{"id":24206,"date":"2019-06-27T08:35:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T12:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=24206"},"modified":"2022-10-11T16:59:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:59:35","slug":"review-once-upon-a-bad-boy-by-melonie-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/27\/review-once-upon-a-bad-boy-by-melonie-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Once Upon a Bad Boy by Melonie Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NEVER SAY NEVER
<\/b><\/span>
Sadie Gold is ready to take her career to the next level with the role of a lifetime. Finally, she can shake her reputation as a pretty face with more wealth and connections than talent. But Sadie is not prepared for the wild turn her own life is about to take. The man in charge of training Sadie for her most demanding role yet is none other than her first real boyfriend\u2014the one who took her heart and ran away.<\/span><\/p>

WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
<\/b><\/span>
Bo Ibarra is as good-looking and irresistible as ever. Maybe even more so, now that everything once worked against them\u2014Sadie\u2019s pampered and privileged upbringing and Bo\u2019s childhood in a family struggling to make ends meet\u2014is in the past. But the future is still unwritten\u2026and getting there, together, means coming clean about painful secrets and slashing through nasty tabloid rumors while trying to control the attraction that crackles between them. Maybe it\u2019s finally time for them to walk off into the sunset and into a true and lasting love?<\/span><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 25, 2019
Series:<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes in Love
<\/em>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>3
Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Hot
Publisher:<\/strong> St. Martin\\’s Press
Imprint:<\/strong> Macmillan
Price:<\/strong> $7.99<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

My first Melonie Johnson<\/strong> book, and I came in on the middle of a series. Though, the story stands on its own. I didn\u2019t realize this was a mid-series book until about a halfway in.<\/p>

The characters were fabulous. Sadie Gold<\/strong> is an actress looking to star in her first big film. It\u2019s make it or break it time for the daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate. Too bad her first day on the job has her running into her once upon a time flame, Bo Ibarra<\/strong>. Bo is a stunt coordinator and a reformed bad boy. The title implied bad, but he\u2019s not as bad boy as they make him out to be. What I enjoyed about both these characters is they fit into the class warfare trope so well, and they reconnect as adults, not kids. I love a good reunion romance.<\/p>

The read itself is an emotional rollercoaster, as these two rekindle what they once had. From adventures in apple picking to confronting fond and not-so fond memories, Sadie and Bo find navigating their working relationship a bit difficult with their re-emerging personal one. Plenty of conflict, plenty of drama\u2026 this is romance with a slight soap opera kind of vibe.<\/p>

What didn\u2019t work for me is that the conflict petered out mid-way through, and then took a turn for the unexpected. The author built the story in one direction and then did a quick about face, which for me didn\u2019t play into the motivation and goals I\u2019d seen from the characters before. I didn\u2019t see either character truly sacrifice anything to be with the other one. Secondly there were some pacing issues that left me a little confused; as if a scene may have been cut accidently. I want to note that there is a topic that comes into play for Sadie in this book and I enjoyed the author\u2019s take and how Sadie addressed the issue.<\/p>

Overall, I wanted to love this book, and did enjoy entering the world that Johnson has created, but the buildup and subse<\/a>quent resolutions were missing a few things for me. For readers who enjoy, Amy Andrews.<\/p>

~ Landra<\/em><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0B&N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEVER SAY NEVERSadie Gold is ready to take her career to the next level with the role of a lifetime. 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Finally, she can shake her reputation as a pretty face with more wealth and connections than talent. But Sadie is not prepared for the wild turn her own life is about to take. The man in charge of training Sadie for her most demanding role yet is none other than her first real boyfriend\u2014the one who took her heart and ran away.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\"><b>WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE<br \/><\/b><br \/>Bo Ibarra is as good-looking and irresistible as ever. Maybe even more so, now that everything once worked against them\u2014Sadie\u2019s pampered and privileged upbringing and Bo\u2019s childhood in a family struggling to make ends meet\u2014is in the past. But the future is still unwritten\u2026and getting there, together, means coming clean about painful secrets and slashing through nasty tabloid rumors while trying to control the attraction that crackles between them. Maybe it\u2019s finally time for them to walk off into the sunset and into a true and lasting love?<\/p>\n<p><img class=\\\"size-full wp-image-16466 aligncenter\\\" src=\\\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"135\\\" height=\\\"44\\\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 25, 2019<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Sometimes in Love<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>3<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> St. Martin\\'s Press<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Macmillan<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $7.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p class=\\\"s2\\\" style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">My first <strong>Melonie Johnson<\/strong> book, and I came in on the middle of a series. Though, the story stands on its own. I didn\u2019t realize this was a mid-series book until about a halfway in.<\/p><p class=\\\"s2\\\" style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">The characters were fabulous. <strong>Sadie Gold<\/strong> is an actress looking to star in her first big film. It\u2019s make it or break it time for the daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate. Too bad her first day on the job has her running into her once upon a time flame, <strong>Bo Ibarra<\/strong>. Bo is a stunt coordinator and a reformed bad boy. The title implied bad, but he\u2019s not as bad boy as they make him out to be. What I enjoyed about both these characters is they fit into the class warfare trope so well, and they reconnect as adults, not kids. I love a good reunion romance.<\/p><p class=\\\"s2\\\" style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">The read itself is an emotional rollercoaster, as these two rekindle what they once had. From adventures in apple picking to confronting fond and not-so fond memories, Sadie and Bo find navigating their working relationship a bit difficult with their re-emerging personal one. Plenty of conflict, plenty of drama\u2026 this is romance with a slight soap opera kind of vibe.<\/p><p class=\\\"s2\\\" style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">What didn\u2019t work for me is that the conflict petered out mid-way through, and then took a turn for the unexpected. The author built the story in one direction and then did a quick about face, which for me didn\u2019t play into the motivation and goals I\u2019d seen from the characters before. I didn\u2019t see either character truly sacrifice anything to be with the other one. Secondly there were some pacing issues that left me a little confused; as if a scene may have been cut accidently. I want to note that there is a topic that comes into play for Sadie in this book and I enjoyed the author\u2019s take and how Sadie addressed the issue.<\/p><p class=\\\"s2\\\" style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">Overall, I wanted to love this book, and did enjoy entering the world that Johnson has created, but the buildup and subse<a name=\\\"_GoBack\\\"><\/a>quent resolutions were missing a few things for me. For readers who enjoy, Amy Andrews.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\\\"text-align: center;\\\"><strong><a href=\\\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Nrd2ZA\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/once-upon-a-bad-boy\/id1435795959?mt=11&app=itunes&at=11l88k\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/once-upon-a-bad-boy-melonie-johnson\/1130744405?ean=9781250193070\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">B&N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/once-upon-a-bad-boy\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Melonie_Johnson_Once_Upon_a_Bad_Boy?id=feNtDwAAQBAJ\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}