[SPOILERS]
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 STARS
CAWPILE Rating: 9.14 / 10
Book Synopsis:
R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year….
Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.
Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.
One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.
But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend’s wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say “I don’t”, Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she’s stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom.
Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What’s the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.
My Thoughts:
Disclaimer that this “review” might be all over the place. It’s hard for me to talk about romance books without me exposing myself somehow since they are guilty pleasures. Just a warning HAHA.
It has been a long time since I have read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips‘ (SEP) book and truly loved just about everything it showcased. Phillips has a formula with most, if not all, of her stories. Guy meets girl, they bicker and fight but they actually lust after each other, they have sex a few times then they part ways because the girl always believes the guy is being with her for the wrong reasons. Guy realises his mistake, chase after girl and they all live happily ever after. If you’re lucky, your favourite characters could even appear in her other books, something I really love seeing. Back then, I tried to read her series in order but the formula can get a bit repetitive, especially if you are not reading the plot you particularly like. This year I decided to revisit her works but only read the books that really interest me. Call Me Irresistible was the second book on my list and wow, it was exactly what I was looking for in a romance. The premise was interesting. I do enjoy reading stories where the hero really hates the heroine but the kind of hate for someone who ruins your wedding to your dream girl? I could practically feel the excitement at all the banter. Luckily, where some of SEP other books do tend to deflate after the characters’ first night together, Call Me Irresistible continued to be funny and intriguing.
The story is set in the fictional town Wynette, Texas. Definitely stories that are set in small close-knit towns are my favourites because you become familiar with the townspeople and just appreciate the unspoken camaraderie they share with each other. Of course everyone in this town hates Meg because they think she screwed up everything, especially their precious Ted Beaudine‘s wedding. Perhaps I am a little sadistic but Meg’s pitiful state made it easier to love the book. I like my heroine in trouble in the beginning because I know her progress would be more evident at the end. Ted has been added to my list of favourite heroes. Of course every men in SEP’s books are capable people but Ted hits different. There is a sweetness, almost but not quite innocence to him compared to the others. The part at the ending when he panicked because he thought Meg had really moved on from him, I have not seen that state on any other heroes. It made me love him even more because despite all the love he got from basically anyone else, he was not confident that the one person he wanted would want him anymore. Somehow these two characters not once made me mad or question them. I just wanted to give them hugs whenever things got tough. This is unprecedented, I swear there is always a hero or, most of the time, a heroine that pisses me off with their stupid actions. I guess it adds up since this has become one of my all time favourite romance.
The side characters were all over the place here. Majority of them were past leads in the first four books of the series. I personally find it is harder to connect with them if you have not read the previous books because they are not fleshed out in this one. They all just happen to be in perfect, healthy relationships and you are supposed to pretend it makes sense without any backstory. Of course this is my fault since this is technically a series, even if it is a companion one.
During the anticipated misunderstanding between our leads, I felt real pangs in my chest. Actually felt like crying while reading some of the lines. Highlighted like crazy because they all touched me. Let me provide an example:
“My love is hot!” The words burst from her. “It’s a burning thing. It boils and churns and runs deep and strong. But all your emotions are cool and spare. You stand on the sidelines where you don’t have to sweat too much. That’s why you wanted to marry Lucy. It was neat. It was logical. Well, I’m not neat, I’m messy and wild and disruptive, and you have broken my heart.”
SEP can write hilarious lines but also beautiful quotes that may seem cringe yet hit the right spots in the right moments. I believe that is why her novels are well loved and top charts. This is the first time her books did not include a secondary couple. I thought it would be weird to not have one but I think because it gave me more time with our leads, I felt stronger attachments to them. So in a way, it may have been the saving grace for this book… or maybe it was just Ted and Meg’s amazing chemistry.
Endings can be hard to write. Sometimes they just end up ruining a good book. An example of this would be P.S. I Still Love you in To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before series. Seriously, what was that ending? If there wasn’t a book 3 (which was the original plan) no reader would have been satisfied. In true Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ fashion, the book ended with everything coming together perfectly. I was laughing out loud when Meg pulled Lucy aside and asked her to call Ted (who was standing at the altar) because she had to speak with him, exactly like what Lucy asked Meg to do before she left Ted at the altar at the beginning of the book. I think this quote captures why I love this ending so much:
He scooped her into his arms, and before she could tell him it was unnecessary, that she’d pulled herself back together and he needed to put her down right this minute. Before she could say any of that. he’d started down the aisle.
“This one,” he announced to everybody, “is not getting away”.
See? Funny and loving right up to the end!
– Helen
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