REVIEW: Looking for Trouble by Victoria Dahl
B- ReviewsContemporary / secret / western9 Comments
Dear Ms. Dahl:
It was twitter chatter that made me pick this book up and I was really glad I did. Sophie Heyer is the local librarian who lives a quiet life full of secret desires for the rough and ready type of men. In walks Alex Bishop whose motorcycle boots and tattoos are as tempting as ice cream to a woman on a diary free diet.
The conflict for Sophie and Alex centers around a twenty-five year old scandal when Sophie’s mother ran off with Alex’s father. It was learned that the two died rather than completely abandoning their families but the affair has had lasting repercussions on both families.
Alex’s mother spent his childhood chasing down phantoms, trying to locate his father at all costs. When he returns home at the request of his older brother and the promise that his mother is better. On his arrival he is already beset with regret. His mother seems more mad than ever. He feels disconnected with his brother. The one thing he does like is Sophie.
He doesn’t realize right away that she’s the daughter of the woman Alex’s mother blames for ruining their lives. Sophie has her own family problems. Her brother is having his own identity issues and starts pressing Alex’s family is uncomfortable ways.
Sophie looks like her mother and is the subject to vile things from Alex’s mother on a regular basis. Neither Sophie or Alex blame the other for their parents’ issues (although I think Sophie does a better job of this than Alex, particularly later in the book). The conflict was compelling and I bought into the resolution.
The other reviews of this book mention the sex as hot but confusing and I agree. Sophie, the subject of such onerous abuse in her hometown, dresses like the stereotypical puritan with modest clothes and hairstyles. She lives a quiet life yet no matter what she does, there are those who call her a whore, just like her mother.
In the bedroom, Sophie enjoys being called the same thing. Given her past and the way she lived her outside life, I would have liked some internal monologue on this subject. Alex’s immediate assumption of Sophie’s sexual preferences (good thing he guessed right) was also a little convenient. It reminded me of another book where the hero said that he was able to smell the heroine’s submissiveness.
It’s possible that some of this was explained in the prequel novella but I didn’t read that.
The ending is very much a HFN or leading up to a HFN which I didn’t mind. Their romance was based mostly on a physical attraction and the way in which their lives were changing, it made sense that the conclusion was a bit up in the air.
Probably the sweetest male in the book is Sophie’s dad who takes the abuse of being a cuckholded husband, raising two small children, and never ever getting angry at his kids not matter how provoked he was.
It’s not the same romance that I’ve read before. It’s very sexy. I liked both characters. It’s got flaws, but it’s a good way to spend an afternoon. B-
Best regards
Jane
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While I loved the chemistry between Sophie and Alex, I had SERIOUS problems with Alex’s mother as the villain. To avoid spoilers I won’t go into detail, but I found the presentation of her mental illness in this book offensive. I’ve read worse, but I’m *really* disappointed in Dahl – and Harlequin – for hitting nearly every item on the How NOT to Portray Mental Illness Checklist.
I enjoyed this book far more than the past several ones by Dahl. The book before this that was about Shane, this hero’s brother, dragged so much I could not remember if had finished reading it or abandoned it before the end. I thought Sophie was a great heroine and I absolutely loved that she was a bit of a secret hypocrite. She wasn’t some shy, nervous creature around men, she was bold and totally in control in terms of her sexuality, she just didn’t want anyone in town to know about it. It was a nice change from the stereotypical shy librarian. I loved that she was strutting around with her sexy undies (or without any) while the firemen next door probably spent a lot of time talking about how one of them needed to be the one to help her out of her shell. Alex was an interesting hero as well. I appreciated he didn’t come back to town as a self made billionaire but as a man with a good, fufilling job because he was smart, worked hard and had some luck after he struck out on his own. I disagree the relationship was all about attraction although it was a huge part of it. Their similar sense of wanderlust and feeling they both were straining at their chains (figuratively) gave them a lot of common ground. I found Shane the brother as insufferable here as he was in his own book and sometimes Alex was the only one in that family that seemed to be making any sense but was hampered by the fact he had been gone and didn’t have the desire or the “right” to exert any authority over things that were going on with the mother. I felt his frustration was well deserved and while he certainly made his mistakes and did some jerky things with regards to the heroine later in the book, he wasn’t a jerk himself.
I had the same problem I usually have with Dahl’s books which is that you have to accept the entire town, in this day and age, wholly condemned Sophie’s mother for the affair while excusing and respecting Alex’s dad (so much so they would all turn out for the dedication to him). I don’t live in a small town, but I don’t live in a “big city” either and I find it hard to believe everyone in town was against Sophie’s family and that her boss was such a tool she would risk a discrimination lawsuit for acting as she did towards Sophie at work. I had a similar problem with an earlier Dahl book when the whole town concluded the heroine was crazy,wild trouble because she had, gasp, purple streaks in her hair!! In these days of the internet and cable TV I find it hard to swallow that everyone, including the people under 60 would find it all so shocking.
@Kelly: I also thought the wrap up was pretty farfetched too. So dehydration and lack of vitamin B were major factors? And easily fixed? What about the decades she spent fixating on Sophie’s Mom? While I am sure proper medication is a key factor I found it hard to believe she could be medicated and regulated so quickly and that she would do a 180 about Sophie in about a month.
I really liked this one a lot. I am a Dahl fan, even though I thought the last couple books were kind of weak, so I guess I was already rooting for her before I started. Still, I agree with Chris–I was kind of tickled by how Dahl turned stereotypes on their head. The shy sexy librarian is actually not so shy, and she owns her sexuality at least in private (even if she is a little embarrassed about anyone else knowing). I love that Alex has a nerdy job but is also a tough biker dude. I wasn’t really that bothered by Rose’s issues. I haven’t had experience with that specific problem, but I do know seniors who had nutritional deficiencies and medication problems and it DID dramatically and rapidly impact their behavior. And Rose doesn’t do a 180 on Sophie–she still doesn’t like her but is said to be making a small effort, presumably because Alex is in a relationship with her and she’s going to be around more. Overall, I thought this was a clever and engaging story.
I really liked this one and I LOVED the novella, Fanning the Flames. My dad actually had the same problem (dehydration) about a year ago and his behavior became completely erratic. I’m not sure if he had a vitamin issue also but he might have. He went from being very sharp and handy to doing the most bizarre, unsafe home projects in a short space of time. He fell through the deck at one point and broke a few ribs. It was frightening. Anyway, he’s fine now. It didn’t get better overnight but it was pretty quick.
About the sexual compatibility. I found this very sexy, especially the opening scene. Both characters real and likable and hot. I thought Alex was jerky near the end and I’m not sure I understand the “call me whore” appeal. But I’m a Dahl fangirl and I love her realistic family issues/relationship dynamics. I’ve read the whole series and liked every one.
This sounds like a slightly-modernized “After the Night” by Linda Howard – several of the plot points are similar. Gray Rouillard in “After the Night” was a hotter-than-hot Alphahole and Faith did not have a caring father, but boy….
If anyone has read both, what did you think?
@Leslie: It didn’t strike me until I read your comment, but superficially there are a lot of similarities between the setup of the two books. The heroine is the daughter of the female “adulterer” who gets all the blame and the hero is the son of the male “adulterer” whose mother thinks her husband was blameless. Apart from this, and the small town blaming the cheating mother more than the cheating father, the similarities end. Alex is nothing like Gray (After The Night is a pet peeve of mine, I love Linda Howard but I want to jump up and down on that book and despise the hero) he thinks his mother is unbalanced (for good reasons) and had a horrible childhood with her. He had to escape from her and his brother who he felt enabled her in order to survive, at least emotionally. When he learns who the heroine is, there isn’t really any drama despite the fact they had dated a bit and he tells her she should have said (which she should have). When his mother acts up towards Sophie, he takes Sophie’s side. Later on in the book he is jerky to Sophie over some family drama but he has his issues too he is working through. He makes mistakes but he is a basically decent guy and by no means an Aphahole. He appreciates Sophie’s wild side and never blames her Mom over the affair. He’s more angry at his Dad for his faults and his mother for years of obsessive, erratic behavior. I would definitely recommend this book and I have a laundry list of problems with “After The Night”.
@Leslie – I’ve read both. I found the tone and characters to be completely different.
@Chris and @Jane – thank you! I usually enjoy Dahl when I need some lightness and didn’t want to jump into something that immediately pulled on another book.