May DNF Roundup: The Ladies’ Man by Susan Mallery

She'd resolved to "act more sophisticated" and "get out more". But the rumpled bedding, the coffee brewed by other hands, and The Note reminded Rachel Harper that she'd done something completely out of character. She'd brought a man home from a bar.

 

And apparently made a baby.

 

She'd been nervous to tell Carter Brockett the news. Oh, she felt strangely safe with him despite his dangerous looks. Worse, she liked him. But what must he think of the naïve schoolteacher who'd lost control and gotten herself knocked up? After all, the man had a legion of exes who'd been unable to snare a commitment, and here she had a forever-binding one!

 

Then she remembered. He'd lost control, too.

 

I’m usually a fan of Susan Mallery so I was excited when Harlequin reached out and asked if I was interested in reviewing the audiobook of Ladies’ Man when the title was re-released at the start of the year.

 

It sounded intriguing: Rachel’s a good girl who wants to get a bit wild and live a little, Carter’s an undercover cop not ready to settle down. There’s a one-night stand and consequences from that. So, it sounded like it was going to be my cuppa tea. Sadly, this was the type of tea I’d born straight down the drain.

 

Here’s where it started going wrong, so wrong.

 

Carter’s upset because Rachel didn’t call and he accuses her of using him.(I’m totally fine with that part.) What irked me was Rachel’s reply that, ‘I’m the woman, I can’t use you.’ Seriously, Rachel? Seriously?!  Strike One.

 

Then when Rachel tells Carter there are ramifications of their night together, his mind automatically assumes STD, then he goes on a tirade about how can the heroine have unprotected sex with a stranger and then he gets irate that she’s not on the pill. So Carter says, “You let yourself have sex with me without protection or birth control?”  Okay, Carter, it takes two and you decided to go bareback. So, most definitely Strike Two.

 

And to top it off, she asks him to sign away his rights. Strike Three. I’m done.
 

Then throw in Carter’s ex-girlfriend stick her nose into Carter and Rachel’s private business and revealing it to his family, who happens to be the world’s most meddling family.

 

I just couldn’t take any more of the madness and turned this one off for good.

It happens. The dreaded DNF. You know you’ve had one or two, or ten. Rather than posting them individually, I decided to do a monthly roundup of the books I’ve DNF’d.