was with Allie about his first marriage, his divorce and how he almost ruined his relationship with his brother.
The sex scenes between Winston and Allie were alright. Nothing spectacular and to be honest, I thought Allie talked, a lot. Not that I don’t mind a chatty character but when you are doing the nasty, shush!! LOL.
Like I said above, what really sold the book for me was that Winston and Allie were human. They didn’t have perfect bodies and they were very honest about not having feelings for each other. Well until they developed feelings, but that is a whole different story.
The storyline with her mother did take a very surprising turn. Actually, it was something that I didn’t see coming and looking back on it, made sense.
The end of the book was great and I liked that while Allie and Winston admitted their feelings towards each other, they didn’t jump to move in with each other. Actually, I think they were going to do a long distance relationship. We’ll have to see in the next book what happens!!
How many stars will I give Madly: 4
Why: I actually really enjoyed reading this book. It focused more on the getting to know each other part of the relationship than the sexual part. Which was perfect for me because sometimes I need to read a book like that. Where sex is there but not really mentioned and the hero/heroine get to know each other first before actually bumping uglies.
Will I reread: yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Sex and language
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**