Man Candy by Melanie Harlow

I was late to the Melanie Harlow party but now I hold my hands up and admit I am completely on board because this author nailed this story!!

Man Candy is fabulous or actually no, Melanie Harlow is fabulous because with this she delivered two characters that I loved in equal measure, I didn’t fall head over heels for Quinn and quickly side-line Jamie, no they both shared the limelight and I was thrilled that they were able to hold court so equally.

Infatuation is a cruel mistress when you are adolescent and as hard as Jamie fell for Quinn, he never really got with the program. I sort of got where they were both coming from at this point although I think Quinn needed to take a step back to look at the bigger picture but then again they were both young, so an immediately happy ever after would have left for a pretty short book, so hotly anticipating how they would find a way back to each other I ploughed on, fuelled entirely by alcohol I may add!!

But dang did the author make not only me but them wait for their second chance…ten years and so much water under the bridge and they are back not only in each other’s lives but they are neighbours.

At this point Jamie almost lost me, I was wobbling a little at her attitude and the fact that she was so absolutely determined that everything was her way or not at all, her definition of happy ever after is that it simply doesn’t exist, love and relationships don’t even register on her day to day horizon, she is content (I can’t say happy) with her career and her non-committal existence but that is the operative word, she is existing. But has be meet her nemesis when Quinn makes his move?

Looking for more than Jamie is willing to offer, Quinn knows that he has a fight on his hands to win Jamie over because what he has in mind is not just a short term fumble, he is looking for the whole kit and caboodle, everything; two point four kids and picket fence as optional extra’s…so he has to flex those more than adequate muscles and let loose the charm offensive because Jamie’s walls are not going to be easy to force his way through.

An intelligent, humorous and quirky read that I fell completely in love with.