Brown-Eyed Girl
4 Stars

Wedding planner, Avery Crosslin, has sworn off men and has no intention of giving in to the sexy and charming Joe Travis. But Joe refuses to be daunted and is more than willing to invest the time and effort required to get past Avery's defenses and prove to her that they belong together.

Avery is a lovely heroine although her insecurities may be off-putting to some, and Joe is fantastic hero in pursuit.

That said, Joe's unwillingness to compromise with regard to a long-distance relationship does undermine the romance to a certain extent, and it would have been better if readers where given a glimpse into his thoughts and motivations. Unfortunately, this is one of the disadvantages of 1st person perspective.

The wedding planning elements of the story were very entertaining, and it was a toss up as to who was more deserving of a slap - the duplicitous bride or her conniving mother. Similarly, the love/hate relationship between Sophia, Avery's sister, and Steven, the sisters' indispensable employee was particularly engaging.

Overall, Brown-Eyed Girl is a satisfying conclusion to the series, but book #3 will always be my favorite.
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Ultimo libro della serie sulla famiglia Travis e anche questo mi è piaciuto come già i precedenti. La storia di Joe, il piccolo della famiglia, e Avery chiude questo ciclo nel migliore dei modi. Una sola cosa non riesco proprio a capire: ma cosa c'entra la sinossi riportata con il libro che ho letto? ( )

I liked it quite a bit, but it isn't nearly as strong as the previous books. It's very similar in tone to [b: Smooth Talking Stranger|4066312|Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises, #3)|Lisa Kleypas|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388444124s/4066312.jpg|4113404] but doesn't manage the same emotional impact (disclaimer: I am very partial to that book, I read it at least once, if not twice, a year, I fucking love Jack Travis). Avery's struggles are real but they don't have the same immediacy as did Ella's or Haven's or Liberty's. Joe sounded super foxy, but also, basically a lower-energy Jack Travis.

As most of Lisa Kleypas' work goes, it's pretty solid, but as an ending to the Travis saga in particular, it was a little weak. Also, it seemed kind of short? I think Avery and Joe would have benefited from a few more chapters. Also, that wedding dress graphic at chapter beginnings? Beyond corny. ( )

I keep putting this down because while the heroine is technically plus-sized (I think), it isn't really important to the plot - she's described as a frumpy dresser more than anything really.

I was pretty disappointed in this book. It wasn't a romance, it was chick lit. And it wasn't even amusing chick lit like some of them can be. The conflict was all about the heroine deciding what to do with her life rather than any conflict with the hero. This was not Joe's story AT ALL. He was basically a nonentity. He was really just some guy that Avery sorta dated. The scenes with them actually together were maybe a third of the book, maybe. Because it was written in 1st person from Avery's POV, you knew almost nothing about Joe. A lot of stuff happened but almost none of it was about them as a couple. I generally like 3rd person POV best and this was a clear example of why. Avery told the reader what she was experiencing but in sort of an offhand way so you never felt it viscerally. Once she decided to date Joe the book went rapidly downhill. It was all other stuff that was happening and oh BTW, me and Joe were sleeping together. At the end Joe wasn't even willing to fight for her. He was kind of oh well you win some you lose some. I don't know why Joe liked Avery, I certainly didn't. The book lacked world building. I think it took place in Texas but you couldn't really tell that from anything in the book. There was zero description. There was almost no observation to give you a hint of what was going on in Joe's mind. Just a disappointment all around. And I liked the stories in the rest of the series, especially Blue Eyed Devil. Sigh. I suppose this is really a one star for me. The second star is because it is competently written and because I have a lingering fondness for the rest of the series. ( )