Love’s Last Call by Beth Matthews (Ladies of Jezabel’s #1)
Released: October 20, 2014
Contemporary Romance
Self Published
Reviewed by Mandi
This is a new adult that is more on the light-hearted side. It’s not super angsty or emo, which is a nice change. Norm is kind of geeky who is in desperate need of cash, so he takes a job at a Hollywood bar as a bouncer. Norm is tall and skinny and not your typical looking bouncer, but at this point he just wants some cash. His dream is to be a published author. This is one of the reasons I decided to read this book – I like the idea of a more beta/geeky hero who somehow finds his way into a bar as a bouncer.
Our heroine is Lucy York, she is a waitress at this bar called Jezebel’s. To be more specific, she is the shot girl, she wears skimpy clothes and climbs on drunk boys and pours shots down their throats. Lucy is studying to become a mechanical engineer. She is getting tired of Jezebel’s but it pays well and she is very close with her boss Hank. When Norm and Lucy meet on the job, they have instant chemistry. But, and this becomes a huge “but” in the story – Hank has a very strict no employee dating rule. Lucy considers Hank family as he ha always been there for her so she really doesn’t want to hurt him. But as she gets to know Norm, they have so much in common, and while they try to stay away from each other, they just can’t.
I found the first half of this book pretty strong. I liked both Lucy and Norm and their friends. A more nerdy group, it was fun to see Norm bumble his way through being a bouncer and kind of being awkward around Lucy. Yet once they start a physical relationship, he is all business and knows what he is doing in the bedroom. Lucy is sweet and kind and I liked her chemistry with Norm. However, they are both scared of getting fired if Hank finds out they are seeing each other and it takes them forever to actually date. There is a lot of yo-yo time. At first I was confused – I mean, they live in Hollywood – I’m sure there are other bars with shot girls or bouncer job opportunities. Who cares about staying loyal to Jezebel or Hank. There is soooo much pressure from Hank to not date. But then I read this passage:
“A few years ago the rules were more lax, and he let a shot girl date a bouncer. A customer grabbed her ass one night. It wasn’t even a particularly heinous grope, but her boyfriend the bouncer lost his shit and beat the hell out of the guy before Hank and the others could pull him off. The customer sued and Hank nearly lost the bar. He doesn’t want a repeat of that ever again so he asks people to find their romance outside work. “
And okay, I get that point. But still..the Hank induced drama seemed forced after a while. The second half deals more with Norm’s family and their disapproval of his life. It was okay but didn’t keep my interest like the first half did. I think if it had been a shorter story with less forced conflict, I would have enjoyed it more.
Rating: C+
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