BOOK REVIEW ~ WHERE THERE'S A WILL BY KAREN KELLEY

Blurb from Goodreads

ARC provided by NetGalley

When good girl Haley Tillman is stood up (again), she prays for a dating miracle— and then slams the front door in its face when it appears! Ryder is half angel, half mortal, with powers to do whatever the hell he wants. When he hears Haley’s prayers, he is bound and determined to answer every single one of them.



Where There's A Will had a very weak start for me; one that bordered on the ridiculous and unbelievable at times. 

Haley has just prayed to the heavens for a answer to her prayers--specifically a man-regarding the pitiful lack of sex in her life. She wants to get laid.  She has been stood up the night before and self esteem has hit rock bottom.

Minutes later, her doorbell rings, and a sexy man sporting a black Stetson with a wicked grin stands on her front porch. He says he is the answer to her prayers.

What follows is a jumble of a mess-the unbelievable part-until I almost stopped reading.

Yes, Haley is instantly attracted to this sinfully delicious man. No news there. That's kind of expected in this genre. But the fact that she lets him remain in her house left me with a huge WTF moment. Seriously, who would let a man stay in her house for even a smidge of a second when he states such unbeliveable garbage. And yes, she shuts the door in his face. (Smart girl). At first. But there were times when I thought her actions bordered on the stupid side. But this is fiction, so I let it slide.

There's also the predictable plot and the secondary character--Chelsea, the hose beast skank and co-worker that snagged Ben (Haley's supposed date the night before), is mean, catty, and an out right bitch. The reader wants her to get her dose of revenge that we know is coming to her. And boy howdy does it ever. That little scene was the highlight of the book for me. HILARIOUS!  I must admit, I loved hating Chelsea.  Bad, C.S., Bad.

But at about half way through the book, I realized that I was starting to like these two characters.

I have always been a sucker for the Cinderella kind of story in romance. I love it when the Ugly Duckling turns into the beautiful swan and wins the prince. And that was what made me stick around for as long as I did.

And I love it when some of my dirty little fantasies come true by a hunk of burning love like Ryder. This fallen angel has discovered Haley's hidden diary. A naughty little book where she has penned all of her fantasies that she has never had the courage to act out. Ryder is one determined fallen angel to have these fantasies come to life for Hayden.  

But then I started to develop an emotional connection to both Ryder and Haley--I could sympathize with their back stories.

And the way Ryder shows Haley just how beautiful she is was such a tender, heart felt moment. With his words, with his eyes, with his actions, he shows Haley what it is to be loved, to be cherised, and to embrace her inner desires and --- as a result, she not only feels beautiful, but she realizes just what true beauty means.  

The lies mortals told, all in the name of what they thought was right or wrong. It always amazed him. "The body is a beautiful thing to look at, to touch." He brushed his fingers across her nipples. She jumped, like a nervous filly taking her first steps. But Haley's nipples betrayed her desire when they turned to hard nubs. "See how easily you respond to my touch."

And my favroite quote?

"All women are beautiful if they have a good heart. Every woman has something special about her. Her scent, the way she laughs, each nuance is hers and hers along."

So, yeah. I fell hard for Ryder. He knows just what to do to a woman and speaks from his heart. What a one-two combo that left me weak in the knees.