MAI TAI’D UP (Cocktail #4) by Alice Clayton-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 2, 2014

The gossip mill in the seaside community of Monterey is churning about Chloe Patterson, the newcomer who is starting a sanctuary for rescued pit bulls. It’s rumored that she’s a former beauty queen (true) who ditched her fiancé the morning of their wedding (also true). And that while she’s not looking for a new man, the good-looking local veterinarian has his eye on her. Absolutely, positively true.

When Lucas Campbell isn’t at the family veterinary clinic, he’s paddle boarding in Monterey Bay. Recently single, he’s definitely not in the market for a new relationship, but he still can’t resist taking a second, third, and fourth look at the recent arrival of Miss Golden State.

Neither Lucas nor Chloe has any interest in being tied down. Being tied up, however—now there’s a thought. But are a few Mai Tais, a moonlit night, and the music of Frank Sinatra enough to allow them both to forget their past? Let’s hope Ol’ Blue Eyes knows what he’s doing.

Mix one part tiki, one part kinky, and a splash of old black magic matchmaking, and it’s time to be . . . Mai Tai’d Up.

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REVIEW: MAI TAI’D UP is the fourth full length installment in Alice Clayton’s contemporary, adult Wallbanger romance series. This is veterinarian Dr. Lucas Campbell and Chloe Patterson’s storyline. Chloe is Clark Barrow’s cousin whom we met in book three –Screwdrivered. Although MAI TAI’D UP is the fourth in the series, it can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous storylines is revealed where necessary.

Told from first person point of view (Chloe) MAI TAI’D UP focuses on runaway bride Chloe Patterson. Groomed by her mother from an early age to be the perfect wife and pageant queen, Chloe is tired of her mother’s rules. A few hours before her marriage to hot shot lawyer Charles Sappington, former beauty pageant winner Chloe has second, third and fourth thoughts about marrying a man she doesn’t love. Realizing there is no love match between her and her intended, Chloe takes off for father’s family farm in Monterey Bay, where she will begin work on a pit bull rescue clinic. Enter Dr. Lucas Campbell, the man with whom she would fall in love.

Lucas Campbell is heartbroken. Left at the altar by his own runaway bride, Lucas is having a difficult time accepting all that has happened. Meeting Chloe shows Lucas the possibility of a real happily ever after but Chloe has hidden the truth about her wedding fiasco.

The relationship between Chloe and Lucas is slow to build as our couple dance around one another for much of the storyline knowing that both could be rebounding from disastrous relationships. Lucas is preparing for a three month excursion to Belize, working with Veterinarians without Borders and Chloe is busy preparing her new pit bull rescue operation. There is plenty of sexual tension throughout the storyline but Chloe’s lie of omission has Lucas second guessing everything about their relationship.

The supporting characters are colorful and well developed including Chloe’s parents, and cameos by her cousin Clark and his fiancé Vivian-Clark and Vivian characters allow for cohesion and familiarity to the Wallbanger series. Chloe’s mother is a real piece work, living vicariously through her daughter’s pageant success. We are also introduced to Lucas’s parents as well as the office receptionist who is quite the matchmaker when she puts her mind to it. Both Chloe and Lucas’s exes make a couple of appearances throughout the story.

MAI TAI’D UP has moments of laughter, heartbreak, passion and drama. The building relationship between Chloe and Lucas is almost secondary to the pit bull rescue storyline and Chloe’s dysfunctional relationship with her mother. The sex scenes are limited ( and nearing the end of the story) as the bond between Chloe and Lucas continues to build-similar in context to a chic lit storyline. But unlike the original Wallbanger storyline, the humor and sexual energy is not as prevalent and missing some of its’ oomph ! The style of writing has changed with each series installment-not a bad thing, just different.

MAI TAI’D UP is a sweet, romantic and entertaining storyline with a happily ever after.

1. Wallbanger
2. Rusty Nailed
2.5 Last Call (January 2015)
3. Screwdrivered
4. Mai Tai’d Up

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy