3.25/5
Not a great book but it was a fun one.

This story was written by Jane Evanovich.

It is the story of Alexandra Scott and Michael Casey.

Alexandra wants to escape the rat race and numbers of Wall Street. She wants to go to Alaska, where men outnumber women. So she escapes her job and fancy condo, and ends up in a rundown cabin in the woods.

Alex is in search of a husband. What she finds is a sexy pilot named Michael who is a confirmed bachelor. Michael has no intentions of getting caught up in Alex's plan to catch a husband, even though she is appealing. Alex will have to use all her skills and determination to capture him.

I enjoyed this funny, romantic book. It was fun reading about Alex and her quest to find a husband. Her adventure in Alaska has quite a few surprises and she has a lot to learn.

VERY ENTERTAINING BOOK LOL SEVERAL TIMES

This was a 200 page lobotomy.

I hate to be such a hater, but it literally made my head hurt, it was that ridiculously banal and trite. I am a huge sucker for the formulaic romance and enjoy the old over-the-top fun romp, but there has to be some emotional investment in the characters for me to give a damn, and this made no effort to provide anything resembling depth. In fact, this little book seemingly reveled in sloshing through the shallowest end of the intelligence pool.

The dialogue and inner monologues were daft and woefully outdated and the characters were, at best, complete gibbering morons. How they managed to walk upright, let alone supposedly survive in the Alaskan wilderness is beyond me. This could all have been overlooked to some degree at least had there been some deliciously hot love scenes. But anything approaching frisky had all the smolder of a very wet, very dead dog, ended abruptly (forget 'fade to black'; the shutters were slammed shut so fast you had to kiss your fingers goodbye), and referred to with the oh-so-realistic trumpet of "That was glorious!" Retch.

Should you also possess the mile-wide masochistic streak I apparently do, as I read through to the end, have at it. But keep sharp implements out of reach, because eyes are handy for activities other than reading and you might forget that halfway through this delightful novel.

4 stars -- This book is good. It is not as good as it could have been because it is a 'quick' romance. There is not enough time or space to flesh out everything - characters & plot - fully. But Evanovich makes me laugh and reinforces my belief that good people - or at least good people with good intentions - 'win'. And this story checks off both of those boxes. The story revolves around (Alex)andra Scott & Michael Casey who become neighbors in/on the Alaskan Frontier. She has traded homes, literally, and has moved from her luxury condominium & her brokerage firm in NYC to a cabin with no electricity or indoor plumbing. He has both of these commodities, but while he doesn't mind sharing them, they are not hers to keep just as he is not hers. She is looking for a husband; he does not want a wife, but somehow, sparks still manage to fly!

Very typical brain-check-out book. Super cheesy. Fast read. Exactly what I expected.

The sex is overly skipped over tho, head's up. Like every time they did the do I had to reread the paragraph like "Wait what?"

Other than that, yeah, it's Janet Evanovich.

Alex gives up her position as VP in very busy New Jersey. She buys an unseen cabin from Harry and moves to Alaska. Her neighbor, Casey, helps her get settled in the frozen north. Are Casey and Alex a sweet match made for love, or a boxing match?!

Funny, dippy little love story.....not exactly serious literature, but it was entertaining

Cute, fun story. A lot of times these romances from the 1980's are full of weak women being slapped and harassed and giving in to guys forcing themselves upon them. This heroine was in Alaska specifically for the purpose of finding a husband and starting a family, which I suppose some people would find antiquated, but she's holding the reins and when she sets her sights on her neighbor she goes after him with all she's got. Maybe that was kind of silly, maybe she should have found a man who expressed an interest in her rather than chasing after one she thinks is interested in her despite his behavior saying otherwise. But she's a woman who goes after what she wants and you have to give her some props for that.

I bought this at the library used bookstore to take on a short trip with some friends. Specifically, I was looking for a small paperback. I had read some of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books (I stopped in the middle of No. 11 after deciding to that I couldn't stand any more), so I thought it might be a fun read. I didn't have time to read on the trip but read it a few days after I returned home.

The book is basically a Hallmark Movie in paperback, except that the characters have a sex a few times in the book. Actually, every time they have sex, the next day one or the other of them is ready to get out of the relationship. It was an o.k. read. I understand it is part of a series of similar books she wrote. I am not interested in reading another one in this series.

This one is on its way back to the library used bookstore.

I really enjoy this book. Of all of Janet Evanovich's early romantic comedies, this one is probably my favorite. Why, you ask? It's because it's set in Alaska. I really love stories set in Alaska. Alaska is a place I've visited once (twice if you count the layover I had at the airport in Anchorage, but that visit doesn't really count) and dream of living in one day. I have just got to experience one of their long and cold winters. :-)

I also enjoy this book because Alexandra 'Alex' Scott is so delightful and Michael 'Casey' Casey is so endearing. I love Bruno, the overweight Rottweiler, too. :-)

Something is holding me back from giving this book a full five stars, though. I'm updating my rating to the full five stars. I just return to this book too often to not rate it five stars.

I'm not sure what it is, but it just doesn't move me in the same way that, for instance, Jennifer Crusie's Manhunting does. When I think of Janet Evanovich's early romantic comedies, invariably this is the book that comes to mind. And I do love it, but I never feel like I can wax on and on about it in the same way I can about Jennifer Crusie's early romantic comedies. But it's still a five-star read for me. And it's on my Favorites shelf, though. After all, it is my favorite of JE's early romantic comedies. ;-)

I do laugh out loud at a few lines in this book. I'll share a couple of them:

First, on page 9, we have the scene where Bruno is resisting Alex's efforts to get him to walk with her while they wait for the ferry's departure bell, so she brandishes a doughnut and, seeing it, Bruno jumps her. He knocks her into the pier's railing, the doughnut flies out of her hand into the water, and "without a moment's hesitation Bruno jumped the rail in pursuit."

Michael Casey couldn't believe his eyes. That crazy broad just deep-sixed her dog! She sent him sailing off to fetch The Big One.

LOL!!! ;-)

The next line I'll share comes on page 61, when Casey returns home after canceling his meeting because,

"It's dangerous for you to be here alone."
"Oh, pooh."
Casey stared at her, dumbfounded. He didn't have an answer for "Oh, pooh."

lol ;-)

The last line I'll share can be found on page 204. It's when Alex has been out with Bubba Johanssen:

Five hours later, Casey heard Alex stomping the snow off her boots on the deck and quickly buried his nose in the mystery he was reading. He'd been on page fifty-seven for two hours and didn't have a clue what it said.

lol ;-)

I can't really think of anything else to say about this book right now, but I do love it. I just don't LOVE-love it. It will probably always be my go-to Janet Evanovich book, but it will never be the first book I think of when I think of romantic comedies, or even when I think of stories set in Alaska. That honor goes to Northern Lights by Nora Roberts, which is a romantic suspense set in Alaska that I really, really, love.

But Manhunt is definitely a fun, quick, read and I know I'll revisit it again - multiple times - in the years to come. ;-)

New Jersey Meets Alaska

Alexandra Scott, a New York executive, decides to leave her luxurious home in New Jersey to find the man of her dreams in Alaska. Despite the misgivings of her lawyer, Alexandra trades houses with an old Alaskan store-owner, Harry. Along with the Rottweiler, Bruno, that she inherited from her Grandfather, Alexandra arrives off Alaskan ferry to her destination. But her arrival is not without peril as Bruno falls off the ferry and Alexandra jumps into the freezing water to rescue him. Bruno rescues himself, but Michael Casey, the handsome Alaskan businessman who jumps into the water to help Alexandra, gets his nose smashed by her. This is the first meeting of the two protagonists who are reluctantly attracted to each other. Alex wants someone who is brown-haired and boring not handsome, rich, and blonde. Casey doesn't want to commit to anyone at all, having been burned many years ago. Alex is truly out of her element in Alaska, making all kind of mistakes that could get her killed, while Casey comes to the rescue because he admires her pluck. The tension between the two make the story interesting, while some of the mishaps make it humorous. This is a light-hearted read.