I’ve been going through my keeper shelf and trying to decide which books should stay and which ones should go. Although it’s hard to let books go, if I’m not going to reread them, there’s no point in keeping them just to take up space. There are many books that I enjoyed the first time that I will probably never read again.
Ain’t Misbehaving and No More Mr. Nice Guy by Jeanne Grant (aka Jennifer Greene)
(1985 and 1986, Contemporary Series)
These two books were part of the short-lived Second Chance at Love series line. (A lot of great authors started out there!) Both of them were great the first time I read them, but will they hold up the second time around?
The hero of Ain’t Misbehaving, Mitch Cochran, has a problem. Although he’s recovered now, he spent most of his childhood and young adulthood in and out of hospitals. He missed out on most of the experiences that other people have – he hasn’t even kissed a girl since he was fifteen! So when Kay Sanders comes along, he’s not sure whether to take it slow, or make up for lost time!
Alan, the hero of No More Mr. Nice Guy, is afraid that his girlfriend Carroll thinks he’s too boring and predictable. They’re on their way to a life in the suburbs with a house and a dog and 2.2 kids, but is that enough? He decides to shake things up and sweep Carroll off her feet. She’s initially thrilled by the new Alan, but does she really want to spend her life eating squid, canoing at midnight and living in a barn? Maybe nice guys aren’t so bad after all!
Both of these books stood out because they were different. So many series books are same-old-same-old, and these definitely broke the mold. I loved the heroes in both books – Jeanne Grant does a great job making nice guy heroes sexy and appealing! (When I asked her about Ain’t Misbehaving at a book signing, she said she was tired of reading about the ever-so-popular 80’s rakes, and she wanted to see if she could write a believable virgin hero – and she definitely did!) However, they didn’t hold up that well to multiple readings. After reading them a couple of times over the last ten years, the books feel a bit dated now, and I found myself skipping through a lot of filler to get to the “good parts”. Kudos to Jeanne Grant / Jennifer Greene for trying something different, but I think these will be passed along to other readers.
As a side note, love that pink 80’s sweater on the cover of No More Mr. Nice Guy. I think I had one just like it!
Karen Wheless
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