Review: Seducing Donovan

Seducing Donovan by Lisa Lanay
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 45% (Kindle edition)

I really tried, but I couldn't get into Lisa Lanay's "Seducing Donovan." My biggest issue with the book was that there was zero relationship development between main characters Haley and Donovan, so their feelings for each other didn't seem at all believable to me. This was one of the most blatant cases of insta-lust I've ever encountered. Neither one of them was able to articulate what they actually liked about the other (beyond the physical), which makes sense considering how brief their acquaintance actually was. They met one time for about 10 minutes and inexplicably just couldn't stop thinking about each other for days. That single meeting was supposedly enough to have Donovan completely terrified of the amazing relationship he was sure they could have, too. How could he possibly know what a relationship with Haley would be like based on 10 minutes' acquaintance?

I didn't enjoy the juvenile dynamic between Haley and Donovan, either. They were both constantly jumping to conclusions based on very little evidence and switching from hot one minute to cold the next. It seemed like their relationship was one big game, especially for Haley, whose attempts at "reverse psychology" just seemed manipulative to me. For example, when Haley gets mad because Donovan didn't call to schedule a date for almost a week, she decides she's done with him, but still scrambles to put on revealing clothing before he arrives at her apartment to discuss the "investigation" that they're supposed to be working on together because she wants to show him that he "missed out." Apparently changing her mind after he arrives and deciding that she wants him anyway, Haley then proceeds to come up with a plan to get Donovan to "move forward with their date," despite having just decided that he'd missed his chance! Her exact reasoning was unclear, but appeared to be based mostly on the fact that she thought Donovan was hot, and Haley needed to "let off some steam." I guess she didn't think she could find anyone else to date?

As for the "investigation" they were supposed to be working on, I have to say that Donovan seemed like a pretty crappy detective based on how he handled this case. For example, he specifically told Haley to call him immediately after talking to her friend Zoe because he was desperate to find a lead, and thought Zoe could provide one. When Haley calls after speaking with Zoe as requested, Donovan not only ducks her call but also ignores her voicemail and doesn't call back for over 10 hours. Of course, when he does call back, he assumes that Haley only wants to nag him about scheduling their dinner date, apparently having completely forgotten the super important case he's supposed to be investigating. Once that's cleared up and he's finally able to focus on the case, Donovan delays even further by insisting on speaking with Haley in person when he easily could have gotten the information over the phone.

Bottom line, I really didn't like either one of these characters, and Donovan's investigation, which I had hoped would be interesting and suspenseful, was so much an afterthought as to be laughable. There just wasn't enough substance to this book to hold my attention, and I gave up trying to read it at 45% complete.

Unfortunately, this is the second time I have not enjoyed one of this author's books, so I don't think I will be trying any more of them in the future. However, if you are an insta-lust fan, perhaps this book or one of her others will be for you.

*ARC provided by the author/publisher via Hidden Gems Books. All opinions expressed are my own.

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