Odd Man Out

The Lambert Sisters #5

by Lass Small

MR. JULY

Name: Graham Rawlins
Question: What did a man have to do to catch a woman's eye?
Answer: Whatever it took.
Reliable Cohort: Gus

Graham Rawlins had finally found the perfect apartment--and the most fascinating apartmentmate, Roberta Lambert. Caring, brainy and beautiful, she made Graham's blood sizzle... until he yearned to share more than just living quarters.

But Roberta's twenty-four-hour-a-day job left no time for distractions--or Graham. Still, he was determined not to be the odd man out, and he had a foolproof plan in mind ....

187 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1989

About the author

Lass Small (September 15, 1923-January 26, 2011) was an American writer of over 60 romance novels from 1983 to 2000. She also signed her novelas as Cally Hughes and Callie Hugher.

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are beta heroes, the nice guys who usually finish last in most stories but are sometimes given the opportunity to win the girl by authors who are tired of writing brutish alphas. Then there are pathetic, needy protagonists who make one cringe in second-hand embarrassment. The romantic lead of Lass Small's Odd Man Out is one of the latter. Because she wrote the whole story from his point of view, it became really tedious to read about his 24/7 obsession with the heroine. If he wasn't her roommate already, he would have ended up being her stalker. He pretty much stalked her through their small two bedroom shared apartment! The heroine wasn't that likable either. Sure, she was an environmental lobbyist bent on saving the world but she came off as preachy and boring rather than admirable. You won't believe this but what saved this story for me was, of all things, a singing mouse named Gus! Yup, like the one in the old, animated version of Disney's Cinderella lol. And yes, singing mice are an actual thing, I looked it up. Some of them can carry a hundred notes!

The hero catches little Gus in order to use it as a scare technique so that the heroine will fall screaming into his arms. He ends up befriending the little mouse, spending a ton of money on his upkeep, including veterinarian care, a cozy cage, and food galore. He also learns to whistle to drown out his little musical squeaks so that heroine doesn't discover his existence. When he does unleash him into the kitchen, the heroine, instead of acting like the damsel in distress, smashes him with her broom! Hero is actually heartbroken. Fortunately, Gus was only concussed and did survive hero's rather dubious courting strategy, which is what saved the book from getting a big fat zero rating from me :)))