Take a Chance on Me

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Summary: I Think Donovan Will Only Get Better....
Review: "Take a Chance on Me" by Susan Donovan is actually the story of three individuals and one dog who open their hearts and find the courage to risk falling in love again. It primarily features Emma Jenkins - an animal behavorist, and Thomas Tobin - (a.k.a. "RobotBoy")an attorney with the Baltimore County task force. Emma has divorced her husband, who is also an animal behaviorist - after his grambling and womanizing have gone on too long. Thomas has been in an emotional vacuum since finding out that he is sterile and getting dumped.

When a bookie, who is one of Thomas's main informants, is bashed in with a blender, Thomas adopts his murdered snitch's dog "Hairy." He is a Chinese Crested (thank goodness they show his picture on the back cover!) and he is terrified. And yes, Hairy DOES steal the show in this book!

Likewise, Emma has adopted her best friend's daughter - LeeLee since her mother died in a car accident the previous year. LeeLee and Hairy are brilliant and in many ways - this is their story as well. For LeeLee and Hairy must learn to let go of their past lives and trust others enough to love them too.

Although I agree that it would have been wiser to not reveal the murderer so soon; this was still a very good book. There were perhaps a few too many steamy scenes and "RobotBoy" started to get on my nerves toward the end - but the ending really was pretty neat...especially the last sentence.

I truly believe that Susan Donovan will only get better....

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Summary: Take a Chance is CHANCY
Review: Boy there was some good stuff in this book! The basic characters, the setting, getting into the mind of the Chineese Crested dog, the hurt child she adopted. BUT. It's not working. The story devolves into pages and pages of agonizingly boring sex and emotional conflict. Compare this to Susan Elizabeth Phillips, or, for the sex, Susan Johnson. It's poor work. I'm sure this author has talent, but wonder about the business aspects: was she pushed to finish it too quickly? I'm getting sick of romance novels that are this poorly written.

Rating:
Summary: You must Take a Chance on me
Review: Emma Jenkins is a vet who specializes in animal behavior. She is not sure who presents a bigger challenge to her, the nervous dog Hairy or his owner studly Thomas Tobin. Hairy was traumatized when he saw his previous owner being killed. Thomas needs Emma's help in getting Hairy used to his new home and to help him solve the murder. In turn Emma and Thomas need Hairy's help to work through their own problems.

Take a chance on me, is funny, heart warming and a down right sexy book. You will laugh out loud, have your heart touched and your blood pumping. Susan Donovan is an auto-buy for me.

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Summary: The Witness is a Poor Excuse for a Dog
Review: Finally free of her very difficult ex-husband, a new relationship is the last thing animal behaviorist Emma Jenkins has on her mind. Besides, she has her hands full raising Leelee, the orphaned daughter of her best friend. Then good looking, six-foot, steely-eyed Thomas Tobin comes to her with a tiny, six pound, hairless, incontinent, male Chinese Crested named Hairy. Wait, did I say the mini dog had no hair? Yes, I thought I did.

This is the most unlikely pairing of man and pooch that Emma has ever seen and upon inquiry she finds out that the dog isn't really Thomas'. Well it sorta is, now. Thomas is an undercover investigator and he'd discovered Hairy quivering by the body of one of his paid informants. He suspects the dog witnessed his master's killing, which might explain why he gets so upset around blenders, and he wonders if Emma can help unlock the mystery behind Hairy's weird behavior.

Hairy, the poor excuse for a dog, draws Thomas, Emma and Leelee together, however there is still a killer on the loose, who may not want whatever secrets Hairy might have locked inside his tiny doggie brain to be revealed.

Susan Donovan has written a laugh a minute book that I simply adored. Hairy is just divine. This is definitely a book that you won't want to miss.

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Summary: Take a chance on this book!
Review: I absolutely love this book - it's funny, romantic, and hot! I believe this is Susan Donovan's second book and I intend to purchase everything she writes. I enjoyed this book so much that I have been reading it out loud to my husband and he's been enjoying it, too.

Donovan writes her characters with depth, compassion, and humor, from Hairy to Thomas, Emma, Leelee, Beck, and even Aaron. The misunderstandings are comical yet poignant, with well-written resolutions.

I was so drawn to Thomas and Emma, the protagonists, who had been 'damaged' by those who were supposed to love them, with the result that it made them reluctant to trust that they could love or be loved. However, their mutual attraction was so magnetic that they kept getting closer and closer. When Thomas and Emma finally get together, Donovan writes scenes that are lusty, bawdily humorous, and, yet, very tender.

This book is delicious, funny, and heart-tugging. I recommend it to anyone who loves spicy, funny romance.

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Summary: Warm, funny, tender, sweet - a wonderfully enjoyable read!
Review: I had so much fun reading this book! Susan Donovan is a new author for me and this is my first book by her (though it's actually her second - Knock Me Off My Feet is her first). She has a great sense of humour and a nice way with characters - I laughed out loud often reading this book!

Thomas Tobin works on a Maryland State Police task force and poses as a hitman for hire. Given his line of work (not to mention his personal experiences), he's got little faith in human nature and figures everyone has a dark side. He discovers his best informant dead and his weird little dog nearby. He takes the dog, "Hairy", home with him only to discover that he has some serious behavioral problems and soon finds himself in the office of vet/animal behaviorist Dr Emma Jenkins. He finds Emma very attractive in an open, fresh farm-girl way, but he fights it since he's vowed never to get involved with another woman after his last disastrous relationship. But he can't help his attraction and winds up sending out some serious mixed signals!

Emma has recently divorced a husband who was unfaithful, reckless with money and who never really appreciated her. She's working hard to keep her practice afloat and she's also become guardian to 12 year old Leelee, the daughter of her wild, reckless, and now deceased best friend. And now the most gorgeous man she's ever seen has waltzed into her life, but he leaves her so confused, she's not sure he's worth the effort (is he a moron, a nut or Mr Right?). But when he tells her he believes that Hairy may have witnessed the murder, and asks her to help him look for clues, she can't resist. And while working on the case, they fall for one another but will old patterns repeat or is this finally the real thing?

Being born and raised in suburban Maryland and currently living in Baltimore City, I thoroughly enjoyed having the state and city featured as the setting for this book and knowing the areas she references I could picture the action. The disco references at the beginning of each chapter were very cute and well used (especially when you find out about Hairy's special talent!) and any book that details a dog's inner dialog is bound to be a hit with me! Hairy is a terrific character - just as important to the story as his two-legged counterparts! Thomas and Emma are appealing characters and a great couple. Leelee is both street smart and vulnerable as she tries to figure out her place in Emma's life and whether Thomas is a threat to her new found family. An author to watch and a book that is highly recommended! I'm off to read Knock Me Off My Feet next!

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Summary: So Corny It Made Me Nauseated
Review: I just don't understand what all the hoopla is about this novel. I'm an avid romance novel reader, and I could barely get through this one (in fact, I didn't finish it). I like a romance novel that at least gives us a SEMBLANCE of reality (even if we know it's not real). In this novel, a great looking, sexy, nice guy falls in love almost instantly with an all-American woman. The hero's reactions to the heroine upon their initial meetings are more like a teenager's than a grown man who has had his share of women. It just makes no sense. Besides this, every touch between these two was overly dramatized. She'd brush her hand against his by accident, and the author would wax poetic about it for a paragraph or two. After a while, this became annoying and just plain silly.

Another reviewer compared this novelist to Jennifer Crusie. I would strongly DISagree. Jennifer Crusie's novels are original and witty; she really makes you believe in the relationship she's writing about. This novel was corny, sappy, and unrealistic. I wouldn't recommend it.

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Summary: Another Winner
Review: I loved Knock Me Off My Feet, I could not wait for Take A Chance On Me, When I saw this book I hurry up and grabbed it I was not disappointed I loved Emma, she had a messy divorce and she needs to get a love life then walks in Thomas Tobin with a Chinese Crested name Hairy. I loved when the dog was talking you know sometimes we wonder what our pets our thinking that just made me laugh after reading this book left me with a good feeling can't wait for her other book to come out whenever it maybe I will be waiting.

Happy Reading Lisa

Rating:
Summary: Not one to miss!!
Review: I loved this book so much!! All the characters are great but I especially loved that we got Hairy's perspective. This is a great read.

Rating:
Summary: I can't believe I actually finished this
Review: I read an awful lot of romance novels and I can't believe I actually finished this one. Granted, it didn't take very long. Most of it was SO unrealistic (not even a hint of reality) that I found myself skipping whole pages/sections. Nothing new or exciting here.
I did enjoy Hairy - but that's about it. Perhaps the author has promise and I will try reading her again, but if this is the best she has to offer ...
There are dozens of other authors I would prefer.