Book Review: The Trouble With Love by Lauren Layne

The Trouble with Love by Lauren Layne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

As Lauren Layne’s salacious Sex, Love & Stiletto series returns, a jaded columnist discovers a steamy way to get over an old flame: falling for him all over again.

As Stiletto magazine’s authority on all things breakup-and-heartache, Emma Sinclair writes from personal experience. Five years ago, Emma was Charlotte, North Carolina’s darling debutante and a blushing bride-to-be. Now she’s the ice queen of the Manhattan dating scene. Emma left her sultry Southern drawl behind, but not even her closest friends know that with it she left her heart. Now Emma’s latest article forces her to face her demons—namely, the devilishly sexy guy who ditched her at the altar.

After giving up everything for a pro-soccer career, Alex Cassidy watches his dreams crumble as a knee injury sidelines him for good. Now he’s hanging up his cleats and giving journalism a shot. It’s just a coincidence that he happens to pick a job in the same field, and the same city, as his former fiancée . . . right? But when Emma moves in next door, it’s no accident. It’s research. And Alex can’t help wondering what might have been. Unlike the innocent girl he remembers, this Emma is chic, sophisticated, and assertive—and she wants absolutely nothing to do with him. The trouble is, Alex has never wanted her more.

Review:

Even though this is the fourth book in the Sex, Love & Stiletto series, this book can be read as a standalone as well. Emma and Cassidy (Alex) are bright, cute, and sexy characters without being overdone.

In general, I enjoyed the book and reading it was a pleasure. Probably the best part of the book overall is that these two already have a rough past with each other and their nearly non-existent recognition of each other in the present is the biggest challenge these two have to face. There are tons of misunderstandings and a lot of untold information that resulted in Emma being ditched at the altar. How these two break through some extremely thick walls is well-written and it all makes sense. There isn't anything convoluted or unbelievable. I buy these two as being in a previous relationship. I buy how they deal with each other at work because they have to be professional.

If you like to read good, solid romance you will enjoy "The Trouble With Love."

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


View all my reviews

Book Review: "The Millionaire Affair" by Jessica Lemmon

Kimber Reynolds owns her own vintage clothing store with her ex-boyfriend. She's trying to raise enough money to buy him out so she doesn't have to work with him anymore. Kimber has had a crush on Landon for as long as she could remember. Kimber also falls in love easy and fast and as a result, her relationships dissolve quickly when the man gets scared off.

Landon Downey is a millionaire ad executive who knows Kimber through his sister, Angel. Kimber spent summers with Angel growing up and spent one summer in particular crushing on Landon when she was a teen and he was in college. Landon's also got some relationship issues following a tragic turn of events with an ex from college years prior.

Now it's years later and Landon needs a nanny for a week to care for his nephew while Landon and Angel's brother is traveling to hone his art. Angel suggests Kimber thinking that Kimber's crush was actually on her other brother, Evan. But Landon agrees to hire her for a nice sum of money that Kimber can absolutely use so Kimber accepts and moves in for the week with Landon and his nephew.

Landon's attraction to Kimber all these years later is suddenly present and it throws him off. He can't even stop thinking about her. He can't bring himself to do relationships and she only wants to have a fling so she can prove to herself that she can without just falling heavily for every guy she dates.

So, where does THAT go? Well, you have to read it to find out.

Landon and Kimber were both extremely likable. I enjoyed how they interacted, how Kimber interacted with the nephew and how they were both open and communicative with each other about what they wanted from each other. At least what they THINK they wanted.

Kimber's "best" friend, Gloria, is NOT likable. At least not to me. I think as a best friend, you don't advise best friends to do the things Gloria advises Kimber to do and she's already confused and in a desperate situation about midway through the novel. Gloria comes off as extremely selfish. The only good part to having this terrible character is that it forces Kimber to figure things out for herself. She knows what she wants this time and Gloria is there to quash Kimber's dreams at each turn all the while thinking she's doing the right thing. Not so. Gloria does nothing in Kimber's best interest.

Overall, this is a wonderful story and I really liked the way the ending was written. This particular book is part three of the "Love In The Balance" series but each one of the books is easily read as a stand alone. Do look up the other two in the series and read those as well. They're all enjoyable.

*ARC given by NetGalley in return for an honest review*

Four excellent stars!

Book Review: "This Is Falling" by Ginger Scott

Author: Ginger Scott

Genres: Coming of Age, New Adult Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 29, 2014

Availability: Pre-sales on Amazon.com and iBooks

     I have been trying to write this review for nearly a month. Rowe Stanton has been through a major tragedy. When she goes off to college, it's her decision that she is going to try and live, even though her physical scars are healed and her emotional scars are not even close to healing. I too went through a major tragedy (bullets included) and when I went to college, I decided to deal with that major tragedy. My physical scars were long healed and some faded. But my emotional scars were not, they were wide open. Our tragedies are not the same but I was Rowe Stanton at one time. I couldn't know how Rowe felt when I started This Is Falling, I only know how I felt about my own story.  However, Ginger Scott told me EXACTLY how Rowe felt. And now that I've figured that out a month later, I think I know how to write this review.

     This Is Falling is Ginger Scott's fifth novel.  Ginger Scott is the first author to ever draw tears from my eyes through the power of her writing. Ginger Scott has hit it out of the park. AGAIN.

     Rowe Stanton needs to live again. She needs to live among the living and put her past behind her and start looking to her future. She has no idea how to do that. Then she meets Nate Preeter. Handsome, All-American baseball player, Nate Preeter. When Rowe meets Nate and Nate finds out Rowe's story, he doesn't make the same big mistake that everyone seems to try and do: he doesn't try to SAVE her or fix her. In my own life, from my college fiancee to my present husband, and including all of the men in between, they've all wanted to SAVE me from my past.  People like Rowe and me don't need saving or fixing, we need a place to land when we FALL. And that's what Nate does. He gives Rowe a place to land when she's falling flat on her face.

     When Rowe and Nate meet for the first time, I swear it's love at first sight and they don't know it. But the connection is immediate even though Rowe is skittish. But Nate? He's the most patient book boyfriend I've ever read. Because Nate wants Rowe and Rowe absolutely wants Nate but Rowe is so conflicted because she has no idea how to live in the present, she doesn't even know if she should accept what Nate is offering.

     But then Rowe begins to open up a little bit. With her crazy, prankster sense of humor which matches Nate to a tee. I'm reminded of pink and Barbie and I just have to crack up like I did when I was reading the book. I was so floored at that point because I developed a quirky sense of humor and it was a MAJOR part of my own recovery from that awful time in my own life. And then I married a man with the best sense of humor in the UNIVERSE. And when he figured out I didn't need saving, the humor became part of the healing. In the end, my husband DID save me but it was after he stopped trying to do it. Nate can easily be seen as the cliche, perfect college boyfriend but he's not perfect. In fact he screws up a LOT and there's a big one courtesy of Rowe's father. I still can't believe Rowe's father asked what he did of Nate and I'm still kind of pissed that Nate was willing to do it. So no, he's not perfect. But he is perfect for Rowe even with the flaws.

     Ginger Scott was really ballsy to pick the incident that Rowe went through. When I read what happened to Rowe, I was stunned and impressed all at the same time. Then she had the guts to NOT get preachy about it, to not get political about it, and to focus on Rowe and her healing. She focused on Rowe and Nate. I loved the humor in this book because it needed to have humor in it. This could have been a real downer if Ms. Scott chose to get all "psycho-babble." She didn't.

     I could say this was my favorite book by Ginger Scott but I can't. I loved them all equally but for different reasons. I've tried to chose the one I love the most and I just can't.  This is my favorite Ginger Scott novel.  So are the other four. This I do know: I will read EVERY BOOK she writes. She can write about paint drying and I would read it. She'd find a way to make it exciting and moving all at the same time.

     Like so many who were touched by How We Deal With Gravity because of the Autism aspect of the book, I was touched by This Is Falling because I am Rowe. Well, I was Rowe. I have some idea of where Rowe will end up in her future as long as she keeps on trying. If she keeps on trying, because surviving tragedies like ours REQUIRE a lifetime of work to survive, she won't be perfect but she will have a good life.

"The Truth About Alice" (Psst…She's the School Slut)

THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE is absolutely friggin' CRAZY. CRAZY GOOD! I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley for an honest review but I really want to buy everybody I know a copy of this book. It should be required reading in every high school across America and the world.

Alice Franklin is the school slut. She was a popular girl at one time and now? Well now she's the school slut. Alice slept with two guys. Brandon Fitzsimmons, THE most popular boy at Healy High and the school's star quarterback. She also slept with Tommy Cray. Tommy Cray graduated from Healy and was now a college freshman home for the summer.

And Alice Franklin slept with both of them at Elaine O'Dea's party. Elaine is the most popular girl in high school and she's still holding a grudge because Alice made out with Brandon Fitzsimmons all the way back in eighth grade.

A short time after that party, Alice sexted Brandon Fitzsimmons and he died in a car crash. His best friend Josh, who was in the car, lived. Josh feels exceptionally guilty because he's still alive.

Kelsie is….was Alice Franklin's best friend. But since Alice lied to Kelsie a gazillion years ago because Kelsie was a virgin at the time, she believes being around Alice will trash her popularity. When Kelsie lived in Flint, Michigan, she wasn't popular at all. Moving to small-town Healy, Texas gave Kelsie a "do over." So she became friends with the popular Alice Franklin and climbed the social ladder.

And there's Kurt Morelli. He's the school nerd. A total loner. Not popular. A geek.

Jennifer Mathieu has created a brilliant piece of art. It belongs on the shelves of every school library everywhere. She has mastered how to tell a story from FOUR different points of view. It's easy to write such a story and confuse the hell out of everybody. It's masterful to write such a story and make four points of view work.

This book not only reveals how Alice Franklin became the school slut with no friends but it also reveals each person's knowledge about what really happened. How these characters are so shallow, they know they're shallow, and they justify it to themselves. All too easily.

I was sucked into this book from page one. I know a book is going to be THAT good when it gets me on page one. And then I only put it down once because I had to sleep at some point. One could make an argument that Jennifer Mathieu didn't really end it "right." I think she ended it how it was supposed to end: realistically. And I think you get to write your own "what happens next" when you get to the end. It's not a cliffhanger and it's not unresolved. You'll have to see for yourself.

You will see yourself or perhaps your younger self in one, some or all of these characters. I saw just a little bit of Kelsie in my younger self and a lot of Kurt minus the loner, unpopular part in myself as a whole. Do we ever hear from Alice? Does she ever weigh in on all of this? Yes. And Jennifer Mathieu knows EXACTLY where to bring her voice into the story.

If EVERY kid entering high school would read this book and do the exact opposite of what these kids did, high school would be a much better experience for so many.

I give it five stars because this book just knocked me out! I just plain old loved it.

YES, YOU ARE STILL A JUNKIE EVEN IF THE DRUGS ARE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS!…..Book Review: "All Fall Down" by Jennifer Weiner

Allison Weiss is a mom, she's married, and living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She has a great job that she seems to love, and she also seems to enjoy taking care of what seems to be a child that isn't a special needs child but, has some unusual type of sensitivities. Her father was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her mother is trying to adapt to the situation. Allison is suspicious of the female "friend" her husband has been emailing and subsequently, socializing.

But, in addition to managing as much as she does, she's a drug addict. Now according to Allison, she can't be an addict because she's taking prescription drugs that were first prescribed by a doctor after a back injury. And she's not a REAL drug addict even if she's buying the drugs illegally online, and sneaking money from her job and her family into a secret bank account so she can buy those drugs illegally online.

So, Allison's husband, who has suspected for a while, finally calls her on it and sends her to rehab.

For the first time, during and after reading a Jennifer Weiner book, I had to ask myself, "where the HELL did she get her information?" Do addicts lie and steal to get drugs? Yes, she got that right. Do addicts shop around for different doctors to get their drugs? Yes they do. Do addicts buy drugs illegally online not caring if they're paying for poison that might kill them instantly? Yes, they do. She got ALL of that right.

What I don't understand is, what rehab facilities did she research? There is a scene where Allison plans and succeeds in "escaping" from the rehab to attend her daughter's birthday party. The rehab doesn't even call her husband when they discover she's gone. How she gets through the doors is ridiculous. Is Allison a voluntary patient or is she involuntary because her husband took her there? This is never really spelled out so we are made to assume that she went because her husband insisted in which case, she'd be there voluntarily. But even with the rules we read about, she probably still would not be allowed to leave most real rehabs.

There is a point in the book where Allison's mother shows up alone without Allison's husband for a therapy session. In this session, Allison's mother then tells her that she's been a functioning alcoholic since Allison was a child, revealing to Allison something else that explains why she doesn't drive a car. And then…..that's it. Oooookay. So what then? Nothing gets done with that after it's mentioned in the therapy session.

While I have so many issues with this book, I will only add one more. Allison starts out at first not even willing to admit she's an addict. Okay, that's normal. When she gets to rehab, she refuses to believe she's nothing like everyone else in rehab. Okay, also normal. One thing Allison never really gets past, I thought, was that she thought herself as better than everyone in that rehab. You may think differently when you get to the end but I still wasn't buying it.

Most of the characters that SHOULD have a LOT of weight in this book, don't. Allison's husband is too minor a character. The people she meets and befriends in rehab are still too minor. There is emphasis on her daughter but since Jennifer Weiner is so ambiguous about what her daughter's issue is, she gets far too much ink in this book.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I actually couldn't put it down. Maybe because I was hoping for some surprising changes. If you like Jennifer Weiner's books as I do, you will read this book and determine for yourself how you feel about it. If you have never read a Jennifer Weiner book, I'd recommend that you become familiar with some of her other books before you embark on reading this one. Try "Good In Bed," her first novel. It's fantastic. Try "The Guy Not Taken: Stories." her collection of short stories. THEN, read this one.

I was given an Advanced Reading Copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

COVER REVEAL! Ginger Scott's Upcoming Novel…"This Is Falling"

It's not every day that one gets to see the hot new cover from a hot young author's newest upcoming novel. So take a long gaze at it, read the synopsis below and prepare for its expected release, August 29th!!!!!

Here's the synopsis to peak your interest. I'm ready for this one.  Like all four of Ms. Scott's previous novels, I expect this one to be a five-star read. Let none of us forget that Ms. Scott is the QUEEN of the "first kiss." I expect there will be a spectacular first kiss in this novel. I can't wait to read that first kiss!

THIS IS FALLING
by Ginger Scott

First, I had to remember how to breathe. Then, I had to learn how to survive. Two years, three months and sixteen days had passed since I was the Rowe Stanton from before, since tragedy stole my youth and my heart went along with it.

When I left for college, I put a thousand miles between my future and my past. I’d made a choice—I was going to cross back to the other side, to live with the living. I just didn’t know how.

And then I met Nate Preeter.

An All-American baseball player, Nate wasn’t supposed to notice a ghost-of-a-girl like me. But he did. He shouldn’t want to know my name. But he did. And when he learned my secret and saw the scars it left behind, he was supposed to run. But he didn’t.

My heart was dead, and I was never supposed to belong to anyone. But Nate Preeter had me feeling, and he made me want to be his. He showed me everything I was missing.

And then he showed me how to fall.

-----

Intrigued? "This Is Falling" is expected to release on August 29, 2014. In the meantime, check out Ms. Scott's current novel, "How We Deal With Gravity." Available now on Amazon.com, iBooks, Smashwords and eBook outlets all over the universe!

_______________________

To follow "Musings Of An Aretha Freak," go to the top-right of this page and choose a follow method.

Book Review: "How We Deal With Gravity" by Ginger Scott

Ginger Scott has THE distinction of being the FIRST author to make me cry while reading a book. In all of my 45 years, the first time it happened, I was shocked by my tear-soaked face because that just did NOT happen to me while reading a BOOK. Ms. Scott's "How We Deal With Gravity" struck tears again. I guess I shouldn't be shocked.

Avery Abbot is a single mother, left stranded by her husband when he couldn't deal with the diagnosis of their son, Max. Max is autistic.  Avery is a strong, always on the go young woman who devotes every single extra second she has to Max.  She works in her father Ray's bar, she's finishing college and she's raising a special needs son living at home with her father. Needless to say, she doesn't have a lot of extra seconds.

Mason Street is a rock singer who grew up with Avery, practically in their home, and mentored by Avery's father, Ray. Mason is the son Ray never had.  Mason is also washed out.  He's back home from being on the road touring for the last five years because his band was cut from their contract and sent packing because life on the road stopped being about the music and became about the women, the partying, the booze and for one band member, the drugs.  Mason's feeling like a real failure right now.

Much to Avery's chagrin, Mason is invited by Ray to stay at their house just like when Mason was growing up so Mason can get his head together.  And while doing that, Mason goes back to playing at Ray's bar where he's exceptionally popular with the entire community.

And then there's Max. A young autistic boy, Max has his challenges that Avery must deal with not just every day, but every minute of every. single. day. Along with Ray and Avery's best friend Claire, Max is being raised by a small village of family that even include the secondary characters at Ray's bar. When Mason comes along, Max takes to him in a way that only Max really knows but can't express in typical fashion. The child is also a genius in certain areas, like memorizing his planets book or being able to take his iPad and using its Garage Band program to literally write out the music that Mason plays on his guitar.

**********

This one ripped me apart. Tears of joy and tears of sadness. Mostly joy. I literally had to put the book down at one point to clean myself up.  It's THAT good.  I was moved not only to tears but my heart fluttered, it pounded at times, and I could feel Avery's anxiety when she was nervous.  Written from both Avery and Mason's perspectives, a style I love reading, you couldn't help but relate to just about anything that this entire family goes through for love, for friendship and, for Max.

At one point I felt like Avery was way too hard on herself but, with her father's wisdom, Mason's determination to love Avery and Max, and Mason's desire to learn how to be with Avery and Max (Max is a challenging child), Avery learns that it's okay to stop moving for a minute and just be Avery.

At the same time, Mason has to learn HOW to be with Avery. Not just because he loves her but because she's not your typical single mother.  Learning how to be the lover of a woman and her child who happens to have Autism is a challenge.  A challenge that Mason is determined to rise up and meet. Ms. Scott showed that over and over and it's obvious that she's done more than just the homework on Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Mason makes mistakes as expected and Ms. Scott makes all of them real, bona fide mistakes that any adult might make when first being introduced to a child with Autism.  Ms. Scott makes Mason WORK for Avery's love and more importantly, she makes him work to be the responsible kind that Max needs to have in his life.

Personally, I work as a school nurse in a small, private school where the students are all autistic.  Max jumps off the pages and I could actually see him as one of my own students.  I wanted to hug this kid over and over again even knowing he'd probably hate it or he'd just have no reaction to it.

What Ms. Scott does NOT do is rain down pity all over this novel.  FIVE STAR MOVE!

"How We Deal With Gravity" IS a love story. It's not just the love story of Avery and Max, which is by the way, STEAMY!  But it's also a love story of a mother and a son, a daughter and her father, and it's a love story of a family as a whole.  Even the secondary characters are part of the family love story.

This one is going to get you right in the gut.  You won't be able to NOT feel something.  Your heart will be tugged, your nerves will make you shake, and you will shed tears of both sadness and happiness. Definitely more happy tears I would say.

The ending? Well, I'm not telling. But, if you're going to do an ending, do a BIG one.  And Ms. Scott doesn't disappoint.

To Ms. Scott, you had me at "hello" with your debut novel. You've got me as a reader forever.

*Book provided by the author for an honest review*

**********

Some "housekeeping" about "How We Deal With Gravity….."

All of the royalties from the novel's first week of sales will go to the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (www.autismcenter.org), an amazing organization based in Arizona where Ms. Scott has volunteered for many years.

"How We Deal With Gravity" hits Amazon, iBooks, Smashwords, etc. on Tuesday, July 8th!!!!!

Book Review: "Kate Douglas: A 2-Book Bundle Lethal Deception and Lethal Obsession"

     In book one of this bundle, Lethal Deception, we meet Rose DeAngelo. Rose is an insurance agent that insures high-level trucking shipments. Problem is, Rose's shipments keep getting hijacked. Mike Ramsey is an investigator for the Department of Transportation. Mike thinks the hijacks are an inside job and suspects Rose DeAngelo. In fact, she's at the top of his list.

     Through a wild twist of events leading to a car accident, Mike comes to rescue Rose and then figures out he's just recused his prime suspect. But Rose has no idea. After some healing and Rose's need to get from Pittsburgh to California to see her aunt, Mike arranges for Rose to travel with him cross-country while his partner, Kat Malone follows at a distance, so Mike can investigate Rose during the trip.

     Romantic feelings ensue. Mike becomes torn between his job and his feelings for Rose. Rose doesn't understand why Mike's attraction to her is distanced.

     Overall, Lethal Deception is a good read. It takes up about 48% of the two book bundle so it's just slightly shorter than Lethal Obsession. There are books that take me forever to finish and review and there are those I can't put down, give up sleep for, and write the review as soon as I read the last page because I just MUST get my thoughts out.

     With Lethal Deception, it was a moderately quick read, nothing I stayed awake for but I did have to finish both books fairly quickly to get my thoughts down. In hindsight, I should have reviewed this book prior to reading Lethal Obsession and then gone back to make the comparison of the two books afterward as reading both consecutively somewhat forced the comparison while reading Lethal Obsession.

     Because I liked the characters and the ending, I give this one 4.5 stars.

     In book two, Lethal Obsession, we are reintroduced to Kat Malone, Mike Ramsay's Department of Transportation partner. We find her living in California and seeing Riley O'Rourke, whom she fell for at the end of Lethal Deception. That was a minor mention and not a spoiler. We find Kat standing alone and backed away from Riley's graveside service. Riley is now dead. Killed in a car accident. Riley was also married. Kat was the outsider. As Kat gives up and walks away from the service, she bumps into Seamus O'Rourke, Riley's TWIN brother. And boy do they look alike!

     But Kat has some other secrets. NOT SPOILERS. Kat is pregnant with Riley's child which Seamus doesn't believe because of Riley and Seamus's infertility issues. Kat also has someone stalking and trying to kill her. In order to protect Riley's child, if it is Riley's child, Seamus takes Kat in, and hides her through her pregnancy in order to protect her.

     Naturally, things go batshit crazy. And of course there are romantic feelings on both sides going unconfessed because Kat and Seamus are both stubborn.

     Overall, I liked this book about as much as I liked Lethal Deception. I rated Lethal Obsession 3.5 stars and averaged the two out to four stars for the bundle. The reason I took away the stars for the second book is that there is a distinctive scene NOT written IN FULL into the book and I disliked that immensely.

I received an Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review of "Runner" by Patrick Lee

This book goes from 0-60 starting on page ONE! WHAT A RUSH!

Sam Dryden, retired special forces, is out on a run in the middle of the night and a young girl runs into him on the seaside boardwalk. She's barefoot and terrified, she’s running from a group of heavily armed men with one clear goal—to kill her. She doesn’t know much except her own name, Rachel. Dryden, as it turns out, is also former black ops and has a crazy skill set, one of which is specialization in removing people off of the radar.

Rachel has special powers. Powers that make a whole lot of corporate honchos with power and an entire American government want to hunt her down using every satellite in the Universe available in order to kill her.

Aside from the extraordinary pace at which this book moves, you won't want to put it down. If you're the type that likes to lie in bed and read until you fall asleep, this is NOT the book to try and do that. You WILL fight sleep to keep reading.

The relationship that develops between Sam and Rachel is both father-daughter and to a certain extent, peers, mostly because of Sam's impeccable set of skills and Rachel's special powers. But, their relationship is fantastic and wonderfully written.

I wasn't thrilled with the ending but it's exactly how it NEEDED to end so I deducted no stars.

Definitely a 5-star read!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review of "The Break-Up Artist" by Philip Siegel

Becca Williamson watched her sister get ditched at the altar. Becca also sees the couples at her school needlessly cast out the single girls to the point where they're treated like pariahs until they couple up. Even her best friend, Val will do or say anything to snag a boyfriend.

As a result, for just $100 via PayPal, Becca aka "The Break-Up Artist," will break up any couple. With a few creative tricks, Becca can shred a couple's relationship to pieces.

One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. If Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.

By far, one of the best young adult contemporary romance books I've read to date. What struck me right from the get go was the author is a MAN. I would never expect such a wildly good understanding of teenage females from a male author. For that, I give stars, stars, more stars, and kudos to Phillip Siegel!

One of the things I like about any book I read is when I can't put it down and I really want to take off from work to just finish it. This was definitely one of those books. This is also my first ARC via NetGalley that was approved from Harlequin so I was excited for the opportunity to read a Harlequin TEEN book. I was not disappointed.

Mr. Siegel does an amazing job in creating Becca's character. She's as complicated as any teenage girl would be. There were times I had to remind myself that Becca was indeed a teenager in high school. The author also did a great job in reminding the reader of that fact as well. The struggles Becca has to go through to be Becca and The Break-Up Artist in secret are so good, I wondered if the author actually met someone who did this for real. I'm sure they exist out there in real life.

What the author does with Huxley is pretty amazing and you won't see it coming right away but I think all readers will enjoy it. I loved the choices the author made in ending the book too. As I thought of the possible alternative endings that the author could have chosen, none of them seemed to fit in my mind so kudos for the ending as well.

I didn't exactly understand why Becca and Val were BFF's. Val's character is slightly annoying and I was surprised Becca would have a best friend who is so…..whiny. But, there are people out there who don't understand why I'm BFF's with certain people as well. Val has flaws and she's willing to lie about anything to snag a boyfriend. You will wonder if she falls into "couple zombie" mode if she snags that boyfriend.

Overall, this is a humorous and light-hearted look at one of the real issues teenagers have to deal with in high school. It's definitely realistic and if you like YA books with some "girl power," you'll love this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but it comes out April 29th. So preorder it now so you can start reading it the day it releases. You won't be disappointed!

Book Review of "Disconnected" by Jennifer Weiner

Shannon is an addict who has been in and out of rehab more times than she can count. When she finally decides that she's going to get herself together, she goes to get herself a new cell phone. However, when she starts receiving weird texts that seem to be encouraging her to meet with drug dealers and buy drugs, things start to get weird.

This dark, short story/novella is about as far from what I expected from Jennifer Weiner's usual "chick lit." Having read most of her books and loving "Good In Bed" through several reads, I never saw something this dark coming from her. Even though it was unexpected, it was still really good. It was this particular work by JW that caused my head to flood with memories of imagery used in her past books. It was the first time I realized how GOOD her use of imagery actually is in her writing as a whole. I could see where Shannon went in my head. I could picture those dark places. And when you get to the twist at the end, that imagery comes in handy.

I'm kind of hoping there is a future full length novel coming that features this character. Even with the twist at the end, it can still be done.

Book Review of "Along Came Trouble" by Erin Kern

"Elisa Cardoso longs for passion in her life. Though she'd much rather spend her days photographing the stunning Wyoming landscape, food photography is a lucrative, if uninspiring, way to pay her bills. But when her next assignment brings her face to face with sexy restaurant owner Brody McDermott, Elisa can't deny the delicious effect he has on her.

From the minute Brody sees Elisa, he's dying to unleash her inner bad girl. He knows there's more to the sophisticated photographer than meets the eye. Now getting the sexy shutterbug into his bed is on his menu, but when she starts making her way into his heart-big problem. Love has been tricky for Brody, and he's not too eager to try his luck again. But when a golden opportunity means Elisa may be leaving Trouble for good, can Brody find the courage to grab on to love . . . before it slips away?"

When I read something under the category "contemporary romance," I prefer more romance, less contemporary, as in less reality. Things like divorce, having to decide on child custody, whether to follow an ex because your child may be leaving with the ex, and other things like that typically suck my interest in a book right out of me. Erin Kern does a great job of not going overboard with it.

What she does do is create just enough conflict to make you root for both main characters and she uses the minor characters rooting for the main characters to make it easier for the reader to do.

The only thing I didn't like in this book is the same thing I don't like in every romance book: characters not communicating, characters hiding information thinking they're doing what's best for someone else, etc. But I've also resigned myself that this is part of the conflict that ignites the fire in the romance and keeps the flame going until it's completely on fire. So while I don't like it, I've come to accept it and don't blame authors for it because it's part of the formula and I would dare an author to write a good romance novel without that element.

One thing I would have preferred in this particular book is more physical shows of romance. In other words, more sex. And that's where my dislike for too much reality comes in. There are too many missed or stunted opportunities for Elisa and Brody mostly because of Brody's eleven year old son. However, I will admit that my lack of appeal of children as part of reality in romance novels actually heightens and enhances my dislike when the presence of kids in general are a blockade. I don't hold this against authors anymore either because kids are a part of reality, especially kids of divorced parents. On a good note, Erin Kern has written Brody's son as a mature, well-behaved eleven year old. So I kind of liked him. He's also one of the characters that was used just a little bit to help the reader root for Elisa and Brody.

I'm giving Erin Kern five stars for this one. It's a good read and well worth the time. If I could have stayed up all night to read, I'd have read this entire book in one sitting over one night.

I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review: Crashing Into You by B.D. Rowe

"Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to. 

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend. 

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more. 

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart."

The above is the blurb I read that made me want to read this book.  Unfortunately, it's misleading.  Sydney and Evan don't just turn to each other after Melanie dies, they were already friends.  Their close friendship doesn't just blossom into something more, Sydney was already obsessing over Evan before Melanie died.

Unlike other reviewers, I actually disliked Sydney more than I disliked Evan.  Evan went through his grieving period and wasn't going to feel guilty over his feelings for Sydney just because Melanie died.  Sydney, on the other hand, couldn't seem to let go.  The fact that she has an issue with binge drinking and drinking and driving makes her worse.  She's completely all over her friends, including Evan, about drinking a single drop of alcohol.  But she also acts like it doesn't bother her at the same time.

The whole thing with Sydney's issue with drinking was off the charts and sometimes not even realistic.  Anybody who feels THAT strongly about drinking and partying is NOT going to be peer-pressured into going to a party and drinking if they don't want to go.

And then there's this whacko climax and then it ends on a CLIFFHANGER.

The book is a total mess and should have ended after a longer period of time for Sydney and Evan to grow to love each other.  The mysterious blonde isn't a bad story twist.  How Sydney reacts to her when she realizes who she is, is like, Psycho Sidney.  I think it could have been wound into the story with more flair and less throwing it in our face.

I also noticed a lot of reviewers have presumed the author is a FEMALE.  However, before I actually go and look up the author to find out, I'm banking on the author being a MAN.  I found myself thinking, "a man wrote this" through the entire read and I can't figure out exactly why but I KNOW B.D. Rowe is a MAN.

Overall though, I give it three stars and rate it as a good book.  Especially for a debut book.  I have to give respect to anyone who writes and publishes a book.  If there is a sequel to the book, and I hope there is, I hope it's more fine tuned than this one.  I'd be curious to see where Evan and Sydney wind up.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review: "Hard To Handle" by Jessica Lemmon

ONCE BURNED
Sadie Howard never dates a guy more than once-but Fate has other plans for her when it comes to Aiden Downey, the one that got away. Aiden loved her, left her, and broke her heart. Yet suddenly she's bumping into him at every turn, driven to distraction by his wicked grin and rock-hard body. Now she can't resist finishing what they started-as long as she doesn't let herself fall in love . . .

TWICE AS TEMPTING
Aiden Downey threw away the best thing he ever had when he let Sadie go, and now he's determined to win back the woman he's always wanted. Sadie agrees to let him into her life-and her bed-as long as there are no strings attached. But Aiden's not about to make the same mistake again. Can he convince her to take a second chance on a once-in-a-lifetime love?

Sadie's best friend, Crickitt, is marrying Aiden's cousin, Shane, and it's at their wedding where we start off in this book.  With Crickitt and Shane gone, off to their honeymoon, we find a plastered Sadie and a well buzzed Aiden staying overnight at the reception site.  It's here where Aiden takes Sadie off to her room and puts her to bed where we find out through their thoughts what happened to make Sadie despise Aiden.  They dated a year prior and Aiden, when his mother went to a holistic cancer center in Oregon, broke it off with Sadie and went to be with his mother, hoping she'd beat the cancer.

A couple of month's later, we find Sadie working her butt off as a sales rep for a motorcycle parts company and she's off to land her biggest potential client before the owner hires another Parts Manager.  To Sadie's shock and chagrin, the owner has hired Aiden for the job.  With Aiden feeling guilty and still in love with Sadie, he gives her the account which wins her a big bonus at work and the number one sales position.

Now she sees him daily at the shop as she changes over the inventory, the displays and sells off the older, lesser quality competition products.  At this point, just about anyone can guess where THAT'S going to go.

Aiden is a wonderful hero in this book.  He's changed a lot after his mother's death.  He has goals and purpose and he knows what he wants his future to be.  And he wants Sadie to be a part of that future.  For a big, badass biker dude, he's a sensitive guy.  And of course, he's a little bit stubborn too because, well, he's a man.  "Nuff said.

On the other hand, Sadie is whiny and kind of a bitch when it comes to how she treats Aiden.  I mean, if I got this right, Sadie and Aiden had THREE DATES.  Now maybe there's a lot more to their previous relationship in the novella that precedes this book but by all accounts, it was THREE DATES.  I got the impression that they both fell in love with each other, most likely at first sight the first time around, and maybe that's why Sadie STILL won't let it go.  But she's also completely not understanding at all as to why Aiden broke if off.  The man's mother was dying of cancer and he chose to go be with her.  So, from this point of view, Sadie really appears to be the self-absorbed one of the two.

I had no trouble reading the book, it was a page turner.  But I got all sorts of annoyed at the back and forth that led to nowhere.  But I liked the end and the epilogue.  It just felt like there was a middle missing. A missing piece. There's all the back and forth and then the ending and epilogue comes real fast.

One of the things in the book that nagged at me was Sadie's fear of riding on a motorcycle.  Her backstory obviously includes a family and friends who ride. She has extensive knowledge of cycles, riding and the parts she sells.  So there's this story that carries through the book of this fear because her dad had an accident and Aiden had an accident.  As far as I can tell, nobody she knows has died in a motorcycle accident.  It seems irrational.  At one point, I thought the turning point (the missing piece) would be Aiden has another accident and Sadie finally sees that she really cannot live without Aiden.  After finishing the book, I kept asking myself if Jessica Lemmon may have even written that in and for some reason, took it out.

Overall, it's a good book.  Readers of romance novels will enjoy it, especially if they enjoy reading romances that go "off formula."  That being said, I'm extremely interested to read the first book which is about Crickitt and Shane and the novella which gives us the whole backstory on Sadie and Aiden.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review of "Second Chance" by David Perry

"Pharmacist Alex Benedict’s career and personal life are collapsing around him. Battling his own exhaustion, a powerful physician, and an unforgiving boss, he fights to uncover the reason behind a series of mysterious deaths in his hospital while preparing for a life-altering crisis. The suicide of a colleague thrusts Benedict into a hunt for clues leading to the ultimate, improbable answer. In the end, Benedict discovers the unthinkable, and in a climactic, unforgettable scene must make an agonizing, life-defining choice that will haunt him forever."

Alex Benedict works as the lead pharmacist in a hospital that's primed for a takeover.  By accident during the code of a cancer patient, Alex discovers a suspicious IV bag.  The IV bag has been laced with a mysterious ingredient and turns out to responsible for at least two other deaths in the hospital.  Alex's wife is also fighting an ovarian cancer battle of her own and decides to stop treatment once and for all, which will speed up her transition to her death.  Alex's colleague, working under duress, commits suicide and leaves Alex a mysterious CD loaded with a scavenger hunt of sorts.  It is then up to Alex to solve the riddles, find the pieces of a recipe that cures people of all sickness and find the last dose of a successful preparation of that recipe so that he can save his wife's life.

At first, I thought a three-part book with forty chapters was going to be ultra long, dragging in spots, and hard to read.  It was the exact opposite. This book moved really fast!  It was fast-paced and kept me awake all night long.  The medical and pharmaceutical knowledge in the book was top notch.  I expected it to be "dumbed down" but as a nurse, I could easily tell it wasn't.  David Perry does a great job tho at describing what medicines were for and what they could do.  There are some fake medications in the book as well but it was creative to say the least.

The examination and speculation of what a discovery of a cure for all human ailments would do to the world's population is astounding without taking sides and really makes the reader think while being entertained by an excellent book.

We do meet another character named Angel in the book.  The introduction of Angel gave me a huge aforethought to a possible ending of the book and I was right.  But, you'll have to read for yourself to see if you can figure it out and to find out if you're right.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Trial of Dr. Kate by Michael Glasscock III

This is the second book of a four part series set in Round Rock, TN.  While set in the same town with some of the characters from the first book, Little Joe, it is now some years later.  Dr. Kate Marlow is going on trial for murdering her best friend, Lillian.  She insists that she didn't do it but has no recollection of the day her friend died because she blacked out.

Seeing the news of the trial on the AP teletype, expat of Round Rock, Shenandoah Coleman, now working as a reporter for a Memphis newspaper, decides to return home to Round Rock to cover the trial and after seeing her old friend Kate, decides to help Dr. Kate by interviewing everybody who knew her to find character witnesses for her.

Along the way, Shenandoah meets up with her old friends and her old foes, she meets new people along the way and makes new friends as well.  Including, Bobby, a handsome mechanic who happens to work for Lillian's husband, Army, and they develop a romantic relationship with each other. The fact that Bobby and Army are moonshine runners isn't exactly favorable to Shenandoah but she seems to understand that the activity goes along with all of the other unfavorable activities of the time.

The book covers just about every topic associated with the deep South in the early 50's including racism, sexism, classism, corrupt politics, etc.  There is a trial and we get a good picture of just how differently the court systems worked back then.  Michael Glasscock made it all very real.

A verdict is rendered.  What really happened that day comes to light.  There's even an epilogue that details what happened to each of the characters years later.

What I liked about the book was how Shenandoah held her head up high in the faces of those who once looked at her as poor white trash and still see her as that even though she's been a WASP pilot in WW2, college educated and doing well for herself.  I also liked how she kept her promise to Dr. Kate and visited her everyday to see how she was doing and to keep her up to date on how her interviews were progressing.

We also get to see the good things too.  Like Southern hospitality and how the town protects each other (this is a bad thing too when it turns into people covering for each other).  The book is written really well, it's not hard to follow and you can get caught up in it quickly.

What I didn't like was how the trial ended and the reaction to the verdict just seemed to fall flat.  I'd expect, in this particular case, that ANY verdict would spark outrage and outcry.  But it was just nothing.  Even finding out what really happened was just flat.  Then out of what seems like nowhere, we are given this shocker of an ending with Bobby, whom Shenandoah has fallen in love with and wants to be with forever.  Frankly, I *hated* how Bobby's ending was written.  It seemed incredibly unnecessary and I still don't understand why Glasscock decided to go in the direction he did what him.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the book.  Honesty, I dropped it to 4 stars because of that ending.  In fact, I can't think of another book ending that I disliked more.  Overall, it's a good book and a good read.  I plan to read the next two books in the series.

Book Review of "Safe In His Arms" by Renee Rose

Safe In His Arms is a steaming hot novella that packs a lot of punch into what amounts to just over 100 or so pages.

Becca meets Zac over the weekend of her sister's wedding and she winds up having a weekend fling with someone she believes is a Marine.  After that steamy weekend, she finds out that Zac went off to war and was killed.  Shortly after, she finds out she's pregnant.

Fast forward seven years and we find Becca coming home from work to find her son's nanny in mortal combat with a man who is the man she believes died seven years before.

Becca finds out most of the truth, that Zac is a Black Ops agent, which means he doesn't actually exist anywhere.  But he has been watching over Becca and their son for all of these years.  Now he's back because he believes Becca and their son to be in danger.  It becomes difficult quickly for Zac to stay away from Becca and their son.  On the flip side, Becca and Zac's short-lived Dom/sub weekend are not forgotten and Becca's desires to have her Dominant man back in her life set off a lot of fires.

Overall, it's a really good little book.  If you don't mind reading sexual scenes containing BDSM, you'll probably enjoy the book.  The love story is good and it makes sense.  The decisions that Zac has to make over the course of the book and in the end are all natural and unforced.

The relationship between Zac and his son is sweet. And I like how Renee Rose writes these characters so that there is some tension between Becca and Zac when Becca is all like, "uh, excuse me, you show up after seven years and want to just be part of raising our son?"  How they work that out in the bedroom is something you just have to read for yourself.

I'm not a huge reader of Erotica but when combined with romance and when written tastefully, I do enjoy them.  The only thing I may have wanted (because I can't say I disliked it), was less of the spanking.  It seemed to get to where every sexual encounter was relentless punishment spanking and after a while it begins to feel like there's some abusiveness going on.  And it gets redundant after a while.  There is some non-consentual spanking that occurs as well and I didn't like it even though I knew prior to reading that it would be there.  Renee Rose writes it well so I was fine to just not like it and keep going.  The story around all of the spanking is why I kept reading  and why I liked the book.

If you like a good, well-written, hot, steamy, sexy, erotic story with romance and spies, you'll like this book.

Publisher’s Note: Safe in His Arms is an erotic romance novel that includes both consensual and non-consensual spankings, anal play, graphic sexual scenes, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Book Review of "Little Joe" by Michael Glasscock III

I don't know if others bothered to read the Q&A with the author at the end of the book or if they simply didn't notice it at the end of the book, but I noticed that some of the reviewers who didn't like the book as much as I did seemed to think Michael Glasscock did a lot of research to write this book.  What we find out in the Q&A with the author was that a lot of these characters are based on real life people and the grandparents are based on his own maternal grandparents who he lived with for nine months out of the year.  He also wrote most of the book from his own memory.

The other thing I noticed about many (not all) who rated and reviewed the book a little bit lower were either from a much younger generation (basically anybody who didn't have WW2 era grandparents) OR, they didn't know a whole lot of their WW2 history or what American culture was like during that time.  The reaction to the grandparents from younger readers find the grandparents harsh or uncaring.  What they either missed or don't seem to know is that it was the 1940's, it was during WW2 and one's elders spoke to children much differently than they do today.  That's because they were more strict.  Seems to me the younger generation readers don't know that entitlement, or that the world owes you something was not taught back then.  If you wanted anything at all during that time, you worked for the money to buy it or you built it yourself or you did some kind of work for trade.

But, the story follows Little Joe Stout who goes to live with his grandparents in Round Rock, TN in the early 1940's during WW2 after he and his parents are in a car accident from a blown tire.  Both of Little Joe's parents die in the accident and a new life (and lifestyle) is thrust upon the young boy.

His grandparents are what I would describe as "tough old birds."  LIttle Joe's grandmother, who becomes Mommy Washington to Joe, is your basic, older Southern woman, who cooks everything in bacon grease, reads a lot, smokes a lot and is your traditional church-going wife.  At the same time, even though she lost her only daughter, she's a tough old bird.  She may be strict and she might appear to be pushing Little Joe too quickly to "get over" the death of his parents but I think that's just how it was back then.  These would be people who lived through The Depression and then they have to live through a war.  What we don't get to read about, presumably because the story is about Little Joe, is that Little Joe's grandmother probably spent quite a few nights in her room, by herself, grieving for the loss of her only daughter and thanking God for sparing her grandson.  So yes, she's tough and strict and makes Little Joe do chores but she's not mean or evil or nasty.  Country life is different than city life and when she tells Little Joe that he'll get used to country living and country food, she's not being mean, she's being strong.

At first, one might think Little Joe's grandfather, Daddy Washington, is a total milquetoast.  Not at all.  He's a quiet Southern gentleman who probably lets his wife think she rules the roost while he goes out and makes a living as the town engineer.  He's got his man-cave (the garage), he sits down and eats what his wife puts in front of him and we don't see the grandparents argue.  Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean they don't.

And then there are Little Joe's friends.  Sugar is a bit of a tom-boy but still wears her hair in girly pigtails and talks about who likes who on the school bus.  Bobby is a "colored" boy from the "colored" part of town.  Most of the action we see with the three of them is at Little Joe's farm although we do see them going to other places in the book.  Sugar can kick a shin that'll put tears in your eyeballs and Bobby is just a fun little boy.  It doesn't take long to figure out that these three are no doubt friends for life even though the book spans the first year of Little Joe's life in his new home and environment.

We get a look at racism in this book when Little Joe's grandmother stands up to the local "white trash" bullies who try to beat a Chinese man traveling through on the way to see his son who is leaving for the war.  The town bullies seem to be all adult white men who believe he's a "Jap" and think he should be in one of the camps with the rest of the "Japs."

Little Joe quickly learns that his grandmother doesn't like people who don't like people who hate "colored people" or anyone who is different (i.e. not white).  This is a time where Jim Crow laws are in effect and there are separate water fountains, separate schools, etc.  And she's not this way to be all political or to make statements.  She is how she is because she respects all human beings.  Little Joe comes to his grandparents already uncorrupted but his grandmother strengthens that attitude by leading by example.

The only thing I could not figure out was the age gap.  If Little Joe's grandfather is 70 years old, then surely his grandmother is in her mid to late 60's. How do they have a 9 year old grandson and they only had ONE child?  Since everybody had children so young back in that time, I would have guessed Little Joe's grandparents to be in their 40's, perhaps late 40's.  When I was 9, my own WW2 era grandmother was well into her 50's but she had 11 children.  So when I was in my early 20's, she was in her early 70's.  It was just something I noticed but it doesn't take anything away from the book.

Overall, this an A+ book that I loved and I'm looking forward to reading the other three book in the series.  According to the author, the 4th book returns to Little Joe in his late 20's so I can't wait until it's published.  I'm dying to know if Little Joe goes on to be a Veterinarian.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review in return.  I'm looking forward to recommending this book.  It's for anybody who can read.

Book Review of "A Darkness Ascending" by Christobel Kent

This book from Christobel Kent is a part of a series of books that feature Sandro Cellini, a former cop turned private detective.  My first thoughts while delving into the book was that I probably should have read the preceding books first.  I had a hard time grasping who all of the characters were but I'm not sure if this was because the book simply moved too slow to get to the action or if reading the earlier books in the series would have sped that up for me.  There are a bunch of characters all introduced in the early chapters one on top of the other and I had a hard time connecting them to each other.

We do get a prologue that introduces Silvano Niccolo and his partner, Flavia.  It's a fairly simply prologue. Flavia is obviously putting down their newborn infant to bed.  And embedded in the chapter upon chapter of character introductions that follow, Silvano Niccolo is at a political rally or meeting of some sort and he collapses on the stage.

Then Flavia disappears and we find out she's committed suicide.  Or did she?  It's a weird plot of sorts and it is in some ways, a thriller.  Cellini is pulled into the case by Giuli, who as far as I can gather, is some type of foster daughter to Cellini.

This was a tougher mystery for me to read when I typically have no trouble getting drawn in quickly to mysteries in general.  I would not call the entire book flat but there really wasn't what I would call a "climax" here either.  It all kind of goes at one pace, and stays at one level.

I also didn't feel like I was in Italy either.  This could have taken place in the underground halls and alleyways of anywhere.  Except for the names of the characters and places which are in Italian, I didn't get any feel for any of the Italian political culture.

Overall, I would still recommend the book.  But, I would tell potential readers to start with the first book in the series as I think I would have had a better experience if I had done the same.  I gave it 4 stars because I thought it was "very good" with 3 stars being "good" and 5 stars being "excellent."  And I only subtracted a star because of the slow moving feeling.  I couldn't subtract stars for other things because it felt not fair since I hadn't read the other books that came before this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review of this book.

Review of "Playing by the Rules" by Imelda Evans

"Kate Adams expected to return home from Paris with a ring on her finger. Instead, her French boyfriend, Alain, breaks up with her right before she leaves for Australia.  Unwilling to show up at her high school reunion desperate and dateless, Kate asks her best friend's brother, handsome Josh Marchant, to pretend to be her fiancée.  Josh has always had a soft spot for his sister's friend and happily takes on the role. And as they spend time together, the lines between fact and fiction blur and they're soon struggling to remember it's all just an act."

Kate is someone who is what I would call an "extreme planner."  If she doesn't have it mapped out step by step.....well, let's just say "spontaneity" is not Kate's middle name.  Kate works for the Sorbonne, she was planning on her hot Frenchie boyfriend proposing so she could plan a wedding and a life for herself.  On the opposite side of the coin, Josh is definitely not stuck in one spot.  His job allows him to travel around the world to different hotels every couple of years or so and up until he comes home for a visit and agrees to be Kate's date to her reunion, he wasn't exactly looking to stop moving around from place to place nor was he looking to settle down.

I copied the teaser above to point out a few things about it.  First, Josh doesn't have just a "soft spot."  People who read the book are going to figure out what Josh thinks of Kate early on in the book. Kate is Josh's sister's best friend and they've known each other for many years but Josh's feeling go a little deeper than that.  If Kate were the homely best friend, I could see the "soft spot" description being a fair one but in this particular case, it's not.

The point that they're struggling to remember it's all an act refers to the reunion in the book.  That's misleading as well.  I get that it's a teaser to get people to read the book and it worked on me as well but it's also not exactly a fair description.  These two don't struggle at all.  At least not to me.

I liked this book.  I liked the story and the ending as well.  There wasn't anything I particularly disliked either.  However, I thought the book spent too much time at the reunion and too little time with Kate and Josh getting to know each other again.

I also thought everyone was so nice.  Too nice.  Kate's Frenchie ex shows up at one point int his book and it's really not much of a spoiler.  Kate gets some closure from it.  But she's way too nice to him.  Or, maybe Australian women are just more polite????

Overall, I recommend reading it if you like a good, solid straight romantic book.  If you don't want retching agony and a nicely wrapped happily ever after, then definitely read it.  It's something I'll definitely recommend.

(I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review in return)