The Derby Girl
(Getting Physical, #2)
By: Tamara Morgan
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: Aug. 26, 2013
Genre: Romance
Rating:
Roller derby girl Gretchen “Honey Badger” Badgerton lives in the moment, no apologies. Like every woman in Pleasant Park with a pulse, she finds Dr. Jared Fine irresistible, but she’s taken by surprise when her unattainable new neighbor asks her out.
On paper, Jared is the perfect man: gorgeous, wealthy and charitable. But his golden image is just that, and opening an upstate practice is a welcome chance to start a new life. When Gretchen stops to help him with a flat tire, he’s intrigued by her feisty attitude—and her sexy body art. There’s something refreshing about being with a take-charge woman who doesn’t expect him to be anything but himself.
Though Gretchen is hesitant to shatter Jared’s “bad girl” illusion of her, she has to face facts: she’s fallen for the good doctor. She’s used to putting everyone else’s needs before hers, but as their relationship heats up, can she handle having someone take care of her for a change?
Gretchen is someone who hides her insecurities behind the facade of a derby girl. With all her makeup, tattoos and racy outfits, people look at her and think “bad-ass” but really she’s a mess. She is 30 and lives with her grandmother (to take care of her), works part time jobs, has taken various classes at the community college without majoring in any of them and has no idea where she will go in life. So when Jared comes into the picture, she’s tries to keep him at bay and only show him “Honey Badger”, thinking that’s what he needs from her. But what she doesn’t realize is that he knew her hand the moment they met.
The characters in this story were very likable, even Jared. He starts off as a pompous ass but then you realize that’s just how he’s been raised. His father was a big time doctor and he’s driven Jared every second to be the best. Jared tries to connect with his friends but he is really uncomfortable and unsure of himself when it comes to small talk. So every once in a while he says something inappropriate but the fun thing about the story is that Gretchen is right there to knock him down a few pegs. Instead of being upset and storming off, she stands her ground, raises an eyebrow and sasses him. Oh and she deducts points… which I love. When the Mr. and I first started dating we jokingly had a point system. Anytime one of us did good, we got points, do something not so good and you deduct them. I don’t think we really had a consequence/reward on either end of the scale but it was fun.
I think I would have enjoyed this story so much more had I read Rebound Girl first. Since after all, the story deals with Jared’s ex Whitney who is a character in this story. Maybe we’d have seen Jared in this story? Maybe I would have started out disliking him for the way he treated Whitney during their time together, only to find out what was going through his head? I don’t know. It’s not that you need to read the first book to understand this one. I just think I would have been even more into the story had I read it.
One itsy bitsy problem I had with the story and it’s probably just the fact that it’s an ARC or the formatting messed up on NetGalley but there was no break between the POV’s. I would be reading from Gretchen’s point of view and then all of a sudden she’s talking about how sexy her butt looks when she bends over, and how she really wants to know what that vine tattoo is that’s peeking out of her collar. And that’s when I realize that I’m no longer reading Gretchen’s POV but Jared’s. Again, I’m sure it’s just a NetGalley thing because there were some clear breaks in between the two POV’s, just not all of them.
All in all, Tamara’s a wonderful writer. This story’s got humor, sexiness, family drama and awesome characters. I will definitely be keeping up with this series.
“This woman’s bullshit radar was impeccable, and she had it trained directly on him.”
