Crazy Thing Called Love

Crooked Creek Ranch #3

by Molly O'Keefe

Dallas TV morning show host Madelyn Cornish is poised, perfect, and unflappable, from her glossy smile to her sleek professionalism. No one knows that her iron will guards a shattered heart and memories of a man she’s determined to lock out. Until that man shows up at a morning meeting like a bad dream: Billy Wilkins, sexy hockey superstar in a tailspin—still skating, still fighting, and still her ex-husband.
 
Now the producers want this poster child for bad behavior to undergo an on-air makeover, and Billy, who has nothing to lose, agrees to the project. It’s his only chance to get near Maddy again, and to fight for the right things this time around. He believes in the fire in Maddy’s whiskey eyes and the passion that ignites the air between them. This bad-boy heartbreaker wants a last shot to be redeemed by the only thing that matters: Maddy’s love.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance, Sports, Second Chance, Adult

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

This author is also published under: M. O'Keefe.

Molly O'Keefe has always known she wanted to be a writer (except when she wanted to be a florist or a chef and the brief period of time when she considered being a cowgirl). And once she got her hands on some romances, she knew exactly what she wanted to write.

She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring every character's road towards happily ever after.

Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she went to university in St. Louis where she met and fell in love with the editor of her school newspaper. They followed each other around the world for several years and finally got married and settled down in Toronto, Ontario. They welcomed their son into their family in 2006, and their daughter in 2008. When she's not at the park or cleaning up the toy room, Molly is working hard on her next novel, trying to exercise, stalking Tina Fey on the internet and dreaming of the day she can finish a cup of coffee without interruption.

Reviews

[Sarina Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO GOOD. I should have read it ages ago!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.

My reviews of Molly O'Keefe's Crooked Creek Ranch series are probably starting to get a bit dull.

Here's a quick synopsis of the crux of each of my reviews,

Wow! These characters are fully fleshed-out, complex people. I completely believed in their romance because their path toward happiness was hard and took work, but the payoff was completely worth it! This pushes the boundaries of what we talk about when we talk about characters and stories in romance! Exclamation points!

Each of these three novels explores the path of challenging, driven, damaged people as they find happiness together. Crazy Thing Called Love features Madelyn (formerly known as Maddy), a rising star who hosts a morning talk show in Dallas, and Billy, an aging hockey enforcer whose career is at rock bottom.

Oh, and Billy and Maddy used to be married.

This is a scenario I usually would avoid reading, because generally speaking, it seems that relationships run their course for a reason, so the reconciliations generally read as superficial or not long lasting in the context of real life. However, in the case of Crazy Thing Called Love, the setup works.

Billy and Maddy married young--way young--and while they were in love, they were also immature and their marriage was rooted in their mutual desire to escape their lives. Billy's hockey career was their ticket out.

Maddy left Billy, having lost herself and her identity amidst Billy's rising stardom and remade herself into a polished, confident local media star. But in a strange way, within her job she also loses a piece of herself,

AM Dallas needed her to be the trusted, knowledgeable, well-dressed, and skinny best friend every woman in Dallas wanted to have. She didn’t have opinions, or outrage or passion. She smiled and told people about the delicious wonder that was gluten-free cheese.

Billy's in desperate need of a new image after spending the season riding the bench for the Dallas Mavericks (yes, this makes me snicker, because the Mavericks are a basketball team, not a hockey team). He has a lot of anger and bitterness and has the potential to go in a very dark direction.


When Maddy's talk show proposes proposes a makeover of Dallas's notorious bad boy hockey player--clothes, hair, etiquette, the works--she balks, not wanting to revisit that part of her life and definitely not wanting her coworkers to know her past. But Billy embraces the chance to reconnect with his ex-wife.

Their forced renunion after 14 years is challenging, to say the least.

As a rule Billy didn’t believe in fate, but having her come back into his life when it was at its very darkest, that seemed important. Like something he shouldn’t ignore. Something he didn’t want to ignore.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it, these characters will be hit or miss for readers. However, I immensely enjoyed the challenging personalities in Crazy Thing Called Loved. Both are difficult personalities because they have carefully cultivated public identities which absorb them.

That grin, macabre and strange, pulled and twisted by the pink knot of his scar. She knew there were millions of people in the world who believed the scar made him ugly. In her eyes, however, it was one of the most beautiful things about him. Maybe because she knew how he’d gotten it. She looked at that scar and remembered him leaning out the window, telling her everything was going to be fine.

Billy is known for his aggression on the ice--that's what he's let people see. But as we get to know him, he's a lot more complicated an vulnerable than he lets people see.

Billy swore to himself. He was going to have to mingle and shit. In his excitement to see Maddy, he’d managed to forget that small detail.

Billy's character walks a very fine line, and some people may not buy that Billy's anger isn't a dangerous sort of anger, that it was one which festered because of sorrow and hurt. Some readers will probably interpret Billy as volatile and possibly violent, and I understand that perspective. However, my reading of his character is that he's never dangerous to anyone other than himself and he doesn't actually want to be the embodiment of the on-ice character he's constructed--he just doesn't know any other way to be.

As with Can't Buy Me Love, the perspective of the athlete character was handled really well (and you know how picky I am about that). Like Luc in that earlier Crooked Creek Ranch book, Billy has defined himself as only a hockey player for such a long time that seeing beyond that is really, really hard and it messes with his self-identity. It's sad and authentic. Because of the nature of his profession the role he plays on his team, some people will be put off by him and that's really unfortunate, because I really enjoyed his story arc and his figuring out for himself that he was allowed to expect and want more and as a result give more of himself to Maddy.

But again, he showed this surprising understanding—this heartbreaking empathy—and stepped back, granting her some distance.

Madelyn is actually a tougher nut because we don't know a whole lot about what went wrong in their marriage, aside from that she really lost herself (which is a common affliction, especially among young people who marry to escape their circumstances) and wanted more than simply being an athlete's wife.

Maddy was right, she was a different person than the girl she’d been. More exciting. More interesting. More realized. Like all the promise in that young girl had not only been fulfilled, but surpassed.

Her public image as the perfect newscaster is in some ways less sympathetic, but I really felt terribly for her because she was so closed off from other people in a way that wasn't healthy. It saddens me that I've read a number of reviews of this book calling Maddy "a bitch." I don't think she's a "bitch" at all. She's very sympathetic, but not in the way that traditionally elicits sympathy for female characters in romance novels. Maddy's focused on her career and not much else and she doesn't apologize for it. Though, she does haveta weird, all-white apartment which she probably should apologize for.

I really respect that Maddy is never a victim. Despite that she's had a tough road, she's strong and focused. She's made herself into a success against the odds of her upbringing and has built up walls around herself.

Somehow, she’d figured out how to curb all that. The ice queen at the top of the table didn’t look like she ever screamed, and she certainly didn’t look like she’d faced off against Kevin Dockrill in the cafeteria of Schelany High School or destroyed every single CD in Billy’s extensive Bruce Springsteen collection. No, in fact, the woman sitting there looked kind of stupid. And like she barely gave a shit. She was pretty, sure—but she cultivated a certain emptiness. A cool distance. For a stark and stomach-spinning moment, she seemed like a stranger.

We learn about Billy and Maddy's teen years together through a series of flashbacks, which explains so much about their history and why their relationship couldn't work the first time around. Billy, in particular, has a reason for all his anger and bitterness and Maddy was the only good thing in his life before hockey.

About halfway into Crazy Thing Called Love, an important secondary character is introduced & she makes this book. The thing is, this character is a 13 year old girl (Becky) and I usually shy away from stories with kids (I know, I'm awful, but they usually don't add a lot to the plot) but she and her little brother are realistic and believable and heart-breaking. Because of these characters, Billy and Maddy are forced to look outside themselves, and it's the jolt they both needed.

“Don’t. Oh God, Becky.” He stood there, helpless, and watched her pick herself up, get back on her feet. His entire body ached to touch her, to pick her up and carry her out of danger. But she wasn’t going to let him. No one took care of Becky. Tears ached behind his eyes.

I would be thrilled to read an entire novel about Becky, to be quite honest. Unlike kids in so many romance-centered novels, she's complicated and leaps out of the page. Interestingly, I guessed that the introduction of the children into the plot would take that characters--especially Maddy--in a predictable direction. However, I couldn't have been more wrong.

That's what distinguishes the Crooked Creek Ranch series--it subverts readers' expectations.

Take the makeover story, for example. It's been done approximately one zillion times. But in Crazy Thing Called Love, it's the guy who's rough and uncouth and is ultimately transformed.

“Holy crap, are they supposed to fit like this?” he asked, doing up the button and zipper. The boots he slipped into were brown and worn but so soft they felt like butter. “Do I look ridiculous?” Sabine’s eyes were round in her face, her mouth open. “Oh God,” he muttered. “This is a huge mistake—” “No. No, Billy.” She stopped him from taking off the vest. “You look incredible! Honestly … incredible.” Oh. He felt himself blushing and he ran a hand down the vest. It did feel nice, the fabric. And the pants. He turned to glance in a mirror beside the rack of clothes. His package looked awesome!

Even though much of the makeover plot-line adds (very needed) humor, it's refreshing to see the ugly duckling transformed as a male character and, frankly, it works better in that context. It's funnier and actually more sensitive than it is when it's a female character, probably because men's appearance is a less loaded and judgment-laden subject than that of women.

Similarly, the plot which introduces Becky and her little brother to Billy and Madelyn's story surprised me. I was initially annoyed because I assumed that their insertion into the plot would result in a particular outcome, and outcome I didn't think felt right for the characters, especially Maddy. However, I was totally and completely wrong about the direction of that storyline.

In the world of Crazy Thing Called Love and the other Crooked Creek Ranch novels, characters are allowed to find themselves--and each other--and those concepts aren't mutually exclusive like they are far too often in romance fiction.

No one suddenly decides that everything they wanted out of life is moot simply because they've found love; no one decides that they don't need that career they worked for hard for because they met a hot dude; It's a refreshing, modern perspective and makes this book and series stand out and push envelope of genre conventions.

I need you, he thought, fighting the instinct to grab her, to cling to her. I need you to do this with me. I can’t do it alone, and don’t want to think of doing it without you. But he knew that was her great fear. That she’d get sucked into his life and lose herself in the process. If she was going to help him, she needed to be there by choice.

I know Molly is a huge Friday Night Lights fan (yes, it all really does come back to FNL, folks) and the way relationships are explored in the Crooked Creek Ranch series really reminds me of the arc of many of the romantic relationships in that television show. Tim and Tyra*, Matt and Julie, Coach and Tami, they all have to figure out how to make their love work without the other without allowing that love to suffocate their individuality. That nuance is one of the biggest reasons I recommend Crazy Thing Called Love--and the rest of this series--so very highly.

Initial thoughts:

4.5ish stars

Kind of surprised that this ended up being my favorite of the books in this series, since the setup isn't one I usually like. But this was pretty awesome and it kind of choked me up about three quarters of the way in.

I'll post a longer review on CEFS around the release date, but here are some initial thoughts on this one:

- I think these characters will be hit or miss for people. Both are odd because they have carefully cultivated public identities that have absorbed them. Billy is a hockey enforcer and known for his aggression. But as we get to know him, he's a lot more complicated an vulnerable than he lets people see. I think because of the nature of his profession the role he plays on his team, some people will be put off by him and that's really unfortunate, because I really enjoyed his story arc and his figuring out for himself that he was allowed to expect/want more. Madelyn is actually a tougher nut because we don't know a whole lot about what went wrong in their marriage, aside from that she really lost herself (which is a common affliction, especially among young people who marry to escape their circumstances). Her public image as the perfect newscaster is in some ways less sympathetic, but I really felt terribly for her because she was so closed off from other people in a way that wasn't healthy.

- I usually shy away from stories with kids (I know, I'm awful, but they usually don't add a lot to the plot) but the two children in this book (they are NOT the children of either main character, but are important to the story) are realistic and believable and kind of heart-breaking.

- Y'all know how I feel about epilogues (they make me stabby), but I didn't hate this one--it kind of made sense and wasn't picture perfect, but showed progress.

- I really appreciated the role-reversal of the makeover trope.

- Scorpio Races shout-out, FTW!

- Like in the first book in this series, Can't Buy Me Love, I thought the perspective of the athlete character was handled really well (and you know how picky I am about that). Like Luc in that book, Billy has defined himself as only a hockey player for such a long time that seeing beyond that is really, really hard and it messes with his self-identity. It's sad and authentic.

- I could read an entire book about Becky, the 13 year old in this book. When she comes into the story I was legitimately stressed out, even though I knew that this book guaranteed a happy ending.

[Michelle [Helen Geek] · Rating 4 out of 5]

11/03/2012 -- we have an interview with this remarkable author; http://www.2GeekGirlsReviewBooks.com.

We asked her all sorts of questions and she gave us truth! Love it!! Plus, she has given us 2 Freebies to offer two [2] LUCKY winners, so head over to see what you have to do ... HINT: Do you know a HAWT Hockey Dude?

10/30/2012 Hope's Full Review now posted on: http://2geekgirlsreviewbooks.com/book...

Tomorrow we have an interview with the author. Do you feel the author love?? The book is being released in January.

We love this author and want everyone to know it. Hope posts her review today. We don't often agree on a book. When we do, it is usually on how "bad" a book it. This is just the opposite. This book is just that good.

So, Michelle [Helen], if you love this book so much, why not 5 Stars? Well, we tell you why in the full review. Very good reason. A hint? It is not because of the writing.

Hope's Rating:
Overall Rating = 4 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb = 2 / 5 = 3.5 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 5 Stars
Character Development = 4.5 Stars
Story Appreciation = 4 Stars
Worth the Chili = 3 Stars($7.99 on Amazon and B&N – preorder until 01/29/2013)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://2geekgirlsreviewbooks.com/book...

Have you ever read a book that while you were reading it you were just WOW! After you read it you were WOW'd! Then, you wanted to tell EVERYONE about how good it was? This is that book. I found it completely by accident. I thought it was an author a friend had been telling me about. It wasn't. Now I'm the one telling about this author. Read my review and I tell you all about why ... I turned Hope onto it too, so tomorrow you'll get her POV.

Helen's Rating:
Overall Rating = 4 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb = 4 / 4 = 4 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 5 Stars
Character Development = 5 Stars
Story Appreciation = 5 Stars
Worth the Chili = 3 Stars($7.99 on Amazon and B&N – preorder until 01/29/2013)

Helen would like to gratefully thank the author and Random House Publishing Group [via Netgalley] for the opportunity to read the advance copy of Crazy Thing Called Love.


++++++++++++++++++++++
Full review up soon. Loved this book! Would have been a 5 Star with a better cover, better blurb and a different price point for this "new to me" author. Will go on my favorite pile and have added a new author to my "always check out" list.

ARC 10/11/2012

[Sheryl C. Nash · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF HORSE DROPPINGS THAT I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME!

This wasn't a romance story at all; it was in fact a story about delving into the psyche of a very immature, utterly selfish and a total bitch of a person; Madelyn. I HATED HER! She had NO REDEEMING QUALITIES and i failed to see WHY Billy wanted to be with her so badly. He loved who she WAS, i do not understand how he could love who she had BECOME! I felt slightly sorry for Billy, but that was about it. Other then the INTENSE hatred i had for Madelyn and the sympathy i felt for Billy, i felt ABSOLUTELY nothing else.

Y'all that KNOW me and have read my other reviews KNOW that it takes A LOT to make me dislike a book; i am very forgiving! All i ask for is to be entertained... to have an "awwwww" moment... to "squeal" over the hotness of the male character...but there was none of that in this book... ACTUALLY i lie, the last chapter CAME VERY CLOSE to being an "awwwww" moment, HOWEVER, again like everything else with this book, i didn't feel an emotional investment and so i never got to say "awwwww", EVEN the sex felt stilted and uncomfortable... like the author was told to throw in more sex but just did not know how to make the characters do it properly... it all smacks on a very clinically written book which thusly insipres NO EMOTION (except anger) from me!

BLAH storyline and NO ROMANCE to speak off, to say i've felt ripped off is an understatement, in fact i'm actually really upset as NOT ONLY have i wasted more than half my day reading this book, but also because i had SUCH HIGH HOPES...

That was just my opinion, y'all are welcome to refute it when you read this book yourselves.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy to read and review.

[Brie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at Romance Around the Corner

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

As you guys know, I’m a fan of Ms. O’Keefe’s books and I really liked her single title debut, Can’t Buy Me Love. I was apprehensive about the second book, which turned out to be just as good. So now we’re here with the conclusion of the series, and a new take on romance, relationships and old genre tropes.

Crazy Thing Called Love is about second chances; not only at love, but in life, family and work. It’s the story of Maddy and Billy -- high school sweethearts who married very young and got divorced almost immediately, not because they didn't love each other, but because they weren't mature enough to deal with what life put in their way, in this case, fame and glory.

But just as life drove them apart, it brings them back together when his increasing violence in a sport that’s pretty violent to begin with puts his career in jeopardy and forces him to change. And what better way to change than on national TV, right? Maddy, who transformed her life, body and goals after their marriage ended, is the host of the show where Billy will get his makeover.

This book was different than I expected, and it’s almost a twofer. There is a lot going on, and the only thing that prevents it from being a mess is Ms. O'Keefe talent. Interestingly, this is the only story in the trilogy that doesn't have a “difficult” heroine, yet it’s the one I’m not sure how well it will go with the readers. Once the book hits the middle mark, the conflict and plot radically changes, and the transition isn't smooth. It stops being about a couple to become a book about a family, a very dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. And we get introduced to two kids that aren't exactly plot moppets, but are quite close. But it works, because the kids weren't charming, which makes them a complication and not a convenient solution, and instead of lightening the plot, they make it darker. I’m being vague, because I don’t want to further spoil the plot, but keep in mind that there’s a surprise in the middle of the book, and it comes in the form of children.

There are many reasons why I loved Maddy and Billy’s love story, the main one being a realistic depiction of young love. I know that people get married young and manage to live happily ever after, but it is the type of relationship I have the most trouble believing in. And so, this book felt like a nice compromise: they fall in love as teenagers and get married, but they don’t make it the first time around and it takes years for them to reach the right place in their lives to live happily ever after. There is a lot of love between them, both as teens and as adults, but there’s also a lot of pain, hurt and mistakes. And it takes a lot of confidence on his end, and blind faith on hers, to take that first step towards reconciliation.

The road isn't easy, and it includes the ever present sex scene that has no place being there. I understand that sex is a way to portray desire and love in a way some characters can’t articulate early on in their journey, but I’m a fan of communication, and the body expressing what the mind can’t is not the right place to start a reconciliation story.

I also felt like Billie’s issues with violence weren't properly addressed, and that the subplot involving the kids was a bit intrusive. However, as much as it looks like the plot is filled with genre conventions and clichés, Ms. O'Keefe resolves them in ways that are innovative and refreshing. Billy doesn't change because of the kids, or even because of Maddy. He takes an honest look at his life and decides that things must change. Yes, the kids shift the focus to themselves, but they also mirror Billy’s own childhood giving him yet another second chance at redemption and life. It works and it fits, because there’s nothing predictable about the characters and the way they deal with the situation. And that could be said about the previous books as well.

I've talked about sport romances before and how they feel stale and repetitive because no one is bothering to use the sport life as more than an excuse to have a rich, built hero. And this series is proof that it’s possible to tell a more realistic story without sacrificing the elements that make sport romances so appealing. Sports, and the way society views professional athletes, is a rich source of interesting stories and conflicts, and Ms. O'Keefe does a great job illustrating that.

In Crazy Thing Called Love we get to see not only a couple giving their relationship a second opportunity, but also how their marriage and friendship deteriorated when the sport player hero found unexpected fame and glory at a very young age. It is perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of the book, because we see soul mates hurting each other as well as themselves, and it’s impossible to do anything about it. This is a romance novel, and as such we’re guaranteed a happy ending, but the experience irrevocably changed them as individuals, and although they become better versions of themselves, the reunion is bittersweet and filled with memories and experiences that never were.

It’s a great culmination to a fantastic series, and it gives me hope that more contemporary romance authors will take chances with characters that force us to take closer looks at them in order to, if not like them, at least understand and enjoy their journey.

[Sláinte Wanderlust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cover & Title - 3 out of 5
Favorite line - "Love was the least of their strengths"
Favorite Character - Billy

I expected a lot from this book, i liked the blurb & was interested to read it. I was a bit disappointed with what this book turn out to be.
It was described as "perfect for readers of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson", i wouldn't disagree entirely but i think that both of those authors books have more.. je ne sais quoi, something was missing from this book to really make me love it.
I liked it for sure but it wasn't anything i would read again or recommend.

Billy was the star of the story, he was the most interesting & likable out of all the characters. I really liked him. Maddy was a little cold, unpleasant & over focused. I didn't like her for quite a lot of the book, in the end i did think she had warmed and was a reasonably nice woman. The concept of the book was sweet & I was really pleased with the way things turned out in the end.

Click here to visit my review blog

[SuperWendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, this was a really good book. It starts out just fine, and was a solid 4-Stars for me, but then about halfway through O'Keefe shifts gears (I'll admit, I wasn't totally on board at first) and brings on ALL THE FEELS! A great contemporary read that didn't feel bloated or padded. Hockey romance and fans of reunited couples need to drop their entire lives and read this one Right. Now.

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please, please ignore this terrible cover and read this book. It was very sweet.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book that I've read from Miz O'Keefe and it definitely won't be my last. It was very good and brimming with heat and romance. Not only was I a fan of the romance between Billy and Maddy, but these two were hot together and I loved watching them both work through the problems of their past and get their long deserved HEA.

For as long as Maddy can remember she's loved Billy but love doesn't always work the way you want it to. Fourteen years ago Billy and her were married for two years and their relationship was anything but perfect. Yes there was love, but love isn't always enough. Their relationship was tumultuous to say the least and Maddy felt like everything was about Billy. She had no voice and no identity. After a fight between the two Maddy decides to walk away.

Billy has always regretted the way things worked out between himself and Maddy. He thought he was over their split and his feeling for her until he runs into her at an event. Neither has seen one another in fourteen years and as soon as Billy lays eyes on Maddy all of his feelings come rushing back to the surface. Maddy was the love of his life and he is determined to make things right between them both.

Billy is a hockey star with a bad temper, attitude and manners and if he doesn't change his bad boy ways he may loose his position on his team. When his agent comes to him with the idea of an image makeover on live television his immediate response is "no". Then he realizes that the show behind the makeover idea is none other than Dallas AM, the show that Maddy just happens to host he quickly changes his mind. This could be his chance to finally be able to talk to Maddy and he could apologize for his past behavior.

Maddy is not happy. She doesn't want to see Billy and she definitely doesn't want to reminisce over the past and the mistakes they both made. No, Maddy is now Madelyn Cornish celebrated morning show anchor. She is tough, polished and cares only about her career. She lost herself once before and she is determined to never let that happen again. But when Billy shows up and starts telling her things she always wanted to hear and he's just so sexy, how can she resist?

Pretty quickly these two realize that the attraction is still there, though Maddy is doing everything she can to push it away. When she does finally let Billy in a little it's by her rules and her rules only. After a few intense and heated encounters Maddy is beginning to realize that things may not be all that simple.

I really enjoyed the relationship between these two. It was steamy, yet I got a complete sense of how much these two truly loved one another. I love that we were shown bits from their pasts because it helped me realize just how much they cared. I was rooting for these two from the beginning and I'm so happy they finally got their well deserved HEA. This book is definitely going on my all-time favorite list. It's been a few months since I read it and my heart still tingles when I think about Maddy and Billy. Just so good.


**ARC copy provided by Edelweiss**

[Debra Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly deep & emotional rollercoaster that pulls you in & doesn't let go. It features two strong & believable characters who can't seem to let go of their anger & disappointments in each other. The story brings to light some of the lasting consequences of childhood abuse. I don't usually like my romance with quite so dark overtones. However, Molly O'Keefe used such a delicate finesse with the scenes that they weren't as upsetting to the reader. Those backflashes gave the readers a greater understanding of the hero . They also explained a bit of Billy & Maddys backstory . They showed the readers what a special love they shared & got this reader cheering for a reconcilliation even though I did not care for the heroine much at all. I fell head-over-heels in love with the tortured but vulnerable hero who wasn't hard to love at all.
Hockey bad-boy, Billy Wilkins, has never forgot his first love / ex-wife Maddy. When he realizes that she is living in the same town he yearns for a chance to earn back her love. Billy gets his chance when Maddy's boss approaches him about appearing as a guest on her TV talk show. Billy has recently landed himself in hot water (once again) on live TV. So the show wants to do a self improvement show on Hockey's bad-boy. Billy seizes this opportunity to get close to Maddy hoping to re-kindle the love they once shared.
As much as I loved Billy , I just did not feel the same way about Maddy. She kinda reminded me of a shrew. I did not care for her character at all. Billy tried so hard to make things up to her. Yet, she shot him down at every turn . With most stories it is the hero that I love to hate. In this story it was the heroine. Because of the crappy things she did to Billy. And for the really lame reason she acted the way she did. But hey, the author sure suceeded in eliciting some strong emotions toward the characters. Love & Hate ! I loved Billy & I hated Maddy because of that love. Oh my, I really should stop becoming so invested in these characters I read about. But isn't that the hallmark of a great author ? Getting the readers invested in the characters. Well, this book certainly did that !
I loved the wonderfully, twisted journey that Billy & Maddy took to find their way back to each other. As the story unfolded Billy slowly learned how to accept the past & to deal with his anger problems. Just as Maddy slowly let go of her anger & resentment toward Billy for his part in their failed marriage. Seeing how he came through for his sisters kids made her realize that he was no longer the irresponsible boy he once was. She finally understood that she didn't have to loose her identity to be with the love of her life.
Shew ! If you are looking for a really emotional story to loose youself in then I recommend trying this one. It's a rollercoaster ride of emotion as two lost loves find their way back together again. I give this story five flying stars for the tears I cried during some of those scenes.

I received this ARC courtesy of Edelweiss & Random House in exchange for an honest review.

[Jonetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy Wilkins was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, an NHL hockey team and he's miserable. The coach doesn't believe in his rough playing style and Billy is resisting change. Madelyn Cornish wants nothing to do with him following her surprise confrontation with him at Victoria's party but she's being forced to because her producers have put Billy on her show as part of a short term makeover project. No one knows of their history and that he's her ex-husband. 

I wasn't excited about reading this story as Billy seemed to be a bit of a wreck in the earlier books. Well, this turned out to be my most favorite of the series. 

Billy IS a wreck but not for the reasons I thought. Instead of being just a wild man on hockey skates, brutal for the sake of the fight, Billy was expressing his anguish in the only way he knew how. When he and Madelyn ended their marriage, it seemed it was a choice he was ready to make. We learn so much more about this man, what led him to ultimately destroy his marriage and his relationship with Madelyn and the toll it ultimately took on his life. 

Madelyn expressed her pain caused by the demise of their relationship  so completely differently. She reinvented herself, becoming a glossy on air professional who was the picture of perfection, never losing her cool or displaying any extreme emotion. She was a brittle woman with no meaningful relationships in her life but on the surface appearing to be a model of success in her business. 

This is a heart wrenching story as both Billy and Madelyn have to give up their protective shells in order to find their own hearts and the way back to each other. At times it is excruciatingly painful to experience but the payoff is huge. Billy's family unwittingly plays a significant role in their reunion as well. It all plays out in the midst of both of their careers, forcing them to reassess what is really important in their lives. I ached for both of them individually and for their fractured relationship. I really admired Billy for the risks he ultimately took to get this woman back and how vulnerable he was willing to be, publicly and privately. 

I'm so glad I didn't put off reading this book. It was tough, funny, steamy, sad and romantic with an ending that was so very satisfying. I don't often read a story that has me be quite so emotionally strung out and it pushed me to my limits. It was a perfect ending to an extraordinary series and this story will always be one of my favorites. 

(I received an ARC from NetGalley)

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really big into romance novels with major league sports guys as heroes, but O'Keefe's first book in the Crooked Ranch series, CAN'T BUY ME LOVE, was one of my favorite reads this past summer, and so I was pleased to receive an advanced copy from Netgalley. CRAZY THING started off strongly, with a second-chance storyline (my favorite romance trope!) and a potentially interesting take on contemporary masculinity, with a hero known for his aggressive hockey skills and persona suddenly confronted with a coach and a league newly concerned with player safety. The heroine's determination to carve out a life for herself so that she isn't just the wife of a famous athlete also made this seem like the book would be a perfect fit for my ROMANCE NOVELS FOR FEMINISTS blog.

Yet as I read past the first few chapters, I found myself less and less interested. Because we don't see much of why the heroine, Maddy, found her married life so painfully unsatisfying, we're just told that it was, Maddy comes across as a self-centered, uncaring person, making it difficult for readers to root for her. And the way she swings back and forth between having hot sex with Billy and then rejecting him for no real reason besides thinking he's going to hurt her again seems completely unmotivated, serving only as a way to keep the two separated for the sake of additional page length. The flashbacks to their initial romance show why the two loved each other, but one short scene of Billy taking Maddy (and not on purpose) to a strip club so he can hang with his new NHL teammates is not enough to demonstrate what the real problem was with this marriage.

Billy, for his part, has some serious anger management issues, but he never gets therapy, or even seems to recognize that his angry outbursts are the sign of a person with scary emotional problems. Bring on some cute/recalcitrant kids, and suddenly we're supposed to believe that Billy won't ever get angry again? Personally, I would have found it scary to be with such an easily angered person, and worried about the safety of those kids.

And P.S. Having crazy monkey sex in the room down the hall from where your 13-year-old niece is awake and reading is so not cool.

Wish the publisher hadn't been in such a rush to get three books out in such a short span of time. This one had a lot of potential, but would have benefited from another round of content-editing before it hits the stands.

[Crista · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I really love this author and the newest installment in her Crooked Creek Ranch series continues with the same "feel" of the previous books. On the cover these books may look like light and fluffy romances, but don't be fooled. These books are all filled with characters who have deep hurts and pasts filled with pain. Billy Wilkins is one of those characters.

Billy Wilkins by himself would've made this book a 5 star read for me. He is a professional hockey player who is a "fighter" and "enforcer" both on and off the ice. He has a horrible past filled with abuse and neglect. His only escape was hockey, and now as the NHL moves away from "on the ice violence", his career is in jeopardy. He is definitely nearing the end of his career and is looking back on his past that is filled with regret. One of his greatest regrets is ending his marriage to his childhood sweetheart Maddy.

Maddy is my only critique of this book, but it's a big critique. She is a very difficult lady to love and cheer for. She treats Billy very coldly at first, and because of their turbulent past marriage, it takes quite awhile for her to "thaw" towards him. I really struggled with her character and she took a lot away from an otherwise fabulous book.

This book is as much about the "making of a family" as it is the "making of a couple". Billy's niece and nephew come into the story and add layers of depth and deepen the plot into something more than just a romance between Billy and Maddy.

I still recommend this book, and the whole series for that matter, with the small "but" of not caring for the character of Maddy.

A big thanks to Molly O'Keefe and Random House via Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to preview this book!

[drey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s really only two things you need to know about Crazy Thing Called Love: Pick this up if you love a good contemporary romance. And grab a box of tissues before you sit down. You’ll need it. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Once upon a time, a boy barely holding his life together met a girl stronger than she looks. They became best friends, grew up, fell in love, and got married. Then dreams (his) got in the way of a good thing, and they broke up.

Fourteen years later, the man the boy’d grown into shows up on the television show the girl-turned-woman anchors. And we get a story filled with enough emotion to sink the Titanic all over again. (See, I told you you’d need tissues…)

There’s plenty of heartbreak in this story of love found and lost, plenty of angst, and plenty of redemption and forgiveness. Molly O’Keefe gives Billy the gift of hindsight, Maddy the gift of courage, and readers the gift of a well-told story — complete with hurdles and obstacles over and beyond the emotional angst that comes with any second chance.

Definitely a pick-up for romance fans. You can thank me later.

drey’s rating: Excellent!

[Keertana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I really enjoyed this one, though I think I'm not suitably into the "sports" sphere enough to appreciate the entirety of this novel. Still, a solid romance and I think I've found a new author I can count on! :)

[Renegade ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

[kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up to 4. As others have mentioned, don't judge this book by it's lighthearted, smiling heroine & shirtless guy cover. It's pretty intense and the heroine doesn't do a whole lot of smiling for much of the book. In fact, towards the end I thought I wouldn't be able to give this book more than a three because I was getting pretty frustrated with the heroine Maddy. I loved the hero, Billy, right from the beginning so I guess I was always pretty much on his side. But by the end, which was a pretty cool ending, Maddy managed to redeem herself enough that I thought the book deserved 4 stars. Having recently read the first two of Molly O'Keefe's "Into the Wild" historical western books and really enjoying her writing, I saw this book available to borrow from my e-library and decided to try one of her contemporaries. All in all, this is a pretty good book about a couple who fell in love as teens, married young, divorced shortly after and are now thrown back together 14 years later. Billy is a famous hockey player at the end of his career and Maddy is a morning TV personality in Dallas. They both have never really stopped loving each other but Maddy has the most difficulty coming to terms with that fact. This story, full of plenty of angst and plenty of steam, is about their journey back to each other now that they are both older and more mature.

[aarya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute but I wasn’t 100% feeling it. Also: it’s interesting to see how dated some of these older contemporaries can be. So many references to Matt Lauer! Like: at least fifty, since Maddy is a daytime television host and they kept on referring to him.

[Marlene]

mop

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reunion story. It begins fourteen years in the past, as Maddy and Billy's marriage falls apart and then moves to the present with a few other flashbacks to fill in their backstory.

Maddy is host of a morning TV show, with a reputation of being cool and unflappable. She's worked hard to overcome her past, and shows only her best to the outside world. Her work is her life and everything is going great until one of her producers comes up with a makeover idea for her show.

Billy has continued his hockey career and has gained quite a reputation for his wild behavior. He finally takes it a bit to far and is told by team management that he has to make some changes or he'll find himself off the team. His agent comes up with the idea of a makeover. Billy wants nothing to do with it, until he finds out he'll be on Maddy's show. That's enough to change his mind. Billy has never forgotten Maddy or his love for her. He's grown up some over the last few years and realizes that he made a lot of mistakes during his marriage. He wants a chance to apologize and see if there is anything left between them.

Maddy isn't at all happy with the project. She wants Billy kept firmly in her past. She doesn't want to talk about the past with him, and she definitely doesn't want to get sucked into the drama of his life. She remembers what it was like and still has the emotional scars. She keeps her emotions under very tight control at first because of it. She's very cold toward him, but it's an attempt to hide the attraction she can't deny she still feels for him.

I didn't like Maddy much at the beginning. She was so cold and pretty nasty to Billy that I wondered if there was any chance for them. Even when she admitted that the attraction was still there, she just wanted to use him for sex and not let her emotions get involved. The way she treated him was just terrible. I know she was just trying to protect herself, but it still made me mad. I was happy to see her start to lose some of those walls around her heart in the face of Billy's persistence.

I liked Billy a lot more. He started out as the bad boy of his hockey team, in trouble for his fighting. At the same time, he is starting to see the emptiness of his life and feel the regrets for the things he'd done in the past, especially what happened with Maddy. When he's offered the chance to go on her show, he grabs it. I really liked the way he tried so hard to get Maddy to see how sorry he was for the way he had treated her. He is determined to turn over a new leaf, and become more like the man he thinks she wants.

I loved seeing the makeover process. Though it was hard for him to do it, I loved the way that Billy opened up on the show about some of his past and its influence on the man he is. It was funny and heartbreaking to see the reactions of people to the idea of his makeover. The part with the clothes was pretty amusing.

The building of the new relationship between Billy and Maddy was not an easy one. Billy had to overcome the problems of the past and show Maddy that he really had changed. It wasn't easy for him because he wasn't used to sharing his real feelings. Maddy had to find a way to believe that she could be with him without losing herself the way she had when she was younger. She also had to see that he really had changed. That began to happen the night of the charity function. I loved seeing how hard he was trying to behave, and felt for him as he had to make that speech. Maddy was surprised to see him there, and it was fun to see her try to fight the way he made her feel. I loved the way that his reason for being there had her looking at him differently and beginning to see that he had changed.

When things blew up on the show with the arrival of the two kids, both Maddy and Billy had to deal with a lot of turmoil. I loved the way that Maddy was there to support him and help him through it. I loved seeing that caring side of Billy. This brought the two of them closer together. I loved seeing how each of them handled the kids and what it said about who they were. I loved seeing Billy step up and be something he never expected. And Maddy learned some things about herself that made it possible for her to believe in a future for her and Billy.

I loved the final makeover show and the surprise twist that it took. It was exciting and heartwarming. I also liked the epilogue, which had its own fun bit to it. I liked seeing how everyone was doing a couple years later.

The secondary characters were terrific. I liked Maddy's coworker Ruth and her part in the various makeover details. I enjoyed seeing the changes in her and in the relationship between her and Maddy. I also loved Billy's niece Becky. The things she went through and her wariness were heartbreaking to see. I loved seeing her learn to trust Billy.

[Janga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molly O'Keefe does it again. She's written yet another book that grabs me by the heart and pulls me into the story and makes me fall in love with characters I can't forget. Reunion stories are my favorites, and I was already a little bit in love with Billy. Thus, it's hardly surprising that this is my favorite of a trilogy in which I loved all three books.

Like the characters that preceded them in the Crooked Creek series, Maddy and Billy are messy, complex characters scarred by their pasts. Some of the scars cover wounds that are still infecting the present. Billy’s scarred face, a visible reminder of his violent childhood, is a metaphor for the psychic wounds those childhood experiences inflicted. Maddy’s wounds are from emotional rather than physical violence. She casts herself as Billy’s defender from an early age. Her focus is on seeing Billy succeed not only in hockey but in becoming the man she believes him to be. When Billy’s desire to belong in the world where his talent has taken him leads him to betray her belief in him and, by extension, in them, she is devastated. She feels that she has lost not only Billy but also her very self.

O’Keefe both operates within the conventions of romance and undermines those conventions. The chemistry between Maddy and Billy is so powerful that not even betrayal and a separation of well over a decade can diminish it. Sex scenes provide not merely the almost mandatory sizzle of current romance fiction but also a means of revealing the emotional vulnerabilities of the protagonists. And Maddy and Billy’s story gives lie to one of the great myths of romance. Love does not conquer all, at least not until it is accompanied by self-knowledge, self-acceptance and forgiveness. If I were creating a sound track for this novel, I’d include Roy Orbison’s version of Boudleaux Bryant’s “Love Hurts” as a recurring theme: “Love hurts and scars. / Love wounds and mars / anyone not tough or strong enough / to take a lot of pain.”

Secondary characters add dimension and complications to the central story. Readers who share my series addiction will enjoy seeing Luc and Tara Jean from the first book, but their appearance is purposeful rather than pandering to readers. They serve to give context to Billy’s character. In the same way, Ruth, an intriguing character in her own right, reveals Maddy’s isolation and loneliness. The children, Becky and Charlie, heartbreakingly real, play a vital role.


When I reviewed Can’t Buy Me Love, the first Crooked Creek book, I referred to a quotation I found thematic: “We’re more than our mistakes. . . . More than our pasts. We can be more than the things we let define us.” Although the words do not appear in Crazy Thing Called Love, the truth they embody resounds throughout this book, and indeed, throughout the entire series.

Recently I’ve heard some complaints about the lack of tough, flawed, credibly 21st-century characters in contemporary romance. It’s clear those readers haven’t discovered the books of Molly O’Keefe. Her Crooked Creek books are among the most courageous and complex romances I’ve ever read. I highly recommend this book. It ensured that I started my Best of 2013 list early.

See full review ay The Romance Dish:
http://www.theromancedish.com/2013/01...

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps it was the common themed plot of second chance love or the awesome moobies on the cover (seriously, publishers, why? WHY?! ) Either way, I had low expectations and was not anticipating much. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I was not expecting such an emotional read and I appreciated Ms. O’Keefe’s realistic approach to young love and the mess that is made from immature marriages. I really enjoyed this author’s voice and will pick up the other books in this series.

Billy and Maddy were childhood friends who married and divorced young. They both came from rather humble beginnings - Billy’s tainted with violence. Love wasn’t the problem. Lack of passion wasn’t either. There was no questioning the way they felt for each other, past or present. Being consumed was the issue and I understood why Maddy fought to not get sucked back into his vortex of need. In the past, it was his issues, his career, his way, his everything. And she was lost, somehow. Maddy kept him grounded and focused, until she left him. His kind of past doesn’t just go away; he carries this anger which manifests in fighting on the ice. The latest being a cheap shot after the game was over. This type of behavior has gotten him traded and now benched. He’s also in danger of being sent back to the minors. Frankly, Billy was a mess. He didn’t care what he looked like, smelled like, said, did. You name it. He just did not care. When he bumped into Maddy again, he realized he still loved her and wanted her back in his life. This prompts him to agree to try and straighten his image up and as well as win Maddy back. So, he agrees to go on her show and subject himself to public humiliation in the form of a makeover, if that’s what it takes to get her back. She, of course, is not having any of that. At least that’s what she tells herself. Who is she kidding?

Now, storylines that include skittish behavior because of a past hurt tend to be iffy for me. I can only take so much before it feels contrived and I start to scream, “Get over it!” In Maddy’s case, she toed the line but thankfully did NOT go over. I get her hurt. I get her hesitancy. I get why she became the way she was and I understood why she was so wishy washy in her feelings for Billy. After working so hard to make a name for herself, she was so scared to be consumed by him again. I get it.

I have to say, my heart went out to Billy and I seemed to prefer him over Maddy. He’s overcome quite the past and seeing him grow through the book had me smiling.

If there is a critique to give, I’d say that Maddy could have been fleshed out a little more. I’d have liked to have sympathized more for her and her fears. Her parents were poor but loved her and each other very much. No scars or baggage from that. Yes, he hurt her and that alone gave justification for being hesitant but the length that she held out seemed to warrant a bit more reason. I just wanted a *little* more. Other than that, some inconsistencies of the use of Madelyn vs. Maddy (or perhaps I’m just not understanding the author’s attempt to distinguish the new “Madelyn” vs. the old “Maddy”) annoyed me. They are minor irritations but enough to detract slightly from this otherwise enjoyable story.

But seriously, publishers, the cover is TERRIBLE. Change it!

[Mskychick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through First Reads from Goodreads. I have loved all 3 of these books in the Crooked Creek Ranch storyline, but I think this one was my favorite. I did like that I came into this book having read the prequel to it (All I Want for Christmas is You), which was in the Naughty and Nice anthology, first author Ruthie Knox.

Maddy and Billy grew up poor in the same neighborhood. Billy had an abusive father and also had poor white trash sisters with lots of problems. Billy finally made it out of his bad environment by his amazing hockey skills, and took Maddy with him. Maddy and Billy were married when he was just starting his professional career, and she was 17 years old. Let's face it, no one should get married that young, and the added pressures of being a professional sports player with a lot of travel only compounded the problems that they had in marrying. Billy had a lot of anger due to all his family problems growing up, and Maddy helped him manage that anger as best she could, as a very young woman herself without the maturity to help him conquer it, just helping him channel it.

They are immature in their emotions and coping skills, due to their age and Billy's poor family background, and their marriage breaks up with all the pressures that they face. 14 years later, they are brought together again. Maddy has put Billy behind her, changed her name, gone to school, and become a news talkshow host. Billy's career is going downhill. As a fighter without a lot of other hockey skills that he can use now, Billy is doing a lot of bench warming this season. In frustration, Billy cheapshots a player from another team after the hockey game has ended, and his coach and agent are trying to rehabilitate his image. Billy goes on Maddy's talkshow for a mutliple week makeover, and the sparks begin to fly. Neither of them has gotten over the other, and being in proximity forces them to realize this.

There are a number of crazy situations that happen after the makeover starts, and I'm not going to give details because I dont want to give away any spoilers. But all the bad tings that happen allow the charaters to both demonstrate how they have matured and/or coped with their issues thus far, and gives them opportunities for personal growth that they finally choose to take. I cried at the end of this book, and I was SO glad for their HEA. I can't wait for Molly's next book! She is totally on my autobuy list.

Many sports romance books don't do a good job of portraying the sport realistically, and so it always makes me nervous when there is an athlete as one of the main characters, because it's so easy to get it wrong. I thought the sports parts of this story were well done, which was especially thrilling to me as a hockey fan (go Preds). The only beef I had was the cover, because an NHL enforcer would be more bulked up, especially given the descriptions of his body from the book. This is not Molly O'Keefe's fault, but the publisher's/editor's fault for the cover error, and should not be held against O'Keefe at all.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review cross-posted from Wit and Sin: http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2013/01...

Madelyn Cornish has worked hard to get where she is: the host of a popular Dallas morning TV show. More importantly, she’s worked even harder to forget who she was and where she came from. But the past comes back to haunt her in the form of her ex-husband, hockey star Billy Wilkins. Billy’s the focus of her show’s on-air makeover project and it’ll take all of Madelyn’s formidable self control to resist her attraction to her bad boy ex. It’s not an easy feat, particularly since Billy seems determined to win her back…

I freely admit that I picked up Crazy Thing Called Love because of the hockey element and the reunion storyline — I’m a sucker for both. But this Crooked Creek novel is sure to delight fans of contemporary romance, whether or not you have any interest in sports.

I absolutely love a good hockey hero and Molly O’Keefe delivers a winner with bad tempered enforcer Billy Wilkins. He’s genuinely rough around the edges, but there’s a wealth of caring within him that makes him an endearing hero. It was wonderful to watch him grow and change over the course of Crazy Thing Called Love . Maddy, in turn, was a bit harder to like. I understand her ambition and wanting to put her history with Billy behind her, but she went a bit too far for me in the beginning. However, by the end of the story Maddy had won me over and I was delighted to see her find happiness with the only man she’s ever loved. Ms. O’Keefe did a masterful job with character development, something I love in a story.

Crazy Thing Called Love was a bit of a slow starter for me. However, when everything in Billy’s life comes crashing down around him, Crazy Thing Called Love starts to roll and I did not want to put it down. Billy becomes guardian to two troubled children who are sure to capture your heart. Ms. O’Keefe adds a sobering dose of reality with Billy’s niece Becky, a thirteen-year-old who’s had to deal with much more in her life than any child should. The plotline involving Billy learning how to be a parent was almost more captivating than his romance with Maddy.

Crazy Thing Called Love is the third Crooked Creek novel, but you don’t have to have read Can’t Buy Me Love or Can’t Hurry Love in order to follow along. However, after finishing Crazy Thing Called Love I’ll definitely be picking up the first two books in the series. With just one book, Ms. O’Keefe has me hooked!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't had the pleasure to read very much of Molly O'Keefe's work but I really enjoyed Crazy Thing Called Love. I have not read the other two books in the Crooked Creek Ranch series but I didn't feel like I was missing anything important. I would like to read the other two books in the series because I did enjoy this one. This book was a classic case of a second chance with a first love.

I really liked Maddie even though she has a really tough outer lining that she created to avoid pain,.I could see her sweet and caring side under the rough exterior she puts off. Maddie thinks she has the perfect life that she needs to protect her from the pain of loving someone again.

Billie is the bad boy of Hockey, he's missing something in his life and he knows what it is.... Maddie. I loved when he was given a chance to go on her morning show. My goodness the sparks these two throw off when they are in the same room is almost combustible. I really enjoyed watching Maddie & Billie try to work around each other without showing their feelings. He is in for some major lifestyle changes. I loved the family aspect in this book. I want to expand more on my feelings here but I really hate to give anything away so I'm going to say click on the link on the bottom and go get this book for yourself so you can read all about.

Maddie and Billie have a lot of obstacles to overcome together and they each have to learn to trust the other with their heart. They have both grown a lot over the years but there is still a bond there that has never went away. I found this to be a sweet story with some spicy scenes. There is some drama, some laughter, and some really touching scenes through out the story.

I know I would most certainly enjoy reading more of Molly O'Keefe's work, I found her writing style to be very pleasant to read with an interesting storyline to keep me turning the pages quickly.

I was extremely excited to win a copy of this book on Librarything in exchange for an honest review. It has been my pleasure to share my thoughts with you on this book.

[Molli B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up kind of at random—I needed a book by an author named Molly, and I saw this won a RITA and wasn't 900 pages. Talk about surprise when I started it and discovered it was about a hockey player. \o/ Yeah, a hockey player being a jerk, but a hockey player nonetheless!! And once we started to get his POV, he wasn't so much of a jerk. :)

So this ended up being a very enjoyable read. I can't remember the last time I intentionally read a M/F romance, and I was worried I wasn't going to be able to get into it, but I really had no issues. Maybe because of the hockey player ;)

I liked the story itself—I thought it was interesting and well put together. There are some little flashbacks scattered throughout, but they're short and have a point, so they didn't bother me; I think they did a good job contributing, actually, and they were well paced (the final flashback gave us what was maybe the most important information we didn't have). Toward the end of the book, there are some editing errors that I don't remember showing up in the first half, like someone got lazy or rushed as they finished, but they weren't terrible. The hockey stuff was accurate enough to not drive me crazy, so that was good.

The author made up her NHL (the cities we heard about were the same but the teams had different names), and I like that the main dude, Billy, grew up in and was drafted by Pittsburgh (even though he gives growing-up-in-Pittsburgh a pretty bad rap), but I have to wonder why she used the Dallas Mavericks for Dallas's team. That's their professional basketball team. But maybe she's a basketball fan, too, and it was an homage. :)

Overall not a bad way to pass a day. I thought O'Keefe's writing was solid and interesting. I'm not sure I'm going to read any of her other books, but at least if I need to read something else by an author named Molly, I know where I can find something.

[Preet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that destroyed you and put you back together at the same time? Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O'Keefe is one such book; or it was for me. For my first introduction to Molly's books, I couldn't have picked a better one. I'd never heard of Molly before this, but it was the hockey player in the blurb, Billy that struck my fancy. Plus it was also second chance love story with the woman who had gotten away. There was no way I wasn't going to read this book.

I was hooked from the very first page and the introduction to both Billy and Maddy. I wasn't just hooked, I was in pain. Pain because Maddy and Billy were never going to be the same after that prologue and it hurt. In just a few pages Molly O'Keefe ripped apart three hearts, Maddy's, Billy's, and my own. Every time I re-read that prologue, I get the same tears in my eyes and that pain in my gut. It never fails. This is a beautiful story. It's one of redemption, finding ones self, and family, both the ones we make and the ones we're born with. Gah! Just thinking about this book makes my heart race.

Molly kept the book going at a frenetic pace. It was enough fast and so interesting. I didn't know what turn the book was going to take. I know many readers will find it fast or even confusing but trust me, this book is worth 5 stars and reading it slowly just to soak in the story. This book was nominated for a RITA, the equivalent of a romance Oscar, in the contemporary romance category. I'm surprised it didn't win.

This book is on my keeper shelf. After reading this book, I discovered it was actually the third book in a series and went back and read both books. This trilogy catapulted Molly O'Keefe onto my "must-read authors list". If you enjoy contemporary romance that'll keep you in knots, tears, and laughter, then this book is definitely for you.

[R M]

“Er stand mit den beiden Kindern allein da.
Willkommen im Rest deines Lebens.” (310)

He stood alone with both kids.
Welcome to the rest of your life.

Molly O’Keefe’s Crazy Thing Called Love* is a delight of a truly adult romance. It's about fully grown people trying to make it through their everyday and find some form of happiness along the way. Their conflicts are well drawn and multi-faceted, and originate primarily in themselves.

O’Keefe’s descriptions of the protagonists’ inner turmoil is balanced and plausible, making them human and relatable. In fact, the entire larger cast is varied and populated by complex humans, whose motivations might be petty or grand, but no less realistic for it.

There's a somewhat startling introduction of a third POV midway through, but it quickly makes sense in the plot. Again, O’Keefe’s deft hand at both plotting and characterization makes this potentially awkward introduction flow seamlessly.

I cannot stress enough how much character complexity enriches this novel. Even the secondary characters or the episodic ones have depth, and eschew the plague of cardboard so plentiful elsewhere.

Also refreshingly, the romance is not the only relationship that evolves in this novel, but one of several, including a friendship b/w two women, and ones b/w kids and adults. Awesomeness!

This is the first het romance I've read in a while, and I'm really happy to have done so. If you're looking for a contemporary romance with a great balance of plot, character complexity, and hot sex, this is awesome.

Highly recommended.

*I have received a copy of the German translation of this novel from the author, without any expectation of a review.

[CoffeeTimeRomance andMore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hockey is the only thing Billy Wilkins knows. As a child it literally saved him from a life of poverty and abuse, and now he is on the verge of losing a career he has worked a lifetime to build.

Recreating her life, Maddy Baumgarten became Madelyn Cornish, host of the hit morning show AM Dallas. She refuses to even remember the time she spent losing her identity to a man whose entire life revolved around hockey.

The harder Maddy tries to crush any feelings she has for Billy, the tougher it gets. He has always been able to get under her skin, whereas this time it feels like he is flaying her wide open. Billy’s life is imploding with frightening speed since agreeing to be on Maddy’s show, yet there is no way he could pass up the chance to be near her. Loving Maddy was never in question, although now he has much more to worry about than a woman who has built her world in ice.

Big, brutish, and totally lovable Billy Wilkins sucks you right into this story. The back history of his childhood and that of his niece and nephew is so heartbreakingly real you can almost hear the shouting and feel the fear. I really like that these characters, despite their money and careers, are just as cracked and flawed as anyone. The need to be loved is universal, and this author utilizes that in the most amazing ways.

Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't had much time for reviews lately, but in this case I just had to say something. I specifically had to say something because the cover doesn't do this book justice. First of all, the hero of the book has a very distinctive facial scar that speaks so much to who he is and the relationship between the H/h that it feels like a travesty to have that completely skipped over (not to mention the various other scars as a hockey player, which the cover also glosses over entirely [and literally]).

And, honestly, as anyone who follows my Goodreads feed knows, I do not generally have any issue with covers like this. But they do indicate a certain frothiness (again, which I wholeheartedly support)--and this book, heck, Molly O'Keefe, is ANYTHING BUT frothy. The characters are complex and, yes, there is a poignancy to it that runs so deep those words don't even begin to convey it. But, as with everything she writes, there is such an incredible resolution to it that you find yourself laughing and crying at the end.

So. Good.