Smitten by Books

Some mistakes are worth making…

Lauren Layne’s Best Mistake series continues with MADE FOR YOU.

When the Wrong Guy is Oh-So-Right

Will Thatcher is exactly the type of sexy playboy good girls like Brynn have always avoided. And yet there was still something about him she just couldn’t resist. When Will moved across the country three years ago, Brynn vowed it was time to put him behind her. She never thought Will might have other plans . . .

Back in town, Will intends to get what he’s always wanted-gorgeous, unforgettable Brynn. For years, he tormented the untouchable ice princess in a desperate bid for her attention. Now he has a new plan, and he’ll do anything to rewrite their stormy past. This time, he’s out to show Brynn that the imperfect man might be the best mistake of her life . . .

Other book in the Best Mistake series:

After reading Only For You, I was desperate to read Made For You. I was already halfway in love with the hero, Will Thatcher, and the first chapter excerpt at the end of book had me completely hooked. October 28^th couldn’t come quick enough. Thank goodness I didn’t have to wait that long.

To understand why this book worked so well, you have to understand Brynn Dalton and Will’s history because it’s one that goes all the way back to high school. They couldn’t stand each other. Ostensibly. So not really. But they made a good of faking it and eventually they probably kind of did.

To be fair, Will initially tried to talk to her and Brynn shot him down because she still saw herself as Dumpy Dalton—the detested nickname she carried in her head from her earlier, chunkier, pimpled and bucktoothed days. He then responded like a lot of teenage boys would after being rejected, he began to torment her. Doing things like stealing her bra and running it up the American flag at school.

His blue eyes locked with hers, much as they had a couple months earlier on the footfall field.

But this time, her stomach didn’t flip in excitement. It turned in hatred. Three months ago, she’d thought Will Thatcher’s interest in her had been, well…interest.

Turned out it was disdain. And disdain had turned into antagonism.

You started it she reminded herself. The first time he’d tried to talk to her, she’d been so nervous that she’d gone into what her little sister called Ice Princess mode.

To compound her misery, he asks her younger sister, Sophie (heroine in Only For You) to the prom. Worse yet, the two become best friends and he becomes a part of Brynn’s family. Her parents adore him and over the years, he’s a permanent fixture at her parent’s Sunday dinner table. They continue to snipe and circle each other. Underneath all that supposed animosity is a simmering passion. We know that and so do they, most of the time both refuse to admit it either to themselves and certainly not to anyone else. In this case, Brynn is the queen of self-denial. But one day she slips and they have hotter than Hades kind of sex. After it’s over, Brynn wants to forget it ever happened.

“You won’t…you won’t tell anyone about this, right? We’ll just chalk it up to a moment of absurd insanity?”

Any softness that might have been in his eyes vanished. “Don’t worry, “ he snapped. “Your secret is safe with me. You think I want anyone knowing that I failed to get a hot reaction from Ice Princess Brynn? You’re just as cold as everyone thinks you are.”

The next thing Brynn knows, she hears Will moved to Boston. She devastated but she doesn’t know exactly why. Yes, more self-denial.

Three years later, he’s back, and he moves into right next door to her. And it can’t have come at a worse time. The proposal she expected to receive from her boyfriend on her birthday didn’t materialize and their relationship appears to be ‘off’. Will living next door is pure temptation. What happens if she ‘slips’ again?

“But what I wanted to say, was that this is the second time you’ve arrived on my front porch. Once you offered sex. The second time you offered cookies.”

“And?”

“Well, I just wanted you to know…” His eyes went hot as they ran down the front of her body and she shivered at the memory of what they’d been like together.

“Yeah?” she asked, hating that her voice was husky.

Will leaned forward until his mouth was near her ear. “I think I like the cookies better.”

With barbs like that, it should be easy to keep her head when he’s around. Or so you’d think. The truth is Will is in love with her and was really hurt by Brynn when he moved away three years ago. He’s come home to win her heart. But as you can see from the above excerpt, old habits are hard to break.

When the dust settles from Will’s return, her boyfriend, James, breaks up with her. He’s interested in someone who’s the complete opposite of him. Her complete opposite; a total mess with fake red hair, too big clothes and chipped nails. Brynn is devastated but not because of her feelings for James but because her staid, uptight world doesn’t make any sense.

In response to everything, she takes some time off, changes her hair, her clothes and she enters into a secret, rather torrid sexual relationship with Will. But that’s not enough. Not for Will. And I won’t say more than that.

The pacing is perfect for the story and Brynn and Will’s personal and relationship ARC is well executed. I’m not a big fan of flashbacks, and Made For You has more than a few, but here they worked well for the story. Getting glimpses of their high school days and prior interactions was essential to understanding the true dynamics of their relationship.

All in all, what a fantastic read! I cried at the end because Brynn’s anguish and Will’s pain really struck a chord in me. Talk about heart wrenching. But you’ll need to read it to see exactly what I mean. 🙂

Reviewed by Beverley
Heat Level: Hot