Beckymmoe

Loving this series!

Revisado: 06-23-24

Fabulous story (though a few CWs--DA and death of close family member) and the dual narration is absolutely on point. The neighbors text message group threads had me LOLing every time...poor Shane!

Counting the days until Beckett (and Will, I assume?)'s story!

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Cute prequel!

Revisado: 07-22-23

Absolutely did its job of whetting my appetite for the first first book. I am absolutely looking forward to her giving him hell for how this one ended!

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Cute, but sloooooow burn

Revisado: 12-31-22

A really cute, quick listen. The heroine's extreme blindness to reality (that OF COURSE Liam is also warm for her form) stretches credulity--is anyone really that dense?--but it was still enjoyable. A nice way to finish up 2022!

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Cute second chance romance

Revisado: 12-27-22

The narrators did a fantastic job on this cute dual POV second chance holiday romance (With bonus The Shop Around the Corner/You've Got Mail vibes for extra funl) It's a short story, so of course there isn't a ton of story or character development, but their shared history makes the ending believable.

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Delightful!

Revisado: 12-03-21

I loved the story, adored the characters, and the narrator did an excellent job. The Black Moment was absolutely dismal--so hard to listen to!--but Olivia Dade did an amazing job of bringing Lauten and Alex back together in a way that had each of them owning their own faults and preaching the way for a glorious HEA. PLEASE write more in this universe, Ms Dade!

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Excellent narration, OK story...

Revisado: 06-30-21

So this was a case of I really liked it, but... Honestly, I'm actually glad I read People We Meet on Vacation first, because I'm not 100% sure I would have read that one if I'd read this one first. I mean, I probably would have, but...IDK for sure. I definitely wouldn't have been in such a hurry to read it, anyway.

What I liked:
Gus. I really, really liked Gus. I'm fairly certain I'd hate his books IRL if he were an actual author and they existed (though I did laugh out loud when January got to the end of the book he wrote for their bet--a surprised laugh, not a laugh of delight) but OMG I loved him as a character and as a love interest. Maybe seeing things from his POV would have affected this somewhat? But we don't, so I love him.

The bet and the "lessons." So much fun. Though it's a toss up whether I loved the lessons or the text exchanges they had prior to them more ;)

Shadi, January's BFF. OMG, I loved her so hard. The nicknames for boyfriends/crushes made me LOL every time.

The setting. I get why January wasn't a fan of the house she was staying at, but reading about her house (and Gus's) and the lake and beach? Makes me want to go on vacation, like yesterday.

January's love for her genre and exasperation with the "women's fiction" label. Also her appreciation of Meg Ryan movies (Gus's lack of appreciation is obviously his major flaw)

What I wasn't crazy about...
Although overall January is a sympathetic character and I really did feel for her--I mean, she's a romance author! With writer's block! And grieving is horrible--I didn't always like her. I know losing her dad was hard and finding out about his secrets is even harder (and goodness knows, I find cheaters to be among the most difficult characters/people to like) but OMG, woman, everything isn't always about you. Trying to force her mom to talk about an obviously painful subject on the day of her husband's funeral? Not cool. Refusing to read the letter from her dad for more than a year? Also not cool. (Though that letter didn't absolve him of anything, IMO it definitely made him more sympathetic than he seemed before, during the months after his death when she refused to read it) And she'd been jumping to conclusions about Gus for literal years, don't get me started on that... (though his explanation for his behavior in college was priceless, and yet another addition to the why I love Gus list...it definitely added to the "one of these characters has matured and become self-aware, the other still needs some work in this area" dynamic going on here). I loved the ending of the book, which *almost* made me forget how aggravating January was for 90+% of the book. But then I came on to Goodreads and looked at its page here, and it all came flooding back...

So...will I read something else from the author? Yes, definitely. But whether that book is more like this one or like People We Meet... will determine if I read another one after that.

Note: I listened to the audio version, which was read by Julia Whelan. She did an excellent job, as always.

Rating: 4 stars / B+

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Great story, but...

Revisado: 11-19-20

Loved the story--it made me LOL and even talk out loud to the characters--but the narrators weren't the best. They did a decent job when reading for their own MC, but when voicing the MC of the opposite sex? Not so much. Couldn't stand the voice she used for him or vice versa. It was distracting.

Still, I'd 100% read something else by the author--just maybe not in audio if the same narrators are taking part.

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Delightful!

Revisado: 11-02-20

A lovely prequel to the series, this book was just as fun to read as I'd hoped! This would be a pleasure to read whether you've read all of the other series books, or none at all.

The narrator did a lovely job as well. 😊

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Solid second title in the series!

Revisado: 11-12-19

Life hasn't been easy for Kezia Murphy. Four years ago, her precocious daughter Zoe fought and won an epic battle with leukemia. In the midst of that struggle, Zoe's dad was lost to them forever in a senseless accident. Once Zoe recovered, Kezia packed up their belongings for a fresh start on Stewart Island, determined to never again depend on people who would ultimately let her down. Ever since, it's been her and Zoe--with a tiny bit of help from a small group of select friends, Piper and Shaye Harland among them--against the world.

Enter Ben Harland. He's the oldest of the Harland siblings, and he is so absolutely out of the question as far as Kezia's concerned. Sure, he's hot. But can you say commitment phobe? Ben's got two rules: one, never mess around with local women; two, ditto friends of his sisters. Kezia's a check mark in both columns, thankyouverymuch. Soooo not going to happen.

Except they have a crazy attraction going on...which they maybe could have kept on ignoring. Until a major surprise shows up on Ben's doorstep one Saturday morning...

His eight-year-old daughter Jade. Whose existence Ben knew nothing about until that very moment--and suddenly, he's got a pint-sized house guest for two weeks. And not a clue what to do with her.

But, hey--Kezia teaches eight-year-olds. Heck, she has an eight-year-old--and Zoe's already decided that Jade's going to be her new BFF.

So, no problem. Ben can get a little help from Kezia for the next two weeks, squeeze in a one-night-only fling with her somewhere far away from prying Oban eyes, and send his daughter back to her mother at the end of the holiday, none the worse for wear. And then he'll have his life back, no sweat.

Riiiight. You know how well that's going to work out, don't you? Yeah, so did Ben--but he went there anyway:

“'One time, and no one—especially our girls—will get hurt.'

The door hissed shut after her, leaving him staring at the scarred wood. Kezia was right. Nobody needed to know a fundamental Ben rule was to be broken. Limiting it to a one-time thing meant no entanglements or emotional demands afterwards.

So, why did it piss him off a little that she suggested it?

Because he was a moron. A moron who agreed to a single hook up, when his heart told him in no uncertain terms once wouldn’t be enough.

Delusional, lust-hangover-talk. His heart didn’t know what the hell it was talking about."

Uh huh. Sure, Ben.

Melting Into You has it all, from touching family drama to off-the-charts sexual chemistry. Watching Ben get closer to his daughter and becoming a real parent, is wonderful; not to mention laugh-out-loud at times. (Having him enter the Due South's Manliest Man contest was genius--trust me, you'll love that part! So much fun to read.) Witnessing him and Kezia finally give in to their attraction is worth every cold-shower-inducing moment that comes before for the two of them. Learning new substitutions for swear words ("fucoid" is definitely one I'll be using in the future) and some actual Italian curses give the reading experience a little extra something--not that it needed anything more.

And then there's this gem from poor, in-over-his-head and now-completely-surrounded by-women Ben:

"Female-taming techniques 101—rack brains for what they might mean, then agree using carefully rephrased words."

Ah, if only they all learned that lesson so quickly and well. ;)

Melting Into You, though it is the second in the series, can be read as a stand-alone. Piper and West, the hero and heroine of In Too Deep, make just enough of an appearance to whet your appetite for their story, though--don't say I didn't warn you.

And finally, words of wisdom from the youngest Harland sibling, Shaye:

" 'Falling in love shouldn’t be stressful.' Shaye picked up her flatware with a small frown.

Piper snorted, coughed, and thumped her breastbone with a fist. 'On what world other than a Disney-animated one is that statement true? Puh-lease.'

'Well, when I fall in love with the perfect guy, there won’t be any stress.' Shaye scooped up a forkful of rocket and beetroot salad and stuffed it defiantly into her mouth."

HAHAHAHA--just wait until book 3, Shaye! ;)

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A-

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Absolutely delightful!

Revisado: 10-23-19

I really enjoyed Jonathan and Marjorie's story--totally worth the long wait we had while he dithered around in America and his sisters ran the paper without him ;) Jonathan's early misconceptions about who his ward was made for some LOL moments, as did all the ways he and Marjorie butted heads in the beginning and beyond. Though I did think he realized that he was in love a bit too quickly and easily, I should have known that Marjorie was going to make him work for it and not been worried.

Make him work for it she did--and it was glorious!

Though this is the 4th book in the Dear Lady Truelove series, it really could be read as a standalone. Marjorie doesn't know the other series characters at all, and even Jonathan hasn't seen them in ten years, so readers can get caught up at the same time as the characters, if needed. Narrator Justine Eyre did a wonderful job, as always!

(The Deverill siblings have finally all gotten their HEAs--yay! but does this mean the series is over? :( My only consolation is being able to look forward to what Laura Lee Guhrke will write next...)

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

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