Mad About the Man by Tracy Anne Warren Series: The Graysons, #3
Published by Signet Publication Date: October 6th 2015
Pages: 336
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After a devastating love affair broke her heart—and derailed her career—it’s taken Brie Grayson a while to recover. Now she’s back at a top New York City law firm, determined to rise above it all. And she’ll have to—especially when a major new client turns out to be the boy who made the seventh grade a living hell.Luxury hotel magnate Maddox Monroe has clawed his way out of the ruins of his former life to build an empire. He knows what he wants and how to get it. But he couldn’t have anticipated reconnecting with the girl of his boyhood fantasies—all grown up and more alluring than ever.But once Maddox breaks through Brie’s barriers to find the fiery woman hidden underneath, will lust lead to something lasting? Or will past heartache and fresh betrayals tear their future apart before it even has a chance to begin?
Mad About the Man was a charming and sexy read. I enjoyed the lively characters with their scorching hot chemistry, the sweet and angsty story as well as the writing style, which grabbed my attention from the start. It did have some slow moments in it, but overall, I really liked this read.
Brie Grayson is thirty-three, a successful lawyer with a tendency to be a workaholic, a devoted family member and an all around wonderful person. However, she’s been scorned by love and has decided to never allow herself to be in a situation where her heart can be shattered as it did once before.
Maddox Monroe is a highly successful businessman, with a string of luxury hotels scattered across US and Canada. With his business about to go international, he’s agreed to a meeting with the prestigious MMP law firm, never expecting after all these years, to run into his seventh grade crush who he tormented and teased in an effort to hide his infatuation.
The reconnection between Brie and Maddox plays out on the tennis court in a hilarious match that had me in stitches. I simply adored these two right from the start. Their intense attraction was glaringly obvious, no matter how hard they both tried to hide it. Their push-pull, slow progression into romance was a thrill to read.
They both have painful pasts they need to overcome. I loved how Maddox might have been reluctant to have more than a sexual relationship with Brie but when he realized there was in fact more to his feelings, he was open to it. It was charming to watch him try and break through Brie’s walls, which she had built high and strong. She, out of the two of them, had the most to grow. She had some major trust issues. But even in the middle of their deepest struggles, I loved their characters and how well they were written.
This book opened with an incredible beginning, introducing us to our hero and heroine with dual POV’s. I instantly connected with Brie and I couldn’t help but fall in love with Maddox, even as he was being a little troublemaker and pushing Brie’s buttons. Their interactions were hilarious and fun and I couldn’t help but laugh at their antics and barbs. And when they finally got together, wowza! Hot and sexy!
However, about middle way of the book, things slowed considerably. For me, the story began to feel drawn out and prolonged with an info dump on sub or recurring characters and details and character actions that seemed to stray from the main story. Maybe it felt prolonged because I just couldn’t wait to get back to Brie and Maddox and see what happened next. Having not read the first two books in the series, I had no connection with the recurring characters and didn’t care a lot about what was going on in their lives, so that might have been another reason it felt drawn out.
The last few chapters picked back up with a predictable but well written climax and just enough angsts to pull at your heartstrings and keep you invested to the sweet ending. But for me, after it lost steam, it just never felt the same.
Overall, it was a good read and I enjoyed my time with Brie and Maddox.
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