The synopsis of a guy turning to romance novels to learn what the female half of the species wants intrigued me after I read another of her books. I had received [a:Shelia Roberts|6586848|Shelia Roberts|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]'s [b:Better Than Chocolate|13548078|Better Than Chocolate|Sheila Roberts|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348144419s/13548078.jpg|19113250] as part of the Tell Harlequin reader panel.

After Jonathan Templar starts reading romance novels in an effort to turn himself into the hero who could win the woman his heart's been set on since middle school, he starts getting his poker night buddies in on it.

Kyle is looking in all the wrong places for love. His substory is cute and plausible.

Adam is the modern busy guy. Taking his wife for granted until he misses one too many things and gets kicked out of his own house. He must learn how to woo back his wife.

And then they discover who their favorite writer really is.

One thing about this book really annoyed me. You don't see Jonathan's lady interest interact with him until over 80% through the book except for flashbacks to their childhood. You only get Jonathan's view of her and it's very one sided. You see her in flashbacks and on TV, that's it. I was horribly disappointed in Jonathan's story.

Cross posted: Ramblings of a Lost Dancer ( )

Thank you for the ARC! An interesting twist on this story. I enjoyed the story, seeing how each male character was going to learn 'What She Wants'. Enjoyable read. ( )

WHAT SHE WANTS (Life in Icicle Falls series) is the first of Sheila Roberts’ books that I’ve read. At first I had a little difficulty getting into the book, it seemed to start slowly, but that quickly turned around and I found myself caught up in the lives of a group of poker playing buddies. Jonathan Templar is the computer geek who fell in love with his childhood next door neighbor, the beautiful Lissa Castle, and is trying to get her to take a romantic interest in him. Lissa is a magnet for all the gorgeous guys and is “just friends” with Jonathan. His close friend Kyle Long is in love with the company receptionist Jillian who only has eyes for the bosses while his cube mate Missy Wright has set her sights on Kyle. Then there is Adam Edwards whose wife Chelsea kicked out of the house because he took her for granted. How are these guys going to win over the loves of their lives?
Is the answer in the books women read about romance and getting Mr. Right to fall in love with them? Jonathan decides to read some of the books that his sister and her friends are reading. When his friends discover the books, Jonathan tells them he is researching what the women in the novels want in their men because they were written by women. Before long they are all reading the novels, especially those by the popular romance author Vanessa Valentine.
Will Jonathan and his friends each win his heart’s desire? To what lengths will each go to seduce the woman of his dreams? Dance lessons? Going to the gym to get buff? Flowers or chocolates? Will they succeed in the end? Who really is Vanessa Valentine?
I loved that this book was about romance with a different twist. So often romance books are written from the woman’s point of view with the female character trying to capture the interest of the man of her dreams. It was fun watching the men bumbling through courtship in this laugh out loud story. I heartily recommend this to anyone looking for a book that has lots of humor with a romantic theme.

Welcome back to picturesque Icicle Falls, Washington! In the fourth installment of the Life In Icicle Falls series, author Sheila Roberts provides her readers with a fun twist to the townspeople's stories with an entertaining tale of a guy's perspective on women and love ... specifically ... learning what women really want from their man!

What She Wants is told in the third person narrative that alternates between three men who are simply clueless when it comes to really knowing about women. This entertaining story follows Jonathan, Kyle and Adam as they try to figure out and understand what women really want from men and love relationships.

The three men along with buddies Vance and Bernardo hold weekly poker games filled with humorous discussions about their lack of finding women who are "The One" and the anxiety that goes with being single. Vance, who was once married, and Bernardo, currently happily married, give as few advice to the three younger men as humanly possible. It is only when Jonathan comes across his sister Juliet's romance novel by top selling romance author Vanessa Valentine, that he finally finds his love coach. Jonathan embarks on a research mission to find out exactly what a woman wants in a man, so that he can try and win his dream girl's heart. Jonathan convinces Kyle and Adam to read the romance novels, they’re so desperate that they’ll try just about anything. The question is: does Jonathan, Kyle and Adam put what they've learned to good use and win the hearts of the women they love, or are they still clueless to what woman really want?

In true Sheila Roberts fashion, the reader is transported back to the picturesque small mountain town of Icicle Falls, Washington, where they catch up with all the familiar townspeople from the previous books in the series, as well as reading about these lovable but clueless men. This story is simply delightful, the storyline picks up where the last book left off, it flows seamlessly and is so entertaining that you can't help but become captivated and invested in the lives that inhabit Icicle Falls. I really enjoyed the guy's perspective storyline twist, it is something different that readers usually don't find in contemporary romance novels, and I think the author has hit a home run with this storyline. I found myself laughing a lot as I turned the pages, it even made me feel sympathetic for the men.

With a lovable cast of characters, humorous dialogues and interactions, and a richly detailed description of the town of Icicle Falls, What She Wants is a lighthearted romance story full of love, laughter and friendship that will leave you wanting to return to Icicle Falls for another enjoyable visit.

What She Wants is the fourth book in the Life in Icicle Falls series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-she-wants-by-sheila-rober... ( )

4 STARS

What she wants is funny,quirky,romantic novel. It is a plot I have not ever read one like it before. The characters are well written and made me root for them all to find the love they want. This book is the guys looking for love.

Jonathan is a computer geek. He owns his own company that fixes computers problems. He has his own house. He still wants his dream girl from high school who never looked at him only as a friend. Now his 15 year reunion will be here soon. He wants Lissa to see him in a different light.
He hears his sister and friend talking about romance books and their heroes. What they think is the perfect guy. They especially like one author Vanessa. So Jonathan decides to do research on romance novels see if he can figure out what women want.

One of Jonathan's poker buddies is Kyle. Kyle has a crush on a beautful woman at work Jillian. He does not notice him. He is short.
He tries to get Jillian to like him. He complains about woman a lot at poker games. He does not pay much attention to Mindy the girl who works next to him when she tries to be friendly.

Adam has a sales job and makes good money. He is married to Chelsea. He decides after one trip to stay a few extra days to fish and when he gets back the locks are changed. He shows up at Jonathan's late at night and sleeps on the couch.

Vance is the newest guy at the poker game. He owns a bookstore in a bigger town and is semi-retired. He is the oldest guy at the poker game and is single and not looking for anyone.

Bernardo is happily married man at the poker games.

Adam notices all the romance books in Jonathan's house and he finally gets Jonathan to answer that he is doing research and shows him the list of things he has made of the heroes in the books. Adam tells everyone at the poker games about his research he is doing and Kyle is interested in what Jonathan has compiled.

Soon all the guys are talking and betting books at the poker game except Vance. He tries and tells them its a waste of time. Especially Vanessa's books. They are even betting romance books as part of the poker games.

I really enjoyed What She Wants. Look forward to reading more Icicle Falls books.
03/26/2013 PUB Harlequin HarlequinMIRA 400 pages ISBN:9780778314325 ( )