This was such an entertaining book. It isn't a romance in the true sense of a romance novel as romance plays only a small part in the story dynamic. The story is very well written with good flow and some very good comedic timing. There is a mystery element to it as well. It all meshes so well together. The humor mixed with the mystery, to me, is reminiscent of Lisa Lutz's Spellmans series. The main characters, Claire Delaney and Rake Tarbell are complete opposites. He's an entitled rich playboy without a care in the world and she's a self-employed private investigator of sorts. She has learned to mainly rely on herself and not trust others; to a certain extent. Then throw into the mix a precocious child, that might be his, and things get even more interesting. This was such a good book, I would definitely recommend it.

I enjoyed Davidson's lovingly satirical take on romance novels. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I find myself criticizing these same ridiculous moments in Hallmark movies, and yet, I also find myself watching every single film they put out, so I understand how you can love something while recognizing its shortcomings. The characters were entertaining, although I found some of the motivations a bit far fetched, even for a satire.

Mixed feelings about the story.

Although I loved the setting of Venice, Italy, the characters were very iffy.

The little girl was the only character that I liked. I did not really like Claire nor Rake nor Blake.

This novel is not my cup of tea. IMHO, It is NOT romantic to tell someone you love "Shut Up, Darling". And there were too many "f" bombs in the dialogue.

Someone else would love this novel, though I did not love the novel.

one of my favourite romances this year! The only suggestion is that the editing really needs to be fixed up or i hope it will be by the time it goes into print because the sentence structures were really weird and took me out of the reading experience. Other than that, if anyone is looking forward to a summer read with a mystery plot element to it than you will love this!! watch my review here: https://youtu.be/cFYROqhsWyY

This book is exhausting.
The storytelling is frenetic and scattered.
I just can't with the parentheses. (so many parentheses per page)
The stream of consciousness is unrelenting and I don't enjoy it.*"

It just feels like it is trying too hard to be flip and irreverant. It reminded me of The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz and that Fox and Hare Janet Evanovich series. Definitely suspend your logic when trying to read this book. Things won't make sense and that's the point.

I would like to see the author's notes at the END of the book. Reading them first was part of the reason I was disappointed in this book. The details the author chooses explains are barely part of the plot - the park, the church turned charity, the charity scammer guy.

*also please just give us a recap of what went on in your first book instead of just referring to the title in footnotes.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

Wow! Just Wow! This is the first MaryJanice Davidson book I’ve read and now I have to read more just to see if they’re all this wacky! It was beyond confusing at the beginning but stick with it-it’s worth it. The characters are a trip and the plot all over the place but I loved it!

Love and scams and Venice...this all sounded like the making of a great book, but unfortunately the writing style deferred me from really being able to absorb the story. It just felt disconnected and all over the place. I am really saddened by this because I was really excited about this one. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The Love Scam is a fun summer read. It's my first book by MaryJanice Davidson, but it won't be my last. What's fun about this book is that it starts with a scam, but seeing how the characters get to the end is the best part.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

I'll admit I wasn't sure what to expect with the Love Scam. I have long been a fan of MJD and always been proud of her being from my local area. While the love scam wasn't the paranormal fun I have come to except of MJD I fell in love with this book. A super funny and cute romantic read.

I wanted to enjoy this story, but it did not live up to my expectations. Though I think I would still be open to trying some of Davidson's other books, I found this story to be confusing and really hard to follow.
Although the characters caught my interest, the plot was just too tangled for me to enjoy their personalities. This story felt like a crazy mix of action, con-artist/spy?, and romance. Although I was intrigued by the idea of this story and did somehow get through it, the plot just didn't work and I was left confused for the majority of the story.

The Love Scam is a contemporary romance about a playboy waking up in Venice not knowing how or why he is there. He also meets a woman and a young girl who claims to be his daughter. The premise sounded like it was going to be a great read, but it was hard to follow along. I really wanted to like this one more.

Rake is a wealthy bachelor who is used to getting anything he wants. When he wakes up in Venice, he is confused and thrown for a loop when he meets Lillith and Claire. Claire is the woman who tells him that Lillith is his possible daughter.

After the shock wears off a little, they all start to spend more time together and working to figure out the truth. I admit it was hard to keep up with all the backstories and interactions. There was a time where I thought I couldn't finish it, but I continued to read on. I hoped it would get better, but it just fell flat for me.

I give The Love Scam 3 stars. The plot had the potential to be great but again it fell flat. I didn't really feel a connection between the characters Rake and Claire until the very end. I liked Lillith and felt like she brought the innocence and cuteness factor. I was really excited to read it, but I wished I could have enjoyed it more.

The Love Scam by MaryJanice Davidson is an attempt at romantic comedy. It reads mostly like a contemporary romance. The characters’ story sounds like a romance gone wrong. This drunken male protagonist finds himself in Venice with no collection how he got there. His stuff was stolen. He then goes on to meet his daughter and this woman with her. The daughter seems like a good character. The other two have a lot of issues.

Rake is like the worst scoundrel one could meet in a historical romance. He basically has no control or decides not to take control over his new found situation. That itself sat oddly with me. What man wouldn’t take over control and immediately leave despite not having all the answers. Instead, he waits on this daughter of his and on Claire.

Claire instantly dislikes the man. Why, I can’t tell. But knowing what the write gave me on him, I wouldn’t like him much either.

However, MaryJanice Davidson wants readers to see that he has this other side to him that isn’t the dominant side we, readers, have been seeing from him. Then, his relationship with his brother is not that great either. This guys needs a sounding board and it’s apparent he has none in this book.

Claire still isn’t one of my favorite female characters. She’s dragging this man around for laughs. Basically, that’s her high point. Then, bam, she’s in love with the guy she has really despised and wanted to see suffer miserably…

"The Love Scam" by Mary Janice Davidson
I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley. Otherwise, I might not have finished this story and that would have been a shame. You see it took me several chapters to finally get hooked on the characters and their unraveling story. If I had not persevered, I would have missed a fun read. The 4-star rating is for my late connection to the story which may very well just have been myself and not the story. Happy Reading ! !

This 2nd in a duology of books regarding twin brothers is just as funny as the first. I don't want to write a spoilerific review so be aware that if you have read the first book in this duology, you may recognize some scenes and for sure some happenings.

When we first meet the Tarbell brothers, Rake is only a peripheral figure in the first book but he still makes an impact as a foil for his brother in the first novel. In this novel, that impact is doubled and he is actually so well fleshed out, so well written that the reader may feel genuine annoyance and exasperation at some of his actions.

At her core, MaryJanice Davidson has a fantastic snark to her writing that fits the scene and makes books humorous and that doesn't fail here. The first scene with the Venice canal had me howling with laughter at the ridiculousness of it even while I was completely exasperated with Rake.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as the first one - Danger, Sweetheart, especially because there is a child involved but surprisingly, the child added a nice flavour to the mix instead of making it yet another story about a parent, their kid and some kind of matchmaking. It was a relief to see.

These books are fun beachy reads (or our backyards and decks in the time of Covid). I highly recommend this book but hope you will read both in the Duology because they really do compliment each other.

The Love Scam fell flat for me. When I'm reading a light romance, I don't want to have to reread passages to determine who is speaking. The transition from character to character is often unclear, and the self-talk is distracting. The idea of the story is good, but the writing style was off-putting.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

While I appreciated that the author was trying to do something totally different from standard romance novels, it just didn’t work for me. The male protagonist, Rake, is a whiney guy who isn’t doing anything much with his life. We first meet him when he’s whining to his twin brother. Then he wakes up in Venice with a severe hangover and no money. He proceeds to vomit his way through the next few scenes as he meets up with Claire Delaney who tells him that he may or may not be the father of the preternaturally wise and funny Lillith.

We follow them through some mystifying activities that I couldn’t really figure out. Claire asks him to help put together lots of Easter baskets with Peeps and then bake some Italian fruit bread. He whines all through doing this. He’s supposed to be so very charming, but Claire is clearly the alpha in their relationship. She’s even, apparently, stronger than he is. And she has the money because he lost all his.

I just couldn’t care too much about him or their supposed growing relationship or the mystery surrounding everything. I don’t mind a different sort of hero and heroine, but I would like the guy to be somewhat appealing and not just complaining all the time.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Rake wakes up in a hotel in Italy not knowing how he got there, with the worst hangover and no money. He walks out of the hotel and falls into the river ruining his cell phone. A beautiful women starts talking to him and tells him that he is a father to the cute little girl with her. He is wondering what in the world is going on. Claire Delaney has been hired to tell Rake that he has a seven year old daughter that he doesn't know he had. As Rake and Claire try to sort out the details, sparks begin to fly between the two of them. A fun, easy read with a great plot line.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy.

I had high hopes for this one but the story felt very clunky and confusing to me. There were several times I had to re-read paragraphs or even full pages because there weren't enough context clues as to who exactly was speaking. And I just wasn't at all interested in the romance as a result.

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. I used to only read romance novels but I have recenlty steered away from them. This book however has made me fall in love with the genre all over again. I think this is a pretty solid read with a great plot. I enjoyed the characters and I think this was a whole lot of fun. I also enjoyed the humor that was a great addition to the story. All in all this is a fun, light read that is perfect for this time of year. I am new to this author, but I will checking out more of her work.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the review copy. This was a very fun book to read that I felt totally immersed in.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!