Kinda Don’t Care (Simple Man #1)

Not even sure I could give this one 3 stars. I love LLV but this book was a big disappointment to me. The build up for Rafe was there and the let down was real. There was no connection between Rafe and Janie. The only parts of the story I liked were seeing the characters from the older books. The sex scenes felt detached and I did not feel any kind of connection between them at all. Janie was immature and I couldn’t figure out why they chose to handle Rafe the way they did after the accident. Instead of communicating or fighting for her man she made some ridiculous decisions that apparently had little to no consequence and didn’t make sense at all. If I was new to LLV I probably wouldn’t be tempted to read any of her other works, which is upsetting because you’d miss out on some serious greatness i.e. Luke & Reece, Trance & Viddy, etc. I liked Rafe overall even though I don’t think he should have put up with the passive aggressive crap he did. Janie just did not work for me, she was such a weak character. The majority of the book they aren’t together and when they are I don’t think you get enough time or substance to really build a case for why they should be together. An attraction over the years doesn’t automatically equal soul mate deep love. I also hated the ending. It’s like LLV decided to just throw that in there to tie it up nicely, but what about the earlier conversations what Janie made it clear that wasn’t what she wanted? How did we get from there to the end without even mentioning it again? I’m nervously looking forward to Parker. This book along with PD and July’s will go into the “do not read again” pile.

I found the synopsis for this story misleading for the overall plot. To me, a better teaser for this story would have been as follows:

So, the guy Ive had a crush on since I was 12 finally kissed me and he wants me. Did I mention he is fine as hell, smart, mysterious, oh, and 20 years older and works with my Dad. Before we can take this relationship home he gets in a work related accident which has caused him to forget me and our budding relationship. I keep hoping he will remember, maybe if he sees me marry someone else it will trigger his memory?

Just my opinion though. Also, I read this as a stand alone and as such, a lot of things were confusing. A lot of names thrown around like youre supposed to know who and what they are, but not a lot of explanation.

I liked the sassy quotes at the beginning of each chapter, but the storyline itself jumps around too much for my liking. It didnt feel fluid enough for me to fall for the characters and really feel the evolution of their relationship.

And to conclude, the suspense part of the story was rapped up so quickly, I got whiplash. It left me feeling bereft and unsatisfied. The characters get a happy ending, but overall I didnt care for this particular book.

I am a huge LLV fan. I usually find her books to be fantastic reads. This book was probably the biggest reading disappointment I’ve ever experienced. Janie is supposed to be a smart young woman with a good head on her shoulders, but she behaves like a brat and marries someone she doesn’t even really like because Rafe doesn’t remember what they mean to each other. Her parents, who usually are right in the middle of her life, just accept it and go along with it. Men who have horrible parents of their own, that was such a crucial part of previous books, treat Rafe like crap for the sins of his father, even though they hated what their own parents did to them. This entire book goes against everything LLV usually holds to in her books. Not to mention the fact that she treated a serious medical issue like trauma-induced amnesia in the exact OPPOSITE way of what modern medicine would do. The book is contrived and horrible. None of it makes a lick of sense in the grand scheme of this world of people who have all been written about before. I won’t be reading the rest of the Simple Man series because if its anything like this book, I’ll be wasting more of my money.

Janie knew Rafe was for her and she bided her time until she was old enough to show him she was the woman for him. Rafe didn’t think of Janie as anything than a feisty little girl until one day he saw her as a beautiful woman. Rafe knows he is too old for her but the connection between them is undeniable and after a lifetime of bad, Rafe wants some good. Rafe has one last job though that is keeping him apart from Janie and when an accident leaves him with short term amnesia he doesn’t remember why he feels something for Janie but can’t remember what.

NO CHEATING, I know from the description on the book that it sounds like there might be, there is none. Had me worried though. I have been a fan of Rafe’s since he was living across the street from Aspen in the book that hooked me on Lani Lynn Vale. I am so glad he got a story and am thrilled to see that the new generation of kids are getting their own book. This book surprised me had several twists and was a bit different then the other books. Can’t wait for the next book and it was entertaining reading a book where the men are now older, wiser (some of them) and having to see their children leave their nests. Great read.

another 5 star from lani. There is never a dull moment in her books and she just leaves you wanting more. At this point I don’t count down the months. I count down Lani’s release dates. Janie and Rafe have such fantastic chemistry and there story was Epic. Thank you for another amazing read Lani

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