I really enjoyed the first three quarters of Demanding Ransom. The characters had great personalities, and I really felt like we were starting off in a great place! Maggie was fun and a bit of a tom boy, Maggie's brother was a typical jock guy but clearly super nice, and Ran was witty, flirty, and pretty darn hot!
"Did you not get the memo that you're supposed to be a girl?"
I roll my eyes at him, deliberately slow so he can get the full effect of my annoyance. "I got the memo. There were just too many instructions so I decided not to follow too closely."
Up until this point, the one problem I had with the story was how Ran was so obsessed with 'healing' Maggie. Ran was really into Maggie and kept trying to get to know her, but Maggie was constantly pushing him away. Part of me wasn't quite sure what Ran saw in Maggie and why he was so insistent on getting to know her, when she clearly wanted no part in it. I think I just felt like he was awfully dedicated for someone who didn't even know her!
But despite that, I still enjoyed the book! Ran was a fabulous guy and I adored his personality! I like how Ran really challenged Maggie. He didn't make things easy for her, but in a good way. He really forced her to look at her life and stop feeling sorry for herself. I did feel like the author was taunting me a bit because whenever things got heated between Maggie and Ran I got so excited and wanted MORE MORE MORE but they kept pulling back! It was like I was an addict being cut off. I wanted my dose of hotness! LOL! But Ran and Maggie had awesome chemistry when they were together. The hot tub scene? OH. MY. GOD!!!
He traces the chapstick over his own lips and I've never felt jealous of an inanimate object in my life up to this point, but the envy I have over that stupid chapstick is unreal.
For me, the book did kind of fizzle out at the end though. It took a really unexpected turn that I didn't really like. There's a difference between something being an unexpected twist that's kind of exciting, and something being so unexpected that it just came out of left field and jolted the story a little. For me, it was the latter. I just felt like the book suddenly had a completely different side to it, and it didn't sync well. The whole amnesia thing just felt so... odd. And then I was also annoyed with Maggie for pretending that she and Ran were never together. Finally, I wanted to know more about what happened with Maggie's brother. I felt like he dropped out of the story a little, which was a bummer because I really loved his character!
Even though I wasn't totally sold on the ending, I still enjoyed Demanding Ransom overall. I think the best thing it had going for it was the fun, fresh, and light dialogue. There were so many random passages that had me giggling, and that's really what made the book a fun experience!