Good Girls Don't by Victoria Dahl

Grade: B

passion rating: hot

Stephen King once wrote “Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty.” Ms. Dahl’s latest heroine, Tessa Donovan, is a liar Mr. King would recognize. Tessa so loves her two older brothers — the three were orphaned years ago — she lies to them constantly, about important things, all in an effort to hold their family together. One of her larger filial deceptions is that she's a good girl, sweet, and (at 27) pure. This particular lie becomes impossible to maintain the minute she lays eyes on Detective Luke Asher.

Good Girls Don’t is the first of three books about the Donovan siblings, all of which are being released this fall. The three siblings run Donovan Brewing Company; Tessa is the youngest. Her older brother Eric is the overly responsible workaholic who runs the brewery; her middle brother Jamie is the hottie who manages the adjacent bar. The two men routinely are at odds with one another over the family business and Tessa sees herself as the one who, at all costs, must keep their unit together.The book begins with a break-in at the brewery. 


When Tessa arrives to “manage” the situation, she finds Jamie there with Luke Asher, a detective with the Boulder Police Force. Jamie and Luke went to college together and are, nominally, friends. Tessa takes one look at Luke and her libido kicks into overdrive. She pockets his card and, a day later, calls him up and asks him out. Luke is at first inclined to say no — Jamie noticed the heat between Tessa and Luke and told Luke in no uncertain terms to stay the hell away from his little sister. However, Tessa is sexy and persuasive and despite Jamie’s threats, Luke finds himself saying yes, repeatedly, to Tessa.

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