Good Girls Don't (The Donovan Family, #1)

by Victoria Dahl

Too much of a good thing...

With her long ponytail and sparkling green eyes, Tessa Donovan looks more like the girl next door than a businesswoman--or a heartbreaker. Which may explain why Detective Luke Asher barely notices her when he arrives to investigate a break-in at her family's brewery. He's got his own problems--starting with the fact that his partner, Simone, is pregnant and everyone thinks he's the father.

Tessa has her hands full, too. Her brother's playboy ways may be threatening the business, and the tension could tear her tight-knit family apart. In fact, the only thing that could unite the Donovan boys is seeing a man come after their "baby" sister. Especially a man like Luke Asher. But Tessa sees past the rumors to the man beneath. He's not who people think he is--and neither is she.

• ISBN10: 0373775954
• ISBN13: 9780373775958
• Publish Date: 30 August 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Mills & Boon
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

Actual rating: 3.5

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/11/28/review-good-girls-dont-by-victoria-dahl/

As long as romances are well-written, I tend to get swept up in them. Good Girls Don’t did not fail me in that regard, especially with the emotional tension and issues between Luke and Tessa. But I did not like Tessa as much as I probably could have. Logically I can understand that her desire to keep her family together drove her to do what she did, but it felt wrong, like there was a lot of misunderstandings that could have been easily avoided if the truth had come out right away. I was a much bigger fan of Luke, who was one of those tortured and slightly damaged souls but who are really sweet and caring underneath it all.

Being the Good Girls Don’t is the first in a trilogy about the Donovan siblings, Victoria Dahl did a fabulous job of introducing us to Tessa’s brothers. I am definitely curious enough to continue with the series. Although Luke is a police detective and there was a break in at the brewery, that aspect of the plot took a back seat to the Donovan sibling drama, which was highly entertaining. Having a brother myself (younger though, not older) gave me something to relate to (I don’t think brother is as bad as Jamie, but that is definitely who I would compare him to).

Overall, Good Girls Don’t is a good solid romance with a few minor flaws.

[Cocktails and Books]

Tessa Donovan's stress level hit a new high when she receives a call from her brother telling her their brewery has been broken into. She doesn't realize things are going to soar to new heights until she finds out her brother had a one night stand with the one person their older brother told him to stay away from. As Tessa's always done, she puts herself smack dab in the middle of the issue trying to diffuse it and make everyone happy. This also happens to be the night that she meets drop dead gorgeous police detective (and college buddy of her brother's) Luke Asher.

Luke see's Tessa, thinks she's cute in a girl next door kind of way, but knows she's not his type. After his disastrous marriage he wasn't looking for the type of relationship he knew a woman like Tessa would want. Instead, he was going to delve into this case and find the person or persons responsible, since this break-in matched a few others they'd had around time. He would focus on work and what was going on with his partner, who despite the rumors, was his best friend. Not the sexy as hell little sister of his college buddy and current case victim.

I enjoyed this book and the cast of characters.

Tessa had learned to hide bits and pieces of herself for the sake of her older brothers. Feeling it would be better to shield them from who she really was than to cause them any worry or upset. She always walked this delicate tightrope hoping to ensure that her family stayed as it was after the death of their parents.

Luke had to learn that in order to truly be happy, he needed to deal with things that happened in his past and why they happened. He'd avoided dealing with those issues for so long, they made him shut himself off to the possibility of ever having a decent relationship.

Tessa and Luke fought real hard to hold on to their beliefs that they were right, but it took walking away from each other to finally get it right.

Great first installment. Can't wait for Jaime's story, in Bad Boys Do.

4 Cocktails