Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312939519
ISBN: 0312939515
Label: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2008-12-30
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: 2008-12-30
Studio: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Customer Rating:
Summary: The story was ok but not my preferred type of romance. This felt more like women's fiction.
Comment: REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Yes, there was romance, but it was secondary to the theme of lying to others with tragic results. Good people lie and continue the lies for years with horrible, terrible results. A lot of different people do mean things to each other, which makes it hard to like them. The author had justifications for a lot of it. For example, Kat was raised in an abusive home which affected her decision making abilities, along with some other reasons. Eventually there is truth and forgiveness and a surprise revelation at the end. The story shows the power and necessity of forgiveness. There was a happy ending, but it felt a little empty. I was still hurting from the 20 or more years of suffering by some people. The story kept my interest. I wanted to know what would happen. If you're looking for romance, I do not recommend it, but it was ok for other reasons.

STORY BRIEF:
Kat's father was abusive to her and her mother. Kat's boyfriend Riley broke up with her before she could tell him she was pregnant. Kat's mother told Kat to run away. Kat left town and was gone for 20 years. She is now gorgeous, rich, and has come back to town hoping to get some apologies.

DATA:
Story length: 340 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 5. Setting: 2007 Persuasion, W. Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Grand Cayman Island. Copyright: 2009. Genre: women's fiction and contemporary romance.

CAUTION ONE SPOILER:

I had a hard time accepting the author's motive for Riley's lie. As a teenager, he was in love with Kat. His dad told him he had to break up with her or he'd lose his car and playing school sports. I think most teenagers in love would say something like "my dad is making me do this. Can you wait for me? We'll get back together later." Instead Riley just said "Go away, Kat. It's over." It was the main reason Kat left town for 20 years - the basis of the book. I wish the author would have come up with something different.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good book, but...
Comment: This book had the lovable characters that we've come to expect from Susan Donovan, but too many plot contrivances made it fizzle. It was still a good read, but...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Didn't knock me off my feet...
Comment: Pregnant and 16, Kat Cavanaugh is devastated when her boyfriend Riley dumps her and she discovers her abusive father in the arms of another woman. After trashing his studio, her mother sends her packing from her small hometown of Persuasion. Alone and afraid, she accepts a ride from a truck driver who drops her at his sister's house and for the first time in her life, she feels a sense of family. It's now 20 years later and Kat has just lost the only real mother she's known, and has inherited a fortune. Determined to return to Persuasion a success and get revenge on those that let her down, she is surprised to discover that things are not as she hoped. Riley is still single and furious with her for keeping their son Aiden from him, but still attracted to her. When she tells her son about his father, will she lose the rest of her family?

Donovan's latest quirky romance is high on the drama and low on the laughs and romantic sizzle. With a gamut of plot contrivances including spousal abuse, a stalker ex-girlfriend, blackmail, and a quirky best friend, it just pales in comparison to the novels she has written in the past. Though it's a bit predictable, it's also well written, with realistic dialogue and an interesting lead duo. It just seemed at times that the story was just skating a long looking for the next big plot point. I liked the story, but as American Idol's Randy Jackson would say, "it was just alright." I usually hold onto her novels for repeated readings; this one will go to the charity pile, while I eagerly await her next release.

© Tracy Vest, January 2009

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!
Comment: Kat Cavanaugh has left her hometown of Persuasion, WV, pregnant and with no money. With the love of her life, Riley Bohland, having just broken up with her moments before, she can't bring herself to tell him she is pregnant. Her mother asks her to leave her the house and so Kat begins her journey to single motherhood. Kat is picked up by a kindly trucker and taken to his sister's home in Baltimore, where she is able to make a life for herself.

Fast-forward twenty years. Kat's honorary aunt has died and left her with over three million dollars. Kat comes up with a plan. She is going to return to her hometown and make everyone apologize for hurting her so long ago. First on the list? Riley Bohland, her son's father.

Riley Bohland sees red when Kat Cavanaugh strolls back into his life. He has known about his son for over a year but has been unable to find him. Kat's entry back into his life is like seeing her when she is sixteen. She is still the only woman he has ever loved, and while he is furious at her for keeping his son away from him, he still loves her with every beat of his heart.

Kat and Riley's relationship is complicated. Outside forces interfere and what were thought to be truths seem to be based on lies. Things she is just now learning turn Kat's entire life topsy-turvy. The only stability she has is Riley - the lover she has never forgotten and has never stopped loving.

Susan Donovan never fails to entice me into her stories. THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO... sucked me in and didn't let go. Emotions run high in this provocative look at how lies and omissions affect people years after they happen.

The life that Kat knew, the horrendous life that she grew up with, prepared her for what was to come but didn't come close to making her be able to handle some long awaited secrets once they were revealed. People she thought she knew turned out to be traitors while complete strangers became family. Through it all, however, Kat and Riley's connection remained as strong as it was when they were younger. Kat never forgot Riley and while she wanted to make him suffer for hurting her, she could not get past the fact that she continued to love him twenty years later. Riley felt the same way. Their young love lasted two decades and I envision it lasting for many years to come.

THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO... is intense and poignant. This novel was emotionally satisfying to me as a reader, and I hated for the story to end. Weaving a tale meant to grab the hearts of readers, THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO... is simply a beautiful tale of love, life, and what people will do to survive. This one is definitely a keeper!

***Natasha Smith for Romance Junkies***

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Too much drama too little romance
Comment: I do not believe the romantic spirit of these two characters was captured or demonstrated. The heavy handed drama overwhelmed the story and the plot has too many open ends... Carrie, and Virgil were one dimensional. The back story was disjointed and Kat was unlikable

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