[Review] The Playboy Bachelor (The Bachelors of Arizona # 2) - Rachel Van Dyken

Summary: Margot McCleery could have lived her whole life without seeing Bentley Wellington again-her ex-best friend and the poster boy for Hot, Rich Man-Whores everywhere. But Margot's whiskey-augmented grandmother "buys" Bentley at a charity bachelor auction, and now suddenly he's at her door. Impossibly charming. Impossibly sexy. And still a complete and utter jackass.

Bentley's just been coerced by his grandfather to spend the next thirty days charming and romancing the reclusive red-haired beauty who hates him. The woman he abandoned when she needed him the most. Bentley knows just as much about romance as he knows about love-nothing. But the more time he spends with Margot, the more he realizes that "just friends" will never be enough. Now all he has to do is convince her to trust him with her heart . . . (Pub Date: Aug 29, 2017)

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This was my third book by Van Dyken, and I was so sure she had gotten better when I read The Cheater... Unfortunately, this was but an improved version of The Bet (with an alternative pairing). Honestly, I'd give it a 2.5.

Margot was involved in an accident, which killed her parents and made her lose one of her legs. Since then, she has become a recluse and lost her best friend. Bentley didn't leave unscarred from the tragedy. Seeing how he couldn't stand the thought of losing Margot, he pulled away and they haven't met ever since. Until the day her grandmother buys a date with him on a charity auction and forces the two to spend a whole weekend together.

Even though I could still see Van Dyken's improvement throughout the years, especially in the dialogues, the book was a long cliche, filled with forced angsting.

I never fully got Bentley's motivation for staying away from Margot, so it was impossible to connect to him. And while I got Margot, her fights with Bentley were so forced, I could never relate to any of the characters.

I'd probably have enjoyed a little more—but just a little— had I not read The Bet. The story was just so similar... I was glad Bentley's brother stayed out of the way here at least. I'd have died of boredom. But really, what's up with Van Dyken and people having long-time crushes with whom they've made a mess so big they don't meet for a decade and then they can't stand each other, even though both feel obviously attracted to one another? Is her every book the same plot?

I didn't read the first in this series and I'm not sure I plan to read the third. It wasn't bad, I liked when Bentley and Margot talked, for example. There were nice jokes. But that was the only positive in the book, while the rest was just more of the same.

I think fans of romance will enjoy this if you've never read anything from the author. This story has some steamy scenes but it's not the focus, nor were they distasteful. It's really a romance, and not New Adult. But, yes, I was disappointed because I know she can do better.

Rating: 3 out of 5.