12 STEPS TO MR. RIGHT by Cindi Madsen- a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 26, 2016

12 steps to finding Mr. Right, composed by dating coach extraordinaire Savannah Gamble

1: Admit to being powerless over your attraction to the wrong type of guy. (Like Lincoln Wells, who broke your heart after an unforgettable one-night stand.)
2: Believe Mr. Right is out there.
3: Take inventory of past mistakes. (See step #1.)
4: Make a list of qualities you want in a man. (Avoid charming baseball players/reason you made these rules in the first place)
5: Take charge of your own life.
6: Learn to love yourself.
7: Sort the hookup guys from the relationship guys. (Avoid a painful brushoff after an amazing night together.)
8: Never, ever settle. (Even if the chemistry is off-the-charts.)
9: Don’t believe you can change a guy. (Once a commitment-phobe, always a commitment-phobe)
10: Communicate your needs.
11: Open your heart & love fully. (Still working on this one…)
12: Don’t ever, ever stray from the steps.

••••••••••

REVIEW: 12 STEPS TO MR. RIGHT by Cindi Madsen is a stand alone, contemporary, adult romance focusing on dating coach Savannah Gamble, and former baseball player Lincoln Wells.

Told from first person point of view (Savannah) 12 STEPS TO MR. RIGHT follows ‘board certified’ dating consultant and coach Savannah Gamble as she struggles with her attraction to former friend and one-night stand Lincoln Wells-the man who triggered Savannah to ‘write’ the 12 Step Program for women in the dating world. Linc’s return to Atlanta Georgia comes with renewed heartbreak for our heroine as the memories of the past continue to control her current way of life.

Five years earlier Savannah fell for her best friend Ivy’s cousin Lincoln Wells, and following a drunken one-night stand Linc walked away without a backward glance. Fast forward to present day and Linc has returned to Atlanta Georgia, his baseball career never amounting to stardom, and hoping to reconnect with our story line heroine. As Linc continues to pursue Savannah, Savannah adheres rigidly to her 12 Step Program and is unable to get past the heartbreak of the past. Savannah’s strict adherence to her rules of dating make some for uncomfortable moments throughout the story as she is constantly applying the rules to her own relationships, and isn’t willing to step away or give benefit of the doubt.

The romance between LInc and Savannah is very slow to build as our heroine refuses to accept that Linc has changed; Linc is a man who is unaware of Savannah’s hurt, or what it is he did to destroy her faith in all men. The $ex scenes are implied and fade to black.

We are introduced to Savannah’s brother Jackson Gamble who has some sort of history with her best friend Ivy. Ivy refuses to acknowledge Jackson’s existence, and in this there is plenty of tension that adds to the already tense relationship between Savannah and Linc. Savannah’s extended family of aunts, as well as her own mother, complicates the matter as they see our heroine as a lonely spinster, without any prospects to settle down.

12 STEPS TO MR. RIGHT has moments of fun and humor; heartbreak and romance; realization and letting go but I did have some difficulty liking the heroine with her strict adherence to her own set of rules so much so that it affected her own relationships, and oft times that of those she coached. The 12 Steps seemed more like laws to be enforced rather than suggestions for a happily ever after.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy