This book was adorable and so much fun! Vanessa Jared’s Got A Man would be an absolute gem of a movie! This book was filled with drama, great romance, and just so much fun. I really enjoyed it and loved that it was able to touch on serious topics in an adult’s world, but also was able to be silly and fun—it’s a hard thing to do having both and doing it so eloquently.

Vanessa Jared's Got a Man is a fun and slightly chaotic (in a good way) read filled with great banter, amazing friendships, a biracial couple, FMC in her 40s and a LOT of drama. I'll be honest that the entire premise of the book is not really believable, but if you know that going in and you like romcoms, you'll enjoy this one!

I enjoyed getting to read a FMC who is older than 22 and post-divorce. It leads to a much different dynamic than a lot of romances out there. I liked how she had this amazing friend group that formed later in life and that are always there for each other! While the love interest, Michael, was a bit overbearing at times, I overall thought he was quite the catch!

This book dealt with quite a few real life issues, which didn't alway fits with the less serious parts, but overall it was well thought out, had great character development, and an excellent diverse contemporary romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sheriff Michael Park convinces divorcee Vanessa Jared to help him keep his little sister from marrying her no-good ex in LaQuette’s Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man. The novel gets off to an emotionally intense start, dealing with the lingering impacts of Vanessa’s marriage and divorce. Brilliant, courageous, beautiful, stronger than she knows, and a bit lost, Vanessa is on the road to rediscovering herself after years of keeping her needs, dreams, feelings, and desires hidden to become the woman her ex wanted her to be. Meeting and becoming friends with two other amazing Black women recovering from divorce in therapy helps her in this journey. Loyal, loving, dependable, sexy, honorable, and overprotective, Michael quit his job, gave up his life in the city, and moved back home to raise and care for his teenage sister after their parents die in a car accident, making her the focus of his life.

LaQuette’s vibrant writing style, vivid description, lively and authentic dialogue, humor, wit, and emotional narrative draw you in instantly, making the pages fly by. She deftly develops her cast of diverse and relatable characters in this interracial/multicultural romance, with interactions and conversations between the characters that feel natural and genuine. I love that despite the diversity in race/ethnicity among characters and interracial romantic relationships—Vanessa is African American, and Michael is Korean American—the characters’ races are not at issue or a focal point of the story.

Vanessa Jared, a 40-something divorcee, meets two women who become her best friends while rebuilding her life after divorcing her toxic, emotionally abusive, cheating ex-husband. Together they form The Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club and start the “Do Me” portion of their lives. On the second anniversary of her divorce, sheriff Michael Park comes to Vanessa expecting her to help him stop his little sister from marrying her no-good ex. However, Vanessa refuses to help because she’s freed herself from him and never wants to see or be near her ex again. But when Michael shows her a photo of his sister and Vanessa sees that she’s wearing her grandmother’s ring that her ex must have stolen from her, Vanessa is more than willing to help him to recover it. The last thing she expects, however, is to fall in love with Michael in the meantime.

Vanessa and Michael’s relationship is a bit of a slow burn. But the wait is well worth it. LaQuette wonderfully develops their relationship from uneasy allies, to friends, to lovers with flirty, sexy, sweet, and humorous banter. I love Michael and Vanessa’s connection, interactions, sexual chemistry, intimacy, and love scenes, which are sexy AF. Vanessa and Michael don’t shy away from serious conversations but also talk about all kinds of things, with a lot of flirting, innuendo, and fiery chemistry. I love how intensely Michael is feeling Vanessa. While he tries to keep his cool and stay in control, it doesn’t take long for his attraction to her to deepen. Vanessa, on the other hand, is hesitant to get involved with anyone after her experience with her controlling ex. So, Vanessa fiercely fights the attraction—though she’s deeply attracted to Michael from their first meeting. Spending time with him only makes Vanessa respect and care for him, and she wants him even more. But Vanessa can only allow herself to enjoy being with him while she’s in town because she’s not willing to risk her heart or independence. Michael’s relentless need to protect the people he loves, which tends to get out of control, only reinforces her skittishness about pursuing anything romantic with him.

LaQuette does a great job of showing her characters existing and having lives outside of each other while they’re together, which sometimes is missing from romances. I love Vanessa’s friends and their relationship. Their conversations and interactions are insightful, honest, humorous, and so crucial to the revelation and development of Vanessa’s character and the novel. Likewise, Michael’s relationships with his friends and the townspeople are entertaining and enlightening about Michael and his sister, furthering their development and the story.

I like how LaQuette subtly speaks to the stigma of therapy in the Black community and emotionally manipulative/abusive relationships through Vanessa’s situation. Through Michael and his sister’s loss, LaQuette explores grief’s impact on surviving family members and its influence on their personalities and interactions with the people in their lives.

Jared’s Got a Man is an angsty, sexy AF, humorous, steamy, emotional, multicultural/interracial romance. The novel explores themes of self-discovery, letting go of the past, emotional healing and recovery, friendship, learning to trust and open your heart to love again, and making a fresh start after an emotionally abusive relationship. I highly recommend it to readers looking for a steamy, engaging, sexy romance about diverse characters in their 40s.

CW: past emotional abuse/manipulation and control.

Advanced review copy provided by St. Martin’s Griffin via Netgalley for review.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

This cover is hot. Let that be said.

This was about to be a generous three stars but nah.

I will say that the premise of this book is interesting and why I wanted to read it. I expected this to be some sort of revenge/exposé story of Vanessa and Michael against her ex-husband. And … it wasn’t. I can’t even tell you what happened since I couldn’t get invested. The romance in the book would’ve probably been better for me if they bonded over getting Vanessa’s ring back and “saving” Michael’s sister.

As other people (probably) around my age have said, I’m not the audience for this book. It’s more Adult than New Adult.

I LOVE strong female main characters & Vanessa Jared is definitely it. I loved her character in this book so much because she was a force of nature, but had real flaws & struggles. She felt relatable & memorable.

The chemistry between Vanessa and Michael was AMAZING and filled w/ all of the messy moments of forced proximity in a small town (along with some spice).

This was such a fun read & I can’t wait to read more by this author!

Aaaaaagh devoured! The characters feel so real, the writing was great, and the romance was so well done. Highly recommend, will be posting about this on my page!

Listen, I will read anything La Quette writes! She is a master storyteller and builds her characters in a way that you have to get to the end to find out. I loved the title, the cover and just how wonderful she is words!

I was honestly expecting a second chance kind of romance, but what I got was a wonderful enemies to lovers romance featuring characters who really could be your neighbors. Fully developed people you would want to be friends with in real life with the kind of love story you love to hear at weddings.

Devoured in one sitting! This was so delicious the cover and the drama. Vanessa was such a good character with a brave backstory - I was rooting for her to get this man. I liked the tease at the end and hope there’s a second book set in this town

This was a fun debut! Vanessa Jared is still reeling and healing from her divorce from her huband of 20 years, When she tries and fails to join a support group for other divorcees, she meets up with two other single 40-somethings. They form the Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club and join forces to rebuild their lives better together.

But two years later, Vanessa is still struggling to find herself. That’s when a sexy small-town sheriff shows up on her doorstep. Michael’s sister is engaged to Vanessa’s ex, and he wants her help to stop the wedding.

Vanessa refuses, until she spots her late grandmother’s ring on his sister’s left hand. Vanessa agrees to help dissuade his sister, but only until she gets the ring back.

I enjoyed LaQuette’s writing style and voice. She shows us what it looks like to rebuild a life that’s bigger, better, and stronger. I love the boundaries Vanessa insists on putting in place (and sticking to). There’s some great banter and chemistry, with plenty of open-door steam.

The secondary characters, both her friends and his, are a great complement to the cast, and I’d love to see them pair off in additional stories. Thanks to SMP Romance for a digital review copy.

CW: death of parents, emotional abuse

Honestly I could have read this in one day! I love a romance novel that’s 250 pages. Short, sweet, quick and dirty (and I’m not just talking about the sex scenes which were handled VERY well 😜). I really enjoyed this one. It’s not often that I read about 40 year old Black women (I feel like romance is still a very white and younger genre; most books I read are about women in their late 20s/early 30s) so I am pleased to report that it’s a delight. It does talk about some heavy issues (content warnings before) but the author handles them respectfully and gracefully. These two characters know how to communicate, which was honestly very refreshing. The third act miscommunication made a lot of sense and honestly, it was handled very, very well. I’m excited to go back through this author’s catalog and see what else she has to offer.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advance copy!

We don’t get many books about divorced women finding love again. I loved this plot because the story was a bit unconventional but it worked. I was so happy they were able to get the young woman out of the grips of that sick man. I loved the friendships in this book. It made it feel more than romance can’t wait to tell all my friends about it

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the arc.

I absolutely loved this book. I am usually not one for Insta-love but Michael and Vanessa were perfect! I love the dialogue around healing from emotional abuse and trauma. I love the strong friend groups and women who uplift other women. The side characters were truly amazing and friends that you would want in your corner.

I think what I loved the most was the character growth for Vanessa. She truly has an amazing character arc and I loved how strong she is. She talks about her ex and the abuse she suffered and you know he is the bad guy but that storyline does not take over the entire book. It is a foundation for the growth of Vanessa's character and it's done beautifully. Highly recommend!

When a big city divorcée and a small town sheriff team up to stop her slimy ex from marrying his little sister, sparks fly... or at least, that's this book's MacGuffin. Very little time is spent on the big plan or on the development of the little sister, who could have been an interesting foil to our heroine. The actual plot, however, is a typical — and quite fun, once you know what you're in for — small town romance between Actual Adults, with a lot of heat. *fans self*

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was very emotional. Vanessa...damn she went through a lot and this was as much a romance as it was a book about her journey to finding herself but like angst and all.

I'm not a big angst self-discovery reader but I think that LaQuette does a good job making us care about her early on. And her friend group!! what a riot!

Thank you to Daina @dai2daireader for enthusiastically recommending Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man. Daina’s review plus this stunning cover made me want to pick it up.

Contemporary romance lovers, check out this book. A mix of sweet small-town scenes, very Hallmark channel-esque, with steamy open-door scenes

I love that Vanessa is a 40-year-old, divorced female protagonist in a romance novel. Vanessa is getting her confidence back after a 20-year emotionally abusive marriage, and she is becoming her whole and true self. Vanessa makes new friends and meets a handsome small-town sheriff in unusual ways in this novel, and her life changes for the better.

One critique–excessive and lengthy similes distracted from the reading experience. Sometimes descriptive language isn’t necessary when the reader already gets the picture.

I really enjoyed this story about a woman getting her groove back and a second chance at love! It has the perfect blend of sweet and spicy as well as light and serious. Both in their 40s, Vanessa and Michael are genuine and wonderful characters with flaws. While their romance is the main storyline, I liked that we see significant growth from both of them.

Vanessa and Michael aren’t the only lovable characters. Both have a great group of besties who provide comic relief and tough love advice when needed. I’m looking forward to what might happen next with this group of friends.

If you are looking for older MCs, a romance with depth, and a quaint small-town vibe, Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man belongs on your tbr.

✨ Favorite Quote: “The idea that we have to have everything figured out at any given point in our lives is a lie. You know that, don’t you?” ✨

While the concept for this novel initially intrigued me, the actualization lost me within the first few chapters. Neither of the main characters felt well enough fleshed out in that time to follow further nor did their circumstance/the premise of the story itself feel believable enough to go along with.

This had a lot of elements I wanted to like: small town romance, forced proximity, later-in-life love story, teaming up to take down a no-good ex… Unfortunately, I could tell pretty early on that I wasn’t feeling it and that never really changed.

The connection between Vanessa and Michael was purely physical, I truly don’t know why they liked each other. And it happened instantly, the moment Michael first saw her he was ogling her and it just felt kinda gross. The sex scenes are also all from Michael’s POV (why?), so it left me with this weird feeling of the book being really sexualized on his side and Vanessa was just… there. When they broke up in the third act I actually thought it made perfect sense and didn’t really see any reason why they should get back together.

I had some issues with the writing as well, people were frequently described as being witty or unusually perceptive when they were literally repeating something that had just been said. There were also some words used incorrectly (“Are you okay?” “Everything’s fine,” she quipped. ???) which would have pulled me out of the story no matter how into it I was.

The actual storyline (Vanessa’s ex and Michael’s sister getting engaged with Vanessa’s stolen ring) takes a major backseat to the romance until the very end and then it’s resolved in a couple of pages. I wanted more drama! More anything! It was just… over.

I did enjoy the small town vibes, the diversity, and the fact that the characters are older than most typical romcoms. And the cover is gorgeous! Ultimately though, this one wasn’t for me.


Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

I’m not sure I quite have my head wrapped around my thoughts about this book, but I think the majority of my issues have to do with not feeling like I connected with the main characters. Vanessa is divorced and was in an emotionally abusive relationship for 2 decades. Michael lost both of his parents ten years ago and has been caring for his younger sister ever since. I don’t have any experiences like that in my past. These events greatly affected the decision-making for both main characters, so without that connection I couldn’t really understand their motivations. Another reason I didn’t quite connect is because it was pretty insta-lusty and I just prefer a slower more emotional development between main characters.

Michael finds Vanessa and asks for her help because his sister is engaged to Vanessa’s ex. He doesn’t want to see what happened to Vanessa happen to his sister. Vanessa ultimately agrees to help this stranger because he happens to be from the same small town as her two best friends and they’ve vouched for him. Through a series of events, Vanessa ends up staying with Michael at his house for 4 or 5 days and they give in to their deep attraction to one another. Eventually she talks to his sister and she has no reason to stay any longer aside for her feelings for Michael. There were several decisions made by both characters at this point that I didn’t really understand. Michael’s motivations were revealed to Vanessa the same time they were revealed to the reader so it felt like it came out of nowhere. There were also conversations towards the end of the book that I believe were setting up the next book with one of Vanessa’s best friends but it felt really forced and out of place.

There wasn’t anything wrong with the story but I just wasn’t connecting with things so I couldn’t get myself excited for the couple and their romance.

I did receive a copy of the ebook through NetGalley but ended up also listening to the audiobook from my library. My thoughts are my own!