Good Girls Don’t by Victoria Dahl (Donovan Brothers Brewery #1)
Contemporary Romance
August 30, 2011
Paperback
Harelquin

Reviewed by Mandi and May

Mandi: Oh I love Victoria Dahl’s contemporaries and when I heard she had a new series coming out about siblings who own a brewery, it was a double win. Beer and smut wrapped up into one book? Along with many laughs and a little mystery, this book is definitely one I can recommend.

Before we discuss let’s do a little set-up. Tessa Donovan lost her parents many years ago in a car accident. At that time her older brother Eric took over the family and the brewery in Boulder, CO their father owned. Along with middle child Jamie, they made it as a family. Now all three work at the brewery. Eric running operations, and Jamie and Tessa filling in where needed, although they make business decisions together – at least they did.

Eric has a big deal in the works to sell beer on the airline owned by Roland Kendall. But things go awry when Jamie sleeps with Robert’s daughter Monica, and gets caught by Roland the next morning. Eric and Jamie are usually arguing about something or the other, and Tessa knows this mishap could throw their relationship over the edge. In a desperate effort to keep the family together, Tessa pleads to Jamie (and Monica) not to let Eric know that their sleeping together ruined this big deal until she has a chance to fix it.

Meanwhile, a robbery has occurred at the brewery. The only thing stolen are some computers and one keg of beer. Detective Luke Asher comes to the scene to investigate. He knows Jamie from his college days, although he moved to LA after college and got married. Now divorced, he moved to Boulder to escape the mess of his previous marriage. He meets Tessa and there is definitely some eye action going on.

This one pulled me in right from the beginning. Let’s start with Luke, who has some nasty rumors spreading about him in the first part of the book. Did you ever believe he was a bad guy, May?

May: I have really loved some of Dahl’s books, but her contemporary offering last summer really didn’t work for me so I’ve been worried about this new series. Brewery + light romantic contemporary setting = potential for big win for me, and I’m so glad to say that this book was definitely all I hoped for and more.

As for Luke, no I didn’t buy into the bad guy rap. I don’t think Dahl set it up for us to believe bad in him either. He reminded me of Johnny Castle (Dirty Dancing) how he’s got his partner who is pregnant and people say awful things about him but really he’s a wonderful, beautifully tortured, smexy beast. RAWR.

“The girl was as fresh and new as a wildflower. And Luke… Luke felt bruised and broken already at thirty-one. No, Jamie didn’t have to worry about his sister. Luke wasn’t going anywhere near her.”

The tortured sad hero bit has been pretty overplayed – but I felt like she hit a balance that didn’t over do it. I also really liked that he was a masculine capable guy but he wasn’t a over the top alpha super man type either.

On the flip side, we get a very immature heroine. She’s never been in a serious relationship, she has some serious honesty issues, and her “oh if I just lie to everyone maybe I can keep everything happy! ha ha happy!” attitude grated on my nerves. In fact – she never redeemed herself for me.

Mandi: Tessa’s lying never annoyed me – I felt like it developed due to her parents death, and it snowballed into a much bigger thing than she anticipated. I think she was so desperate to cling to happiness and the family she has left, she would do anything for it not to change.

My annoyance more came with how her brothers treated her. They were SO overprotective – to the point of telling Luke she is a virgin. I mean, really? At first it was kind of funny, but they kept going and going. I understood it more from Eric, since he is the eldest and kind of in charge, but it didn’t always make sense coming from Jamie. But really that is the only part of the book that worked my nerves.

I totally agree about Luke – he is very masculine but not alpha. And love how Tessa teased him so much throughout.

May: That tied into the problem I had – that she was so fake with her brothers, so obsessed with presenting the perfect front to them that they were convinced that she lives a nun-like existence,that she still is a little girl. I felt like the blame for their insane over-protectiveness fell to her, but I did see some growth all around in this book, and you know I enjoyed myself.

Mandi: Because this is Victoria Dahl – we must discuss how funny this book is! And the dirty sex! Hello shower scene. And balls…how awesome is it that the heroine curses “balls” throughout the book?

May: This book really put to use Dahl’s brand of humor. I laughed a lot, and I found myself bookmarking a whole lot of funny quotes. Even better, it didn’t feel forced or fake, but rather the humor and the funny moments blended right into the story seamlessly.

As for the heat, you know I’m in the ‘less is more’ camp and I felt like this book had the perfect balance of sizzle to story ratio. When I’m digging into a Dahl novel I know there’s going to be hot sexy time. I know that she’s not going to go overly emo/soul meld sex and she’ not going to gross me out with veiny overly detailed description either.

Another thing that I love about this author is definitely her lack of shy heroines. It was refreshing, and incredibly hot how our heroine takes the lead not only asking this guy out but also putting the moves on him, don’t you think?

Mandi: If Tessa had been shy, this relationship would not have gone anywhere. It is thoughts like these that she has….

“Tessa was glad that her tight jeans would keep her panties in place…for a few hours”

…that really get the relationship rolling. I think her more forthwith attitude, paired with Luke’s quieter, gentlemanly role, really makes this a hot couple.

I think the mystery in the book was great too – blended really well with the romance and the overall story arc of the siblings. And we have to mention Wallace! The bi-sexual brew master. A revolving door of men and women throw themselves at this “mountain man” and I thought it was hilarious. I can’t wait to see more of him in the series.

Jamie is up next. Are you excited for him?

May: How have we not mentioned Wallace? I think he was my favorite – his allure the greatest mystery of all. Honestly, I think we could sit down with some brews and discuss this book for hours. While it didn’t hit all time favorite status, I really enjoyed this one a lot, I definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a funny and sexy good time.

As for the brothers, I’m more interested in the older brother Eric, but yes. I’m going to dive right into Jamie’s book as soon as I can too. I am looking forward to seeing how the siblings each find their paths to HEA land, and I sure hope that brewery starts serving food. I know it was mentioned that Jamie had the idea to expand into some food offerings – I hope we see that happen!

I give it B+

Mandi: I’m looking forward to Jaime’s book, but REALLY can’t wait until we get Eric’s story.

I give it a B+ as well.

Recent Reviews:
Love to Read for Fun – C+
Throuthehaze Reads – 4.5/5
Book Lovers Inc – 4/5
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