About All Made Up:
Everyone
thinks Katriona McLeod is living the dream. Her professional career
as a make up artist sees her traveling the world working with the
stars and she's got no shortage of men wanting her affection. Only
problem is she's never gotten over Caleb Murphy, the one guy she's
ever loved. When she accepts a job on the latest looking-for-love
reality TV show, Falling for the Farmer, she discovers to her horror
that Caleb is the leading man and she's cast as one of his harem. But
she hides a secret that means that even if she wanted a second chance
with the guy who broke her heart, she could never have it.
Caleb
Murphy couldn't care less about C-Class celebrity fame or reality TV
and he certainly doesn't believe it could lead him to love. The one
thing he does care about is fulfilling his mother's last wish. Kat's
presence on the show seems to offer up a solution that will make both
the network and his mother happy. It might have been almost ten years
since they split but he knows he can trust her with his plan. Just as
long as he doesn't fall in love all over again with the woman who
will never stay.
My
thoughts:
At
the end of this year, All Made Up
by Kara Isaac is going to land a spot on my list of favorite reads in
2018. I haven't watched reality TV in years so I was skeptical about
the book. However, so many people were raving about it that I had to
see what the fuss was about. Now I'm fangirling with them. It's an
amazing book! And here's why:
The
story instantly hooked my attention and the romantic tension between
Caleb and Kat sustained my interest. I wasn't able to read it all in
one sitting and when I wasn't reading, I daydreamed up scenes of
Caleb and Kat getting together, all the while wondering how the
author was going to make it happen. The well-written narrative and
humor-laced dialogue spun a superb story of lost love and second
chances that captivated me until the end.
Kat
and Caleb are strong characters individually, but they are fabulous
together. Both had substantial character development throughout the
story which I enjoyed. Caleb felt like a modern-day hero who
respected women and didn't take advantage of them.
I
appreciated the theme of a woman being valuable because of who she
is, not because of her body parts. This theme played out in several
characters: Kat, Mirabelle, other female contestants. The affirming
voices of Caleb and Janine resounded a message relevant to girls and
women of all ages: You are more than the sum of your broken parts.
You are more than your body. You are valuable for who you are.
All Made Up
is the first novel by Kara Isaac that I've read, but it will not be
the last. It includes characters from Kara Isaac's previous novels,
but functions well as a stand-alone contemporary romance. I paid for
my copy of All Made Up
and it was worth every cent. I highly recommend All
Made Up to romantic
comedy fans even if reality TV isn't your thing.
