Book Review: Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man (ARC)

Author: LaQuette

LaQuette’s debut sexy romantic comedy Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man tells the story of a woman getting her groove back and getting a second chance at love.

Vanessa Jared, a 40-something divorcee, decided that the best way to pull herself out of their post-divorce slump was to form The Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club and start the “Do Me” portion of her and her friends’ lives.

But on the two-year anniversary, a sexy sheriff shows up on Vanessa’s doorstep wanting her to help him keep his little sister from marrying her no-good ex. Vanessa is not down for this at all. She wants nothing to do with her ex…until she spots a photo of her ex’s new fiancee wearing her grandmother’s ring–which he clearly stole from her. So now it’s on. Vanessa is ready to take this trifling (fill-in-the-blank) down. What she does not expect is to fall in love along the way.

Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man follows the title character, Vanessa, a few years after her divorce, when she finally is free in her 40s to live her life away from her cheating and abusive ex-husband, Karl. The two of them were together for over twenty years, so Vanessa is trying to move on, which involves joining a support group for divorced individuals called Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club. A more mature MC plus the enticing cover made me want to read about Vanessa’s journey.

Vanessa’s world becomes more complicated when sheriff, Michael Park appears before her to ask a favor. Cindy, Michael’s younger sister, and her guardian is now engaged to Karl, and Michael wants Vanessa to talk to Cindy. As it turns out Karl stole Vanessa’s grandmother’s ring and has given it to Cindy and Vanessa is determined to get it back. This was an interesting concept to bring them all together. Once Vanessa and Michael begin interacting, their chemistry was apparent. The small town setting was a great atmosphere was a great backdrop as their story unfolded.

I loved the relationship Vanessa had with her friends and hope there will potentially be more novels added to make this a series where each can be explored. I love that she had a great support group around her. As for Michael, he was a great big brother trying to do the right thing for Cindy. After the tragic death of their parents, it was nice to see the relationship between Cindy and Michael. I enjoyed that both Vanessa and Michael had their own journeys along with the two of them trying to make a relationship work between them. Their story was sweet with a mix of romance and deeper topics and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**