Amanda Sellet’s The Odds of Getting Even was entertaining and frustrating in equal measure. The first few chapters made me laugh and then in the middle of the book, all the tension fizzled. The epilogue was a nice return to the beginning, so I’ll pick up more of Sellet’s books, but this one was a disappointment.
Jean is an artist, but to make money, she’s a concierge at a stuffy resort in Hawaii. She is a madcap adventure waiting for an opportunity. Opportunity arrives when she gets a call to deliver towels to a cottage at the end of her overnight shift. She walks in on a very naked Charlie. He’s adorable and sweetly clueless about his own attractiveness. The banter is great – very old Hollywood romcom kind of banter with a dame looking to dirty up the sweet boy with a snake tattoo on his ass. Charlie loves snakes and Jean is not shy about snake innuendos. I laughed several times and started recommending this book to everyone. And then the two separated and the tension just died.
One of the reasons I requested The Odd of Getting Even was because Jean chases after Charlie to get revenge for abandoning her. Charlie’s best friend and former babysitter, Mugsy, shows up at the resort to drag him home for a big several day family business party in South Dakota. Charlie is actually the scion of a beer making family and reportedly the subject of a pop star’s latest anthem to lost love. The misunderstandings and miscommunications begin here. Jean does crash the family party, pretending to be a beverage heiress, but there isn’t a lot of enacting revenge. Mostly, it was like reading a very long “who’s on first?” bit with sulking and pining.
I really liked Jean and Charlie together. I’m also not opposed to miscommunication or misunderstanding. I just wanted to see more of Jean being devious and Charlie loving her for it. The book sparkled when they were together.
I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.