Tangled (Tangled, #1) by Emma Chase
Series: Tangled #1
Published by Gallery Books on August 2nd 2013
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 254
Goodreads

“Good guys are boring. You need a little bad to keep things fun. And nice guys? Nice guys have something to hide.”

FINAL DECISION: Funny and fresh with a player who is truly shattered by falling in love.  Drew fights love until it knocks him flat and then has to find a way to win his way back to the woman he loves.

THE STORY:  Drew Evans thinks he has everything.  He is accomplished, handsome and can have any woman he wants.  Until he meets Katherine Brooks.  Kate is beautiful and ambitious and engaged.  Drew and Kate start a rivalry that sets Drew on edge.  The two fight and are desperately attracted to one another despite themselves.  All this results in Drew ending up locked in his apartment for a week claiming the flu but suffering from love sickness.

OPINION:  If you are going to read this book just accept that Drew is one of those jerks who will ultimately get his comeuppance.  Chase brilliantly places that moment at the very beginning of the book.  So while Drew is a jerk, jumps to conclusions, often treats Kate very poorly, the reader always knows that he is going to pay…and, oh, how he does pay.  The beginning of this book is perhaps one of the funniest and saddest scenes I’ve ever read.

Drew is a man convinced of his place in the world and satisfied that he is on the top and invincible.  Then he meets Kate who is unlike any woman he has ever been attracted to.  First, she rejects him.  Second, she is just as ambitious as he is and may end up just as accomplished.  Third, he can’t stop thinking about her despite himself.  Because the book is told from Drew’s point of view, we get to see all his warts, but also his struggle with falling in love.  And when he falls, he does it completely and is as dedicated to proving himself to Kate as he was fighting his feelings.

The humor in this book also keeps Drew from being unbearable.  In the first person narrative, Drew directly addresses the reader which makes it difficult to judge him from a distance.  Instead, he maintains the naughty bad boy who is lovable because of his flaws.

Kate is amazing because she puts Drew in his place.  It is clear from the beginning that Kate is the person to manage Drew.  The road would have been easier if Drew did not make so many mistakes.

WORTH MENTIONING:  While subsequent books also deal with Drew and Kate’s relationship, this book is complete in itself.  A reader could stop here and have a complete story.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  TANGLED is the first book in the Tangled series.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 4 stars.