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Summary: Found a new writer!!!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book and hope that this is going to be a trilogy because it did leave you wondering at the end about the rest of the characters. Please Christina write another one! I also enjoyed her writing so much that i will try her others.
Rating: 
Summary: Could be better
Review: The book starts out great and flows very well. However about half way through it starts seeming like someone else is writing, they style and the way the words had been written changes dramatically. Though closer to the end it picks back up with the same flow as the beginning of the book.
All in all it's a great story and would make a nice beach book. The end does leave you hanging. Maybe there will be a sequel in the future?
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Summary: Usually a fan of CD
Review: Sheesh, I must be the only person who was disappointed. I am a fan of her other work with historicals... and that's in spite actually preferring contemporaries. I figured this would be GREAT.I found it dull, a bit too silly and rather disjointed. The characters just never engaged me. I never finished the last chapter as I just didn't care to see how it finally turned out.
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Summary: Another Gem
Review: I have been reading Christina Dodd for a long time and while all her books are at least good (a rare quality among writers) Everynow and then Ms. Dodd Produces a real gem. This book was one of those gems. Fun with distinct creative characters, "Just the Way You Are" is a great beginning to what I hope is a long furture in writing contamporary romances. I was also very excited by the propects that this book is one of several in a series uncovering a mystery... reuniting a family torn apart, all while finding true love.
Rating: 
Summary: Just too good to put down
Review: This was a fast read! I had never read one of her books before and the title caught my eye. I'm not really into historical romances, but after this book, I'm going to be looking for one! It was highly enjoyable. The rescue scene was a bit far fetched, but I suspected "Ma" to be "Mrs. Chess" or "Mrs. Siamese" and loved that it turned out to be entirely someone else. Great turn of events and great characters.
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Summary: Ms. Dodd's most ebullient attempt
Review: Many romance authors who have found their niche in one particular genre refuse to experiment but Christina Dodd's latest move evinces her desire to breakthrough after the runaway success of her Governess Series in the historical field - and her latest dabble in contemporary romance is indubitably her most ebullient attempt. Just the Way You Are sees all of Ms. Dodd's traits in historical romances - an ensemble of lively supporting cast and a sassy earthy heroine who matches wits with a melting alpha male. Tragedy strikes Hope Prescott at her sweet sixteen when her minister of a dad and mom disappear in Texas - and the fate of her siblings including a foster brother Gabriel are decided by a bunch of folks. The four of them are separated and dispatched to different orphanages; seven years later - Hope works for an answering-service company operated by the kind Mdm. Nainci while getting her computer-science degree. With her impoverished past, Hope believes in compassion and loves her clients but knows pragmatically that money is the only route to bring her to her lost siblings. She meets Boston wealthiest business whiz Zach Given when his company employs her service and mistakes him as his butler Griswald. He continues the charade when the friendship blossoms into passion, but lacks trust in Hope because of a past betrayal. This tale of a mixed identity gaffe is robust with humor and banters with the excellent supporting cast of Griswald the butler, the wise Aunt Cecily and Zach's parents. It is a schmaltzy romantic tale with the two characters in charged symmetry when they cower from love because of their past. Zach and Hope shares chemistry that sparkles emotionally - and Ms. Dodd adds tenderness with Zach as the shining knight to rescue Hope from a mafia-mob boss and launch a search for her siblings. Ms. Dodd's courage to burst into a whole new world pays off handsomely - and we the faithful readers like her just the way she is - regardless of the times.
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Summary: WOW!!!
Review: This is my first Christina Dodd book and first review. While shopping, I noticed this colorful cover and title. I picked it up and, did my usual, read the first page. After a few minutes, I found myself on Page 8. I couldn't put the book down. I returned home and finished the book in one evening. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE is a great summer read. You laugh, cheer and shed a few tears. I just hope that Christina Dodd continues writing about Zack, Hope, Gabriel, Pepper and Caitlin. Please make this into a trilogy. I highly recommend this book. It's a feel good book, that leaves you smiling for all the characters.
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Summary: Fabulous new direction for Dodd
Review: I've always thought Christina Dodd could write a kicking contemporary and this book proves I was right. Her way of telling a story is SO well-suited for a sexy, sassy modern day adeventure. I LOVED it. Zach and Hope have definite sizzle!
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Summary: Regency lord in modern America
Review: I love Christina Dodd's Regency romances, and was looking forward to this first modern romance by her. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE was an interesting read, had fun side characters and, until the last two or three chapters, was intriguing enough to keep me reading. BUT, there were some elements that I suspect are the hazards of switching from one romance genre to another. Dodd has essentially written a regency romance in modern America, complete with the fabulously wealthy lord of the manor and owner of all he sees, and the virgin in need of rescuing. For the most part, this works. But the flaws show themselves. What seems protective in a regency lord seems oddly domineering and harassing in a modern businessman. When Zack physically forces Hope to do his bidding (albeit in her own best interest), and stages her seduction along the way, there is something that chafes at my modern sensibilities. What I accept as a historical reality of relationships between men and women in the Regency period is beyond ungentlemanly today. Perhaps because Zack is so ridiculously rich, he can get by with some truly abyssmal behavior -- like leaving Hope frightened and alone in jail after he says horrible things to her, because he decides she was using him for his money. And of course she will forgive him and all will be well. That was hard to swallow. Also the intrigue in this novel is thin, obvious, and at the end, downright ridiculous, culminating in a scene out of a bad gangster movie. Despite that, there was a lot to like in this book, and I believe it was a worthy effort. I suspect the more modern romances that Christina Dodd writes, the better she'll get at it. She is clearly a talented woman, but JUST THE WAY YOU ARE wasn't quite as seamless as some of her Regency works.
Rating: 
Summary: Unappealing
Review: Since this is Ms. Dodd's first contemporary romance, I would like to give her a good recommendation, but unfortunately I cannot. The basic idea behind this story isn't bad but it plays out poorly. The story and the cast of characters lack depth. Some scenes don't make sense. Zack is self-involved and sometimes nasty. Hope lacks charm. Her sarcasm has too much bite to be amusing. Both characters are immature. I wish Ms. Dodd well in her future endeavors into contemporary romance, but this one misses the mark.
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