Review: The Perfect Bargain by Julia London
Contemporary Romance
Released: June 30, 2015
Entangled: LoveStruck

Reviewed by Sheena

American lass seeks brawny Scot…
As if being newly single isn’t brutal enough, Sloane Chatfield’s friends are getting obnoxious about setting her up. When Sloane insists she’s waiting for a certain sexy fictional Highlander to come along, her friends surprise her with a trip to Scotland to find her a new boyfriend. She’d rather have a root canal. But if she can find a Highland hunk to “break her heart” before her friends arrive…
In a remote Scottish Highland village, Galen Buchanan is struggling to keep the family pub afloat. Everything is falling apart, he’s running out of money, and now there’s an opinionated American lass parked at his best table, driving him mad. But then Sloane asks Galen to be her pretend Highland boyfriend…and offers him enough money to save the pub. It’s only for a few days, he figures. What’s the worst that could happen?

Favorite Quote: That girl was so into him, she’d probably kill a unicorn to get him naked.

Ehhh, I didn’t buy  it. Interesting premise –  yes, but this little story was a miss for me.  This hero and heroine needed way too much work as a couple to be taken seriously.  Galen is all things sexy, a definite hottie Scottie but he is also is very unlikable.  And not in the magnetic jerk kind of way- more so in the just an annoying douche bag way. No magnetism to temper his offputting personality.  In fact he was characterized as such an asshole, that when he started to turn the corner and acknowledge his developed feelings for Sloane, not only was it too little too late it was half-ass and I wasn’t interested.  I did not root for them.  If a hero is going to be as aloof, disengaged and reluctant to fall for the heroine as Galen is with Sloane,  a full length novel is warranted, so that there is ample time to redeem the characters who sorely need it.   Julia London is a very good writer and I totally dig the writing style.  The descriptions of highland life, pub, the work and labor, the quirky townspeople –  it all felt achingly authentic.  The countryside is  depicted so beautifully that I felt the warmth of the fires and the stark cold of the evenings.  Outside of this shoddy hero, the writing itself is good.  Really good and salvaged the story as far as I am concerned.

Sloane is a lovely young woman, from a wealthy family, but ambitious and philanthropic.  She put her life and her career on hold for her fiance, only to be unceremoniously dumped and left with a significant bruising to her self-esteem.  She licks her wounds and tries to find herself while visiting Scotland where she (get ready) gets the bright idea (are you braced?) to find her very own Jamie Fraser. Cue Outlander fan girl flailing and swooning.  Running out of time and with few prospects, Sloane pins struggling pub owner, Galen, as her Jamie Fraser, and approaches him with a semi-indecent proposal.  He gives her the hardest time, lobs countless insults her way, and reluctantly agrees to be her pretend boyfriend, for $2,000 and bonuses attached to any initiated kissing and $500 for a roll in the hay…*eyebrow raises.*  What a catch ehh?

Sooner than anticipated, her friends enthusiastically join her in Scotland, with a predictable and unpleasant surprise of their own.  Friends of the main characters should be likable right?  Or at least interesting, especially if there is a series that will include them. The author has to present these potential future leading ladies/men in a way that entices readers to want to know more…right?  Welp, I did not like Sloane’s friends.  Any of them and I had three to pick from.  I can’t imagine any of these nauseatingly annoying women as a heroine. I didn’t root for any of them to do anything but get on a plane and take their asses back to the United States.  Quietly. In a single file line. Possibly gagged and bound by their traitorous necks.  If I would dare continue with book 2 in the “How to Marry a Highlander” series, I need a new group of broads pronto.  Splitting hairs, the less repulsive “friend” (because these chicks were really shady), Dylan, is the only one who has an infinitesimal shred of hope.

Beyond Galen being hero non-grata, I was really turned off at the heavy lifting Sloane had to do the entire story.  Practically tossing herself at Galen, pushing and pressing him to see that they could have something special.  I like a woman who knows what she wants but poor Sloane ventured a little too far into desperation-land for my liking.  She was jilted by her ex and then slammed by Galen at nearly every turn.  I mean come ON- when my girl has to semi-beg for sex and then be happy with any sentimental crumbs that fall from Galen’s table- well, I cross the line there dammit!  Despite it all, Sloane remained positive and true to her self which was the greatest gift she could have given herself despite the romantic ruse she found herself struggling to see through to the end.

As a romance novella it missed the mark for me.  I do not think the hero deserved to have the heroine as devoted to him as she was. There was not sufficient groundwork done for me to accept his quasi-redemption.  No cliffhanger (a plus!) and there is an HEA- though, the only ones I believe are truly happy about it is Sloane and Galen’s mother- ha!

Though Galen protests much, he is physically attracted to Sloane and they do have a super hot night of passion between the sheets that I did enjoy. heh.  Despite my many misgivings about the aforementioned issues I had with this novella, I do believe there is an audience who may adore it.  There are grand  gestures and a “love conquers all” pivotal moment that all romance readers alike go all gooey-hearted for and it is undisputed in my book that Julia London is a very talented writer.   I enjoyed her voice very much – so much that I am  quite interested in reading more from her but only if the hero is not so repugnant.  Fool me once….

Grade: C

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