Ugly Duckling by Lani Lynn Vale

Posted October 7, 2025 in review Tags: 4 stars, crazy ex, second chance, single dad, ugly duckling

Ugly Duckling by Lani Lynn Vale

Series: Content Advisory #6
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Dallas, TX
Source: ARC
Also in this series: Grumpy Sunshine, Look At Her and Die, Enemies to Lovers, Other Woman Drama, Mistaken Identity, Forced Proximity, He's a Mean One
Also by this author: Execution Style, Charlie Foxtrot, Coup de Grace, Right to my Wrong, Shock Advised, Hail No, Beard Mode, Lights To My Siren, Fear the Beard, I Like Big Dragons and I Cannot Lie , I'm Only Here for the Beard, Dragons Need Love, Too , Oh, My Dragon, Kevlar To My Vest , Keys To My Cuffs, Life To My Flight , Hissy Fit, Talkin' Trash, Lord Have Mercy, Hide Your Crazy, How About No, I'd Rather Not, Make Me, Sinners are Winners, If You Say So, Just Kidding, Herd That, Fries Before Guys, Crazy Heifer, Maybe Swearing Will Help, Keep it Classy, Chute Yeah, Get Bucked, May Contain Wine, Jokes on You, Somethin' About That Boy, Join the Club, Any Day Now, Say It Ain't So, Officially Over It, Nobody Knows, Depends on Who's Asking, Repeat Offender, Conjugal Visits, Jailbait, Quit Bein' Ugly, Doin' a Dime, Kitty Kitty, No Rep, Gen Pop, Jerk It, Inmate of the Month , Chalk Dirty to Me, Shakedown , Always Someone's Monster, Make Me Your Villain , Rattle Some Cages , Get Tragic , Strange and Unusual, Suck This, Never Trust the Living, Nobody Cares Unless You're Pretty, Good Trouble, Cute But Psycho, Annoyed At First Sight, The Voices Are Back, Special Kind of Twisted, I'll Just Date Myself, Fun House, Freak Show, Show Off, Clown Motel, Big Nick Energy, Sold to the Circus, Killing Booth, The Fool, No Cap, I Can't Even, Thirst Trap, Clap Back, Rent Free, Time To Bounce, Yolo, Stay Toxic, Hey Daddy, Walking Red Flag, Always Salty, Grumpy Sunshine, Look At Her and Die, Enemies to Lovers, Other Woman Drama, Mistaken Identity, Forced Proximity, He's a Mean One, People We Avoid, Not a Side Chick, Be the Full Problem, Forget That Guy, Not a Gentleman, With Spite, Well Aware, Violent Little Thing

Goodreads

It wasn’t easy being considered the ugly friend.

She’s known since she was young that life wouldn’t be easy, and that she would have to work hard for everything she got. Life was tough when you had a face that only a mother could love.

For years, Sutton Sway goes through life knowing that she’s never going to have a happily ever after that she’s always dreamed of. So she settles. She marries not for love, but for companionship, choosing a man that she never should’ve looked twice at, all so she could have a family of her own.

That family never happens, and within a year, she’s divorced and right back where she started.

Just when she’s at her all-time low, thinking life couldn’t get much worse, in walks Gunner Penn.

Gunner Penn, her protector. The man that saved her from all her high school bullies and proved to her that there were good men in this world.

He was the man that she’d compared all other men to, and probably always would.

But he’s not the Gunner she remembers. He’s harder, less forgiving, and a whole lot less happy.
He hates everyone and everything and doesn’t care who he offends.

That hate and anger for the world and its occupants doesn’t seem to include her, though.
No, Gunner Penn doesn’t hate her at all.

In fact, he’s loved her since high school. She was just too traumatized by life to see it.
But she sees it now. She feels it. She lives and breathes it.

Gunner Penn lost her once. But he won’t lose her a second time.

Not if there’s breath left in his body.

Ugly Duckling features the ugly duckling trope, along with a second chance romance! This was such a fun read with some heavier topics. Gunner, a single dad, had a crush on Sutton when they were in high school, but he became a dad at 16 and never took a chance. Now, years later, they run (literally) into each other and sparks fly!

Both Gunner and Sutton have some pretty heavy baggage. Sutton’s ex-husband disfigured her and Gunner’s daughter’s grandparents won’t leave him alone. But, these two have so much in common and their chemistry is real. Sutton is dealing with a significant lack of self-esteem that impacts everything she does. Gunner is struggling with being a father again. Then there are issues with an employee, and Sutton’s ex suddenly makes a reappearance. So, the road isn’t easy but Gunner and Sutton have never been quitters!