This was my first book from this author. I was really excited about starting it, based on the synopsis. However, the writing just didn't flow well for me and I had a really hard time finishing it. I don't know that I would recommend this particular book to friends/followers, but I would try this author another time.

Thanks so much to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

First things first, I didn't know that this was the second in a series when I picked it up, but it didn't seem at all like you have to read them in order. As I understand it, it seems like the first book is just this same period of time but from the point of view of this lead's brother. So the brother's story in a different town, but during the same period of time, if that makes sense. So if you've picked this one up and haven't read the first one, I wouldn't worry about it too much!

This book was a bit slow going for me. Once I picked it up, it was fine, but any time I put the book down I found myself reluctant to pick it up. I just kept reaching for my other books that I had going instead of picking this one back up, you know? I'm not quite sure what it was about this book that I just didn't really click with - the characters were fine, the story had the potential to be really fun, the writing style was fun, for some reason this one just wasn't for me.

I would still recommend this book to friends, I think, if this was the type of book that they were looking for - because not every book is going to work for every person, and even though it wasn't for me doesn't mean that it won't be the book for someone else. I would be honest with them in my recommendation that it wasn't my favorite, however. I think that the best way to read this book would be on a relaxing vacation where you can solely focus on reading.

The idea of this book peaked my interest, but it was very hard to get into. In the end I had to stop reading. The characters did not seem to be developed enough to make me care for them and the writing style was a little too hard to follow.

I read it from start to finish in one day. I loved the characters and the story line. I could feel each characters emotion clearly through the writing.

Rake Tarbell has memory of how he ended up in Venice - all the way from California. No wallet so no money, as even his bank account has apparently been emptied. Then he is in the presence of an adorable little girl claiming that he is her father. He also meets Lillith's guardian, Claire Delaney.
So, it is apparently a hangover of massive proportions for Rake. How in the world is he a father? And, why is he is Venice? What a great start to a funny book by MaryJanice Davidson. Imagine being woken up and someone saying, 'hey, this is your daughter'.

Apparently, Claire holds all of the cards. Will she provide proof to Rake that he is indeed Lillith's father? What is really going on in this story? Then, considering that our three major players - Rake, Claire and Lillith - all have secrets, the book slips between humorous and serious. Then add the layer of sexiness when it soon becomes apparent that Claire and Rake most definitely have a connection. Oh, one more layer, and that is an air of mystery in the story.

So, for a fun read, one where you can spend a few hours with an enjoyable book, be sure to pick up a copy of The Love Scam. I hadn't read the first book in the series, Danger Sweetheart, but I didn't feel I was missing anything at all with reading the second book. I would love to read another book in this series if it continues.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This book was described as a "sweet and sassy romantic comedy". I did not find that to be the case. In fact, I found the book to be kind of depressing. It was not a fun read for me at all. I don't know if it was the writing style of this author that was the main contributor to my feeling about the book, but I just did not enjoy it at all. I do not believe that I would read another book from this author unless I could preview it and see that it was different from this story.

When super wealthy Rake Tarbell wakes up in a very bad state in Venice...Italy, not California, unable to remember how on earth he got there and missing his wallet and cell phone he thinks perhaps he may have a problem.

Thus begins The Love Scam where love is all in the family! And so is hilarity! Rake wakes up only to meet a mysterious woman named Claire Delaney who immediately introduces him to his (gulp) young daughter Lillith, whose mother he does not really remember!

And in true comedic flair we begin to learn Claire has secrets she does not want Rake to know and Rake has secrets he does not want Claire to know and both have secrets they don't want Lillith to know and Lillith is keeping her own set of secrets, while all rooming together in a shabby, not up to Rake's standard, hotel room.

Rake, whose accounts seem to have no money in them anymore must work for Claire by putting together Easter Baskets in order to make enough money to buy a cell phone in order to call his twin brother Blake to find out what is actually going on.

When he finally reaches Blake and finds him without any money, Rake decides to use the never used before "nuclear option" which Rake and Blake have saved for a major crisis. Unfortunately for the reader, we must wait to find out exactly was this option is and when we do the fun continues!

In the meantime, Blake and Claire seem to be getting along a little too well, Lillith has pulled on Rake's heart and oh, there are men who are trying to kidnap them!

This is a fast-paced clever, witty story about love and family and nuclear options worth triggering! It is the second book of a series, the first being Danger Sweetheart, but no fears, I had no idea there was a first book and it made absolutely no difference to how much I enjoyed The Love Scam!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin'sPress #MaryJaniceDavidson #TheLoveScam for the advanced copy.

This book had a great premise, and I was really invested in the story, but it fizzled out a bit, and I lost interest. I did end up finishing it, but it wasn't as great as I hoped it would be.

Rake (notice the name!) Tarbell is a perfect example of someone you do not want to meet or, worse still, get involved with. A rich brat, he wakes up in Venice, with no idea how he got there or even where he is, who took wallet and emptied his bank accounts, or who Lillith, who is claiming to be long-lost daughter, is. However, perhaps the woman who brought Lillith into his life can help, though Claire Delaney chuckles at his problems and could care less about what is happening to him. Rake is not really her type, but she might just help him, especially since it will help Lillith.

This story is an interesting one. A lot of it is unbelievable and, I thought, there were some missing chunks that might have helped me understand it better. The author intended the story to be funny, but really did not pull it off. There is just too much off kilter and it jumps around in time a lot. Claire Delaney came across as a solid, good person, but there was so much of Rake and what was going on with him and in his head in the book, that I never really got a good, solid picture of her. Focusing more on Claire and what she was thinking might have been better than focusing so much on Rake. There were also a lot of footnotes, which do not work well with a kindle. Still, the author did succeed in making it all into a hilarious romance, as a lot was amusing to me. I am not sure how every reader will feel, however. I received this From NetGalley to read and review.

The Love Scam is a cute read where absolutely everything goes wrong that could! This fun rom-com is just the pick-me-up you'll need to make you laugh!

First of all, I think we should all clap the author for the uniqueness of the story.
Ever since I read the premise of The Love Scam I knew I had to read it, as it sounded unlike anything I've read before. And in the end, it was very unique.
It was also written in unique way, with so many little monologues and screams inside characters' heads. I know this type of character presentation isn't for everyone, but I kind of like it (even though it took awhile for me to get used to it).
This is second book in the series (I didn't know it before reading) and it can pass as standalone in a way, but I think it is better to read the first book prior to this one. I imagine that in that case the reading experience is better.
In the end, I just quickly want to mention that this is not your typical romance, as romance does not come first in the story.
Also, I kind of found it unbelievable, as I couldn't connect where the feelings for the love interest suddenly came from.
Overall, this was solid, fun, easy to read contemporary and I certainly enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, this is going to be a short review for me - The Love Scam was a DNF for me. Given I didn't finish this book, this will be a very personal review - my take after getting about 40% of the way in. Lets get down to brass tacks: why did I choose to "Do Not Finish" this book?

The writing: This was something I really couldn't get into - I found it to be clunky and awkward and just plain hard to read. The awkwardness of the writing was easiest to see in the dialog: the characters didn't talk like real people - it was unpleasant at times, and distasteful often. 
The characters: They were off-putting for me. I struggled to relate or empathize with them, which made getting into the book even harder.
The plot: For me, it was taking too long to get into the meat of the story. At times, the storytelling was also confusing - the tropes piled up and clarity was elusive. It was simply taking too long to get to the good bits, and the plot that I did read was not moving the story forward very well.

If you're an existing MaryJanice Davidson fan, or are a fan of romance tropes, you might just enjoy this book more than I did. If you're looking for other trope filled romances, be sure to check out Smitten by the Brit, Once Upon a Bad Boy, and Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson all by Melonie Johnson. 1/5

3.5 stars
Rake, a rich playboy, finds himself hungover in Venice, sans wallet and acquiring a daughter (Lillith) he didn't know about.


But Claire Delaney is all too happy to help Rake figure out how he got to Venice, where his wallet is and why he suddenly is missing money from his bank account.

This book had great promise but I struggled a bit with reading/following along and understanding it.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I have read more than a handful of books by this author in the past – for a while I was very into the Undead series. And I was excited to read one of her newer releases! This author has a really characteristic dry and sarcastic humor that I’ve always really found hilarious. And this book was no exception – it was full of dry wit and extreme sarcasm. Which I normally love but I just felt kind of overwhelmed by it in this book. And I think due to not reading the first book in the series I just found the plot line a tad hard to follow. And the random side rambles (while humorous) got a bit distracting at certain points. I loved Lillith’s character – she was adorable and so very entertaining. There were definitely some interesting parts and I found it to be overall entertaining but it didn’t end up being my favorite. I’d still recommend giving it a read, especially if you like other novels by MaryJanice Davidson since it’s pretty in line with her normal humor!

Told in two perspectives using multiple time jumps, this is classic MJD – twisty, funny, irreverent and full of weird factoids ane stays just this side of believable and plausible which make an all-around wonderful and hard to put down read. This is the story of Rake Tarbell, twin of Blake Tarbell, and all-around irreverent and irredeemable playboy. Aside from taking every opportunity to needle his brother, Rake enjoys his money, his looks and his freewheeling lifestyle to the nth degree.

But waking up in a strange city with no memory of how you got there or the horrible incapacitating hangover that leads you to dropping face first into the Grand Canal in Venice, isn’t a great wake up. Neither is discovering a ‘helpful’ woman with a strangely solemn child in tow, who suddenly leaves you with said child and disappears. After trying to find a telephone and discovering that you not only have no wallet, but no id, no money and no real ability to go to the authorities after being escorted from Venice several years prior – and now with a child to watch over..... it’s pretty dire.

Claire was the mystery woman: with a penchant for helping those who need it, protecting the vulnerable, and making money for a big dream – and Rake happens to fall into line with her plans (and her next ‘assignment”) From twists and turns, to these two very different people who both find camaraderie, attraction and a tentative ‘friendship’ in one another’s company, along with a very unusual child in Lillith – the story twists, turns and leaves everyone laughing (or wondering just what all the end games are. It’s got plenty of steam, lots of banter and that classic not quite straightforward or ‘expected’ characters that Davidson crafts so well. Grab this book – I had no problem jumping into the series at book 2 –but I’ve got book one because this was just SO FUN. The perfect take your mind off EVERYTHING read.....

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aLl /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

wanted to love this book. I really did. I love zany writing and quirky characters but for me, this book fell short. I felt like Davidson wrote the book on fast-forward. The entire time I kept thinking "Did I miss something?" This book reminds me of when you are listening to a person talk and that person is talking so fast that you cannot comprehend what they are saying.

I am not familiar with Davidson's other book, so I am not sure if The Love Scam is indicative of her typical writing style or if this was a detour from her norm. The book just felt overly cheesy and ridiculous.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

This was a such a fun read, full of character that you will fall in love with instantly and will have you in tears with laughter. The author did an amazing job at perfectly combining humor and romance with an element of suspense that kept the pages turning. I also loved that as the story evolved and developed it revealed the complexity of each characters and their pasts, exposing a depth that will further endear you to their story. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

Hmm...this book gave me mixed feelings – it was like it was written by two people. The beginning didn't do much for me but as the story starts to unwind it got better and i did enjoy myself by the end of it.

The plot it self was good; it had a lot of mystery, surprises and funny banter between all the characters.

For my first read i wasn't wowed but i'll probably try this author again. This story gets 3,5*.

Review copy received by NG for an honest review***

The Love Scam was a funny rom-com that manages to utilize many romance tropes (as intended) while establishing a fairly interesting plot.

Rake Tarbell - previously wealthy and childless - finds himself in Venice, with no money or memory of how he got there, but to make matters worse, he's presented with Lillith, his daughter, by the charming but mysterious Claire Delaney. Rake has a lot of questions, Delaney has many of the answers, but there's more to this story than it seems at first glance.

The story was funny and romantic with a touch of mystery, and I could honestly say that it had a good plot. Lillith was definitely my favorite character. I enjoyed this book far more than Danger, Sweetheart, but that isn't to say that it doesn't have it's own problems. For one, the writing style was kind of weird, but more importantly, the romance wasn't very well built. It felt quite abrupt, especially on Delaney's side.

Other than that, the story was quite funny, it had a nice plot, and I would recommend this book to others who want to read a fluffy romance.

I really did not know what to make of this book. I think I must have been expecting something similar to the Betsy series and this was not that at all even though the same snarky humor was interwoven throughout the whole book, it just fell flat for me. I spent most of the time confused by the storyline and having to jump back and forth in time did not help at all! So, for me, it was just okay. I have read so many of the books Ms. Davidson has written and have loved all of them! Definitely not one I will be keeping or rereading!