All Jacked Up

One of the best in the series

What did you like best about this story?

Keely called Jack on his bullshit. It was fantastic timing and caught me completely off-guard because I had wanted Jack to succeed at his plan. Turns out, Keely is right, he doesn't deserve to get what he wants and doesn't deserve her. Loved the twists in this book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Least favorite of series so far

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There was a part of the story where Jack was trying to win a contract to restore an historical building in Utah. He lost the bid over "moral issues". Ultimately this ends up causing a huge fight between Keely and Jack. This seemed like a real ploy in the storyline and just didn't work for me. Also the scene towards the end when Keely's 5 brothers bring Jack to her at a campsite and then her father shows up.........I don't know. I wish LJ would have written some better material in these scenes (and a few others as well).

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

This just felt like a rough draft to me. I would give it a very thorough edit and rewrite in some crucial areas. Keely's character was fairly well developed, but Jack's character still needed some fleshing out.

Would you be willing to try another one of Rebecca Estrella’s performances?

Rebecca Estrella is one of the WORST narrators in the audiobook market. The only reason why I am hanging in there with the Rough Riders series is because I love the characters. Otherwise, she is pure torture.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

I'm not a big fan of romances that have a lot of conflict in them to the point where the couple is constantly fighting and making up (or having "angry sex", etc.). While some conflict is necessary to put some tension and reality into a romance novel, a story like All Jacked Up had a little too much conflict in it for my taste.

Any additional comments?

The McKay family is getting so big. It would be nice if one of the future books would have a prologue or something that named all the couples and their kids (or maybe LJ could put a McKay/West family tree on her website). It's very frustrating not remembering all the kids' names. I'd have to go back and start over with book #1 and read them all again in order to make my own family tree. Not sure I'd be able to stand listening to Rebecca Estrella all over again for that project.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Keeley and Jack

Keeley and Jack hated each other because of past problems. Jack needs to be married to get a rebuilding job he really wants. After bumping into Keely he talks her into posing as his fiancee so he can get the job. They move in together and everything heats up. They both suffer doubts and have trust issues. The end of the story is funny and heart achingly sweet.

Returning it

I listen to a lot of audio books. I love the premise but I'm not feeling the chemistry between the 2 main characters. For a story like this to work I need the characters to have lots of sexual tension. I'm about halfway through and I don't care one way or another what happens to the characters or the plot. This rarely happens.

I also prefer explicit sex scenes but the dialog seems very coarse like 2 fairly young uneducated people trying to talk dirty. It makes me cringe.

All Jacked Up

I cannot stand listening to the narrator. I could not finish the story because of her voice. I read all The Black Top series and loved them.

Good

This was good but it took too long for Jack and/or Keely to say "I love you". And I really wanted that bitchy ex-girlfriend to get some come-upins for her evil ways.

FINALLY, THE LONE GIRL MCKAY HAS HER DAY!

Sweet, hot and sassy is Keely McKay in a nutshell! She was a real spitfire! Jack and Keely together seemed combustible, which made some aspects of the story less appealing in terms of keeping me engrossed. Overall, the story was good, with the absolute best part being toward the end with her brothers and father--hilarious!

Keely Could Do Better

I was expected Keely, the only girl child in the McKay clan for 100+ years, to fall for a more interesting man than Jack Donohoe. Keely is an engaging character, mature, loving, smart and full of life.

Jack wants Keely to pretend to be his fiance, in exchange for help in getting the building for her medical center renovated. Very tired plot and boring male love interest.

It was amusing & extremely ironic when Keely's brothers and cousins all threatened Jack if he wasn't good to Keely; this from men who routinely beat & abuse the women they profess to love.

I normally enjoy stories about cowboys, small towns and large families, however the McKays are a strange clan. The men are basically bullies. The women are likable, interesting and very fertile who accept domestic violence as normal. So not romantic to me...

0 of 3 people found this review helpful