In Ugly Ducklings Finish First by Stacy Gail, Dr. Payton Pruitt used to be the ugly duckling with the most horrible nicknames, metal mouth, queen geek, baby brain, all because she was so smart she skipped a couple of grades and she was younger then everyone else in high school. She preferred to have her head in a book than to hear all the names they gave her. Until she was assigned as Wiley (Coyote) Sharpe’s tutor to help him get passing grades so he could graduate. She lived to help him and for her studies, but the fact that Wiley was one of the popular kids did not help her be closer to him.
Wiley is now a respected lawyer, and he has worked hard to be where he is. But now his ten year high school reunion invitation has arrived and he is not sure if he wants to go. Not only does he does not want to hear again how he was voted the label Most Likely to Be Slapped with a Paternity Suit, which he has not been able to live down. But he also has some acts of vandalism that suggest they are from someone that knew him back then, which means he has to go if he wants to be able to find the culprit.
Payton convinced herself to go to the reunion only because she had a conference the following day in another city close by her hometown Bitterthorn, Texas. Now being faced with so many people that did not like her and only made her high school years miserable she believes that she made a mistake and wants to leave. But she will stay for a little while and then leave only if to vindicate herself and her old self-esteem with the woman she is now.
As much as Wiley is hating the reunion he wants to see if anyone looks like the culprit of the vandalism against him, but so far nothing and he wants to leave, until he sees a gorgeous woman all by herself and he knows that he is going to approach her. Payton can recognize Wiley immediately, what surprises her is that he recognized her, but they were really close back then so it stands to reason that he would recognize some habits she has not gotten fully rid off.
The way that the sparks fly off when they are together, and even more on their first kiss, falling into bed will be easy. But convincing Payton to give him and the town a chance and to stay will not. She has been moving to bigger and better things in the past ten years, now Wiley will have to find a way to convince her that staying in a small town is not going back but better for her and everyone, especially them.
The intrigue of the vandalisms, the smarts of Payton and the determination of Wiley to protect her and fight for what they are feeling kept me going without being able to put the book down. Payton has a lot of issues she has to resolve if she is to be truly happy, but she will have to face and hear the other side of things and not just the one she believes that she knows. Wiley will have his work cutout for him on this one, but the love that he has grown to have for her is definitely worth it.
For a fun, sweet and light reading, don’t miss Ugly Ducklings Finish First by Stacy Gail.
Book Info:
Published August 5th 2013 by Carina Press
Metal Mouth. Queen Geek. Dr. Payton Pruitt heard it all growing up. But she’s over it, and attending her ten-year high school reunion is the perfect way to prove it to herself. Even if there’s only one person she’s interested in seeing in Bitterthorn, Texas: Wiley Sharpe.
Now a respected lawyer, Wiley didn’t live down to the label Most Likely to Be Slapped with a Paternity Suit. But recent acts of vandalism suggest someone still sees him as a heartbreaker, and the reunion seems a likely place to find the culprit. Instead, Wiley comes face-to-face with his old pal Payton—and is wowed not only by her transformation into a ravishing swan, but by the connection they still share.
Payton is pleased the playboy she used to tutor has grown into an honorable man, but she’s too smart to fall for a guy with roots in a place she couldn’t wait to leave. But while Payton is an academic genius, Wiley is the one with the PhD in pleasure, and he intends to use it to convince her to stay…