No Ordinary Bloke
Mary Whitney
Mary's Amazon Page
Synopsis
I’m not a philosophical kind of bloke, but I know something about luck. A childhood on the wrong side of advantage will teach you that. It’s all a matter of chance. It’s both your circumstances and the chances you take. So I've always been a gambler and a ladies man — they love me and I love them. Now I've found one like no other — an American, Allison Wright. When I met her, the fates were on my side, but too soon I learned the odds were against me.
Excerpt
“Oh, that sounds great. Let’s do that.” She looked down at her jeans. “Only if we’re biking, I’d like to change into shorts. It’s getting pretty warm. Don’t they have a winter out here?” “Not too much of one.” I smiled. “Let’s go back to my hotel room, and we can both change.” “Your hotel room?” she said, raising a brow. “Yes, my hotel room. Much better than a dodgy public bathroom or diving into the bathroom of a café. And I’d like to change myself.” “Okay…” She smiled. “It’s just the phrase ‘let’s go back to my hotel room’ seems a little loaded.” Without another word, I gently placed both of my hands on her cheeks and leaned down to look her in the eye. “You’ve put a spell on me, and it seems you understand there’s nothing more I’d like than to get you alone in a hotel room. And just to make it abundantly clear, there are things I’d like to do to you that I’m sure would have you moaning beneath me. Having you say my name as I pleasure you would be ecstasy enough for me. All of that said, I think I can restrain myself long enough for you to change your clothes in peace so we can go for a bloody bike ride. Okay?” Her mouth dropped yet again. It was her expression of speechlessness. After a moment, she squeaked, “Okay.” I withdrew my hands from her face and smiled. “Good. I’m glad we have that cleared up.” “Yeah, me too,” she said warily.Review
I HEART BOOKS REVIEW
Review by Wennie Conedy
Stars: 5
David Bates is one smooth charmer. Glib, witty, accomplished world traveler, this smooth talking Englishman liked women, I mean, he really really likes women. He never thought he could fall for anyone; until he met a certain American redhead by the name of Allison Wright. Thinking he could charm his way into her good graces, David quickly finds out that Allison is unlike any woman he had been with before. Will he successfully find his way into her … er, life?
I totally fell for the charming David Bates. I fell for his charm; I fell for his wit, I fell for his dogged strategic pursuit of Allison. Yes, it was strategic.The tactics he applied in his pursuit of Allison reminded me of high powered negotiations. He knew when to approach and offer, and he knew when to withdraw and wait. He planned every encounter and he carefully thought out how to react to her so as not to scare her away. His forthright way of declaring his intentions was charming and quite effective, that is, until his past caught up to his present.
As for Allison, I liked her. I mean, I realize that she is quite naïve and in the same vein that I wanted to shake the hardheadedness out of David, I wanted to shake the naivety out of Allison. She was a high-ranking employee in the HR department, and she couldn’t see when she was being played? That was one part of her character that was hard to grasp. But I do admire her strong moral compass and wish that there were more people like her.
Mary Whitney created a story that is charming, witty and hard to put down. Flawed or not, Mary’s characters stayed true to form, and were consistent throughout the book, including the secondary characters, some of whom make only quick, but very memorable appearances. The story’s pacing is quick, and the scenes move along crisply.
It’s quite refreshing to read a book from the male protagonist’s point of view. David’s voice is consistent throughout the book. David had certain scenes where it would have been easy for the author to fall into the trap of exploiting the emotional aspect of the scene. I am so happy to say that Mary Whitney refrained from doing so, and truly kept the David’s emotional responses true to his character.
It was bittersweet for me as I approached the end of the book, but I loved to see how David matured, yet part of him remained the same raunchy, randy and sexy man that he is.
About the Author
Mary Whitney blames Laura Ingalls Wilder and Margaret Mitchell for her obsession with romance novels. At an early age, Mary fell in love with the Little House series and its dreamy hero, Almanzo Wilder, who only wanted Laura to be Laura. Like many women, Mary later graduated to the ultimate, tall and dark bad boy, Rhett Butler, who loved Scarlett despite her flaws.
Mary has lived around the U.S., and after a first career in the non-profit world and politics, she's settled in Northern California with her husband and daughters. She spends her days writing characters she hopes somehow capture the romance of Rhett and Scarlett and Almanzo and Laura. She's a firm believer in what Rhett says to Scarlett: "You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how.
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