Bad Boys Don’t Make Good Boyfriends
Melanie A. Smith
(Life Lessons, #2)
Publication date: May 19th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

From best-selling author Melanie A. Smith comes the second book in a new series of steamy contemporary medical romance standalone novels about life lessons that break all the rules.

Even when you know better, sometimes it’s simply too tempting…

Hospital work isn’t for the faint of heart. Becca Dillon knows that firsthand, having worked as a medical assistant in the cardiac unit at Rutherford Hospital for longer than she cares to think about. What she does care to think about is having fun, gossip, and … guys. Her favorite of the three. And why stick to one, when you can sample them all?

That’s exactly her plan when a workplace crush on a mysterious bad-boy orderly unexpectedly takes a very steamy turn. But Vincent DeMarco turns out to be nothing like she expected, and before she knows it, she’s falling hard and fast. She wants him in ways she’s never wanted anyone before, but there’s something he’s keeping from her. Something that’s holding him back. And Becca is going to find out what.

Even though she knows that bad boys don’t make good boyfriends, he seems like he might be so much more. Will her quest unlock the truth behind who he really is? Or will it end their relationship for good? Either way, ready or not, Becca’s world is about to change.

Goodreads / Amazon

Before proceeding with this review, let’s take a moment to admire what is underneath the leather jacket (…) Ok, now we can start.

This was such a quick and relaxing read. If you are looking for an easy book, with a strong female character who knows exactly her value and won’t take crap from any man this is your book. There is mystery surrounding the male character as well that will be revealed in the end and that you will not see coming and lots of gossip.

Becca has not had such good male models growing up and this is why she is cataloguing new-comer Vincent DeMarco as a bad boy. But they work together and have the same circle of friends, so it’s impossible not to spend time together. But what happens when the ice is broken and the bad boy does not seem so bad after all? Becca needs to decide if she is ready for a serious relationship and Vincent… Let’s say he has more on his plate!

I loved these two and I loved how they start to know each other. Their relationship starts with uncertainties and they take time to reveal them. She has family baggage that prevents her to fully commit, so it would be a big step. For both, but this is something we learn in the end. I loved Becca’s friends and how they play a role in her decisions at some point. Her support system is great.

We see things through Becca’s perspective, so Vincent remains a mystery until the end.  I would have liked to see alternative chapters here, as Vincent has a complicated story to tell. But on the good side, the lack of knowledge regarding his background remains until the end. Speaking of background, I would have liked to learn more about Becca and her family. I feel we know little about her and what determines her to act the way she does. Also, you should probably read the first book as well. Even if the romance is not related, the abundance of office drama (between nurses, medical assistants, doctors and whatnot) can be overwhelming. There is reference to the events happening in book 1, so if you don’t want to feel like an outsider in some discussions, go ahead and start reading in order!

All in all, I liked the book, it was a great, fun and quick read. Because of the items detailed above, I am giving it 4 stars and I cannot wait to read the next story. Until next time, happy reading!

Author Bio:

Melanie A. Smith is the best-selling author of The Safeguarded Heart Series and other contemporary romance fiction. Originally from upstate New York, she spent most of her childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Los Angeles for college. After that, she spent almost fifteen years in the Seattle Area, and now lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas with her family.

A voracious reader and lifelong writer, Melanie’s writing began at a young age with short stories and poetry. Having completed a bachelor of science in electrical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master’s in business administration at the University of Washington, her writing abilities were mainly utilized for technical documents as a lead engineer for the Boeing Company, where she worked for ten years.

After shifting careers to domestic engineering and property management in 2015, she eventually found a balance where she was able to return to writing fiction.

Melanie is also a Mensan and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and driving with the windows down and the stereo cranked up loud.

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