Smitten by Books

Last Chance Beauty Queen
Author: Hope Ramsay
Publisher: Grand Central/Forever
Pub. Date: January 31, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0446576086
Pages: 368
Digital Price: $7.99
Print Retail Price: $7.99
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Dear Reader,
Gracious me, my beautiful daughter Rocky sure could use my help. I always knew she wasn’t much interested in the local boys – but who’d have thought she’d come home with English royalty?

Trouble is, Hugh wants to buy some of our folks’ land. We don’t want to sell, but Rocky’s job depends on her closing the deal. And though Hugh’s obviously smitten, I’m not sure he’s right for my Rocky. Oh, he’s classy and handsome – and you should’ve seen the way he judged pies and fixed stock cars at our Watermelon Festival! – but what do we know about him, really? I know I sound like a nervous mother hen, but after forty happy years with my Elbert, all I want is to see my little girl find the same.

Well, time for me to quit chattering and get back to Miss Bray’s wet set. Always nice talking to you, and remember: the Cut ‘n Curl’s got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes

~*~*~

REVIEW

Former watermelon festival queen Caroline “Rocky” Rhodes is now an aide for Senator Warren and her job depends on the closing of a land deal with Hugh deBracy, Baron of Woolham. Hugh wants to build a factory and her hometown of Last Chance, South Carolina could use the jobs, but the land belongs to her father and he has no intention of selling. Now, Rocky is stuck in the middle between pleasing her boss and her father, while fighting her growing attraction to Hugh.

This is the third book in the Last Chance series, but each book stands on its own. You can jump right in with this one even if you haven’t read the others. I did read the prior book Home at Last Chance and I like this installment much more. The romance between Rocky and Hugh is enjoyable and believable. While their friends and even they themselves believe the “Watermelon Queen” and the English Baron are total opposites, they actually have many things in common such as their small-town upbringing and the importance of their towns and their families in their lives.

Rocky has never been able to get over a humiliating incident in her past and tries throwing herself into her career. Hugh is trying to live up to the legacy of how he thinks a businessman should act. This causes both Rocky and Hugh to make poor decisions that hurt others as well as themselves. It also leads to a silly subplot involving Rocky’s friend and local heartbreaker Dash Randall that goes on way too long. A good conflict can make a love story more interesting, but this just made a bad situation worse and just wasn’t entertaining.

What I like most about the book is how Hugh proves everyone’s preconceived notions of him as a stuffy, arrogant aristocrat are wrong. He turns out to be a charming hero who sincerely cares about others, but it takes a while for Rocky and the rest of the town to see that. Once Rocky and Hugh get past their need to do what they think everyone expects of them, they find the courage to follow their hearts and things start to look up for them and the reader!

Overall, the book is an entertaining romance. I like the small, Southern town atmosphere and the quirky cast of characters who add realism as well as comic relief to the book. There is a sweet ending for several characters in the romance department as well as hope for the future for the entire town of Last Chance.

Rating: 4 (Very Good – Highly Recommend)

Heat-Level: 3 (Sensual)

Reviewed by Christine K.

Comment and enter to win a copy of the first book in the series WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE.