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Impulsive Gamble
Abbie knew that she was taking a risk, but it seemed to be a gamble that might pay off. Malachi Garrett, brilliant engineer-inventor, was so reclusive that hardly anything was known about him. Now here he was, in a bar in Oklahoma, looking for someone to drive his Shelby Cobra car in a race to Washington DC. As a freelance journalist, Abbie couldn't pass up the chance.
Pretending to be a medical secretary urgently needing to read Washington, Abbie talked her way into being the driver. She found out too late that living a lie made her feel very uncomfortable and that she and Malachi Garrett made an explosive combination...
Pretending to be a medical secretary urgently needing to read Washington, Abbie talked her way into being the driver. She found out too late that living a lie made her feel very uncomfortable and that she and Malachi Garrett made an explosive combination...
192 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1989
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February 5, 2017
Re Impulsive Gamble - Lynn Turner's HP swan song continues the h behaving a bit badly theme, this time on a wild road trip from Oklahoma to Washington DC. Buckle up everybody, cause the H's 1968 Shelby Cobra with a 428 jet engine isn't the only thing going for a power ride.
The h in this one is 25 yr. old freelance reporter who is at loose ends after doing a story in Oklahoma that unexpectedly became national news. She is in a little country town for a few days wrapping things up and she finds herself drinking in the local watering hole while pumping the young bartender for information about the town and people.
She finds out that a wealthy misanthropic hermit who also happens to be the one of the best mechanical engineers in the world lives in the town. She is trying to recall all she knows of him and realizes that if she can get an interview, she will have a surefire winner of a story, cause to the best of her knowledge the hermit engineer hates the press and has never granted an interview to date.
Then she spys two men dressed in oil spotted clothes and looking like bums arguing over driving a car somewhere for a bet. Apparently the man who likes he just crawled out of an oil pit after rolling around in it needs a driver to take his modified car from the state of Oklahoma to Washington DC. The h snaps to attention when the helpful chatty bartender confirms that the man needing a driver is the hermit engineer. The h leaps before she looks and wastes no time in volunteering for the driving job. She grew up on army bases and has driven everything from her brother's muscle cars to a Sherman tank. She figures that if she is alone with the engineer for the two days the race will take, she will be able to do a big profile on him and get a big scoop.
When she presents herself to the H, she tells him she has to get to Washington DC for a medical receptionist job and her boyfriend dumped her in the town, leaving her high and dry. After some mutual eyeball undressing and some snappy Bogart/Bacall banter, the H tells the h she has the job, provided she passes the test drive. We all troop out to the H's remote farm and the h does a great job of driving the car around the H's test track, verbally smacking back against all the H's snarky chauvinistic remarks, but she does an even better job reacting to his sneaky stealth kisses and the H's pit crew all give her a big thumbs up for enthusiasm.
All the banter back and forth only serves to ignite the flames of passion between the H and h, tho both are trying hard to fight off the intense interest. The H decides he needs the h to act like his lover in front of the person he is racing tho, and there is some really intense verbal foreplay with more white hot roofie kisses while the H tries to convince the h that fake an affair is in the best interests of both of them. The h's head is spinning from the H's racey luvre mojo roofieness, but she has the presence of mind to question why it needs to look like she and the H are intimately involved.
The H tells her that the bet is against a woman engineer who treated the H very badly in the past and her modified car. {The backstory on this, which is relayed over the course of the race, is that the H took over a graduate engineering class for an ill professor. He met the female engineer and fell head over heels for her and brought her back to his hometown after she graduated. They were together for two years and it all ended when the OW stole his experimental artificial heart design, got a cardiologist to finish modifying it and got a Wall Street banker to back her brand new engineering firm where she tried to entice all the people who did business with the H to use her company instead.
She shacked up with the Wall Street guy after using, abusing and then dumping the H, she did not even bother to say kiss off and goodbye. Fortunately, the heart did not perform as well as the OW expected, (the H hadn't finished it when she stole it and the doctor she got had no clue how to make it right.) Now the OW is having problems, cause she just isn't that great at engineering as she thought she was and she needs a big attention getting product.}
The h also finds out that it is the OW who initiated the bet, she needs the H's brilliance to keep her engineering firm going. So the deal is that if the H wins the race, the OW has to pay him a large amount of cash. If the OW wins, the H has to become the OW's engineering partner and work with her for the next few years. The H knows the OW all too well, he blames her for causing his disgust for almost all women, and he wants the h to fake a relationship with him to keep the parasitic limpet's more insidious advances at bay - plus he just likes playing gropey games with the h, she gets the cutest little flushes and her eyes sparkle like emeralds when she gets mad.
The start of the race arrives and so does the slime slurping limpet OW, the H has his hands all over the h and the prior performances in front of all his mechanics and the whole town has left everyone in no doubt that he and the h are riding towers of power at every rest stop. The OW is not delighted or even moderately thrilled to see the shifting hands action of the H and h. Tho the h nearly has a panic attack when she realizes that she has actually interviewed the OW for an article a few years earlier.
The h is terrified the OW will recognize her, but the OW is the kind that won't be stopped by a black hole, so she is totally focused on winning this race and getting her jungle red claws back into the H and completely dismisses the h. The h is starting to really feel terrible about deceiving the H, but more importantly the slime slurper limpet is really ticking her off, so she is going to make sure the H wins this race.
Radar detector installed, the H and h take off in a cloud of dust and the OW's driver, ( who is a professional racer,) soon leap ahead to the h's dismay. The H is calmly making calculations as the h speeds off on the first leg of the trip. Banter is exchanged and bits of the h and H's lives are shared, including when each lost their unicorn touching status. The h soon realizes that this H really does know what he is doing in the engineering department, the car has been going for a few hundred miles and has hardly used any gas. Suddenly the radar detector sounds off, and as the h cautiously (and under the speed limit,) drives past the area's local speed trap, she sees that the OW's driver is getting a ticket.
The H and h race on and soon become lost in confusion of getting through St. Louis. Not only is the H a lousy driver, but he obviously can't read maps either. The h sensibly stops at a local fire station, and after a few admiring remarks about the car, she gets easy directions to get them back on the right interstate highway and we are racing off again. The h is staring to tense up, she has been driving a considerable distance for several hundred miles. The H tries to help out by massaging the h while she is behind the wheel, but the h has to ward him off as he tries seduction techniques and ear nibbling at 95 miles an hour. She sternly tells him that he needs to keep to his hands, his tongue and any other protruding parts firmly on his side of car, unless he wants to wind up a road kill pancake.
The H desists in his speeding seduction, but takes a pit pass option for later. They finally arrive at a hotel for the night and find that the OW and her driver are checked into the room next door. The H and h have major almost power ride moment, but the h is really tired and the H takes another deferral for when he has more time and no race deadlines to meet. He goes off to talk with the OW's driver, who is another guy that he grew up with and also lives in his hometown.
The h is ready to crash when the slime slurper limpet comes knocking on the H and h's door. She witchily informs the h that the H is going to lose the bet and when he does she will have him hog tied and roped into marriage within three months, cause she is still the best leech in the business. The h gets in a few zingers of her own and sends the OW off on her broom. The h decides the H needs to be informed of the leech limpet's nefarious plans, so she goes to find the H and tell him all about it.
The H is delighted that the h won't let the OW get him into her clutches and all that admiration translates into a big night of lurvin it up to keep the love mojo's motor sparking. The h isn't a virgin and the H isn't either, so neither one of them are very inhibited when the fuel starts pumping. The h is now completely in love and the H is making broad hints that he plans on keeping her around permanently. The h tells him she never plans to marry unless she can hire a wife to do the cleaning the bedroom of cobwebs and bathroom bit. The H suggests that she just find a guy who doesn't mind scraping off under bed moss and volunteers himself as an example. The h now starts feeling really, really guilty cause she is committed to doing the H's story and now she wishes she wasn't. However the h is planning to explain herself as soon as they win the race, and then she decides she will stalk the H and wait forever until he forgives her deceit.
The next morning, the H and h are ready to ride for the gold, only the slime slurper leech limpet is a sneak thief vandal too. The tires on the passenger side of the H's car are flattened and the OW cut the H's fan belt. The h is great at making friends tho, so they get the tires aired up and a new fan belt within hour and they are off again, racing like wind.
Then they run into a big storm and the h is frazzled from keeping the non-power steering equipped car on the road and having to keep the windscreen clear of condensation. The H offers to drive and we find out that the H isn't exactly a bad driver, he is just a risky one. The H used to race cars, but he couldn't keep up with his friend, (the OW's driver,) so he did really daring things to win. The h panics cause they are on twisty two lane mountain roads, but the H reassures the h that it has been years since he has driven off the side of a cliff.
The H and h make it to the last stop before the big win the next day and they only have a very few miles to go. The car is running great and there were no major repairs, so the H's win is pretty much in the bag and the h and H are looking forward to a more physically exerting kind of ride. The H buys a newspaper and the front article is the OW's car has broken down and she has lost the bet. The h has been nervously anticipating her big identity deception confession and so she faints when the H remarks that he already knew exactly who she was. After he revives her from her shock, he explains that small hometown's being what they are, everyone in town called to let him know the h was a big city reporter as soon as they saw them together. In fact the H made the OW swear to no publicity during the trip cause he wanted the h to have a big exclusive so she could tell everybody about his really great, low fuel consumption modified engine.
The h, after she realizes that she has been totally and variously had, declares that she still has a scoop about an in-depth profile of the H and tells him that she will need at least a year of research on him. She also needs a roommate to scoop up bedroom under bed moss and share the living expenses. The H is very quick to volunteer for the position, but he was thinking more a leasing option for the next forty or fifty years.
The h, admiring not only the H's mechanical genius but his business sense too, happily agrees to the terms and commences the big rubber burn for the photo finish HEA. This one was not a usual HP, but it was really funny, had great lurve mojo tension and is very much one to keep on the shelf for when you need a low angst and high mood lifting voyage to HPlandia.
The h in this one is 25 yr. old freelance reporter who is at loose ends after doing a story in Oklahoma that unexpectedly became national news. She is in a little country town for a few days wrapping things up and she finds herself drinking in the local watering hole while pumping the young bartender for information about the town and people.
She finds out that a wealthy misanthropic hermit who also happens to be the one of the best mechanical engineers in the world lives in the town. She is trying to recall all she knows of him and realizes that if she can get an interview, she will have a surefire winner of a story, cause to the best of her knowledge the hermit engineer hates the press and has never granted an interview to date.
Then she spys two men dressed in oil spotted clothes and looking like bums arguing over driving a car somewhere for a bet. Apparently the man who likes he just crawled out of an oil pit after rolling around in it needs a driver to take his modified car from the state of Oklahoma to Washington DC. The h snaps to attention when the helpful chatty bartender confirms that the man needing a driver is the hermit engineer. The h leaps before she looks and wastes no time in volunteering for the driving job. She grew up on army bases and has driven everything from her brother's muscle cars to a Sherman tank. She figures that if she is alone with the engineer for the two days the race will take, she will be able to do a big profile on him and get a big scoop.
When she presents herself to the H, she tells him she has to get to Washington DC for a medical receptionist job and her boyfriend dumped her in the town, leaving her high and dry. After some mutual eyeball undressing and some snappy Bogart/Bacall banter, the H tells the h she has the job, provided she passes the test drive. We all troop out to the H's remote farm and the h does a great job of driving the car around the H's test track, verbally smacking back against all the H's snarky chauvinistic remarks, but she does an even better job reacting to his sneaky stealth kisses and the H's pit crew all give her a big thumbs up for enthusiasm.
All the banter back and forth only serves to ignite the flames of passion between the H and h, tho both are trying hard to fight off the intense interest. The H decides he needs the h to act like his lover in front of the person he is racing tho, and there is some really intense verbal foreplay with more white hot roofie kisses while the H tries to convince the h that fake an affair is in the best interests of both of them. The h's head is spinning from the H's racey luvre mojo roofieness, but she has the presence of mind to question why it needs to look like she and the H are intimately involved.
The H tells her that the bet is against a woman engineer who treated the H very badly in the past and her modified car. {The backstory on this, which is relayed over the course of the race, is that the H took over a graduate engineering class for an ill professor. He met the female engineer and fell head over heels for her and brought her back to his hometown after she graduated. They were together for two years and it all ended when the OW stole his experimental artificial heart design, got a cardiologist to finish modifying it and got a Wall Street banker to back her brand new engineering firm where she tried to entice all the people who did business with the H to use her company instead.
She shacked up with the Wall Street guy after using, abusing and then dumping the H, she did not even bother to say kiss off and goodbye. Fortunately, the heart did not perform as well as the OW expected, (the H hadn't finished it when she stole it and the doctor she got had no clue how to make it right.) Now the OW is having problems, cause she just isn't that great at engineering as she thought she was and she needs a big attention getting product.}
The h also finds out that it is the OW who initiated the bet, she needs the H's brilliance to keep her engineering firm going. So the deal is that if the H wins the race, the OW has to pay him a large amount of cash. If the OW wins, the H has to become the OW's engineering partner and work with her for the next few years. The H knows the OW all too well, he blames her for causing his disgust for almost all women, and he wants the h to fake a relationship with him to keep the parasitic limpet's more insidious advances at bay - plus he just likes playing gropey games with the h, she gets the cutest little flushes and her eyes sparkle like emeralds when she gets mad.
The start of the race arrives and so does the slime slurping limpet OW, the H has his hands all over the h and the prior performances in front of all his mechanics and the whole town has left everyone in no doubt that he and the h are riding towers of power at every rest stop. The OW is not delighted or even moderately thrilled to see the shifting hands action of the H and h. Tho the h nearly has a panic attack when she realizes that she has actually interviewed the OW for an article a few years earlier.
The h is terrified the OW will recognize her, but the OW is the kind that won't be stopped by a black hole, so she is totally focused on winning this race and getting her jungle red claws back into the H and completely dismisses the h. The h is starting to really feel terrible about deceiving the H, but more importantly the slime slurper limpet is really ticking her off, so she is going to make sure the H wins this race.
Radar detector installed, the H and h take off in a cloud of dust and the OW's driver, ( who is a professional racer,) soon leap ahead to the h's dismay. The H is calmly making calculations as the h speeds off on the first leg of the trip. Banter is exchanged and bits of the h and H's lives are shared, including when each lost their unicorn touching status. The h soon realizes that this H really does know what he is doing in the engineering department, the car has been going for a few hundred miles and has hardly used any gas. Suddenly the radar detector sounds off, and as the h cautiously (and under the speed limit,) drives past the area's local speed trap, she sees that the OW's driver is getting a ticket.
The H and h race on and soon become lost in confusion of getting through St. Louis. Not only is the H a lousy driver, but he obviously can't read maps either. The h sensibly stops at a local fire station, and after a few admiring remarks about the car, she gets easy directions to get them back on the right interstate highway and we are racing off again. The h is staring to tense up, she has been driving a considerable distance for several hundred miles. The H tries to help out by massaging the h while she is behind the wheel, but the h has to ward him off as he tries seduction techniques and ear nibbling at 95 miles an hour. She sternly tells him that he needs to keep to his hands, his tongue and any other protruding parts firmly on his side of car, unless he wants to wind up a road kill pancake.
The H desists in his speeding seduction, but takes a pit pass option for later. They finally arrive at a hotel for the night and find that the OW and her driver are checked into the room next door. The H and h have major almost power ride moment, but the h is really tired and the H takes another deferral for when he has more time and no race deadlines to meet. He goes off to talk with the OW's driver, who is another guy that he grew up with and also lives in his hometown.
The h is ready to crash when the slime slurper limpet comes knocking on the H and h's door. She witchily informs the h that the H is going to lose the bet and when he does she will have him hog tied and roped into marriage within three months, cause she is still the best leech in the business. The h gets in a few zingers of her own and sends the OW off on her broom. The h decides the H needs to be informed of the leech limpet's nefarious plans, so she goes to find the H and tell him all about it.
The H is delighted that the h won't let the OW get him into her clutches and all that admiration translates into a big night of lurvin it up to keep the love mojo's motor sparking. The h isn't a virgin and the H isn't either, so neither one of them are very inhibited when the fuel starts pumping. The h is now completely in love and the H is making broad hints that he plans on keeping her around permanently. The h tells him she never plans to marry unless she can hire a wife to do the cleaning the bedroom of cobwebs and bathroom bit. The H suggests that she just find a guy who doesn't mind scraping off under bed moss and volunteers himself as an example. The h now starts feeling really, really guilty cause she is committed to doing the H's story and now she wishes she wasn't. However the h is planning to explain herself as soon as they win the race, and then she decides she will stalk the H and wait forever until he forgives her deceit.
The next morning, the H and h are ready to ride for the gold, only the slime slurper leech limpet is a sneak thief vandal too. The tires on the passenger side of the H's car are flattened and the OW cut the H's fan belt. The h is great at making friends tho, so they get the tires aired up and a new fan belt within hour and they are off again, racing like wind.
Then they run into a big storm and the h is frazzled from keeping the non-power steering equipped car on the road and having to keep the windscreen clear of condensation. The H offers to drive and we find out that the H isn't exactly a bad driver, he is just a risky one. The H used to race cars, but he couldn't keep up with his friend, (the OW's driver,) so he did really daring things to win. The h panics cause they are on twisty two lane mountain roads, but the H reassures the h that it has been years since he has driven off the side of a cliff.
The H and h make it to the last stop before the big win the next day and they only have a very few miles to go. The car is running great and there were no major repairs, so the H's win is pretty much in the bag and the h and H are looking forward to a more physically exerting kind of ride. The H buys a newspaper and the front article is the OW's car has broken down and she has lost the bet. The h has been nervously anticipating her big identity deception confession and so she faints when the H remarks that he already knew exactly who she was. After he revives her from her shock, he explains that small hometown's being what they are, everyone in town called to let him know the h was a big city reporter as soon as they saw them together. In fact the H made the OW swear to no publicity during the trip cause he wanted the h to have a big exclusive so she could tell everybody about his really great, low fuel consumption modified engine.
The h, after she realizes that she has been totally and variously had, declares that she still has a scoop about an in-depth profile of the H and tells him that she will need at least a year of research on him. She also needs a roommate to scoop up bedroom under bed moss and share the living expenses. The H is very quick to volunteer for the position, but he was thinking more a leasing option for the next forty or fifty years.
The h, admiring not only the H's mechanical genius but his business sense too, happily agrees to the terms and commences the big rubber burn for the photo finish HEA. This one was not a usual HP, but it was really funny, had great lurve mojo tension and is very much one to keep on the shelf for when you need a low angst and high mood lifting voyage to HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2019
"Impulsive Gamble" is the story of Abigail and Malachi.
When the chauvinist met the feminist..sparks flew!
In this sweet tale filled with witty banter and deception, our h is a freelance reporter who volunteers to be a driver for our famous H, who has just come up with a new car prototype. Her goal: to get scoop on the elusive billionaire and earn her living. Their journey is filled with a fiery battle of wills, a catty and vindictive ex, heated kisses and regret filled actions. The ending was a pleasant, but enjoyable surprise.
I really loved the start of the book, but it dragged a bit in the second half. Never the less, well written with likable MCs.
Safe
3.5/5
When the chauvinist met the feminist..sparks flew!
In this sweet tale filled with witty banter and deception, our h is a freelance reporter who volunteers to be a driver for our famous H, who has just come up with a new car prototype. Her goal: to get scoop on the elusive billionaire and earn her living. Their journey is filled with a fiery battle of wills, a catty and vindictive ex, heated kisses and regret filled actions. The ending was a pleasant, but enjoyable surprise.
I really loved the start of the book, but it dragged a bit in the second half. Never the less, well written with likable MCs.
Safe
3.5/5
June 2, 2018
Reviewed for Linda:
This is a gem in the HP world, full of down-to-earth humor and taking place in the US with a hero who is grubby throughout much of the book. He has a huge chip on his shoulders from a past experience where his brains and ideas were exploited by a lover and the credits stolen. He probably has some rationale to his misogyny, and he spouts them off the top of his head at the heroine, who argues successfully that he's judging all women by that one instance, and also he wasn't even in love with his girlfriend but just ticked off.
They have to make a trek from Oklahoma to DC to prove that Mal's car engine was better than someone else's and he needs a driver. Abby the reporter was stuck in the dive of a town when her ears perk up and she covers up her identity and volunteers and tries out for the job. Along the way, they have funny jibe-trading moments because Abby definitely can hold her own against Mal, and at times he is even apprehensive of her temper at his dumb actions. Both characters are likable, fun, and the romance is done so well you don't realize that by the end of the book, they've only been together a week, or less.
Lynn Turner's other popular book Forever, also a road trip of sorts, is equally charming and well done and a definite keeper.
This is a gem in the HP world, full of down-to-earth humor and taking place in the US with a hero who is grubby throughout much of the book. He has a huge chip on his shoulders from a past experience where his brains and ideas were exploited by a lover and the credits stolen. He probably has some rationale to his misogyny, and he spouts them off the top of his head at the heroine, who argues successfully that he's judging all women by that one instance, and also he wasn't even in love with his girlfriend but just ticked off.
They have to make a trek from Oklahoma to DC to prove that Mal's car engine was better than someone else's and he needs a driver. Abby the reporter was stuck in the dive of a town when her ears perk up and she covers up her identity and volunteers and tries out for the job. Along the way, they have funny jibe-trading moments because Abby definitely can hold her own against Mal, and at times he is even apprehensive of her temper at his dumb actions. Both characters are likable, fun, and the romance is done so well you don't realize that by the end of the book, they've only been together a week, or less.
Lynn Turner's other popular book Forever, also a road trip of sorts, is equally charming and well done and a definite keeper.
December 11, 2013
Rating 4.5 stars
Soo, good, the hero/heroine battle it out, she calls him a chauvinist and he calls her a feminist. She's a reporter who eavesdrops on a conversation about a bet and him needing a driver and volunteers herself, so that she can get a scoop on him. From the start these two have sizzling chemistry, and trade barbs. The hero's competition is his bitchy ex who stole from him and that's why the hero asks the heroine to also act as his lover. Honestly, I loved how Abby could put down the hero with a few words but could also apologize for her snarkiness and her dilemma was so cute, she wanted him to win and was afraid of admitting her deception. The whole end scene was freaking hilarious, her spitting when he asked her are you preggers? The revelation, so classic but damn I missed the presence of an epilogue.
Soo, good, the hero/heroine battle it out, she calls him a chauvinist and he calls her a feminist. She's a reporter who eavesdrops on a conversation about a bet and him needing a driver and volunteers herself, so that she can get a scoop on him. From the start these two have sizzling chemistry, and trade barbs. The hero's competition is his bitchy ex who stole from him and that's why the hero asks the heroine to also act as his lover. Honestly, I loved how Abby could put down the hero with a few words but could also apologize for her snarkiness and her dilemma was so cute, she wanted him to win and was afraid of admitting her deception. The whole end scene was freaking hilarious, her spitting when he asked her are you preggers? The revelation, so classic but damn I missed the presence of an epilogue.
February 25, 2017
This story had a lot of things I liked, not least of which Mal was super-weird for an HP Hero! Come to think of it, the weird beta nerd from Comparative Strangers was named Mal too wasn't he? Maybe Mal is the go-to name for unusual HP Heroes...
Anyway, this Mal was a quirky mad-scientist type, a reclusive engineer with shaggy hair, greasy sweatshirt, and no social graces. The heroine was refreshing as well, an impulsive career woman who just happens to be a superb driver for all things with an engine. Their interactions were funny and cute, his teasing her about her purple eyeshadow and all. I was very pleased in the end with how he was majorly upset, not over anything to do with himself, but over what he perceived as a blow to her career aspirations. Reformed chauvinist indeed! And it said everything, didn't it, how he didn't consider himself at all but his first thoughts were over how she would be disappointed, when all she cared about was his success. It was so sweet!! They deserve to be a very happy couple.
Thanks boogenhagen for the book!!
Anyway, this Mal was a quirky mad-scientist type, a reclusive engineer with shaggy hair, greasy sweatshirt, and no social graces. The heroine was refreshing as well, an impulsive career woman who just happens to be a superb driver for all things with an engine. Their interactions were funny and cute, his teasing her about her purple eyeshadow and all. I was very pleased in the end with how he was majorly upset, not over anything to do with himself, but over what he perceived as a blow to her career aspirations. Reformed chauvinist indeed! And it said everything, didn't it, how he didn't consider himself at all but his first thoughts were over how she would be disappointed, when all she cared about was his success. It was so sweet!! They deserve to be a very happy couple.
Thanks boogenhagen for the book!!
October 24, 2020
The movie trailer: two bantering hotties who are hot for each other are on a road trip in a souped up muscle car, she has a guilty secret, he can't read a map, they have a long way to go and a short time to get there...
This is a funny, low-angst but unusual HP featuring my favorite type of couple; one well matched in confidence, wit and with sexual experience on both sides. It's mainly from the h's POV but it's definitely Malachi's story. Within a few hours of meeting him Abbie is mentally describing him as a paradox which is particularly apt. He's a unique mix of an alpha who admits to ineptitudes and a science nerd with a doctorate from MIT whose vaunted concern for his privacy is tissue thin. His behavior swings from sometimes sexy sometimes offensive male posturing to mumbling revelations about his personal life at the slightest inquiry from Abbie.
On the surface, Abbie the freelance journalist with a happy childhood isn't as distinctive as Mal but I appreciate how rare it is in HPlandia that a heroine owns her feminism. LT complicates the standard battle-of-the-sexes trope, which privileges feistiness over reasoned critique, and doesn't demean Abbie by having her backtrack with an "I believe in equal rights but I'm not a feminist" type statement, not even following Mal's attempt to neutralize criticism of his behavior by preemptively doing all the labeling himself. IRL it would have been annoying as all get out but on the page it's deviously brilliant how Mal, within an hour of their meeting, manages to get Abbie to describe her own mildly taunting remarks as shrewish, accuses her of being a feminist as though it's an objectively bad thing to be, then asserts that the real barrier to a harmonious road trip is that she has already decided he's a male chauvinist pig. Well done! and it's a good thing there won't be any micro-aggressive sexisms from Mal which an over sensitive feminist might be over sensitive about because parameters have been set and any lapses in comity are her fault!
And to clarify, Mal is demonstrably not a chauvinist when it comes to the larger issue of male and female roles. He lives in an all male household and treats cooking and cleaning as no big deal. He claims to be a poor driver and isn't at all threatened that Abbie's driving skills are excellent; neither does he make cheap jokes or barbed references to her gender or about lady drivers when evaluating these skills.
But if Mal is a paradox then the story is too. It's unique for HP precisely because so much of the behavior and action is recognizably commonplace: from the Sara Lee Cheesecake Mal takes from the fridge for dessert, to doing the dishes but leaving the pots to soak, From staying at a mid-priced Holiday Inn, to a driver (Abbie) getting irritated when the passenger/navigator (Mal) messes up the directions and the driver is a big meanie and won't let it go...so so familiar! Or when the smart, funny, sexy guy h really likes, who wouldn't dream of denying women equal rights but who lards his conversation with sexist remarks that he doesn't recognize as such becomes pouty and resentful when the h points this out.
For example, Mal has a bet going with his hideous former lover, so he manipulates Abbie into pretending to be his current lover for no logical reason other than as a sop to his pride. So he amuses himself (and the reader) by making crudely suggestive remarks, fondling her ass and engaging in tacky PDAs in front of his employees and the entire town. All the while she's somewhat aroused but mainly she's embarrassed, but trying to be discreet so she waits until they're alone before she "very clearly and distinctly" objects and wants an apology but he gets petulant and responds with "you're a perfect example of how deceptive appearances can be. You look like a warm-blooded, fun-loving woman." so basically it's jeez lady can't you take a joke? And as it happens she can and so while neither lead ever gets the upper hand, in the end they both get a fun and believable HEA.
This is a funny, low-angst but unusual HP featuring my favorite type of couple; one well matched in confidence, wit and with sexual experience on both sides. It's mainly from the h's POV but it's definitely Malachi's story. Within a few hours of meeting him Abbie is mentally describing him as a paradox which is particularly apt. He's a unique mix of an alpha who admits to ineptitudes and a science nerd with a doctorate from MIT whose vaunted concern for his privacy is tissue thin. His behavior swings from sometimes sexy sometimes offensive male posturing to mumbling revelations about his personal life at the slightest inquiry from Abbie.
On the surface, Abbie the freelance journalist with a happy childhood isn't as distinctive as Mal but I appreciate how rare it is in HPlandia that a heroine owns her feminism. LT complicates the standard battle-of-the-sexes trope, which privileges feistiness over reasoned critique, and doesn't demean Abbie by having her backtrack with an "I believe in equal rights but I'm not a feminist" type statement, not even following Mal's attempt to neutralize criticism of his behavior by preemptively doing all the labeling himself. IRL it would have been annoying as all get out but on the page it's deviously brilliant how Mal, within an hour of their meeting, manages to get Abbie to describe her own mildly taunting remarks as shrewish, accuses her of being a feminist as though it's an objectively bad thing to be, then asserts that the real barrier to a harmonious road trip is that she has already decided he's a male chauvinist pig. Well done! and it's a good thing there won't be any micro-aggressive sexisms from Mal which an over sensitive feminist might be over sensitive about because parameters have been set and any lapses in comity are her fault!
And to clarify, Mal is demonstrably not a chauvinist when it comes to the larger issue of male and female roles. He lives in an all male household and treats cooking and cleaning as no big deal. He claims to be a poor driver and isn't at all threatened that Abbie's driving skills are excellent; neither does he make cheap jokes or barbed references to her gender or about lady drivers when evaluating these skills.
But if Mal is a paradox then the story is too. It's unique for HP precisely because so much of the behavior and action is recognizably commonplace: from the Sara Lee Cheesecake Mal takes from the fridge for dessert, to doing the dishes but leaving the pots to soak, From staying at a mid-priced Holiday Inn, to a driver (Abbie) getting irritated when the passenger/navigator (Mal) messes up the directions and the driver is a big meanie and won't let it go...so so familiar! Or when the smart, funny, sexy guy h really likes, who wouldn't dream of denying women equal rights but who lards his conversation with sexist remarks that he doesn't recognize as such becomes pouty and resentful when the h points this out.
For example, Mal has a bet going with his hideous former lover, so he manipulates Abbie into pretending to be his current lover for no logical reason other than as a sop to his pride. So he amuses himself (and the reader) by making crudely suggestive remarks, fondling her ass and engaging in tacky PDAs in front of his employees and the entire town. All the while she's somewhat aroused but mainly she's embarrassed, but trying to be discreet so she waits until they're alone before she "very clearly and distinctly" objects and wants an apology but he gets petulant and responds with "you're a perfect example of how deceptive appearances can be. You look like a warm-blooded, fun-loving woman." so basically it's jeez lady can't you take a joke? And as it happens she can and so while neither lead ever gets the upper hand, in the end they both get a fun and believable HEA.
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September 1, 2016
3.5 Stars.
"Now the question is, would you rather go to bed with a nice, polite three-piece suit, or with a rude, crude male chauvinist pig who promises to love you like you've never loved before?"
Hee hee, I know my answer to that LOL! I enjoyed reading "Impulsive Gamble". It was chock full of funny banter back and forth between the H/h. I thoroughly enjoyed Lynn Turner's other book "Forever"(which I have to re-read again) these two books have a similar feeling - there's more "adventure" than the romance. I mean there is romance in "Impulsive Gamble". I guess I should say compared to other vintage HPs I read, the angst/drama/inner turmoil isn't necessarily dripping from every page of the book. The h does have turmoil but not all the focus is on that but also on the adventure - in this case the race.
As I was reading the book, I was caught off guard by the somewhat "modern" h. I checked and the book was written in 1989. I'm too lazy to find out/remember if this was the time period in the US where women were becoming more career oriented or the rise of feminists or something. But yes this book has a somewhat modern, assertive h with a career. Now most of the times I like my H/h the usual old HP way, possibly virginal and the H being massively rich, cruel, maybe controlling hahaha, but I still enjoyed the H/h and their chemistry, them slinging barbs at each other. It was kind of funny. Heck even the ending had a little humor. I feel this was a lighthearted, comedic, romance. I believe in their HEA because of the time they spent together and I do believe they got to know each other despite the h's secret. I wanted to start reducing my TO READ shelf and this was the book I chose to read. I'm glad I did. I think this will be another one I plan to re-read in the not so distant future.
What you might like:
1. H/h funny back and forth banter
2. Modern h with a career
3. H is an engineer-inventor
4. H is self sufficient - he can cook, wash dishes and do house work!
5. Their road to love and HEA
What you might not like:
1. h is not a virgin
2. h is career oriented / not a merry little homemaker
3. H is not your usual HP millionaire businessman or titled family 0_0
4. H is somewhat of a chauvinistic pig - sometimes 0_0
5. H says BITCH - don't worry not the h ~_~
"Now the question is, would you rather go to bed with a nice, polite three-piece suit, or with a rude, crude male chauvinist pig who promises to love you like you've never loved before?"
Hee hee, I know my answer to that LOL! I enjoyed reading "Impulsive Gamble". It was chock full of funny banter back and forth between the H/h. I thoroughly enjoyed Lynn Turner's other book "Forever"(which I have to re-read again) these two books have a similar feeling - there's more "adventure" than the romance. I mean there is romance in "Impulsive Gamble". I guess I should say compared to other vintage HPs I read, the angst/drama/inner turmoil isn't necessarily dripping from every page of the book. The h does have turmoil but not all the focus is on that but also on the adventure - in this case the race.
As I was reading the book, I was caught off guard by the somewhat "modern" h. I checked and the book was written in 1989. I'm too lazy to find out/remember if this was the time period in the US where women were becoming more career oriented or the rise of feminists or something. But yes this book has a somewhat modern, assertive h with a career. Now most of the times I like my H/h the usual old HP way, possibly virginal and the H being massively rich, cruel, maybe controlling hahaha, but I still enjoyed the H/h and their chemistry, them slinging barbs at each other. It was kind of funny. Heck even the ending had a little humor. I feel this was a lighthearted, comedic, romance. I believe in their HEA because of the time they spent together and I do believe they got to know each other despite the h's secret. I wanted to start reducing my TO READ shelf and this was the book I chose to read. I'm glad I did. I think this will be another one I plan to re-read in the not so distant future.
What you might like:
1. H/h funny back and forth banter
2. Modern h with a career
3. H is an engineer-inventor
4. H is self sufficient - he can cook, wash dishes and do house work!
5. Their road to love and HEA
What you might not like:
1. h is not a virgin
2. h is career oriented / not a merry little homemaker
3. H is not your usual HP millionaire businessman or titled family 0_0
4. H is somewhat of a chauvinistic pig - sometimes 0_0
5. H says BITCH - don't worry not the h ~_~
February 1, 2016
Definitely a winner!
Funny and witty read with cute characters.
I was wondering, what with Abby's lies and Malachi's attitude, could this book end well? But don't worry, the author managed to end this book splendidly. My heart warmed by Malachi's love for Abby.
Funny and witty read with cute characters.
I was wondering, what with Abby's lies and Malachi's attitude, could this book end well? But don't worry, the author managed to end this book splendidly. My heart warmed by Malachi's love for Abby.
May 13, 2012
I know that this is another romance but I am trying to read the ones I have until I get the books from the library. So here is my take on this one....
It was good but there could be more on the romance then the two of the characters arguing all the time until they figure out they are in love with each other at the end of the book. If I were to write this book I would give hints and help them figure it out long before the end of the book that way the romance lasts longer in the story and it reads like a romance not a story about two people arguing all the time and only doing one thing. It has to have more for it to be really good for me to rate it at a high level. I know that some of you that reads romance like less romance then I do and if you do then this is the book for you.
It was good but there could be more on the romance then the two of the characters arguing all the time until they figure out they are in love with each other at the end of the book. If I were to write this book I would give hints and help them figure it out long before the end of the book that way the romance lasts longer in the story and it reads like a romance not a story about two people arguing all the time and only doing one thing. It has to have more for it to be really good for me to rate it at a high level. I know that some of you that reads romance like less romance then I do and if you do then this is the book for you.
April 7, 2024
I first read this book when I was in my teens, many years ago. I loved this story and thought the hero was so sexy! My teenage heart loved the way the author described his fingers making mathematical calculations on fuel efficiency while the heroine drove his Shelby Cobra to Washington.
I have reread this story today and this time I was struck with the strength of the heroine. She was a career woman. She knows who she is and does not apologise. I also really appreciated that the hero had a brilliant mind, could cook and clean. I do not think I appreciated this facet of his character enough when I read this as a teenager. I have no doubt that Mal and Abby are still helping each other reach their dreams. Love this story still!!
I have reread this story today and this time I was struck with the strength of the heroine. She was a career woman. She knows who she is and does not apologise. I also really appreciated that the hero had a brilliant mind, could cook and clean. I do not think I appreciated this facet of his character enough when I read this as a teenager. I have no doubt that Mal and Abby are still helping each other reach their dreams. Love this story still!!
June 30, 2025
Definitely a winner!
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