The Bargain by Christine S. Feldman – a Review

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Description:
Tomboy Shannon Mahoney has always been a lot more comfortable with things like power tools than she is with high heels or lipstick, and she often wishes she could reinvent herself and finally tell her perfect boss, Drew Kingston, that she has had a crush on him since high school.  But she is just as tongue-tied and awkward around him now as she ever was, and long-familiar patterns are hard things from which to break free…Until one day Drew’s estranged older brother Michael comes to town, bringing with him a surprising opportunity for Shannon.

Ladies’ man Michael is a former bad boy looking for redemption.  He is desperate to atone for past mistakes that he made with his family, but younger brother Drew has cut him out of his life and refuses to even speak to him.  Which means Michael needs help getting to Drew.And so he approaches Shannon with a proposition:  if she will get Drew to agree to hear him out, Michael will mentor Shannon in how to win his brother’s heart.  Suspicious of Michael’s motives, Shannon initially enters into the bargain just to make sure Michael isn’t actually in town to cause trouble for Drew, but the two unlikely allies are surprised to discover that despite butting heads at first, they are beginning to enjoy each other’s company far more than either of them expected.And Shannon starts to realize that maybe love isn’t about reinventing yourself after all.  It’s about finding your perfect match.

Review;

The Bargain by Christine S. Feldman is a short, cute and fun read.  Ms. Feldman draws the reader in quickly and keeps the fun rolling all throughout the book.  Even though the events happen quickly and there isn’t a whole lot of back story, or slowly getting to know the characters, the book flows quite nicely and before you know it, you’re hooked and feel like you already know these characters. 

We meet Shannon Mahoney, a shy and quiet girl who is pinning away for, her idea of Mr. Perfect, Drew Kingston.  Problem #1, Drew has no idea about her crush on him, back in highschool, or to this day while she’s working for him as his assistant in his office.  Problem #2, Shannon’s too shy, quiet and just plain awkward around Drew, and for all other purposes, the opposite sex.  I really felt for Shannon, I totally saw where she was coming from and could relate to her to some point.  I think we’ve all had our moments in life where we’ve felt just the same way and weren’t sure how to progress.  This was one of the things I liked about Shannon.  She’s a very real character.  You are able to connect with her from the get go and either relate to her, or know of someone like her.  I liked how Ms. Feldman wrote this character and enjoyed watching her blossom from that shy little wall flower, into a more confident and sure woman.  One who knew what she wanted and wasn’t too afraid to go after it, once she worked up the courage of course.  Go Shannon. 

Micheal Kingston, Micheal Kingston, MMMM, oops I meant, hmmm, what was I going to say now???  😉  This man definitely knows how to make an entrance, and he knows the effect he has on woman.  However, when he encounters one Shannon Mahoney his life as he knows it will never be the same again.  Everything he thought he knew about woman completely goes out the window here. I really enjoyed this character and the way Ms. Feldman wrote him as well.  He’s suppose to be your typical bad boy who’s known for sowing his wild oats all though high-school and even now.  However, once he meets Shannon and starts to open up to her about his life, we see that the high-school bad boy, really isn’t all that bad.  Deep down inside is a gentle soul, who knows how to treat a woman right and will stand up for her no matter what and won’t let anyone hurt her.  Swooooooooon, sigh.  Okay, okay, where’s my Micheal Kingston?????  Who’s been hiding him from me?  LOL, 😉 Sorry I digress, back on track here. 

I really enjoyed this story. I liked both Shannon and Micheal and enjoyed watching them both blossom into someone they didn’t realize was hidden inside themselves. I enjoyed their interactions and conversations.  It was nice to see how they slowly began to fall for each other, but weren’t sure the other felt the same way.  There were some humorous moments too that balanced nicely with the serious parts.  Ms. Feldman did a wonderful job writing both characters, in keeping them real, along with the storyline.  She makes it very easy for the reader to get hooked quickly and relate to her characters and feel as if you’ve known them forever.  Who would’ve guessed that the shy, quiet little wall flower would find her perfect match in the resident bad boy.  Like they say, opposites attract, and this case, they really do. 

Until next time. Happy reading.  

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Author