Tangled by Emma Chase: Book Review

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Humor, New Adult
Author: Emma Chase
Date Published: May 21, 2013
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Size: 223
Edition: Kindle Edition
ISBN13: 2940016469942

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Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

Review:

Tangled is effing gut-punching hilarious. Jumping from one book to this, I never thought it would crack me up big time especially in the wee hours of the morning—without sleep. Drew Evans is someone I would never forget. He's drop-dead-gorgeous just with his wits and antics. He got me not with his caliber at pulling women in effortlessly with his charms, or with his stupendous achievements in business but by sheer humor alone. He’s crass, cocky and overly hot. I'm just sad he couldn't be mine.

I love how Emma Chase has brought this book up. She really has insight into a guy's mind as if she's the man herself. Plus, she's very creative in writing Andrew Evan's train of thoughts. There are so many references to so many things— from William Wallace, Hannibal Lecter to Morticia Adams. I'm just glad I came by the same materials that she did prior to reading this book, else I wouldn't be spilling my guts out laughing. She definitely deserves a whopping 5 stars!

This is the second time I've come by a female author who wrote in the perspective of a man. Like the first one, everything's grounded with the protagonist's witticism in dealing with his girl and humor with his audience. Drew's narration whipped me straight at my face on the first page alone. I couldn't stray my attention away from the book, totally captivated by Drew's mind (technically, the author's).

Tangled will make one hell of a great movie. Most especially with how Drew connects with his audience with his amusing thoughts in this contemporary romance novel that involves banking. There's even phrases like "Let’s just pause here again, shall we?" as he tries to explain his points, share his assumption or simply justify how he came to be (really like a sharp-edged banker, huh?). His self-assurance and mega-alphaness would draw so many people to him in the real world as how I'd been just by reading. Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Devil Wears Prada had made it to the big screen. Why not this one?

The story starts off with Drew in such a huge mess. He's been holed up in his bat cave for a week after he's been infected with the flu. A flu with no definite cure. A flu called love. I really couldn't contain my giggle as he wonders why most serious sicknesses have a nice ring to them— malaria, diarrhea, cholera... influenza. Well, just so he knows (if he still doesn't) such sicknesses were known during the Conquistador era where the world is thought to be at the hands of the explorers—Spaniards and Portuguese. And their nouns are gendered and female nouns usually ends with "a". And so, infectious diseases have a lyrical sound to them because they're female.

Anyway...

Drew was such in a sick state that the only way he could appease himself is by recalling his wonderful moments with the one who infected him with the flu. And that's how the story is told as he returns in time. Wouldn't that be nice for a screenplay?

Drew's dad (one of the owners of the banking company) would often celebrate things in exaggeration. He would throw parties in all kinds of celebration he could find an excuse for. That's why he is loved by his employees and they remained loyal like a slave to a Pharaoh. And so when Drew got crabby with Kate (the love interest) in bringing her fiancé, Billy Warren to the bar night before Thanksgiving, he had such a loose tongue he threw insults towards Billy.

And then Drew said,

I’ll give you a minute to guess what she does...

And the pictures rolled straight at my face for 2 pages. Just effing epic! When I flipped the ebook to the next page, I really laughed myself out seeing one whole page with a picture of a glass of wine in it. And the next page, you could imagine the swooshing of a liquid. Yes, the contents of the glass ended up in his suit. Gratefully, he was spared his face.

I honestly couldn't bring myself to like Kate. If Drew has been stricken by lust at full throttle the first time he met her at a bar one Saturday night (the day of the week he dedicates to fooling around), this is probably one of those times when I don't instantly like the heroine. And I'm just waiting to like her eventually... but I never did.

Drew is very competitive and dedicated to his work. He's used to being "the man" of the company, his father's pride. And when his father became partial to Kate, a new and promising employee of the company, Drew was deeply wounded. And that's when the competition between Drew and Kate started. I have to admit, they have such funny rivalry. The exchange of words is downright hilarious. Even Kate has witty comebacks. But I couldn't believe that a Wharton graduate from University of Pennsylvania like Kate is ignorant of her looks. She knows she's pretty but why can't she be aware that there are those businessmen who are merely attracted with what they see—not the proposal but the body of a woman when it comes to transactions? Can't she take a cue that some are just driven by their physicality? I just find her stupid in that part of the book. You think she kicks ass? Meh!

Next, usually intelligent people have really strong personalities that they could rationalize things especially when it comes to paying gratitude. And so what if Billy had been taking 3 jobs just so she could graduate in college? There are so many ways to get around things. Like Drew said, take advantage on the loopholes. I hate it that she'd been stuck with Billy for almost 11 years! But that's how the author designed Kate so there will be a story for Drew. I understand. If Drew didn't come along, Kate would have ended up with Billy.

I love fierce and self-assured heroines in books. No matter how much Drew push on how strong Kate is, I really find her weak. But don't you worry, just because I'm being judgy on Kate doesn't mean you wouldn't enjoy this book. In fact, if you just ignore the other characters (save for Mackenzie the niece and Dee-dee Warren), the book will stand alone with Drew. He is a lovely character to hold on to.