I really enjoyed reading this book! I loved watching Vanessa rebuild herself after her divorce to her emotionally abusive and cheating ex-husband of 20 years. She is healing and setting her boundaries, which is so refreshing to read. I also really loved the Savvy, Sexy, and Single club friendship of grown women who are embarking on their next chapters of their lives. And, my god, Michael was such a dreamy hero who was committed to the people who mattered most to him.
For me - what kept it from being a 5 star read was that the third-act breakup was very frustrating to read and then it wrapped up so quickly at the end, I didn’t feel like there was much resolve. However, this was a very fun, sexy book and I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man follows the title character, Vanessa, a few years after her divorce, when she finally is free in her 40s to live her life away from her cheating and abusive ex-husband, Karl. The two of them were together for over twenty years, so Vanessa is trying to move on, which involves joining a support group for divorced individuals called Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club. A more mature MC plus the enticing cover made me want to read about Vanessa’s journey.

Vanessa’s world becomes more complicated when sheriff, Michael Park appears before her to ask a favor. Cindy, Michael’s younger sister, and her guardian is now engaged to Karl, and Michael wants Vanessa to talk to Cindy. As it turns out Karl stole Vanessa’s grandmother’s ring and has given it to Cindy and Vanessa is determined to get it back. This was an interesting concept to bring them all together. Once Vanessa and Michael begin interacting, their chemistry was apparent. The small town setting was a great atmosphere was a great backdrop as their story unfolded.

I loved the relationship Vanessa had with her friends and hope there will potentially be more novels added to make this a series where each can be explored. I love that she had a great support group around her. As for Michael, he was a great big brother trying to do the right thing for Cindy. After the tragic death of their parents, it was nice to see the relationship between Cindy and Michael. I enjoyed that both Vanessa and Michael had their own journeys along with the two of them trying to make a relationship work between them. Their story was sweet with a mix of romance and deeper topics and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Let's hear it for romance in your 40s!! Vanessa is in her 40s and recently divorced. Through a support group, she meets new friends and they form the Savvy, Sexy and Singles Club. I loved the friendship they formed. These were grown, strong women supporting one another. When Michael shows up on Vanessa's door looking for help with his sister and her fiancé, Vanessa is wary. When she learns that the fiancé is Vanessa's abusive ex-husband, she can't resist Michael's request for help.

This is definitely a classic tropey romance. There is insta-love, a bachelor auction, a small town where the hero is the sheriff and the heroine is stranded for the week in said small town with no room in the hotels so of course she has to stay with the hero. All of this leads to a fun, enjoyable read. While I'm admittedly not a massive fan of insta-love, this one is so well written it was tough not to like. I really liked Vanessa and Michael and thought that the author handled their journeys well. While the confrontation with Michael's sister and Vanessa's ex-husband was definitely part of the story, it played such a small role that the romance really was at the forefront the whole time. These two had major chemistry and scenes that could make you blush.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a steamy banter-filled romance with a small town feel. I had not read anything by LaQuette before but hope to read more in the future.

I loved the diversity of the characters. However, something in the story missed the mark for me. It felt disjointed; something about it didn’t quite get its claws fully in me. Maybe it’s that most of the characters seemed one-dimensional (despite the attempt to give them depth) or that the pacing of the story felt off to me. Overall, an enjoyable story.

3 stars

The author has potential but I didn’t connect with this book. I thought the characters were under developed and I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two main characters and the shipping of the other two friends was way too obvious and neat. But, I also have to recognize that this isn’t my normal read and part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it is because it was about a 40 something divorcee who I had absolutely nothing in common with. I would still give her other books a try.

Vanessa Jared has been put through the ringer! After divorcing her abusive husband of 25 years Vanessa goes to a divorce support group and meet Janae and Cree and they form a friendship over their past. They vow to come back better than ever and help each other in the process. Two years later, a sheriff pulls into town asking for Vanessa's help. Her ex has his claw's in his sister and wants help getting her out. She is reluctant to help, but when she realizes her ex proposed to Michael's sister with her stolen grandmother's wedding ring, she decides to help in order to get it back. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with Michael the small town sherif and have her life flipped upside down again.

This was cute, fun and an easy read, but I don't think I was the target demographic for this book. I found myself more excited about the situation between Michael's sister and Vanessa's ex than the romantic connection between Michael and Vanessa. It was suspenseful and a ticking time bomb. I also found myself skimming a lot. It did do a great job of showing life after divorce and how to open up after heartbreak in a beautiful way.

Overall, I'd rate this a 3.5 but rounded up. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 9/20

Thrilling read! I was able to connect with all of the characters and throughly enjoyed the story the author painted.

A rom com! Vanessa has rebuilt her life after her divorce from Karl. She's happily 40 something and single. with good friends and fun. Then Sheriff Michael Parks shows up and asks her to stop his sister from marrying Karl. That's the hook to start the romance between Michael and Vanessa. It's a bit trope-y but it's also fun. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A light read.

Loved This fabulous story of learning to love again. The slow burn romance pulled me in quickly. I enjoyed the level of spice and that there was good representation. Can’t wait for the Author’s next book

This is a really easy, fun, steamy read with a healthy dose of depth. The conflict and stakes were well-developed and resolved and I adored the friendship aspect of the Savvy, Sexy, and Single club! Vanessa and Michael are a great couple, and I was excited to see what looked like a hint of another book with Adam and Janae at the helm.

CW: emotional abuse by a spouse (off the page)

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me to give my honest thought on Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man!

Vanessa Jared is a newly single woman who just divorced her manipulative husband. She also took him for everything he had. While working on herself she goes to a divorce class where she meet two ladies Cree and Jane and they decide to ditch the class and head to a bar. The form a bond and a club.

Every year on the anniversary they met the ladies have a nice outing. On the day of their two year anniversary Michael Park the sheriff from a near by town that Cree and Janae live in stops by and ask that she help him stop his sister from marrying her ex husband.

I loved the story and I loved how it taught Vanessa that there was life after her divorce and to stop and look around especially in a small town.

Great Debut novel from the author!

Vanessa Jared, a woman in her 40s who has been divorced from an abusive husband for two years, is trying to get her life back on track. When small-town sheriff Michael Park asks for Vanessa’s help by talking to his sister, who is engaged to Vanessa’s ex-husband, Vanessa wants nothing to do with the situation. But Vanessa knows helping Michael is the right thing to do, and when she hears that her ex proposed with her grandmother’s ring, Vanessa makes a deal with Michael. She will go with him and talk to his sister, and he will get her grandmother’s ring back.

After 20 years of marriage to an emotionally and verbally abusive man, she doesn’t have much confidence and is struggling to find herself. She’s trying to find her purpose, and she learns so much about herself and what she wants over the course of the story. I love that the story realistically portrays her journey in healing from the abuse in her past while highlighting her strength, determination, and perseverance. I also love that the protagonist is a woman in her 40s. In many of the romance novels I read, the female protagonist is younger, and it’s great to see a more mature woman in the lead role.

The romance between Vanessa and Mike is also great, and I love how hard Mike falls for Vanessa. They have amazing chemistry and banter, and their spicy scenes are hot! Like, get a fan because the sex scenes fogged up my kindle! It was wonderful to see Vanessa and Mike find such passion and love and connection with each other.

I enjoyed the story. It’s fun and funny, sexy and sweet, and it has a great romance. The story also touches upon many relatable themes, including healing after divorce, the long-term affects of abuse, taking a second chance on love, body positivity, consent, embracing friendships (I’m talking to you Savvy, Sexy Singles Club!), and more. I would recommend it to readers who like contemporary romances with small-town charm, some touching and poignant scenes, awesome friendships, and a steamy love story.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I loved this book. It was a gem. I loved how the book is about people in their 30’s and love how the relationship between Vanessa and Michael unfolded. I love how she handled her past and not let it ruined her future. It was great to be about real struggles and how everything wasn’t just perfect.

I really really wanted to love this book but it ended up just being average for me. I felt like the relationship was more lust than actual chemestry between the characters. Vanessa had a good amount of depth to her character but Michael felt really flat. Honestly, I was more entertained by Vanessa's two best friends than anything else in the story. It does deal with some more serious topics like emotional abuse, trauma, and toxic relationships so check TW before reading. I think the romance was just rushed so I never had a chance to actually feel like I was reading a romance it felt more like a contemporary fiction/womens fiction with a side plot of romance.

This book is everything I love about romance novels, even though Vanessa’s circumstances were horrible, I loved the built up to the love they have for each other. These characters knew what they wanted, they were very transparent and direct in every way. I knew once they got together it will be explosive and it was.

Vanessa is recently divorced, to a very manipulative man, and in a divorcee meeting she meets 2 other women and together they created their own little crew., and the rest is history. While she’s healing from her past Michael comes knowing on her door, wanted her help, her ex is marrying his sister and he knows he’s not a good guy and he needs her help to convince her not to marry the man. This turns her whole life around.
But I love hoe everything worked out in this book, the secrets being revealed, her friends are awesome, Michael is just DREAMY, everything was awesome, I wont call this an Enemies to lovers type pf trope, since they were not enemies, but this romance was such an easy and just STEAMY romance, I couldn’t get enough.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I love about romance novels

This was a fairly quick and fun book to read. Vanessa is a woman in her 40s who is divorced from her emotionally abusive and manipulative ex-husband. I liked her character and Michael, the brother of her ex-husbands new fiancé. I wish this book took place over more time than the week she was in his small town, and I wish it was dual first person POV. I would have preferred to read their thoughts about the situations they were in so the third person where it seemed to focus more on one character than the other in certain parts just didn’t work for me.

I am really hoping Janae and Adam get their own book (the epilogue seemed to hint towards some chemistry between them)!

Overall, would recommend.

Book received for free through NetGalley

Read 9% of the way into this book but kept starting and stopping and ultimately forgot about it. Figured it was better to review as is. It was written well just not my cup of tea.

I really vibed with this story. The characters (esp. MC) were so fun to read. I had a few LOL moments and ended up rooting so hard for the MC. On Vanessa's road to finding herself, we are dealing with the backlash of her abusive relationship. This book is perfect for book clubs!

A story with diversity, good friends, romance and comedy. A plus with an older couple.
Vanessa Jared a beautiful black womand and a recent divorcee and is barely holding it together. Her divorce and treatment of by her husband left her a bit insecure. During a meeting with a support group, she meets two women who end up being her lifeline. They become the best girl squad. The friendship and support of each other are large part of the story. These ladies have each other’s back and will not hesitate to give each other the hard truths.

Michael is Korean American and sheriff of a small town. He is a great person, hard working and caring. There a things in his past that make him cause him to be a bit of a control freak,
When Michael’s sister gets engaged to Vanessa’s ex, he needs her help to convince his sister that he is not the one for her.
The attraction is instant. When Vanessa gets stuck in his small town. It becomes difficult to stay away from each other. As they get closer, they both have to deal with their pasts and insecurities to get their HEA.
Good story, great epilogue. Hopefully more to come with other characters.

This is an exciting an absolutely wonderful story. Vanessa and her two girlfriends are delightful and fun. The three are divorced and looking to live their best lives. Michael is the Sheriff in a small town and takes his job of taking care of people seriously. This is a cross racial relationship as Vanessa is black and Michael is Korean. The author makes really interesting with the vivid way she brings the characters to life. The friendships and community relationships are great and magnifies the love that grows between Vanessa and Michael.