Crazy Thing Called Love: Crooked Creek    by Molly O'Keefe Order:  USA  Can Bantam, 2013 (2013) Paperback, e-Book      Reviewed by Martina Bexte It's taken Madelyn Cornish over a decade to claw her way out from behind Billy Wilkins's huge and talented shadow. They'd been teen sweethearts and barely out of high school when they married, devoted to one another through thick and thin - or so it seemed until Billy became a hockey superstar. It wasn't until he'd achieved his dream that Madelyn realised that she'd never achieve her own as Billy Wilkins' wife. Now Billy's come barrelling back into her life and there's no escape. The producers of AM Dallas, the wildly successful morning show that Madelyn hosts, have signed him to a four-show stint during which the rugged NHL enforcer is to participate in a complete personal makeover. Madelyn hates the concept, not because it's a bad idea; it's brilliant. She hates it because she knows that the minute she sees Billy again, she's doomed. She's never stopped loving him; he'd just never been any good for her, that's all, or her career. Billy's not fond of the makeover idea either, but in a professional sport where hockey thugs are becoming increasingly unpopular, he needs positive press - and pronto - before his career sinks even deeper into the toilet. The only upside to the coming ordeal is seeing Maddy again; she was and still is the love of his life and if all goes as planned he's not going to let her walk out of his life again. O'Keefe does a masterful job with her characterizations and both leads' dark back-stories, told through a series of poignant flashbacks. Despite all the background and angst though, I found Maddy hard to like at times. Too often, she refused to see or even listen to Billy's point of view, or even understand that he'd actually grown up. It's not until the final few chapters that she finally admits that he's changed - which was a little late, I thought. Overall though, this is a great read and the best of the Crooked Creek series by far, character rich and filled with enough emotion, both light and dark, to satisfy even the most demanding romance reader. And you don't need to be a hockey fan to fall in love with Crazy Thing Called Love - in fact if you haven't read the previous two novels in this exemplary series, (Can't Buy Me Love, Can't Hurry Love) then do so first so you'll get the full emotional impact. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews