The Rebound Girl by Tamara Morgan

Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Getting Physical #1

Reviewed by Anne

265 pages

I first read Tamara Morgan last year and thought then that she was one of the funniest romance writers I've read!  I read Love is a Battlefield and The World is a Stage and enjoyed them.  When I saw Rebound Girl was available I jumped at the chance to read it.  It has great characters who aren't like every other character you've read.  And it's so funny!   I laughed out loud so many times reading this! Not just smiled, but laughed. I woke my husband up laughing as I read far too late into the night to finish this story.  And because I enjoyed the style of writing so much, I give you a review with lots of quotes:

Whitney is a very self confident plastic surgeon.  She's no Barbie, though.

"...the thirty extra pounds she carried mostly in her hips didn’t make her a victim of low self-esteem or discounted standards. She liked that weight right where it sat—and she would have been the first to advocate going under the knife if she felt otherwise."  p.9

 

She and her friends have moved to the burbs, taken out a big loan and are opening the Surgery Center/Spa they've always dreamed of.  Whitney has always been a big city girl, but she has no doubts she'll be fine in the small town she's moved to.  This is her dream!  Finally coming true.

 

On one of their first nights in town, Whitney and her friends head out to the local bar hoping to hook up with willing partners, or at least have a good time .  Matt's brother has just talked him into going out for the first time since he split from his ex-wife.  Brother Lincoln is hitting on Whitney's friend, and Matt approaches Whitney.

 

"Now that she was seeing the man head-on, she could tell she was going to have to take it a little easy on him. He wasn’t bad looking—in fact, the hesitant smile and tousled sandy hair signaled nerd chic at its best, and there was a slight depression in his cheek that she thought might transform into a full-blown dimple if he tried. But the guy wore a corduroy jacket with elbow patches and drank something pink with little bits of fruit floating on the top.
He was obviously clueless."  p.8

 

The thing is, Matt's an old fashioned kind of guy.  A kindergarten teacher.  And he's not really looking to hook up with anyone.  He just wants to start moving on.  And Whitney isn't really interested in hooking up with Matt either, but when his brother and her friend leave the bar, Matt and Whitney agree that pancakes and bacon would be great and they make their way to a diner.

 

"Matt could hardly believe his good luck.
It was officially eight months since he and Laura signed the divorce papers, and most of that time had been spent hiding in his apartment, avoiding women and Lincoln’s single-minded insistence that Matt needed to put himself out there again.
He’d finally caved, and the first woman he’d gathered up the nerve to approach turned out to be this one. Easy to talk to, funny, pretty in a straightforward, no-nonsense way he wasn’t used to. And best of all, she’d already made it abundantly clear she had no intention—or expectation—of sleeping with him. She was like training wheels.
Awesome, bacon-loving training wheels." p. 19

 

After spending a little time with Matt, Whitney changes her mind about not having sex with him.  And because she's Whitney, she lets him know, no doubts about it.

 

'The space between them, infinitesimal as it was, felt thick with promise. “What you need more than anything right now is a rebound girl.”
“I do?” Then, “What’s a rebound girl?”
She smiled brightly. “I am. Here’s how it works. I don’t want you to buy me a ring. I don’t want to bear your children. I don’t even want to be your girlfriend. All I want is you and me and as much sex as we can possibly squeeze into the four hours before dawn.”
Matt’s mouth went dry. “That’s a real thing?”
“Oh, Matt. Poor, sweet Matt. You have no idea.'  p.24

 

So, that's the set up, and the book takes off from there.  Whitney is brash and independent and out of her element in the small town she's moved to.  Matt finds her refreshing and wants more than just a rebound with her.  Throw in some great secondary characters and annoying small town politics and you've got an interesting story.

 

I really enjoyed what a strong character Whitney was.  She's almost unlikable, except that you see where she's coming from and you like her all the more for speaking up.  I've always thought it's nice to have that one really outspoken friend who will say the things you really want to but wouldn't dream of.  That's Whitney.  And her mouth and her decisions get her into trouble.  But she takes responsibility and tries to set things right.  She was a refreshing change from the too good and too sweet heroines I read a lot of.

 

Matt is a beta hero, and a wonderful one.  That's another change from the tried and tried alpha-asshole hero!  But while he is beta, he does know what he wants.  He's not perfect either, but watching Matt and Whitney work out their issues and their relationship was really fun!

 

The author did such a good job painting Jared, Whitney's cheating ex, through Whitney's eyes that I really had a hard time being ok with him when he showed up. I see that there's a second book coming in this series and it's about him. Part of me doesn't want to read it because I still hate him for Whitney's sake! But the majority part of me wants to see how the author handles him and what his future brings.

Hooray for a strong female character! Hooray for a humorous and sweet romance! This one goes on my Best of 2013 list!