Screwdrivered

Very good book and very good narration (although little slow, I listened it at 1.2x speed)

I want SO BADLY to be able to give this book 5 stars, because I loved it.

But I can't, because I hated it.

LET ME ESPLAIN.

I adored everything about this book, from the premise, to the setting, and there were so many good (ORIGINAL!) details that just made the story come alive. And the hero! THE HERO!!! If you don't like sexy nerds who are ever-so-slightly betas during the day, and then turn into smoldering alphas at night, you won't like this book. BUT THAT'S MY JAM, and so I was allllll about it.

But you know what I hated? THE HEROINE. LIKE, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DADGUM THING ABOUT HER. I get what the author was going for with her, and her horniness, and her desire to leave out her romance book dreams. But....the mark was just missed. Consistently. CONSTANTLY. Like, every.single.thing. she.did.and.said. was soooooo annoying.

And I think that I wouldn't even have hated her as bad, but the narrator just made her character even worse. Instead of coming across as cheeky and quirky and a closet-nerd herself (a romance book nerd, that is)....Viv just came across like an immature, horny exhibitionist with ridiculous tunnel vision about...one certain thing.

I loooved the phase when she and Clark were talking on the phone at night, getting to know each other better, and even getting all flirty and sexy, and I had HIGH HOPES that the book would turn around after that. Instead, she just got worse. The night she got drunk was just one big CRINGE....and then she finally does something SO impossibly dumb that readers who are hyper-sensitive about cheating might feel like she's cheating on CLARK, given the progression their relationship had previously seen.

Indeed, if I didn't love all other aspects of the book SO VERY MUCH, I probably would have abandoned it right then, even though I was almost at the end. Actually, if I didn't love it so much, Viv would have made me abandon it waaaaay sooner.

BUT I DID LOVE IT. SO I FINISHED IT. AND IT WAS WORTH IT.
I wish the character of Viv had been written a little differently, and I wish she had been narrated COMPLETELY differently. But that doesn't keep me from giving this book four enthusiastic stars, and putting it on my favorites list.

Absolutely loved Viv and Clark so much.

Viv was such a good character. All she wanted was to be swooped away by the hero like in one of her romance novels and when the call came that she had been left her aunt's house after her death, she took this as a sign. Especially when there's a hunk of a handler in the yard.

Viv tries to force this romance but unbeknownst to her, even though, everyone else can see, she's forcing it with the wrong guy!!!!! Clark is an in-the-closet wanna-be-book boyfriend and when it comes to "daytime Clark" he bottles it unless he feels threatened which is super cute.

Screwdriver is definitely a slow burn but it is hilarious in every single way and I loved how these two grew together. Viv is an independent woman just trying to find her brooding alpha who wants to protect her. She never thought she would find it with Clark the town historian who tries to stop her at every hurdle while renovating her decrepit barn.

This was good

What a romantic build up... to the end. Vivian and Clark...

I knew it would happen, but loved reading the instance they connected. There were a few laughs along the way.

I love these books in this Cocktail Series because they have the best characters. Vivian and Clark are no different. Vivian is awesome for many reasons. One, she loves to read romance books. I mean how many book characters actually like to read. Two, I think she is hilarious because she daydreams about her romance novels and feels like she is living one. So its funny the way she describes how her romance novel life is forming. The fact that she is also sarcastic and tough just make her that much cooler.Clark is great because he may be this kind, insightful librarian, but he has no problem going head to head with Vivian. And it just makes me laugh thinking of how Vivian makes him squirm. Jessica is a cool friend. And Hank is a bit mysterious at first. But I love how Simon and Caroline make appearances in the book. I really did love the book, and it makes me really want to visit Mendocino as well.

Screwdrivered by Alice ClaytonBook #3: Cocktail SeriesSource: PurchaseMy Rating: 4/5 starsMy Review: Viv Franklin may be tattooed, pierced and, totally punked out but don’t let her looks fool you. Viv Franklin is, like the rest of her family a math prodigy with a side of computer nerd thrown in for kicks. She owns her own company and is fairly well off thanks to the sale of one of her apps to Google but she is also rather dissatisfied with her life. Viv’s only real joy in life is the escape into her fantasies brought on by her voracious reading of romance novels. On a very regular basis, Viv’s real life experiences get merged into a romantic fantasy as she drifts off rather than paying attention. With no real end to the monotony in sight, Viv is as blown away as everyone else in her family when she finds out her aged and somewhat strange aunt in California has not only died but left Viv her home and ranch. What??? Ranch??? With cowboys??? Like in a romance novel??? Oh. Hell. Yes. Without a thought to the contrary, Viv packs her bags and flies right on out to Mendocino, California where she immediately encounters a sexy cowboy riding the horse she now owns and, a house that is so far from livable that Viv begins to think selling the whole place may be her best bet. BUT, Mendocino has at least one sexy cowboy, a café with excellent coffee and company within walking distance from the house and, Viv just happens to have a good friend with an interior designer girlfriend. Maybe all is not quite lost just yet. Clark Barrow is the local librarian, primary source of information for all things historic in Mendocino and, general pain in Viv’s ass. Once Viv decides the house is going to be livable and she is going to defy everyone’s expectations and make it so, Clark becomes her new worst enemy as he tells her everything she can’t do regarding changes to the house. Turns out owning a home on the historic register is just as big a pain in the ass as the local librarian. Clark is not at all the type of man Viv normally goes for but under all the librarian is a sexy, intelligent, athletic man that Viv just can’t seem to stop thinking about. But, there’s a cowboy. What is a girl to do? If you’re Viv, you make an ass out of yourself on more than one occasion, fight and make up with librarian on a regular basis and, continue to flirt with the cowboy who doesn’t actually seem all that interested. Solid plan there, right?The Bottom Line: I will freely admit that I didn’t like Screwdrivered as much as the first two reads in the Cocktail series but it is still a very fine read. Viv is funny and I so admired her willingness to turn her entire life upside down in order to find her particular brand of bliss. Though she doesn’t always make the right decisions and she frequently drops off into a fantasy, Viv owns what she does and says and deals with the consequences as they arise. Two of the highlights of this read include the ridiculousness that is the home renovation and the constant push and pull between Clark and Viv. The renovations are insane and Viv is a pretty amazing human to be able to deal with all she does in order to get the house both the way she wants it and the way Clark insists it has to be. Clark is such a solid and sexy character that is good during the day but better at night. Mmmm, Nighttime Clark. Almost immediately Clark is the guy you root for and all but shout at Viv to pull her head out of her ass and see the man that is right in front of her. Where Viv is bright and bold and loud, Clark is reserved, thoughtful and, quiet; in short, super-sexy librarian. Getting to their HEA is quite the challenge but as you all know, romance novels always end with an HEA :)