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Goode Girl #4
Goode Deal
When all’s fair in love and real estate, an experienced agent stands to lose more than just a deal. . .
Real Estate Agent Carmela Bravo’s life revolves around her career, focusing single-mindedly on pushing into the ultra rich island of Palm Beach as the ultimate challenge. When she crosses paths with brand-new Agent Rhiannon Rodriguez and losses a sale to her dirty tricks, Carmela would be happy never to see the girl again.
Unfortunately for Carmela, Rhiannon has wormed her way into her agency despite her objections. From the moment Rhiannon arrives, Carmela is proven right that the novice agent has no idea what she’s doing.
Tensions between the two reach a breaking point when Rhiannon weasels herself into the deal of Carmela’s lifetime. Forced to work together or give up her dream, Carmela agrees to list a Palm Beach estate with her.
As they work together, Rhiannon starts to see Carmela in a new light and her crush on the closed-off ice queen snowballs quickly. Can she make up for having gotten off on the wrong foot? With six months to sell the house, Rhiannon has work to do.
Rivals turn to lovers as a battered heart emerges from its frozen prison in this touching, and steamy, lesbian romance.
Goode Deal is an entry in the Goode Girl lesbian romance series; telling stories of women loving women after attending an all-women’s college in Northern Florida. Books can be read in any order.
Real Estate Agent Carmela Bravo’s life revolves around her career, focusing single-mindedly on pushing into the ultra rich island of Palm Beach as the ultimate challenge. When she crosses paths with brand-new Agent Rhiannon Rodriguez and losses a sale to her dirty tricks, Carmela would be happy never to see the girl again.
Unfortunately for Carmela, Rhiannon has wormed her way into her agency despite her objections. From the moment Rhiannon arrives, Carmela is proven right that the novice agent has no idea what she’s doing.
Tensions between the two reach a breaking point when Rhiannon weasels herself into the deal of Carmela’s lifetime. Forced to work together or give up her dream, Carmela agrees to list a Palm Beach estate with her.
As they work together, Rhiannon starts to see Carmela in a new light and her crush on the closed-off ice queen snowballs quickly. Can she make up for having gotten off on the wrong foot? With six months to sell the house, Rhiannon has work to do.
Rivals turn to lovers as a battered heart emerges from its frozen prison in this touching, and steamy, lesbian romance.
Goode Deal is an entry in the Goode Girl lesbian romance series; telling stories of women loving women after attending an all-women’s college in Northern Florida. Books can be read in any order.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2021
83 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Arias
36 books1,269 followersHello! And thank you for finding me!
I am an independent author writing about fictional lesbians of all varieties.
My writing journey began with fan faction, and as much as I LOVED being part of a community of super fans, I got tired of working with other people’s characters to tell my stories. I started asking myself: Why should we string together pieces of subtext when our community deserves well-developed main-text about LBGT people and those who love them! So, that is what I aim to deliver.
If you want to know a little more about me personally, J.J. Arias is my pen name. I do have a day job, and due to the industry I’m in, I can’t write under my given name. Although who knows, maybe one day I can write full-time and come out of the … office? I am a Scorpio woman (I know, I know, but I’m a nice one I PROMISE) happily married to a uniquely wonderful Cancer lady. Together we have several fur babies of the feline and canine varieties.
So, here I am, and I hope you enjoy my writing! I’m very open to thoughts, comments, critiques, and knock-knock jokes, so please feel free to message me with any of the above – or anything else you would like to say!
I am an independent author writing about fictional lesbians of all varieties.
My writing journey began with fan faction, and as much as I LOVED being part of a community of super fans, I got tired of working with other people’s characters to tell my stories. I started asking myself: Why should we string together pieces of subtext when our community deserves well-developed main-text about LBGT people and those who love them! So, that is what I aim to deliver.
If you want to know a little more about me personally, J.J. Arias is my pen name. I do have a day job, and due to the industry I’m in, I can’t write under my given name. Although who knows, maybe one day I can write full-time and come out of the … office? I am a Scorpio woman (I know, I know, but I’m a nice one I PROMISE) happily married to a uniquely wonderful Cancer lady. Together we have several fur babies of the feline and canine varieties.
So, here I am, and I hope you enjoy my writing! I’m very open to thoughts, comments, critiques, and knock-knock jokes, so please feel free to message me with any of the above – or anything else you would like to say!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 24, 2022
Selling homes.
This is the fourth book of the Goode Girl series and it can be read as a standalone.
I must say that I like the second half better because whenever J.J. Arias' characters finally get together, it's a whole new level of sweetness that I find very endearing. But I struggled at the start. This story is about two realtors and I really disliked one of them at first. Rhi had no work ethics and lacked integrity so I just couldn't get myself interested in her. But her character somehow did a 180 degree turn and got better and better so it kinda evened out my feelings about her. On the other hand, Camela was much easier to like and had a more consistent personality than Rhi and she's the reason I kept reading on.
I may not have liked this entirely but I did enjoy most of it though there is a minor storyline about Rhi's sister that feels incomplete.
This is the fourth book of the Goode Girl series and it can be read as a standalone.
I must say that I like the second half better because whenever J.J. Arias' characters finally get together, it's a whole new level of sweetness that I find very endearing. But I struggled at the start. This story is about two realtors and I really disliked one of them at first. Rhi had no work ethics and lacked integrity so I just couldn't get myself interested in her. But her character somehow did a 180 degree turn and got better and better so it kinda evened out my feelings about her. On the other hand, Camela was much easier to like and had a more consistent personality than Rhi and she's the reason I kept reading on.
I may not have liked this entirely but I did enjoy most of it though there is a minor storyline about Rhi's sister that feels incomplete.
April 11, 2021
This one in the Goode series was very enjoyable, and took me in directions I didn't expect. While the main story is about two realtors that really got off on the wrong foot (feet?), the author didn't solely focus on this as the main storyline. We are also gifted with the two turning a corner into attending an ex's wedding as pretend girlfriends, and an impromptu vacation. The two MCs has massive heat, and even though I was leery of Rhiannon to begin with, because some shady things definitely happened, it was enough to keep me hooked and I ended up really enjoying both characters. Some slight points deducted for the U-hauling, grrr.
February 13, 2021
This was great. I adored Rhi and Carmela, the enemies to lovers scenario between them was believable to me. The age gap was meh...
I only wished there was more regarding Terry for being such a horrible human. I wish the epilogue was longer too... just 'cause I enjoyed both mains.
I only wished there was more regarding Terry for being such a horrible human. I wish the epilogue was longer too... just 'cause I enjoyed both mains.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2023
Oh how i love binge reading a series’!
November 4, 2021
I love reading J.J. Arias' books as they typically feature strong females who have off the charts chemistry. This book is no exception.
I will admit that I hated Rhiannon when she was initially introduced to the story, and I was a little worried I'd end up disliking the book because of it. Thankfully, she manages to win over Carmela and myself after her terrible behaviour. Rhiannon is quite young at 23, so in parts I understood her brash, ambitious behaviour but when paired with Carmela's sophisticated and successful 39, Arias had to work hard to make the connection feel real and not contrived. I think she did this well.
One of my main gripes was Terry. She was so, so awful and I would've liked a little more of an insight into what the repercussions were for her terrible behaviour.
All in all, a great read.
I will admit that I hated Rhiannon when she was initially introduced to the story, and I was a little worried I'd end up disliking the book because of it. Thankfully, she manages to win over Carmela and myself after her terrible behaviour. Rhiannon is quite young at 23, so in parts I understood her brash, ambitious behaviour but when paired with Carmela's sophisticated and successful 39, Arias had to work hard to make the connection feel real and not contrived. I think she did this well.
One of my main gripes was Terry. She was so, so awful and I would've liked a little more of an insight into what the repercussions were for her terrible behaviour.
All in all, a great read.
October 30, 2022
I think this might be my favourite of the series.
I like the dialogue
I like the dialogue
December 7, 2024
Wish we could see more of what the sister’s problem was.
January 2, 2021
Fantastic!
This was a very well written book about an age gap relationship between Carmela and Rhiannon, who started off as opposing forces with the same goal. I enjoyed their verbal sparring immensely. If you love lesfic with rich character development, put this book on your list read list.
This was a very well written book about an age gap relationship between Carmela and Rhiannon, who started off as opposing forces with the same goal. I enjoyed their verbal sparring immensely. If you love lesfic with rich character development, put this book on your list read list.
November 19, 2020
3.75 Stars. JJ Arias has done a good job with the Goode series. All books can be read separately and there was only one that I didn't care for (Goode Vet). You really can't go wrong with reading any of these romances.
December 19, 2020
My Favorite of the Goode Series
I love the romance between the main characters, especially at the wedding of her ex. The reference to 80’s songs was a fun bonus! A very enjoyable read!
I love the romance between the main characters, especially at the wedding of her ex. The reference to 80’s songs was a fun bonus! A very enjoyable read!
April 5, 2021
This is my favourite Goode book.... So far! I still need to read 3&4.
I loved the characterisation of both Rhiannon and Carmela! Rhi grew on me around the same time Carmela took a genuine liking to her, one of those characters that's hard to like until you understood where she's coming from. Carmela was tough as heck but also secretly a softie and adorable!
Their journey from enemies to lovers took a lot of work, and therefore well earned and most importantly, fun to read! It got to the point I was dreading them fighting over arbitrary reasons when they finally became friends, but thankfully at no point I felt any drama was forced on them.
I also liked the support characters, and how the story depicted Rhi's relationship with her sister.
I've read it all in one go. 5*
I loved the characterisation of both Rhiannon and Carmela! Rhi grew on me around the same time Carmela took a genuine liking to her, one of those characters that's hard to like until you understood where she's coming from. Carmela was tough as heck but also secretly a softie and adorable!
Their journey from enemies to lovers took a lot of work, and therefore well earned and most importantly, fun to read! It got to the point I was dreading them fighting over arbitrary reasons when they finally became friends, but thankfully at no point I felt any drama was forced on them.
I also liked the support characters, and how the story depicted Rhi's relationship with her sister.
I've read it all in one go. 5*
September 23, 2020
This is a relatively low key age-gap, office romance between two high-strung main characters. Both are hard driven realtors and they turn out to be quite compatible. Of course it takes the older Carmela awhile to realize what everyone else has already noticed.
Attending the wedding of Carmela's ex-wife serves as a nice catalyst to move the relationship along. That said, it is never really clear why her ex-wife would invite Carmela and a date to a very small, and extremely expensive event.
There is a small subplot involving Rhiannon's very angry sister. Within the context of the story arc this is a problematic relationship. The reader does not have enough information to determine whether there is a legitimate issue, mental health problems or something else. Ideally this should be explored further within the story or simply dropped altogether.
Overall a good read ending with the expected HEA, a major construction project and soon children.
Attending the wedding of Carmela's ex-wife serves as a nice catalyst to move the relationship along. That said, it is never really clear why her ex-wife would invite Carmela and a date to a very small, and extremely expensive event.
There is a small subplot involving Rhiannon's very angry sister. Within the context of the story arc this is a problematic relationship. The reader does not have enough information to determine whether there is a legitimate issue, mental health problems or something else. Ideally this should be explored further within the story or simply dropped altogether.
Overall a good read ending with the expected HEA, a major construction project and soon children.
October 24, 2020
I’ve always love the Goode Girls Series and every time there’s a new one I become excited that I will finish it immediately. Goode News was like my most favorite out of all the books in the series and now Goode Deal is my second best fave. Rivals to enemies? I’m a sucker for that. Playing pretends? *chefs kiss*. This is really a good one ugh I love it. I was reading some novels with real estate agent characters but yup, this one sealed the deal for me and after graduation, I’m surely going to take some seminars and courses and take the exam to be a licensed real estate agent. One of the best wlw novels out there. Strongly recommended!
November 9, 2020
Broken lives.
Because I like how Carmela and Rhi did not get along first because she bulldoze her where on the house that Carmela was showing saying they have a mold situation on the had making hard for her too sell the house.than they meet again at a next open house that Carmela and her boss Liz was looking at and Liz offer Rhi a job too help her become a real estate agent just like how she did for Carmela she want her too mentor Rhi so she can be good at it and everything work out together in the end for both off them they realize they like each other and they fall in love got married.
Because I like how Carmela and Rhi did not get along first because she bulldoze her where on the house that Carmela was showing saying they have a mold situation on the had making hard for her too sell the house.than they meet again at a next open house that Carmela and her boss Liz was looking at and Liz offer Rhi a job too help her become a real estate agent just like how she did for Carmela she want her too mentor Rhi so she can be good at it and everything work out together in the end for both off them they realize they like each other and they fall in love got married.
October 16, 2020
Really great. I liked the characters. Another beautifully written book in the Goode series. The characters feel real, the tension is just right, the humor is quick and well paced; all together it creates a romance balanced with a good amount of heat and plenty of style. Who's story will be told next?
November 30, 2022
The ending of this book was great. The beginning and middle were a little tough for me to get through. It is the trope of the older lady with the younger lady. And the older lady has lots of reservations. Frankly, i don't know how this would really work IRL. Does someone that young and confident really stay around after getting pushed away so many freakin times? I really like this author's work but she did the same thing in Crossing Lines. And in both cases i started speed reading or even jumping ahead instead of savoring. In this book, even at the halfway mark, I was actually expecting it to end with Carmela still conflicted and pushing away. I really liked Rhiannon, she had an arc, she grew in many ways, and i was wondering why she didn't just change jobs to try to get over her crush. I guess we needed someone to drive the plot and not move on to someone who actually can return her feelings.
Since these get such great reviews i guess people must really like the long push away. I'll probably stay away from this trope for awhile. As much as i liked when they finally got together (no spoiler, right, we know it's going to happen), for me it was too long to get there. Also, i wish the epilogue would have had something about the sister.
Since these get such great reviews i guess people must really like the long push away. I'll probably stay away from this trope for awhile. As much as i liked when they finally got together (no spoiler, right, we know it's going to happen), for me it was too long to get there. Also, i wish the epilogue would have had something about the sister.
October 22, 2022
I absolutely loved this book. I laughed so much, and just smiled at most of the rest of it. While Rhi had a rocky start in some ways, she was so different by the end. Carmela had to figure out herself in some ways and learn to trust. They both grew up with such different stories, but I think in many ways that’s what brought them together. I loved how they had to work together on the one house listing that forced them to actually get to know each other and taught both of them new things. I love how they went to the wedding of the ex-wife, and joked about different things there, but also truly came together. Then it was great that Carmela got to have a fantastic 40th birthday with all the planning Rhi did. Rhi’s parents make me laugh a lot, and her sister has issues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2022
I admit I thought this started off slow but it picked up the tension and the characters became more developed until I was completely engrossed. It turned out to be lovely story of an insecure older woman and a confident, almost brash younger woman. The women got off to a rocky start when Rhiannon did something unscrupulous, tanking Carmela’s sale. They butted heads almost every time until they had to work together and even then, there was tension.
I liked the way the romance built slowly to a peak as Carmela let down her guard and Rhiannon squeezed through with humor, honesty and love. Arias knows how to close the deal, making reads care about her characters.
I liked the way the romance built slowly to a peak as Carmela let down her guard and Rhiannon squeezed through with humor, honesty and love. Arias knows how to close the deal, making reads care about her characters.
September 21, 2024
Like all JJ Arias books the writing is good, but in this case the plotting went weird.
In any real world business, Rhiannon going into Carmela's work files, then trying to force herself into the real estate deal Carm was working on would get her fired. Period. Also Liz' backing Rhi over her longtime friend and coworker Carm is never explained and makes no sense.
I sort of feel the author was too focused on getting Rhi and Carm together without really thinking if the story made internal sense.
In any real world business, Rhiannon going into Carmela's work files, then trying to force herself into the real estate deal Carm was working on would get her fired. Period. Also Liz' backing Rhi over her longtime friend and coworker Carm is never explained and makes no sense.
I sort of feel the author was too focused on getting Rhi and Carm together without really thinking if the story made internal sense.
February 27, 2021
Of the five books in the boxed set this one is my favorite because of the ending. I won’t say how it ended, because why spoil it, but I will say that it ended the way that I wish the other four had ended. Each book can be read as a stand alone, but I chose to read them in order. I was not at all disappointed with series and highly recommend it if you like good, steamy, lesbian romance novels.
October 6, 2021
Great read!
I never would have thought by the way the book began that it would end the way it did. Total opposites getting together. I guess it is correct. Opposite attract. Great read!!
I never would have thought by the way the book began that it would end the way it did. Total opposites getting together. I guess it is correct. Opposite attract. Great read!!
December 1, 2025
I can't get enough of JJ Arias. She always has the most creative ideas for stories that mix and match tropes. This story is no different where we fall in love with our enemies to lovers couple with an age gap, oh, and did I mention there is an ex's wedding involved? Loved the spice!
September 23, 2020
This series is great
I have enjoyed every book in this series. All of the books can be read as stand alone books which is nice.
I have enjoyed every book in this series. All of the books can be read as stand alone books which is nice.
September 24, 2020
Terrific Book!
This world and characters you have populated is incredible. Thank you for your hard work on the book and the series.
This world and characters you have populated is incredible. Thank you for your hard work on the book and the series.
September 26, 2020
Not the best book on the “Goode Series” but still a good one. Easy and fun HEA to read.
September 28, 2020
Wow what another fantastic storyline
Wow what another fantastic storyline loved it the main characters were so captivating I couldn't put it down can't wait to read more
Wow what another fantastic storyline loved it the main characters were so captivating I couldn't put it down can't wait to read more
January 11, 2021
This was my first book by Arias and I liked it. I would read more. I thought both mains were well developed and the story progressed naturally. Femme/femme
April 23, 2021
Loved it!
May 26, 2021
Wonderful story
I have enjoyed this wonderful heartfelt story of two real estate agents that meet at an open house and act like oil and water till the end.
I have enjoyed this wonderful heartfelt story of two real estate agents that meet at an open house and act like oil and water till the end.
September 19, 2021
A new favourite writer
Came upon the author by Kindle recommendation and am quite rapidly getting through this series and have enjoyed all books. The free downloaded short also.
Came upon the author by Kindle recommendation and am quite rapidly getting through this series and have enjoyed all books. The free downloaded short also.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews