Review: Real Men Don't Quit by Coleen Kwan
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 5, 2013
Luke Maguire has a massive case of writer's block. He's blaming his troubles on trying to write in the house where he grew up, a mere six months after his mother's death. In an effort to break that connection, he jumps at the chance to use his agent's house in Burronga.Tyler Jones is a jewelry designer and small business owner, who happens to live next door to Luke's agent in Burronga with her daughter, Chloe. She has her fair share of emotional baggage. Her mother dumped her in foster care, her daughter's father chose to use his inheritance to get high, and her would-have-been mother-in-law keeps trying to take her daughter away.Their first meeting is less than cordial: Three-year-old Chloe sneaks out to go swimming next door. When Luke stops 'Little Miss Moppet' and carries her down the walk toward home, Tyler comes running. He sees an unfit mother; she, a molester/ kidnapper. Luckily, their relationship does improve; by leaps and bounds.But both, despite strong feelings for each other, are afraid of commitment. They have been hurt by family members, who made them question their ability to have a permanent relationship and, as the story progresses, keep popping up to further complicate the situation.Luke and Tyler are believable characters. Their fears and situations are realistic. The families are, as families are wont to be, a source of endless annoyance and frustration. For every step forward the main characters take, their families knock them back a step or two.One of the things I loved best was the 'voice'. Set in Australia, the phrasing and language just feels ... right. It wasn't heavy with slang or indecipherable idiom, but simply sounded authentic.Although I've read and reviewed more than a dozen books from Entangled Publishing, this is my first venture into the Bliss imprint. I, honestly, wasn't certain what to expect. Frankly, I can only hope that every other book is as well-written as Real Men Don't Quit.~*~*~Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from the publisher [...]. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.