Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Spotlight and Review: Love, Exes, and Ohs by Violet Duke




Blurb:
He may very well be the perfect ex...
Isaac McKnight has had enough loss in his life to know never to take anything for granted. So when the perfectly-imperfect-woman-for-him puts an end to their relationship out of the blue, it's Isaac that makes sure they remain friends. Now a year later, whether it's at his gym or her brewpub, or the dog park they visit every weekend--though neither of them own a dog--he and Xoey are steadily getting sucked deeper into buddy-zone galaxy, with its dangerous proximity to watch-me-settle-down-with-someone-else abyss. It's a reality he's resigned himself to. That is...until one drunken confession changes everything.
But she's looking for the perfect oh...
For Xoey Montenegro, history has taught her that sometimes, it's Prince Charming who vanishes without a trace. And fairytale love? Highly overrated. Heck, give her a real and perfect 'oh' over that fantasy any day. So as far as rock-solid tequila-fueled plans for her love life go, coming up with a match-finding formula based on the qualities of the men responsible for her three most epic ohs seems brilliant. Except for the fact that one-third of her genius little man-quation is all about her friend Isaac. Actually, more than a third if Xoey were being honest with herself--which she's not. Because full honesty would require thinking not just about how perfect Isaac really is, but also about how perfect the fourth epic oh she's kept buried deep in her past once was.
An easy enough thing to keep ignoring...until her past isn't past tense anymore.

EXCERPT
XOEY WAVED HAPPILY when she saw Sienna and Lia return to the table around the same time. They were looking at her strangely, but that wasn’t anything new.
What was new was the fact that she was sitting in Jackson’s lap.
At her double take, he chuckled softly. “Hello again, sweets. I’d shake your hand for the third time but I’m afraid you’ll slide back onto the ground again if I do.”
She shrugged with a smile, and whispered loudly by way of logical answer, “Hey…where’re my shoes?”
The guys smiled at her dotingly.
She nodded back her thanks. Yes, that was a good answer.
“Xoey’s completely sloshed,” informed Bennett with an adoring headshake. “Cutest little drunk ever.”
She turned around to see who they were talking about.
Donovan grinned.
Xoey’s eyes widened at the effect.
Suddenly, a stupendous discovery hit her. She turned to study each of the three guys at the table then more carefully, and then murmured incredulously, “Holy crap.”
“Figured out another of life’s mysteries, beautiful?” asked Jackson.
Yes. Yes, she had. “Doc, Bashful, and Dommy are my three exes!” she exclaimed, swinging her gaze over to Sienna and Lia, expecting to hear applause over her tremendous discovery.
Weirdly, they weren’t clapping.
Lia was, however, smiling. “Let me guess. She gave you three dwarf names?”
“Yep,” replied the guys in unison.
“I’m Doc, apparently.” Jackson gave her a wink behind those sexy wire-rimmed glasses.
“McSizzling,” she added, remembering how the pharmacist she’d dated for the past few weeks had liked folks to use his full name. “Doc McSizzling.”
“And apparently, I’m Bashful,” supplied Bennett, who was simultaneously flirting with a gorgeous redhead the next table over.
“Because he and his pocket buddy aren’t bashful at all,” explained Xoey in complete drunken clarity.
Lia and Sienna turned their amused eyes over to Donovan.
“Making you Dommy dwarf,” laughed Sienna. “I can see that.”
Jackson smirked over Donovan’s annoyed look, but remained silent.
Bennett had no similar sense of male decorum. “Can you just imagine a little stuffed Disney dwarf wearing the same expression as Donovan, with tiny handcuffs and a blindfold in the pocket of his Italian suit?”
Donovan ignored their resulting laughter and gazed at Xoey. “Sweetheart, what were you saying earlier about the three of us being your exes?”
Dommy dwarf was her new favorite, most attentive dwarf. “Each of you are almost exactly like my three exes.”
Sienna frowned.
And Xoey proceeded to dub thee Grumpy dwarf.
“Xo, you’ve had way more than three exes.”
Ah, so she was another wise doctor like Jackson. Duly noted. “I have. But I’ve only had three exes and ohs.”

My Review
This was such a quick and cute read. I am glad that this series can be read as a standalone, because that is exactly what I accidentally did with this book. 

I really liked Xoey. At first she seemed a little jumbled but I'll blame that on the booze. Xoey has been dating nothing but Mr. Wrongs. She is looking for that fairy tale type of love. The one that knocks her off her feet and gives her that perfect oh.  So in her drunken state she comes up with a list of the men that have given her that  oh  feeling, among other things in order to find her perfect match. Only there are two problems... One she is still hung up and her first and can't seem to let him go even though she can't remember much about him. Two her best friend and ex, Issac. Isaac is of course on the list, but the problem is he takes up most of it. 

I really liked Isaac. he was literally the perfect best friend and ex to Xoey. He can't figure out why Xoey dumped him but he still wants to be part of her life and that is where their friendship comes into play. For the past year they have remained friends, best friends. I really loved reading about their friendship. It was clear to see that these two balanced each other out. 

Surprisingly, there were a few surprises in this book that I did not see coming. I love the way it was all executed though. There were moments in this book that had me smiling and moments that had me tearing up. This was such a good read.

4 stars!!!!




About the Author: 
NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her NYT and USA Today bestselling books have been Top 10 bestsellers across the major eretailers both in the US and internationally. When she's not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling reno projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking 'special edition' dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. A born and raised island girl, she spends her days getting into creatively fun trouble in Hawai'i alongside her two cute kids (daughter Violet & son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.

Find the latest on her books and fan giveaways at www.facebook.com/VioletDukeBooks
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