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Look the Part Jewel E Ann 9780999048283 Books

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Look the Part Jewel E Ann 9780999048283 Books

(Maybe 4.5 stars) This contemporary romance has just about everything, and I don't mean that in the critical "but the kitchen sink" way. No, I mean it's very complete, well thought out, with well-drawn characters, smart, intelligent dialogue, many types of relationships, familial as well as romantic, has angst and humor in equal parts, and a writing style that is polished. It's as close to a 5-star CR as I've read in a while.

Hero Flint Hopkins is a 35-year-old man with a troubled past. 10 years before, he was an ex-football player who, although happily married with a toddler son, drank too much. One night after celebrating his birthday, again with too many drinks, as he drives his wife and son home they are involved in an accident that kills his wife. Since then he's only half living. Although he has stopped drinking and has become a very successful lawyer, he cannot forgive himself for killing his wife. He's the one who should have died. She's the one who should be raising their son. So he lives his life only for work and for his mildly autistic son Harrison. He doesn't deserve happiness. He doesn't deserve love.

Well, that sounds like a downer of a plot but let's get the heroine Ellen Rodgers into the picture. She's an upbeat music therapist, recently moved to the area and needing an office for her private practice. Flint owns the building holding his practice on the first floor and rents out the office spaces above him. So Ellen becomes his new tenant.

Ellen is bubbly and feisty and relentlessly happy and touchy-feely. Flint is a closed-up grump who keeps himself to himself. Oil and water, right? There is, of course, much more to this story than a silly instant dislike and lust and antagonism turning into true love by the end of the book. These are well-rounded characters written with more depth than you'll find in rom-com romances and there's more to the story than just the lust to love element.

There's Harrison, to begin with. He's Flint's adolescent son, with high-functioning Asperger's. That's a love story in itself. Flint and Harrison's love. But then Harrison meets Elle. She turns him on to music and guitar and now we have another love story: Elle and Harrison's. And there's Elle's dad living by himself in Cape Cod. He'll be a major figure in the book. And Flint's parents and in-laws add more relationships to the story. And I mustn't forget the boss-employee relationship Flint has with Amanda. That's a real charmer.

Now, there's more to Elle than that relentlessly happy, bubbly woman she presents to the world. She has a tragedy in her past. One that we all learn about little by little as the story progresses. One that explains her endless need to touch and be touched.

So I liked this. It was a pleasant surprise. Almost a 5-star story for me, except for a few flaws. (1) Elle's backstory felt a little bit contrived, although it was interesting and unexpected, and (2) Elle's humming. She has this tendency to hum. A lot. Like almost all the time. If she had been a real person around me while doing all that humming, it would have annoyed the heck out of me.


Tags : Look the Part [Jewel E Ann] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Flint Hopkins finds the perfect tenant to rent the space above his Minneapolis-based law office. All the t’s are crossed and i’s dotted on Ellen’s application. Her references are good. And she’s easy on the eyes. Until … Flint discovers Ellen Rodgers,Jewel E Ann,Look the Part,Jewel E. Ann,0999048287,FICTION Romance Contemporary

Look the Part Jewel E Ann 9780999048283 Books Reviews

Look the Part is perfection. The way Jewel E. Ann manages to consistently keep my heart and soul humming while reading her words is beyond magical. Her ability to take devastated spirits and lure them out of the ashes time and again has me in eternal wonder. The journey both Flint and Ellen have to endure is one filled with regret and fear and shame. And with her talented fingers at the keyboard, the author makes their painful story one of redemption and of hope and the most precious of second chances.

The lawyer and the music therapist. From day one, these two were knocking heads as Flint becomes Ellen's landlord. Both very no nonsense kind of people, watching these two battle to get the last word in was great fun. Clearly not a love at first sight kind of pairing since both knew how to get under the other's skin. But amidst the battle over the noise she created with her clients directly over his quiet office, a fire is slowly burning. Both are so desperate to feel, it became pure joy watching as their fire get bolder and hotter.

And that is why I love Jewel E. Ann's books so much. Nothing is taken for granted. Nothing is easy. Just like in real life, things have to be earned. Day to day it's a mystery how tomorrow will unfold. And in the end it's the unspoken words, the tiny gestures of understanding, the look in both their eyes that mattered most. I found that so much that wasn't expressed between Flint and Ellen is what drew them further together. It was practically instinctual how each was the other's balm.

Between his guilt and her indignity, these two have mountains to climb. Flint isn't sure what he wants except to continue his life as is and practically drown in his own remorse. But the whirlwind that is Ellen is something he can't ignore and the affection she feels for his son Harrison is enough to make him question the life he has led the last 10 years. There are more ups and downs in this book than you can imagine. And yet it is the absolute one thing we all crave in this world that keeps both Flint and Ellen from giving up, and that is love. Never easy. Not always expected. But when you find it again, you finally realize you don't want to let go.

I walked away from this story with dried tears on my face. There is an incredible amount of emotion both welcomed and feared as this story takes flight. But every feeling is painstakingly necessary no matter how much it hurts. Because between all the low points there was an abundance of joy and wit, whether from cuddly pet rats or from well-meaning parents. I laughed as much as I teared up. The author's signature dry humor is sprinkled throughout with even the sullen Flint giving as good as he got. Not to mention Harrison's take on the world. He is such a bright light when things feel so dark. I couldn't help but fall in huge like for that kid.

A story that is a must read and one that is going to be hard to forget, Look the Part deserves no less than 5+++ stars. A job beyond well done.
(Maybe 4.5 stars) This contemporary romance has just about everything, and I don't mean that in the critical "but the kitchen sink" way. No, I mean it's very complete, well thought out, with well-drawn characters, smart, intelligent dialogue, many types of relationships, familial as well as romantic, has angst and humor in equal parts, and a writing style that is polished. It's as close to a 5-star CR as I've read in a while.

Hero Flint Hopkins is a 35-year-old man with a troubled past. 10 years before, he was an ex-football player who, although happily married with a toddler son, drank too much. One night after celebrating his birthday, again with too many drinks, as he drives his wife and son home they are involved in an accident that kills his wife. Since then he's only half living. Although he has stopped drinking and has become a very successful lawyer, he cannot forgive himself for killing his wife. He's the one who should have died. She's the one who should be raising their son. So he lives his life only for work and for his mildly autistic son Harrison. He doesn't deserve happiness. He doesn't deserve love.

Well, that sounds like a downer of a plot but let's get the heroine Ellen Rodgers into the picture. She's an upbeat music therapist, recently moved to the area and needing an office for her private practice. Flint owns the building holding his practice on the first floor and rents out the office spaces above him. So Ellen becomes his new tenant.

Ellen is bubbly and feisty and relentlessly happy and touchy-feely. Flint is a closed-up grump who keeps himself to himself. Oil and water, right? There is, of course, much more to this story than a silly instant dislike and lust and antagonism turning into true love by the end of the book. These are well-rounded characters written with more depth than you'll find in rom-com romances and there's more to the story than just the lust to love element.

There's Harrison, to begin with. He's Flint's adolescent son, with high-functioning Asperger's. That's a love story in itself. Flint and Harrison's love. But then Harrison meets Elle. She turns him on to music and guitar and now we have another love story Elle and Harrison's. And there's Elle's dad living by himself in Cape Cod. He'll be a major figure in the book. And Flint's parents and in-laws add more relationships to the story. And I mustn't forget the boss-employee relationship Flint has with Amanda. That's a real charmer.

Now, there's more to Elle than that relentlessly happy, bubbly woman she presents to the world. She has a tragedy in her past. One that we all learn about little by little as the story progresses. One that explains her endless need to touch and be touched.

So I liked this. It was a pleasant surprise. Almost a 5-star story for me, except for a few flaws. (1) Elle's backstory felt a little bit contrived, although it was interesting and unexpected, and (2) Elle's humming. She has this tendency to hum. A lot. Like almost all the time. If she had been a real person around me while doing all that humming, it would have annoyed the heck out of me.