Review: Regrets Only (The Marriage Pact #2)

Regrets Only (The Marriage Pact #2) by M.J. Pullen
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 27, 2012
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

At thirty-three, Suzanne Hamilton has it all. A successful party-planning business with an elite client list. A swank condo in a hot Atlanta neighborhood and a close group of friends – especially her longtime best friend Marci. A list of men a mile long who have tried to win her heart and failed. Plus, she’s just landed the event that will take her career and social status to the next level. What could she possibly have to regret?

Then a freak accident changes everything, and Suzanne discovers that her near-perfect life is just a few steps away from total disaster. She is humiliated and at risk of losing it all… except the surprising support of her newest celebrity client. With nothing else to go on, Suzanne follows him into an unexpected job and unfamiliar territory. Soon she will question everything – her career, her past, her friendships, and even her own dating rules.

But when her catalog of past relationships turns into a list of criminal suspects, she is faced with the horrifying possibility that she may not live to regret any of it…

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Regrets Only by M.J. Pullen is the second book in The Marriage Pact series and while I didn’t love the first book, I absolutely adored Regrets Only! I won’t lie; in the beginning Suzanne sort of put me off with her inner thoughts and attitude about certain things. She seemed judgmental and a bit petty at times, but she grows on you. Throughout the story we get to see a lot of different sides of Suzanne and the more I got to know her, the more I liked her.

Chad was awesome, funny and a great contrast to Suzanne. Their characters sort of balanced each other out. One thing I really liked about Suzanne was the fact that she was such a strong character. She owned her own business, supported herself, was successful and she didn’t settle for just anyone. Suzanne was different from a lot of main female characters and I loved that about her.

I loved that emotions and being committed to someone was hard for her. Typically in stories like these the women are falling all over handsome rich men and that’s just not the case here, which makes Regrets Only all the more interesting.

Pullen is a very good story teller. Her writing is phenomenal and her plots are well thought out and well executed. The characters in this book were great. There were so many that I liked especially Dylan. I loved him from the very first second he entered the story on that phone call. He made me grin, but he also made me want to slap him.

Grrr Misty. Enough said. He was there for Suzanne though at several points throughout the book and Dylan was the reason we finally starting seeing a soften side of Suzanne and understanding that there was more to her than muted judgments. One of my favorite moments in this book was the talk Suzanne had with Kate up in the mountains.

The emotion between the two women and the bond they were creating was just beautiful. There were also a lot of intense moments where my heart couldn’t stop pounding. Then of course there were a couple of times I teared up. The whole thing with Officer Bonita killed a part of me. So, so sad. I don’t want to give all the good parts of the story away, but I will say this:

-Snark is the best foreplay

-Showing a guy up in cards is hot

-Terrifying things can happen if you don’t take certain people seriously

-Pregnancy hormones are cray

-Sometimes love is scary, but so worthwhile in the end

-Always check to see if doors lock on their own

I really enjoyed Regrets Only and would absolutely recommend it to my fellow readers!

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Author Bio:

When she’s not chasing two little boys or trying to wipe something sticky off the floor, M.J. (Manda) Pullen is the bestselling author of two contemporary women’s fiction novels: The Marriage Pact (2011) and Regrets Only (2012). She is working on several new projects as well, including more women’s fiction and a YA paranormal adventure series.

M.J. grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Writing has always been a big part of her life, both professionally and personally. She studied English Literature and Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, and later Professional Counseling at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She practiced psychotherapy for five years before taking a sabbatical to spend more time writing and raising her brood. Since high school, she has also been an executive assistant, cashier, telemarketer, professional fundraiser, marketing guru, magazine writer, grant-writer, waitress, box-packer, HR person, and casual drifter.

M.J. loves creating true-to-life characters who are flawed, relatable, and most importantly redeemable. She tries to explore all aspects of relationships, from romantic entanglements to battles between mortal enemies, and everything in between. She reads and writes across many genres, and learns something from everything she does. No matter what she’s writing, M.J. believes that love is the greatest adventure there is, and that hopeless romantics are never really hopeless.

After years traveling and living in places like Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas, M.J. has now returned to her home city of Atlanta (actually Roswell, for hard-core Roosevelt fans and connoisseurs of suburban culture), where she lives with her husband and two young sons.

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