Book Review: Last Chance Beauty Queen by Hope Ramsay

Last Chance Beauty Queen
Author: Hope Ramsay
Series: Last Chance #3
Release Date: February 1st, 2012
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Age: Adult

Dear Reader,

Gracious me, my beautiful daughter Rocky sure could use my help. I always knew she wasn't much interested in the local boys - but who'd have thought she'd come home with English royalty?

Trouble is, Hugh wants to buy some of our folks' land. We don't want to sell, but Rocky's job depends on her closing the deal. And though Hugh's obviously smitten, I'm not sure he's right for my Rocky. Oh, he's classy and handsome - and you should've seen the way he judged pies and fixed stock cars at our Watermelon Festival! - but what do we know about him, really? I know I sound like a nervous mother hen, but after forty happy years with my Elbert, all I want is to see my little girl find the same.

Well, time for me to quit chattering and get back to Miss Bray's wet set. Always nice talking to you, and remember: the Cut 'n Curl's got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,

Ruby Rhodes

When I read the synopsis of Last Chance Beauty Queen, I remember thinking 'I have to read this book'. Ruby Rhodes has an appealing voice, and I couldn't wait to see if she was right about her daughter's love life.

Rocky is a successful woman, and she's at one step to having her dream job. She only has to convince the English royalty Hugh that he doesn't need her father's land to complete his factory's plans. The thing is, Hugh is not so easy to convince, and the idea of a new factory in the town isn't so bad.

Rocky was so much fun. She was very successful and know exactly her plans. Also she's very independent but very nervous about Hugh, his plans, and going back to her home town, specially when there are so many uncomfortable memories. She was / is the beauty of the town, and everyone in the town is convinced she should marry someone. But she's not falling for that, she's just going to convince Hugh to move his factory somewhere else and it doesn't matter if he's the one who make her heart jump.

Hugh is English royalty, with a hot accent and plainly yummy. He is going to build a factory at Last Chance but he needs more land, and Rocky's father is not going to sell it. He really needs this land, and the factory, but he was so sweet. Everyone wanted and expected him to be the bad guy, but he wasn't at all. He was very understanding, not demanding at all, even when he knew that he needed to be stronger.

Their romance was definitely sweet and with the right amount of spice! They were attracted since the beginning but had so many reasons to not be together. Specially since the matchmaker of the town apparently said they were matched to different people, and everyone was pushing them apart. But the author took the time to write a beautiful and realistic love story, were the characters finally decided to follow their hearts.

Although I liked the secondary characters, because each one of them appeared to have their own story to tell and it's one of the reasons you will love this book, I wasn't happy with the way Rocky's family treated her and I really wished she would have stood up against them sooner. I know her brothers and parents were trying to protect her, but really, they were only hurting her.

Overall, Last Chance Beauty Queen is a fun love story, about two people following their hearts even when life (and everyone else) is convinced they are not meant to be together. If you like contemporary romance, this one is a must read!

BTW, this one is part of the Last Chance series, but I think you can enjoy it as a stand alone.

More about this book at  www.hoperamsay.com, Goodreads, Amazon, The Book Depository.