Mai Tai'd Up (4) (The Cocktail Series)

Mai Tai’d Up by Alice ClaytonBook #4: The Cocktail SeriesSource: PurchaseMy Rating: 5/5 starsMy Review:Chloe Patterson has the life every girl dreams of: plenty of money, tiara-earning good looks, a wonderful fiancé and, a perfect life mapped out for her by her wonderful fiancé and her mother. All she has to do in order to make nearly everyone happy is go through with the fairy tale wedding planned by her mother. All is in order, the day has arrived and, if Chloe Patterson were every other girl in the world, all would be right with the world. Chloe Patterson isn’t every girl and though she does love the money and appreciates her good-looks, her wonderful fiancé just doesn’t do it for her (at all!!!) and the map of her future is pointing in a direction Chloe has no interest in going. Everything about her life that is displeasing to Chloe comes to her via a box of donuts in her mother’s kitchen in a moment of pure panic and so, on the day of her wedding, she runs away.Lucas Campbell is doing exactly what he loves to do. He has spent his life in the service of others, others who have loads of fur and four legs, of course. He is a third generation veterinarian in his family’s practice, he travels to economically depressed countries to provide veterinary care and, he helps out when and where he can in his small, close-knit community. The only thing that would make Lucas’s life absolutely complete is a family of his own. He was well on his way until his fiancé dumped him at the altar and left him wary of women and relationships. Oh, Lucas is no monk but he certainly isn’t looking for the ONE either. Lucas is happy with his life and with the freedom being single affords him and is in no way prepared for the crazy that is Chloe Patterson that is about to descend upon his life.Chloe’s escape to Monterey is courtesy of her father and though she initially sees the trip as a smallish getaway to regroup, she quickly realizes Monetary is just the place to put some of her own life plans into action. As a tiara-wearing beauty queen, Chloe was expected to participate in philanthropic pursuits and one of her favorites included working with dogs. With a few phone calls, some serious training, loads of permits and, the help of the totally-hot local vet Chloe begins to build a sanctuary for rescued pit bulls. For the first time in her life, Chloe is standing on her own two feet and doing something she wants to do and not what is expected of or has been planned for her. Damn! Independence sure feels good As the weeks go by and Chloe’s sanctuary gets ever closer to opening, Lucas stops by more and more often to help out. Chloe is feisty, determined, passionate, funny and, so not what Lucas should be focusing on. Having his heart-broken on the day of his wedding was a huge blow and though Lucas certainly isn’t pining over his lost love, he is wary of Chloe, his growing feelings for her and, the possibility of being hurt again. But, the heart wants what the heart wants and if Chloe would just open up and tell Lucas whatever it is she is holding back, they just may have a future together. Chloe and Lucas together are just a fine pair, sharing a love of the Rat Pack, mixed drinks, a bit of naughtiness and, caring for their four-legged companions. On paper, Chloe and Lucas make perfect sense but in real life, they both have some baggage that needs to be handled (see what I did there?) before they can truly make a go of a real relationship.The Bottom Line: At the end of Screwdrivered, I feared the Cocktail series may be slipping a bit but Mai Tai’d Up proved me wrong. Chloe and Lucas are so much fun and the emphasis on animals and their care in this book really pulled me in. I am absolutely glad the fallout from Chloe’s wedding runner didn’t dominate the book and the lion’s share of the read focused on her future in Moneterey. Don’t get me wrong, the runner still bites her in the butt from time to time but it isn’t the dominate theme of the read. I found I liked Chloe instantly and continued to like her as the story progressed; she is a genuine character who, like everyone, has made some mistakes and is doing her best to make amends and move on with her life. Lucas is mostly likeable character and though I understand his motivation for the moments I don’t like him, he is pretty unlikeable in those moments. The scenes with the dogs are some of the best and most heart-breaking of the entire read and serve to enhance the overall experience. In all, Mai Tai’d Up offered me exactly what I hoped it would, solid characters, excellent naughty bits, great humor, animals and, the return of a few older characters that serve to connect the entire series.

::4-1/2 Stars::Sadly, nobody gets tied up in MAI TAI'D UP, though the cover art certainly implies a sensual D/s coupling. That is one of the few flaws in this book, probably Alice Clayton's best romance yet. After the profound disappointment of "Clark The A**hole" (er, SCREWDRIVERED), this is a real treat - a Friends-to-Lovers story that is sweet, believable, and has genuine moments of sadness and depth to keep it from floating away on a breeze of goofy comedy, as her stories are often in danger of doing.Beauty Queen Chloe ("Miss Golden State") is engaged to marry a Rich Young Man rejoicing in the name "Charles Preston Sappington" - only to realize when she sees a plateful of doughnuts for the help on the day of her wedding why she's been feeling so discontented since getting engaged: She's never enjoyed the sacrifices (including counting every calorie!) she made to be a beauty queen; she's tired of being forever ordered around by her society nightmare of a mother; and most importantly, she doesn't love the patronizing entitled Charles, and is certain she'd turn into her mother if she married him. So she loses it - stuffs her face full of doughnuts, and when Monster Mommy tries to scold her for "inappropriate" behavior yet again tells her, flat out, She's Not Marrying Charles! When Mumsy Dearest tries to force the issue, Chloe gets into her car and drives off to crash at her Dad's place (who her mother divorced a few years previous to the story) - who, despite having to pay for the wedding, is willing to give her the space she needs to figure things out.While Chloe is inexperienced in most ways (as she points out in the book on several occasions, her entire life up to this point has been devoted to winning beauty pageants), she's smart enough to know that, and even when she's having a (mostly comical) breakdown is considering not just her exit strategy, but also what she'll do with her life afterwards. One thing she's always enjoyed is handling dogs, because the best part of being a crowned Beauty Queen for her was that she got to work for Paws For a Cause, which takes therapy dogs to people in palliative care - in the course of that she meets aging hippie Lou, who runs a second dog-related charity, "Our Gang", which rescues and finds good homes for pit bulls used in dogfights. To her Mother's (and the pageant officials') horror, she quickly takes to pit bulls and expresses an interest in working with Our Gang once her reign as Beauty Queen is up. (As somebody who has has friends with pit bulls, and mostly found the deadliest they're inclined to get if not abused is to wash your face to death, I couldn't help but approve.) Lou mentions wanting to open a Northern California branch of Our Gang, her Dad offers her his family's ranch in Monterrey because Monster-Mom basically throws her out of her house - so Chloe goes to up North to start a new life!The only person she knows at all well near Monterrey is ::ugh:: her cousin Clark (yes, "Clark the A**hole" from SCREWDRIVERED!), though she has a more positive view of him than the previous book in the seres left me with, certainly! It so happens that Lou has connections with a veterinarian in Carmel, a Dr. Campbell - only it turns out there are two "Dr. Campbell"s, one of whom is a hunky redhead a few years older than Chloe who was, by an amazing coincidence, recently left at the altar by his ex-Beauty Queen fiancee!

Alice Clayton does it again. Mai Tai'd Up is fantastic and I didn't want it to end.This book is about Chloe Patterson and the decision she makes about her life and family. She is a former beauty queen and her dream wedding is coming. But is it her dream or is it her mother's!!No wedding is her choice and to run to Monterey Bay. She starts a new life & job in Monterey Bay with the help of father, Lou & Sammy Davis Jr. Everybody needs a Sammy Davis Jr in their life.I would recommend this series and any book by Alice Clayton.

Gave up at 30% as it was so bad. Had no sympathy for the female lead - 'boo hoo, poor me. Leaving before my expensive wedding because I'm too pathetic to have told people I wasn't sure about the wedding'. The guy is supposed to look like Prince Harry. Yuk. Staid characters and unoriginal scenarios. WHAT HAPPENED TO BOOKS LIKE WALLBANGER AND REDHEAD? This is lazy and boring. I want my money back

I have read the whole cocktail series and the endings are by far the most frustrating part particularly so in Mai Tai'd up. I am always hooked throughout but the endings are just too rushed they are supposed to be the best part! And after all the build up throughout I'm still left wanting more from the characters I know that's a good thing but it's also very bad. I don't feel it was a good ending they got back together far to fast and there was no epilogue. So I'm left feeling rather disappointed.

As expected Alice did not disappoint me! Great read,sexy witty and emotional. Chloe's job broke my heart a few times! I loved the story so much I read the book in a few hours. Alice Clayton is one of those authors that you know will deliver a fantastic book!!!

After reading the rest of the cocktail series I must say I was disappointed ....I really enjoyed Wallbanger and the other two books but felt that the character and the storyline was very week in this one, although it did make me giggle at times .