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Wanting Mr. Wrong
Evie Parker has never been one to swoon after celebrities – give her a neuroscientist over an actor any day! So when she develops her first movie-star crush, she’s determined to date her way out of it, starting with the next good-looking doctor she sees.
Yet hovering on the fringes of her life is her gay best friend's determined brother, Jackson J Stevens, a famous actor who comes with trailing paparazzi.
The one thing worse than a celebrity in Evie's eyes is a media circus, so Jack isn't an option no matter how hard he flirts with her.
Evie knows what she doesn't want; Jack knows what he does. And somewhere in the middle, pheromones are making things go haywire every time they're together.
Yet hovering on the fringes of her life is her gay best friend's determined brother, Jackson J Stevens, a famous actor who comes with trailing paparazzi.
The one thing worse than a celebrity in Evie's eyes is a media circus, so Jack isn't an option no matter how hard he flirts with her.
Evie knows what she doesn't want; Jack knows what he does. And somewhere in the middle, pheromones are making things go haywire every time they're together.
Unknown Binding
First published January 28, 2015
11 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Avril Tremayne
79 books134 followersLover of funny stuff, steamy stuff, and Campari. Gin too. Okay - and wine. And cheese. Doer of courses. Travel tragic. Italian wannabe. Eater extraordinaire but does not cook. Avid shoe collector.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 25, 2025
4 ⭐️s
I adored the short story When Jack met Evie in the short story collection The Day We Met but I was a bit miffed when I found out it was a bonus chapter (to her story Wanting Mr Wrong) and not an entire story. However, one year later when I rechecked Amazon the price was greatly reduced and I snapped it up. I did a little happy dance ‘cause nothing is as satisfying as being able to finish something one has started.
Here we follow Jack and Evie. You will laugh out loud, you'll cry a little, you will swoon…for Jack, not Evie. Evie annoyed me no end. Still, an entertaining read, and cute-ish.
I adored the short story When Jack met Evie in the short story collection The Day We Met but I was a bit miffed when I found out it was a bonus chapter (to her story Wanting Mr Wrong) and not an entire story. However, one year later when I rechecked Amazon the price was greatly reduced and I snapped it up. I did a little happy dance ‘cause nothing is as satisfying as being able to finish something one has started.
Here we follow Jack and Evie. You will laugh out loud, you'll cry a little, you will swoon…for Jack, not Evie. Evie annoyed me no end. Still, an entertaining read, and cute-ish.
January 13, 2016
This is one of those feel good fun stories that has so many emotions running through the story you will be laughing out loud smiling and yes I shed a few tears as well, I loved this one from start to finish the characters are so real and alive that you will not want to put this one down till you get to the end.
Evangeline Parker or Evie as she is known to all of her friends comes from a family of well to do Doctors so Evie holds anyone that is in that elite field in high esteem and aims to one day be paired up with someone of this calibre she has been through a very rough time with her ex and the media have left her with a very big phobia about paparazzi so when she feels attracted to a movie star this rocks her boat considering her best friend Drew's bother is none other than Jackson J Stevens the well known gorgeous Aussie movie star and she steers well clear of him.
Jackson J Stevens is gorgeous wealthy and a movie star but the one person he really wants will have nothing to do with him even though she is best friends with his gay brother Drew and Jack spends a fair amount of with the group doing everything he can to help her with her phobia and get closer to Evie I love that he never gives up on Evie even with everything that happens.
This is a fabulous story that I highly recommend it has everything that a romance needs to pull the reader in and give them hours of reading pleasure as we laugh along with Evie and Jack with the help of Drew and Chloe to a sensual and fun filled journey to such a great HEA. This is a story that should not be missed it will brighten up your day.
Evangeline Parker or Evie as she is known to all of her friends comes from a family of well to do Doctors so Evie holds anyone that is in that elite field in high esteem and aims to one day be paired up with someone of this calibre she has been through a very rough time with her ex and the media have left her with a very big phobia about paparazzi so when she feels attracted to a movie star this rocks her boat considering her best friend Drew's bother is none other than Jackson J Stevens the well known gorgeous Aussie movie star and she steers well clear of him.
Jackson J Stevens is gorgeous wealthy and a movie star but the one person he really wants will have nothing to do with him even though she is best friends with his gay brother Drew and Jack spends a fair amount of with the group doing everything he can to help her with her phobia and get closer to Evie I love that he never gives up on Evie even with everything that happens.
This is a fabulous story that I highly recommend it has everything that a romance needs to pull the reader in and give them hours of reading pleasure as we laugh along with Evie and Jack with the help of Drew and Chloe to a sensual and fun filled journey to such a great HEA. This is a story that should not be missed it will brighten up your day.
November 8, 2018
Oh Jack... Jack is in love and he doesn't give up. But not in a stalkery I-will-make-you-see-you-are-mine way. No, Jack respects Evie way too much for that. And loves her way too much as well. And poor Evie still hasn't worked through some not-very-savoury stuff that happened in her past. Evie just needed a bit more time to realise that Jack was the one for her.
Love these two, and the way Avril wrote their story.
Love these two, and the way Avril wrote their story.
March 12, 2018
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Evie Parker has never been one to swoon after celebrities - give her a neuroscientist over an actor any day! So when she develops her first movie-star crush, she's determined to date her way out of it, starting with the next good-looking doctor she sees. Yet hovering on the fringes of her life is her gay best friend's determined brother, Jackson J Stevens, a famous actor who comes with trailing paparazzi. The one thing worse than a celebrity in Evie's eyes is a media circus, so Jack isn't an option no matter how hard he flirts with her. Evie knows what she doesn't want; Jack knows what he does. And somewhere in the middle, pheromones are making things go haywire every time they're together.
An incident in Evie's past makes her distrust the media - so when a celebrity actor tries to win her heart, along with the media circus, Evie makes it perfectly clear that she isn't interested. Jack is. And so it goes...
While the story was fun and hilarious, I just could not like Evie any less. She was just the epitome of rude and abrasive. Sure there are issues in her past but I don't think that allows her the attitude she carried for most of the book. By the end, she has come around and is somewhat likeable, I found myself ready to give up on her a number of times. If it wasn't for the humor, this would have been a DNF pretty early on.
Paul
ARH
Evie Parker has never been one to swoon after celebrities - give her a neuroscientist over an actor any day! So when she develops her first movie-star crush, she's determined to date her way out of it, starting with the next good-looking doctor she sees. Yet hovering on the fringes of her life is her gay best friend's determined brother, Jackson J Stevens, a famous actor who comes with trailing paparazzi. The one thing worse than a celebrity in Evie's eyes is a media circus, so Jack isn't an option no matter how hard he flirts with her. Evie knows what she doesn't want; Jack knows what he does. And somewhere in the middle, pheromones are making things go haywire every time they're together.
An incident in Evie's past makes her distrust the media - so when a celebrity actor tries to win her heart, along with the media circus, Evie makes it perfectly clear that she isn't interested. Jack is. And so it goes...
While the story was fun and hilarious, I just could not like Evie any less. She was just the epitome of rude and abrasive. Sure there are issues in her past but I don't think that allows her the attitude she carried for most of the book. By the end, she has come around and is somewhat likeable, I found myself ready to give up on her a number of times. If it wasn't for the humor, this would have been a DNF pretty early on.
Paul
ARH
November 24, 2015
I loved this book to bits... I fell hard for Jack, he was so witty. He took sarcasm to an art form. I only LIKED Evie. She was testing my patience, along with Drew and Chloe, multiple times. But it's okay. That's the Evie Jack fell in love with.
When the end was approaching, I was planning how my review would go, how it was such a light, fun read, with stomach-cramping-laughter inducing arguments between the protagonists, the personalities of Drew and Chloe to dampen down my frustration with Evie (when she was going on and on about actors and their type), and such a cute, tearing-hands-through-hair-with-frustration romance.
But that's when the story got more depth, . I almost cried while reading it, it was so vivid, the description of the emotions. And then, what a patch-up!!!! Blew my mind totally...! Even though it took me so many days to finish it, I really got right into it the moment I picked it up to continue.
Amazing, amazzziiiinnng job by the author. NO TYPING MISTAKES! I will definitely reread it some day!! :-)
When the end was approaching, I was planning how my review would go, how it was such a light, fun read, with stomach-cramping-laughter inducing arguments between the protagonists, the personalities of Drew and Chloe to dampen down my frustration with Evie (when she was going on and on about actors and their type), and such a cute, tearing-hands-through-hair-with-frustration romance.
But that's when the story got more depth, . I almost cried while reading it, it was so vivid, the description of the emotions. And then, what a patch-up!!!! Blew my mind totally...! Even though it took me so many days to finish it, I really got right into it the moment I picked it up to continue.
Amazing, amazzziiiinnng job by the author. NO TYPING MISTAKES! I will definitely reread it some day!! :-)
April 23, 2018
3 years, 2 months
More like 1.5 stars. The writing is fine but the heroine is terrible. She was consistently hurtful to the hero. Over and over again. For no REAL reasons. I was SO OVER her.
More like 1.5 stars. The writing is fine but the heroine is terrible. She was consistently hurtful to the hero. Over and over again. For no REAL reasons. I was SO OVER her.
February 14, 2015
I’m a reader who is captivated by covers. If I fall in love with a cover, this book must be mine. I loved the simplicity of the cover of Wanting Mr Wrong by Avril Tremayne (doesn’t the heroine look despondent at falling in love?) and okay, I liked her hair and lipstick cover. Plus the colouring of the cover made it perfect to read in the lead up to Valentine’s Day!
But as we all know, you can’t judge a book by its cover. So what’s inside Wanting Mr Wrong? This story is a wonderful romantic comedy from the first person point of view of Evie. Evie is determined to date only the smartest of smart men – no man candy for her. At the very least her perfect partner must be a doctor or be part of ground-breaking technology to revolutionise the world. Why does Evie feel like this? Well, she feels like she’s the dumbest person in her family of doctors, researchers and high flyers. She’s just a regular girl in a regular job, not doing anything special. But then Evie gets a crush on a movie star (something that has never, ever happened before) and her life begins to spiral out of control. Well, it’s not strictly due to the movie star crush, but the entrance of Australia’s hottest film star, Jackson J. Stevens. Jack happens to be Evie’s best friend’s brother and he wouldn’t mind getting to know Evie a bit better. But Evie’s just met Lachlan, a doctor specialising in tuberculosis research and The Perfect Man® on paper, if not in real life. Will the pheromones get the better of Evie? Will she give in to date an… actor?
This story begins with laughs aplenty. It’s funny and the dialogue is snappy, witty and realistic. There’s a real sense of camaraderie between Evie and her friends and when Jack is introduced, he fits right in. Lachlan in contrast feels rather awkward, like he’s not in the right place (as I’m sure he was intended to…) and as the story goes on, it becomes increasingly certain that the Perfect Man on Paper just doesn’t translate to perfection in real life. Compared to Jack, Lachlan is just…blah. Evie realises that too, but she’s determined to ignore it in the hope that her increasing lust for Jack will just go away. Of course it doesn’t, and the reader is treated to some very steamy scenes.
Once Evie and Jack satisfy their initial lust, the story becomes a little more serious as Evie begins to ponder what a relationship with a famous man is like. The more she thinks, the more she backpedals and this is where the we find out why Evie has been so against actors. Prior to this, I didn’t really understand the depth of Evie’s fear/reluctance and thought she was a bit weird, to be blunt. (I mean, Jack sounds like Hugh Jackman and everyone loves Hugh Jackman!) Once the whole story was out, I felt a lot more sympathy for her. Evie’s a girl with quite a few self-esteem issues and I wish she’d just listened to her friends a bit more! Jack was a lovely character – down to earth, wise and incredibly patient. I think it was his patience to wait for Evie that made me like him even more. His determination to protect her from the media was just the icing on the cake!
This story was a really fun read and one that I think would work well on screen – I’d love to see the quick-witted dialogue acted out!
Thank you to Random House Australia for the copy of this eBook. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
But as we all know, you can’t judge a book by its cover. So what’s inside Wanting Mr Wrong? This story is a wonderful romantic comedy from the first person point of view of Evie. Evie is determined to date only the smartest of smart men – no man candy for her. At the very least her perfect partner must be a doctor or be part of ground-breaking technology to revolutionise the world. Why does Evie feel like this? Well, she feels like she’s the dumbest person in her family of doctors, researchers and high flyers. She’s just a regular girl in a regular job, not doing anything special. But then Evie gets a crush on a movie star (something that has never, ever happened before) and her life begins to spiral out of control. Well, it’s not strictly due to the movie star crush, but the entrance of Australia’s hottest film star, Jackson J. Stevens. Jack happens to be Evie’s best friend’s brother and he wouldn’t mind getting to know Evie a bit better. But Evie’s just met Lachlan, a doctor specialising in tuberculosis research and The Perfect Man® on paper, if not in real life. Will the pheromones get the better of Evie? Will she give in to date an… actor?
This story begins with laughs aplenty. It’s funny and the dialogue is snappy, witty and realistic. There’s a real sense of camaraderie between Evie and her friends and when Jack is introduced, he fits right in. Lachlan in contrast feels rather awkward, like he’s not in the right place (as I’m sure he was intended to…) and as the story goes on, it becomes increasingly certain that the Perfect Man on Paper just doesn’t translate to perfection in real life. Compared to Jack, Lachlan is just…blah. Evie realises that too, but she’s determined to ignore it in the hope that her increasing lust for Jack will just go away. Of course it doesn’t, and the reader is treated to some very steamy scenes.
Once Evie and Jack satisfy their initial lust, the story becomes a little more serious as Evie begins to ponder what a relationship with a famous man is like. The more she thinks, the more she backpedals and this is where the we find out why Evie has been so against actors. Prior to this, I didn’t really understand the depth of Evie’s fear/reluctance and thought she was a bit weird, to be blunt. (I mean, Jack sounds like Hugh Jackman and everyone loves Hugh Jackman!) Once the whole story was out, I felt a lot more sympathy for her. Evie’s a girl with quite a few self-esteem issues and I wish she’d just listened to her friends a bit more! Jack was a lovely character – down to earth, wise and incredibly patient. I think it was his patience to wait for Evie that made me like him even more. His determination to protect her from the media was just the icing on the cake!
This story was a really fun read and one that I think would work well on screen – I’d love to see the quick-witted dialogue acted out!
Thank you to Random House Australia for the copy of this eBook. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
March 11, 2015
Phew! After reading some wonderful but heavy mainstream fiction lately, Avril Tremayne’s ‘Wanting Mr Wrong’ was a welcome change.
Evie and Jack’s ‘new adult’ story took me back to a time of life when floundering around in work and relationships is the norm, and trying to get your head around a long term commitment to another person is a daunting prospect.
Chapter one throws us straight into Evie Parker’s story. She’s fresh out of uni and (I think) in her first job, trying to work out what she wants and needs to do with her life as she recovers from a terrible relationship with a journalist who publicly broadcasted intimate details of their time together. Evie is fun, warm-hearted and well intentioned, but badly afflicted by hang-ups about commitment, particularly with any guy who might drag her into the public eye again.
Enter Jack. Although this is not a friends-to-lovers trope, this world famous celebrity and brother of her BGF, has been lurking on the peripheries of her life for a while now. And unbeknownst to her, he’s been admiring her from a distance all along.
With her last broken relationship now lying several respectable months in her past Jack finally strikes. But despite the crackling attraction Evie’s not interested in wading into anything romantic, especially not with Jack. Lucky for her, good guy Jack Stevens doesn’t give up easily, distracting Evie from her A-type personality baggage long enough for her to glimpse what might be possible between them, despite the glare of the public eye that will follow them whilst ever Jack continues to carry the celebrity sex appeal that he’s presently carrying.
‘Wanting Mr Wrong’ is a well written, galloping and often hilarious romp through a month or so of the lives of a group of mid-twenty somethings. I really enjoyed their story as they grappled with the tensions between who they are and what others expect them to be, and what they wish for versus their fears of becoming entrapped in something they might not be able to escape from should it all go wrong.
Highly recommended for readers who love a light-hearted, NA romantic comedy.
*Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for supplying a review copy*
Evie and Jack’s ‘new adult’ story took me back to a time of life when floundering around in work and relationships is the norm, and trying to get your head around a long term commitment to another person is a daunting prospect.
Chapter one throws us straight into Evie Parker’s story. She’s fresh out of uni and (I think) in her first job, trying to work out what she wants and needs to do with her life as she recovers from a terrible relationship with a journalist who publicly broadcasted intimate details of their time together. Evie is fun, warm-hearted and well intentioned, but badly afflicted by hang-ups about commitment, particularly with any guy who might drag her into the public eye again.
Enter Jack. Although this is not a friends-to-lovers trope, this world famous celebrity and brother of her BGF, has been lurking on the peripheries of her life for a while now. And unbeknownst to her, he’s been admiring her from a distance all along.
With her last broken relationship now lying several respectable months in her past Jack finally strikes. But despite the crackling attraction Evie’s not interested in wading into anything romantic, especially not with Jack. Lucky for her, good guy Jack Stevens doesn’t give up easily, distracting Evie from her A-type personality baggage long enough for her to glimpse what might be possible between them, despite the glare of the public eye that will follow them whilst ever Jack continues to carry the celebrity sex appeal that he’s presently carrying.
‘Wanting Mr Wrong’ is a well written, galloping and often hilarious romp through a month or so of the lives of a group of mid-twenty somethings. I really enjoyed their story as they grappled with the tensions between who they are and what others expect them to be, and what they wish for versus their fears of becoming entrapped in something they might not be able to escape from should it all go wrong.
Highly recommended for readers who love a light-hearted, NA romantic comedy.
*Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for supplying a review copy*
February 1, 2015
Jack is the right kind of wrong for Evie, she's just too lovingly stubborn to admit it! I am loving this new author, Avril Tremayne. Her characters are fun and comedic and romantic every single time. This story just sweeps you in and takes you away. I read it in one sitting. Evie is a delight. Jack is a hottie. A nice, hottie. And the secondary characters are a hoot. As usual, I can't wait for the next book!
February 19, 2015
This was a great book! I loved how Hollywood actor Jack kept pursing Evie even though she had such a strong aversion to the media. The story was good and the romance kept me turning the pages. I highly recommend this one!
August 11, 2022
Re-read August 2022
Great writing, great hero, Jack, and great supporting characters al well.
Many people have issues with the heroine, Evie, being a "weak snob". Not me. I liked her, and understand that she have issues. Actually she is what raises the book from 3 to 4 stars.
Great writing, great hero, Jack, and great supporting characters al well.
Many people have issues with the heroine, Evie, being a "weak snob". Not me. I liked her, and understand that she have issues. Actually she is what raises the book from 3 to 4 stars.
February 2, 2015
What a fun and touching book! Love the cover. The characters are just what you want them to be--sexy, smart. Hot love scenes! I want Mr. Wrong and I want more books from Avril Tremayne!
February 24, 2015
Love this author. First found her when I read her entry on 'So You Think You Can Write'.
February 25, 2015
I haven't read an Avril Tremayne book yet that I didn't like! I fall in love with all of her characters. I just loved Evie and Jack's story. Didn't want it to end.
January 23, 2016
Love this author. First found her when I read her entry on 'So You Think You Can Write'.
November 29, 2018
I do love me a good book set in Australia and this was ... set in Australia.
There's nothing wrong with the book per se, it just seemed a little lacking for me. I honestly could't see what Jack saw in Evie other than she's "cute". (He even describes her physically first when he's trying to win her over.)
Evie, on the other hand, seemed overly sensitive, bordering on neurotic. (How many people - including Evie - need to mention getting professional help before she actually gets some?)
Still, the writing was enjoyable enough that I'm interesting in trying another Tremayne. Because, you know, Australia.
There's nothing wrong with the book per se, it just seemed a little lacking for me. I honestly could't see what Jack saw in Evie other than she's "cute". (He even describes her physically first when he's trying to win her over.)
Evie, on the other hand, seemed overly sensitive, bordering on neurotic. (How many people - including Evie - need to mention getting professional help before she actually gets some?)
Still, the writing was enjoyable enough that I'm interesting in trying another Tremayne. Because, you know, Australia.
May 22, 2018
Short, very cute book. The couple were great but the heroine came across as a little bit of an idiot. The h pushes a little hard,, which, given the length of the book meant that the pacing of a little off. But that’s a quibble - a longer book would have dragged. The beginning half is better, veeering towards rom-com more than the latter half. The last few chapters veered towards a “wtf” moment for me. The little accident - I was wondering if someone had switched my book. But the last chapter made up for all the random plot turns. I am glad Evie found her groove - a little abruptly - but it made me smile.
Overall, a good read. But don't go in expecting a lot of innovation.
Overall, a good read. But don't go in expecting a lot of innovation.
January 21, 2015
I really wanted to like this. The writing was great, the hero, Jack, and the supporting characters were all wonderful. Particularly Jack, who was both wickedly sexy and achingly romantic. The let down for me was with the heroine, Evie. She was just too weak. Someone she cared about very much betrayed her in the worst way, and so some of her idiosyncrasies can be explained away by that event. And I could see how hurtful and humiliating it would have been. The problem is that by her own account she had self-induced self-esteem issues before that, and for a lot of the book she just came across as totally sanctimonious in her attitude towards Jack and his profession. And that was really hard to like.
By the end she had redeemed herself and I was invested in their romance, but I would have preferred it if she had been a bit less abrasive so I could have some idea about why Jack and her friends thought so highly of her in the first place.
There was a lot of potential in this story, and Tremayne is a great author, unfortunately this story just didn't quite work for me this time.
*ARC courtesy of Netgalley and Random House Australia*
By the end she had redeemed herself and I was invested in their romance, but I would have preferred it if she had been a bit less abrasive so I could have some idea about why Jack and her friends thought so highly of her in the first place.
There was a lot of potential in this story, and Tremayne is a great author, unfortunately this story just didn't quite work for me this time.
*ARC courtesy of Netgalley and Random House Australia*
March 12, 2022
This is such a fabulous read and I think it’s one of my favourites by this author. Perfectly plotted with amazing characterisation.
AT has the gift of creating characters who are so real that you want to engage with them. Evie had a really traumatic experience which explained why she was so insecure, so hung up and so strange in her obsessive behaviours. I found myself wanting to shout at her when she rejected Jack or kept blocking ways forward for them. Jack was just lovely.
Fabulous story with real emotional depth. I really adored it. Worth 6 stars.
AT has the gift of creating characters who are so real that you want to engage with them. Evie had a really traumatic experience which explained why she was so insecure, so hung up and so strange in her obsessive behaviours. I found myself wanting to shout at her when she rejected Jack or kept blocking ways forward for them. Jack was just lovely.
Fabulous story with real emotional depth. I really adored it. Worth 6 stars.
March 5, 2016
Liked the next one in the series more. I got a it irritated by Evie. I felt she was a complete cow to our lovely actor. She came across as a complete snob for 75% of the book!!!
December 29, 2016
Unfortunately the heroine ruined this one for me. Okay writing but I found myself not caring at all about the characters.
Read
April 29, 2017I read this after the book about Chloe, so maybe the wrong order, but these books are perfect as a standalone.
I will not rate this book, as I did not finish and skimmed big parts of it. I loved Jack! He went in all determined and did not give up. He was like a bulldog fighting for his bone. But Evie... big sigh. Evie annoyed me to no end. I understood her misgivings, I really do, but she was so bullheaded and hurting Jack! They have sex, she immediately shuts him down. She constantly tells him she does not want him and certainly not his life in the limelight. Quite fast it hit my limit.
I will not rate this book, as I did not finish and skimmed big parts of it. I loved Jack! He went in all determined and did not give up. He was like a bulldog fighting for his bone. But Evie... big sigh. Evie annoyed me to no end. I understood her misgivings, I really do, but she was so bullheaded and hurting Jack! They have sex, she immediately shuts him down. She constantly tells him she does not want him and certainly not his life in the limelight. Quite fast it hit my limit.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews