Blogger Wife Chat Review ~ The Right Man ~ Michelle Mankin @MichelleMankin

*I received a free copy of The Right Man from Selfpublished via Author. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

A pretty woman and a handsome rock star.

A modern retelling of Cinderella by New York Times bestselling author Michelle Mankin.

A once upon a time with a hooker who used to be a good girl and a bad boy lead singer living a lie.

Two lost and lonely souls and a chance encounter on a dark street corner in LA.

Is it happenstance, fate or a fairy tale?

Can a hookup for cash become a happily ever after?

I just adored The Right Man! It was emotional, romantic, and if I hadn’t already believe that love could conquer all, Rush and Jewel would have convinced me. 🙂

I loved it, too! It was such a beautiful story, and I loved Rush and Jewel to pieces, wifey! They were perfect in their roles, and they were so ready to find love!

Rush was the epitome of a rock star asshole when we first meet him. But it didn’t take long to see his disillusionment with this current status.The arrogance was his armor, don’t you think? I felt for him almost immediately. A lost and lonely boy – surrounded by people but isolated nonetheless. That was my impression anyway. What did you think?

Yeah, both the asshole part, and the epiphany part is something I agree with. He was sick and tired of people catering to his smallest whim, and he was ready to deal with life in a different way. He just didn’t know how to turn things around and feel excited about life again. I loved that a chance meeting enabled him to see what he was capable of. And to reach for his full potential because Jewel had no idea who he was. That way, he knew she didn’t say things just to please the rock star that he was used to showing the world.

Watching Jewel get ready for her night – seeing her living conditions while she donned her alternate ego gave me a lot of insight into her. She was not meant for this life she was living and I appreciated how she tried to keep the “real” her separate from the her who had a job to do. I also admired her pluck. What did you think of Jewel at first?

You know, after the prologue, seeing how Jewel lived afterwards broke my heart. I just wanted to hug her and help her get her life back together. And yea, keeping the ‘real’ her separate from the job she did must have been really hard! But I also think that desperate people can do whatever they feel is necessary in order to survive. She seemed like a very smart young woman, and the way she lived just to have food and shelter made me admire her.

I loved the scene where Rush and Jewel meet. He sure made her hackles rise and she told him off. I think the was initially drawn to her for that reason. He was so used to everything sucking up that Jewel was refreshing. How did you feel about their meet?

I loved that, too! Especially the fact that she didn’t know who he was – nor anything about the fancy car he was driving. And while she found him attractive, she still didn’t really show him that. She did her best to keep her distance, she kind of had to to protect herself!

I’m trying to decide when they each determined they were in over their heads. For Jewel, I think it was Rush’s solicitous behavior. She wasn’t accustomed to any man treating her like a lady. For Rush though… maybe her first smile? These two fell fast and hard though. I liked how Mankin illustrated the precedents for that in Rush and Jewel’s lives. And I appreciated that they each felt so unworthy and uncertain about the other even if they were certain of their own feelings. It made the fall feel genuine, in my opinion. What did you think?

They definitely fell hard! And I felt so bad for Jewel when he told his manager and his band mates that she was ‘just a…’. It kind of helped her feel like there was nothing real going on. At the same time, I think Rush really needed to take care of someone, he just didn’t go about it in the best way, you know? I loved how Mankin showed us their pasts, too. And how it influenced so many things in their present lives. Both because they had not always behaved in the best way, and because other people had treated them like garbage!

The way Mankin demonstrated the way these two were kind and loyal to those who mattered to them was brilliant. Jewel with her friend, Cam, and Rush with his bandmates and manager. And then seeing how Jewel was with Rush and his mom. I fell just as hard for these two and was rooting for them. How did you feel about the character development?

Yes, loyalty is so important! And it was easy to see how both Jewel and Rush were really good people in their core. They had just taken a wrong turn at one point, but that didn’t mean they weren’t searching for the right way. And I also really enjoyed how they interacted with the people that were important in the other’s life. I felt like the characters here really drove the story home. 

I was rather disappointed in Rush when that “event” happened. I understood he had a lot on his mind and a lot of emotion stirring but he reverted to the hot-head he’d been and wouldn’t listen to Jewel or his heart. What did you think of the event and Rush’s reaction?

I was pretty mad at him! It was pretty obvious from the start that Jewel wasn’t in it for the money! She even wanted to refuse the gift he gave her, so why in the world would she have done something so hideous. At the same time, he was in such a bad place at that moment, so I was able to forgive him. However, I don’t understand how he didn’t think that a certain someone was behind that. 

I want to give a nod to Mankin for having War and Shaina appear in this story. If any of her couples fit the bill for how “worlds colliding” in a relationship works out, it was these two. I know their role was small but how did you feel about their appearance and what they accomplished where Rush and Jewel were concerned?

I loved seeing War and Shaina! And I loved how Shaina and Jewel hit it off at their first meeting. And their relationship sure drove home the point that opposites attract. I also loved how openminded Shaina was later in the story, after she knew more about Jewel than she wanted to know. She was still herself, and she still trusted her gut feeling when it came to Jewel. 

I also feel I must mention Jewel’s Gran’s words of wisdom. I loved how Jewel would hear her Gran speaking to her in her head, remember important words and/or memories. It further conveyed the type of person Jewel was. Plus, I just adored she’d been raised by her Gran. 😉 How did you feel about the wisdom being imparted?

I loved Gran’s words of wisdom. And especially what she said about meeting the right man – that it’s the one who makes you feel loved who is the right one – not the ‘prince’. Plus, she also said something about love happening fast for certain people. That really resonated with me. It also made me want to call my Gran (who passed away 11 years ago…) because she would have loved that relationship!

Obviously, as this is a fairy tale retelling, we get our HEA. Or rather, Rush and Jewel do. 😉 They both had some healing to do before they could make it work but they did it. And I can’t decide what made me happiest…When Rush gets Jewel’s gift or the scene at Jewel and Cam’s door. OR the epilogue. I’m gonna call it a 3-way tie. 😉 How about you? Did Rush and Jewel make you more of a believer in HEA’s? What was your favorite scene?

I think it’s fair to say that WE got our HEA, too, wifey! I felt like I lived this story right alongside Jewel and Rush! They both drew me in and made me believe they were real. And the way the reacted to things made them very relatable and realistic. I agree with a 3-way tie! I think there wasn’t a single thing I didn’t enjoy in The Right Man.

Get thee to a book retailer now, fair reader! You won’t regret one-clicking The Right Man!

You’re so right, wifey! Everybody needs a little fairy dust and love and romance in their life!

Favorite Quotes:

“Love was giving. Receiving. Accepting. But more than anything, love was forgiving.”

“Bravery isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the ability to keep going despite insurmountable obstacles.”

“And the right man – a good man – is one who will look at you with love in his eyes. He’ll listen. He’ll be gentle. He will show he cares by the changes he makes in his life for you.”

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2019 New Release Challenge
• Winter COYER 18-19

About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.

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