Review: Package Deal

Package Deal by Charissa Stastny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two and a half stars.

Where to start this review?

Spring Flowers (yep, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit writing that name) and her two year old daughter Emma are attending the wedding of her best friend Brandee to her fiancee Nick. At the wedding Brandee warns Spring away from the best man, Nick's brother as he is a terrible person, a womaniser yadda, yadda.

Hudson Sandel is the aforementioned best man. He is instantly attracted to Spring, who he constantly refers to as an Angel, but is immediately put off when he finds out she has a child. Hudson's internal monologue at the wedding is really odd, he veered between speaking like a teenage boy, an Edwardian gentleman, the American idea of how the British speak, and a sleazeball. With the benefit of having read the entire book I think that Charissa Stastny was trying to portray Hudson as a shallow, workaholic, womaniser, only interested in the shiny outside. The only trouble is, I don't think she really committed to the portrayal as even at the opening wedding Hudson is kind enough to carry Emma around on his shoulders, while she yanks on his ears and calls him horsey, during dinner and the speeches. In my experience, a man who dislikes children would never do that. In fact even men who like children and have children of their own wouldn't do that.

And maybe I've just explained to myself what was wrong with this book. It's full of stock characters and unrealistic behaviour, from the chirpy, opinionated receptionist at Hudson's law firm, his sleazy colleague, his vampish client, Spring herself, Hudson's money-grubbing boss, Hudson's Gram, Spring's ex-husband, the list just goes on and on.

Early on Spring decides that Hudson has a Knight in Shining Armour complex and just has to help those in need, even when he categorically tells her he doesn't she just keeps trotting out the same ridiculous platitude, "Hudson doesn't love me, he has a saviour complex", or words to that effect.

Spring keeps telling Hudson she doesn't need saving, she can stand up for herself and frankly, she's delusional. She can't tell when the office sleazeball starts hitting on her and she does something VERY stupid. (view spoiler)[To make Hudson jealous, she gets into a car with his sleazy colleague, even though she has started to finally see him for who he is, after he has had too much to drink. Instead of taking her to the office as she asked, he drives her to a deserted strip mall miles away and tries to force himself on her in his car, when she accidentally elbows him in the face he pushes her out of the car and drives off. First, why let him give you a lift when you can see he's not a nice man? Second, why get into a car, sober, with a drunk driver? Three, how can you be so unaware that you don't realise the driver isn't going back to the office? Four, why didn't she threaten to call the police? And then she didn't want to even confront him about his behaviour! (hide spoiler)]Overall, I thought Spring was one of life's natural victims, she can't tell the good guys from the bad guys, she won't take help and still thinks she doesn't need saving.

This is a clean romance (no warning on the cover) where the first kiss doesn't occur until 71% into my Kindle and veers a little into god bothering towards the end when Spring and Hudson start pontificating about God's will and his love which I could have done without.

Overall, I was hoping for a light, bubbly Lauren Layne-type romance or Sustained by Emma Chase, instead what I got was an unrealistic fantasy with a victim for a heroine and a nice guy pretending to be a shallow womaniser. Disappointing.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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