While there were definitely witty parts to this novel, I was a little underwhelmed with the execution of things. I couldn't get past the dialect of the characters--it was distracting--and there were times when I found myself wandering off in the reading rather than focused on the goings on. I know that this writer has a loyal following who rave about her novels so I'll definitely be on the lookout for a novel that better suits my reading interests.

Thank you for the opportunity to read.

The premise of this book sounds really good and got me intrigued. So when I got approved for it, I was looking forward to read it. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I was frustrated that I couldn't get into it - I had to DNF it after the first chapter. The writing is so frustrating and I really did not like it. It felt fragmented and I really don't know what was going on in the story. I felt that the way it was written was like trying to be hip and trendy which was a turn off for me. I'd rather it to be clear so it will hold my interest. So, in the end, I just was not able to read on. It did not work for me.

***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from St.Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***

This book starts out rough and is hard to stick with. Although It does get better as you go. A grandmother wants her grandson to straighten up and live life better. So she hires someone to change his circumstances. Rake has to go through a lot of stuff to get his happy ever after.

Rake Tarbell hasn't had to grow up. He went from poverty to riches in his teens and still acts like a teenager. His twin brother is also immature, but not as blatant about it.
Enter Claire Delaney, whose childhood was a living hell in foster care and she has made it her mission to save others from the same fate, as many as possible. She also accompanies a precocious girl who may or may not be his.
Stuck in Venice due to a series of stupid actions on his part, Rake is saved by Claire, meets her 'family' of strays and ultimately joins the pack.
Secrets abound and someone is pulling strings.
There are mysterious characters and much to address, including the strong pull between Claire and Rake, and the feelings the young Lilith evokes in Rake.
This combo of romance, mystery and humor is interesting and fun. I didn't get into it right off the bat, but it did grab me and I needed to see where it led.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and offer my opinion gratis.

I love this author and have read her books for years. That tells me that this problems with this book must fall on the editor. I don’t know how to find out if this is a new editor for Ms Davidson though.

I was confused in the book. Now, I don’t necessarily deep read the section when an author works in a section that tells what happened in a previous book if I’ve already read that book, but that was needed in a big way in this book 2. That would have helped with this problem.

The next problem is the awkwardness. I would read and then stop to reread because of some tangent that the story had taken.

The last problem is I just didn’t buy into it. I didn’t really like the characters and even though I thought the plot was going to be either fun or maybe a little suspenseful, it was neither.

So, I’m sad. Like I wrote, I love this author. As Scully (X-Files) once said, “There are hits and there are misses. And then there are MISSES.” And this is a miss. I’ll let the reader decide which kind.

I received The Love Scan by MaryJanice Davidson from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It is different than her other books, so don't go into it expecting vampires. :) I will definitely keep watching this author to read more by her!

The author in a form that I know in love!
It was nice reading it ,but I found myself wanting a little more if that makes sense. I always love to hear when she comes out of the new book and I reach out and grab it. This didn't move me like others in the past and but I will continue to look forward to new books in the future.

I would gladly read an instruction manual if it was written by this author, thankfully that wasn't the case and I was lucky enough to enjoy this book! The story is all about chance, love and luck, which sure it has been done before, but the author writes in such a way it feels fresh and new. I fell in love with these characters and the story. If you are looking for something that will have you laughing one minute and all in your feels the next, look no further.

DNF @37%. I need to end it there. This read is coming across as a little far-fetched. There were moments when I wanted to continue to solve the caper of sorts. Unfortunately the writing style was a little self indulgent with many side bars and seemingly unconnected tangents. It was like having a conversation with someone with a very short attention span or a bad memory... "Look a squirrel!"
The main character Rake was rich, drunk, tropey (by design I think) not too smart and pretty forgettable. It actually makes me cringe at how oblivious and helpless he appears. Upon further research I have discovered that there is a book one which follows Rake's brother Blake's story published before this.
Perhaps this is why I felt so disjointed throughout the entire read.
The pros so far at 37% are the subtle building of suspense and curiosity as to what really is going on and why. The cons: I don't like Rake, the main character very much or enough to continue with this any further.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for allowing review this ARC.

Storyline was enticing, but characters and writing couldn’t hold my attention..Better character development could have saved this story and drawn readers in.

This second installment in Mary Janice's Davidson's Danger series follows Rake Tarbell's adventures in Italy.

He finds himself stranded in Italy, with no access to his money, phone, and a hazy recollection of how he got there, when he is approached by a woman and young girl. Surprisingly, this woman, Claire Delaney leaves the girl, Lillith, with him and informs him that the girl is potentially his daughter. To find out more about this little girl, her mother and Delaney's charitable activities, while earning money for a cell phone, lodging, and food, he must work for Delaney stuffing Easter baskets.</p>

As the story unfolds, the reader is invested in the mystery and discovering where Rake's money went, if Lillith is really his daughter, the magnetism, and attraction, and dynamic banter between Rake and Delaney, and who are the men chasing them; all with tropes interwoven throughout. Is it coincidence that Blake, his older twin brother doesn't have access to his money at the same time (revealed in "Danger, Sweetheart")? Although, it is not necessary to read "Danger, Sweetheart" to understand "The Love Scam" but, we get a better understanding of everything.

I enjoyed that the female characters can hold their own when it comes to business or protecting themselves. Which is not to say that they will deny help when offered, but that they don't "need" to be saved by a man, (the usual "damsel in distress") trope.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. This book is scheduled to be available on August 4, 2020.

I REALLY wanted to love this, but it just fell flat for me. Certain action was hard to follow, but with all transparency I didn’t realize there was a book one until I finished this. I imagine my review would be very different had I read the first book.

I'm torn between giving this 2 or 3 stars.. This book was pretty much just ok. It was something to kill time really.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book, it sounded great from the description but I just couldn't get into it. The writing was sloppy, I was confused from the beginning and it wasn't capturing my interest to want to continue reading.so I DNFd at about 25%,

A big no from me, this just wasnt one I could get into or even like - and I read alot and many genres too. This book had ALOT of dialogue, at times very hard to follow. Short chapters which means alot of jumping back and forth. I also received an advanced copy that had yet to be proofed or edited and it needed it - lots of it.
I dont want to say the entire book was negative, it wasnt, the lines are actually some pretty funny dialogue, the premise of the storyline is good and the characters are good. Perhaps if this was laid out in a different way with some editing it would be much better than it is currently.

I so wanted to love this but ended up only liking. Both the premise of the story and the on-going plot were unique and totally engrossing. The Love Scam is an entertaining, caper-esque story full of wit, self realization, a zany plot, and hilarious events that effect all the motley characters. It was a fun book to read and I enjoyed the characters greatly, I just wasn't totally invested because of the style of story telling.

The execution of the plot was a little off for me and it took me longer to get through this one - certain action was hard to follow and it felt like there were things missing that I didn't get because I didn't read book one. However, I didn't realize there was a book one until partially into this book and by then I didn't want to stop. Things happen sort of willy-nilly for the main characters. It's full of hilarious twists and sometimes you don't fully get how they even arrived at that place.

The romance was very light but an underlying tension from the two main characters keep you tethered to it. The charm of the male protagonist equals the wit of the female protagonist and makes for certain chemistry. The highlight was the clever child character and her part in the entire plot.

Fans of light and funny, low angst women's fiction I think will really enjoy this story. It's definitely entertaining and a lot of parts are laugh out loud funny.

The premise of this story had great potential. A hot billionaire waking up in Venice to a whole mess of problems with no memory of how he got there, sounds like a blast. Unfortunately for The Love Scam the story is a mess. It's very hard to follow, the formatting was a nightmare to read. Now this might be different with a paperback book but the copy I received was VERY confusing. Beyond formatting, it's just a mess. There's too much happening and it's hard to connect with the characters. I really struggled to finish this one.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The cover looks pretty, the synopsis looks very interesting and funny. However, it turns out that this book wasn't what I expected.

The digital copy that was given to me was an uncorrected copy, and it needs a lot of copyediting and proofreading. Nevertheless, the plot is a roller coaster of who's who, where and what. This book had a promising comedy, mystery, and possibility of a romance. So in conclusion, this book was very hard to read that I had to just give up. However, if everything is corrected and edited before the publishing then it could be something remarkable.

3.5 stars = I liked. I thought this was cute and kooky romp of story. Normally, this author writes wacky heroines, but this time the zany one is the hero Rake - who starts out as a less then heroic hungover mess. I didn't guess correctly where this story was going, probably since the title was sort of a red herring, but I liked the way that the truth came to light at the end. I liked the kid and the fact that Rake was more than the wastrel that he seems at the start.

This is an unpaid review, ARC via NetGalley

I have received an ARC version of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

In this novel we follow the story of Rake and Claire as they navigate a confusing part of Rake's life in Venice. Throughout the book we learn about their history, their opinions, their thinking and reacting and their small secrets.

This book had some great premises of becoming the laugh out loud book that can make your weekend wonderful and easy. That wasn't the case in my humblest opinion.

The idea of a witty banter between two main characters was fun from time to time but then there was just a lot of it at one moment. I got confused for all the wrong reasons - I couldn't follow their talking overlapping, I wasn't sure if the dialogue is in present or past ; or the happenings mentioned in the book to what time period they belong. ( maybe this is because I have read an ARC copy and editor hadn't finalized the work. )

At one moment I caught myself thinking - is it possible to have more dialogue than you want in a book? When all I usually want is some dialogue and connection of characters?

Another thing that really bugged me - to many references to the other book that obviously follows the story of Rake's identical twin brother Blake. Even though you don't necessarily need to read the other book you get a feeling that you indeed do because the interaction between brothers seem as a quite important aspect of any book.

And overall -the whole setting of the narrative is confusing even though you know you are reading 'a fun book'. A confirmed bachelor wakes up in a middle of Venice and then gets saved by a beautiful woman and a child. :/

I am all in for romance and unbelievable plot-lines but this seemed too much in one instant.

As far as the characters go - I really liked them. I liked Rake and his approach to life, I liked Claire and her sassy and Wonder Woman approach to everything and I even liked the child.

But I didn't see any coherent connection of those characters that would make their story, their love and their actions believable.