Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 2.9
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  J. D. Jameson
Heroine: Payton Kendall
Date of Publication: March 3, 2009
Started On: March 9, 2010
Finished On: March 10, 2010

Finishing this book means that I have read through the list of available books by Ms. James and I would have to say that she is one helluva of a writer, one that I would definitely be on the look out for in the future. It’s too bad that she has published just only 3 novels. Now if there were like 15 more so titles to go through, I would indeed be a very happy bookworm for a couple of weeks.

Anyhow, I have identified that Ms. James likes to write romances that feature lawyers, that factor into the story their busy lives, how they juggle their careers, how stressful their lives actually are trying to become a partner of their firm and of course scenes of the courtroom drama makes it all a more worthwhile read. This book is in no way an exception to this rule.

Payton and Jameson have been working for the same law firm for the past 8 years, during which they have both worked their asses off foregoing everything just so that they would be able to make partner after the 8 year term is up. Never having a cordial relationship between them has boded well for them since they have never had to work together on anything as their branch of law took them in different directions most of the time.

However, fate works towards bringing these two together when a 20 million dollar legal case jumps into their firm’s lap and Payton and Jameson are both assigned to woo this client into hiring their firm for the job. Once this becomes a done deal, however Payton and Jameson both realize that somewhere along the way, the rules of making partner in their firm has been changed and that only one of them would come out as the winner.

All the bets are off when slight misconceptions of actions by both Payton and Jameson to one another brings out moments filled with hilarity that I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud several moments during the novel. Especially the part where Payton has her naked butt in the air in front of everyone at the court house and the hilarity that ensued is something any romantic comedy lover would definitely love to read.

As much antagonistic and distrustful these two are of one another, they both slowly come to realize that the facade of anger and animosity that they have put up around one another is just a defense mechanism against letting themselves recognize what they actually feel for one another.

Its a journey fraught with misunderstandings, hilarity, passion and sweet moments that definitely makes this book a worthwhile read.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Format: E-book
Read with: Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 2.9
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Jason Andrews
Heroine: Taylor Donovan
Date of Publication: October 7,  2008
Started On: March 8, 2010
Finished On: March 9, 2010

After reading the latest novel by Ms. James, I decided to give her other two novels a try cos I liked her writing style and character development a lot. Although the romance factor in this novel is pretty much less compared to her latest novel, the game that springs up between Jason and Taylor right from the start is exhilarating enough to keep the reader avidly interested till the very end.

Taylor moves to a branch of her law firm in Los Angeles from Chicago for the case that’s going to make her career. Someone who has always been career oriented, Taylor has no time for fun and games, especially after what she found her fiance doing with his secretary at his work desk, just months prior to their marriage. One thing that Taylor had learnt early in her age, being the only girl in a household of rambunctious  boys was that no matter what happened, Donovan’s never admitted defeat and never did cry. So holding her head high, although she is hurt, Taylor throws herself into the invigorating case of sexual harassment as the defender knowing full well she is going to win the case no matter what.

Quite unexpectedly Taylor gets dumped with the job of teaching Jason the ropes of courtroom drama for his new movie in production. Jason is everything Taylor is not. Standing her up for the two appointments that were supposed to start off their little project, Taylor is ready to brush off her hands off Jason, though he just might be the sexiest man alive on whom Taylor had laid her eyes on.

Jason is not accustomed to having things go any other way than his. He finds himself intrigued when Taylor doesn’t really care about how famous he is and how he is coveted by the rest of the female population surrounding him. And when Taylor gives as good as she gets during their verbal sparring matches, Jason is hopelessly hooked line and sinker though he refuses to admit his feelings to himself, but rather tries to make Taylor jealous by using other means which eventually in the end backfires on him.

Interesting plot with two likable characters. As I said before though there is not much of a romance till the very end of the novel, it is highly entertaining and one can never go wrong in picking this novel up for a bunch of laughs.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Something About You by Julie James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Special Agent Jack Pallas
Heroine: Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: March 7, 2010
Finished On: March 8, 2010

Its been ages since a book has been good enough to warrant that I stay up all night to finish it. Yes, this book was that good. Since I haven’t ever read a book by Ms. James I would have to say she has hooked me onto her writing style which is a mix of suspense, murder, mayhem, red hot passion that sizzles between the two lead characters with a bit of humor thrown into the mix to make a helluva of a story.

FBI Special Agent Jack Pallas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had a falling out three years ago. Jack blames Cameron for ruining his career and thinks that she is the one who made the Justice Department send him off to Nebraska after Jack badmouthed Cameron all over the national media.

Now, three years later, Jack is back and Cameron finds herself as the only potential witness in a high stakes murder of a call girl involving a senator. Whilst Cameron only saw the back of the killer, he is not taking any chances to lead all this back to him and he pulls all the stops to eliminate Cameron and wipe her away from the almost perfect crime that he committed.

Though at the beginning Jack is all but pulsating with anger at Cameron, he slowly starts to find out that there might be more than what meets the eye in what took place three years back. And there was that simmering sexual tension between him and Cameron that no matter how hard Jack tries to ignore, seems to blaze hotter and hotter with every encounter.

This is one delicious book for fans of romantic thrillers can never go wrong with. I absolutely loved every fricking minute of it!

Till next time!

P.S. I guess this is one of those rare times when the cover of a book actually depicts something described in the book. The cover filled my head with all these hot images during one  of  the most delicious mouthwatering scenes in the book. *wink* *wink*

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Facing It by Linda Winfree

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Hearts of the South, Book 8
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd
Hero:  Deputy Chris Parker
Heroine: Ruthie Chason
Date of Publication: April 7, 2009
Started On: March 5, 2010
Finished On: March 7, 2010

This is the first book that I tried from Ms. Winfree and I would have to say she is pretty good at writing romantic suspense. I seem to have started from her last book of the Hearts of the South series. I loved the characters of this series, many of whom you encounter in this story as well.

The most striking thing about this novel is how Ms. Winfree juggled two equally beautiful blossoming romances in one novel. Unlike most authors if and when in a book there are two budding romances, one tends to take the center stage and the other romance would take the backstage and any issues if any between the couple would be resolved pretty quickly. However I was delighted that this wasn’t the case in this novel.

Facing it is the story of Chris, a man who has scars left over from being in domestically abusive relationship which had nearly cost him his life. Chris doesn’t handle women in his personal space well. However all of that changes when he offers to help his friend Tick Calvert, Ruthie’s brother and Chris’s boss in looking after Ruthie and her adorable three kids who need protection from Ruthie’s controlling husband.

Ruthie had tolerated being under Stephen’s thumb as long as she could. Finally it took its toll when she saw how his controlling attitude towards everything in their family lives had taken its toll on her three children, with whom any reader is bound to fall in love with.

Unknown to Ruthie and Stephen, Stephen has been under surveillance by the FBI for shady money laundering and this is where the delicious second romance comes in. Harrell Beecham and Jennifer are the agents that have been occupying the house across from the Chason’s and keeping an eye on the family’s activities for the past year, pretending to be a married couple. The pretending stuff has been playing havoc on both Harrell and Jennifer, so much that the simmering attraction between them breaks out onto the surface when Jennifer decides to take matters into her own hands and confront Harrell with it.

Harrell is leery of commitment from growing up with a mother who has 8 failed marriages under her belt. Reluctant in believing that any relationship that Harrell is part of could end up in any other way except in disaster, Harrell doesn’t want to give into the intense feelings that Jennifer tends to rouse in him. However in Jennifer, Harrell has met his match for stubbornness and ultimately Harrell has no choice but to give in to the need that has been hounding him ever since they became partners. However the road towards ultimate happiness between these two characters isn’t a smooth one either. I loved how Ms. Winfree gave time for each of her characters to work through their issues so that the ending was sweeter and better for the reader.

Meanwhile, Chris and Ruthie slowly find one another as well. Ruthie having witnessed how cruel a controlling man in her life could be, is still willing to give Chris with his gentle yet skittish nature the chance to get to know her and ultimately give into the hot attraction that flares between these two and catches both of them unawares. Chris has his own frightening issues to work out and Ruthie remains patient throughout all this, which made me really admire Ruthie as a heroine, which is a rare thing for me.

I liked the fact that Ms. Winfree didn’t try to garner the reader’s sympathy for Ruthie by going on and on about how Stephen’s abusive behavior had shattered Ruthie and so on, but gave Ruthie a fighting chance to become a beautiful and strong character that any reader would empathize and root for.

Great book, I might give a go at reading the other books in the series some other time.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Samhain

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Broken by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rafferty, Book 2
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Quinn Rafferty
Heroine: Sarah McElyea
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: March 4, 2010
Finished On: March 5, 2010

This is one book that I have been waiting like forever to get my hands on. Forever as in when the author announced that this book would be released on March 2010 sometime last year. And looking at the yummy cover which makes my heart flutter just a tad each time, who wouldn’t want to read this book?

I read Fragile the first book in the series, the story of Luke Rafferty, Quinn’s twin brother sometime back and enjoyed every minute of that book as well. Though I was thinking of taking a shot at re-reading Fragile because there was a glitch at Amazon in the Kindle version of Broken that was sold, I had to wait for an agonizing period of time until I could figure out how to strip the DRM from mobipocket books so that I could read the book on my Kindle. I have given up on the idea of re-reading Fragile for now cos a summary of Fragile is related at the beginning of this novel. Maybe sometime later I will give it a shot once again!

As I always say, Shiloh Walker is one author that you can never go wrong with. At first, this story seems like your average abused wife running away from the abusive husband story. But I was in for a pleasant surprise when there was a twist at the end unlike anything I could ever have imagined.

Quinn and Luke although twins were separated at birth. Quinn got to live with his alcoholic abusive mother who never made him forget the fact that Quinn wasn’t wanted in this world. Quinn never even realized that he had a twin until at last during one of her drunken sessions, Quinn’s mother overdosed and left him alone with no one to turn to. Though Quinn wanted nothing further from being placed in a state home, he was in for a surprise when Quinn’s birth father came to collect him and though Quinn refused to give an inch and trust another human being to be kind towards him, finally coming to realize that his father wouldn’t abuse him physically and emotionally like his mother had done gave him at least a semblance of normalcy when growing up.

Now Quinn is a bounty hunter, chasing after those who skip bail and bringing them to justice. And then comes Sara with her wide brown eyes and sexy curves that has Quinn drooling all over right from the start. Sara is woman whose on the run, moving from one place to the other always with an eye out for trouble and never taking the time to get acquainted with people whom she meets.

However from the moment she meets Quinn, nothing on earth could have stopped these two from propelling towards one another. Hot intense need has these two scorching up the sheets in no time. Though neither knows anything about the either, love, the emotion each of them had been afraid of creeps into their hearts and catches them unawares.

Nonetheless, duty comes calling when Sara finds that its time for her to move again. With a hastily scribbled note to Quinn, she takes off, only for Quinn to find her. This Quinn is a mass of seething anger and resentment at being lied to and made a fool of and two people who are as wary of trusting people as these two suddenly find themselves at a loss as to how to handle the situation.

Emotionally gripping and sexually charged, this novel bears all the classic signatures of what makes Shiloh Walker’s stories mouth watering. Although Guilty Needs would always remain my favorite novel and Colby my most favorite hero by Shiloh Walker, Quinn himself makes for a deliciously heart warming hero and Sara a heroine who complements and completes Quinn in every way. Great ending to a great story which has me grinning from ear to ear after ending the story.

Keep em’ coming Ms. Walker.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Deception by Sharon Cullen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: Love on the Edge, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Lucas Barone
Heroine: Kate McAuley
Date of Publication: July 22, 2008
Started On: March 3, 2010
Finished On: March 4, 2010

This is the first book in the Love on the Edge series. Got me interested in reading this after reading the second book in the series which I reviewed yesterday. I have got to say that this series is quite good and I will most probably read the third book in the series as well. Though I wish to read Eric (Kate’s brother’s) story, I don’t think that book has yet been published or written even although I hope that it would be sooner rather than later.

So onto the review. Lucas Barone is close friends with John Callahan. They served together in the top secret anti-terrorist organization for the government and it is in this story that the extent to which they were both betrayed comes to light.

Lucas and Kate has a history together before the novel starts. They had been dating and living together for over a year. Kate knows Lucas  to be a forensic accountant, Lucas’s thinking that the lesser Kate knows the better it would be for her. Although Lucas and Kate professed to love each other, Lucas just one day upped and left never leaving a clue as  to where he went off to.

Eighteen months later, Lucas turns up on Kate’s doorstep, injured and nearly at his knees from injuries received during an attempt to murder him at his home. Although Kate is reluctant to let Lucas once again into her life, she cannot turn away from Lucas when he is so vulnerable. So she nurses him throughout the night whilst Lucas promises Kate that no one would ever find out that Lucas was at Kate’s place.

However, the person who is out for Lucas’s head is way smarter and has more resources than Lucas thinks. Suddenly in the middle of the night, Lucas finds himself taking Kate along and running for their lives as someone tries to murder them at Kate’s home. Suddenly Kate is framed for murdering Lucas and everything goes haywire. Lucas takes Kate with him to the one place that no one except John knows about and hides out there with Kate.

Though Kate doesn’t want to be pulled into the life of someone who had deceived her so well in the past, she can’t help but be pulled towards Lucas and the attraction that has always simmered between them. Lucas has his own demons to fight, to forget the torture that he underwent at the hands of the terrorist organization that held him captive for three months in Peru. Kate too has her own secrets, a tragedy that has made her unable to be the person who she was 18 months earlier. Lucas and Kate together find the strength to forgive, heal and in turn give one another a second chance at what they had going between them.

However, when the moment of reckoning with the traitor comes calling, Kate nearly loses her life. In the end, its a sweet ending for these two characters who managed to wiggle their way into my heart. Lovely story.

I highly recommend for those who love romantic thrillers to  give this series a try.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Samhain 

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Redemption by Sharon Cullen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: Love on the Edge, Book 2
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: John Callahan
Heroine: Hope Stewart
Date of Publication: October 21, 2008
Started On: March 2, 2010
Finished On: March 3, 2010

I came across a couple of good e-books on Samhain Publishing, and this is one of the new authors that I tried out after my interest was piqued reading the synopsis of the story. Sharon Cullen is definitely an author worth looking out for. This is the second book in a series termed as “Love on the Edge”.

John Callahan is a man who has got nothing to live for. Having worked for a top secret government terrorist organization for his country and being betrayed by fellow countrymen, and having suffered through indescribable torture at the hands of the enemies for a period of 3 months and losing the only woman he ever cared about to the hands of the despicable group of terrorists who had held him hostage, John was ready to give up his life and choose the sweet oblivion of death when Hope comes literally crashing into his life.

Hope wakes up from the car crash to find out she has no memory of who she is or how she got to the remote mountain cabin where John Callahan lives. At first John is suspicious that all Hope is putting up is an act when he hears that the one who betrayed his country and lured him into the trap with the terrorists had broken out of jail. But slowly John comes to realize this is not so as he tries to unravel the mystery behind the 5 months pregnant woman who has literally landed in his lap.

John has a lot of demons to slay before he could even think about caring for another woman. With scars on the outside as well as the inside, John keeps his emotions tightly reined in and a tight fortress around his heart. However, Hope with her vulnerability and her sweet caring attitude manages to crumble this wall bit by bit until John cannot deny himself any longer.

I liked the fact that the author didn’t just make John end up with Hope on the first encounter but rather gave John enough time to get himself acquainted with the feelings that were blossoming inside of him rather than just going straightaway to hot burning desire when he has been so locked up and remote in his emotions for over a long period of time.

Recommended for those who love a good romantic thriller. Though this book is termed to be an erotica, it only falls under contemporary romance with little bit of sensuality thrown into the mix.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Samhain

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookphotoopportunity
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Series: Tanner Siblings, Book 1
Hero: Daniel Tanner
Heroine: Amy Morgan
Date of Publication: May 2, 2008
Started On: February 28, 2010
Finished On: March 1, 2010

I never get tired of reading romances where friends turn into lovers. A romance is that much more delicious when a couple has shared history that goes way back. Anyhow reading this novel opened me up to Jess Dee’s writing style which I have to say is pretty catchy. Most probably Jess Dee would end up on my to-be-read list of authors as this book is pretty good.

Daniel Tanner (Danny) has always loved Amy Morgan (Amy) since their high school days. But Danny has never tried to make a move on Amy and they have both continued to be the best of friends always being there for each other in times of need. However things change when Danny takes on an assignment to do a photo shoot of a  children’s oncology ward at one of Sydney’s hospital. There Danny comes face to face with the reason why he has been commitment phobic for so long and realizes that he loves Amy more than anything to keep wasting time running after other women who meant nothing to him.

Amy has no inkling that her best friend for life has these strong feelings towards her. From a very young age, having witnessed her father cheating on her mother and finally abandoning them and the one single time that Amy did try to have a serious relationship with a guy, the fact that he too cheated on her in the end hasn’t bolstered Amy’s confidence much. Amy distrusts all men in general when it comes to leaving her heart vulnerable to them.

However, she is in for the surprise of her life when Danny puts into motion a plan to seduce her in the most wicked ways and to make her fall as crazily in love with him as he has been in love with her. However Danny’s plans backfire because Amy cannot seem to place the much needed trust in Danny as she should have, which irked me a bit because Danny had never done anything to her to deserve otherwise.

But all in all, a good story. I liked it because it wasn’t all about the touchy feely love scenes in this book, but rather well developed characters which gave the reader a good insight into why and when and how they both fell in love with one another and got the happy ending they deserved in the end.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Samhain

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Coming In Last by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Jamie McAdams
Heroine: Andi Morrow
Date of Publication: July 30, 2006
Started On: February 24, 2010
Finished On: February 25, 2010

Andi grew up in foster homes and other such state child care centers ever since she was abandoned by her parents when she was 5 years old. Growing up, Andi learnt the tough lesson of never relying on anyone but herself to see things through. Now a nurse working at the day care at a private firm, Andi is also an author of romance novels though no one knows about this secret career of hers.

Jamie is a private investigator whose godfather Jeb is one of the president’s of the firm at which Andi works. Jeb hires Jamie and his partner Mick to find out who has been embezzling money from the company. At first with the help of Art Letcher the money guy of the company, all clues point towards Andi been the one who had stolen money. But as Jamie and Mick dig a little further, they realize that Andi is innocent and that the real thief was doing a good job of framing an innocent whilst he/she was going to get away with more money than that had initially been identified as stolen.

Without Andi’s knowledge and Jamie’s heartfelt disapproval, Mick hatches a plan to catch the real thief by using Andi as bait. However, Jamie feels like a heel because he has fallen in love with Andi and he knows that Andi is the woman that he has been waiting for all his life. Andi too feels the intense connection and its not long before these two hits the sheets and burn their way through them with the intense passion and heat these two generate.

But once Andi finds out the extent of Mick’s and Jamie’s plans, Jamie’s worst nightmare comes true when Andi wants nothing to do with him. But in the end, everything works out and the bad guy is caught, and Jamie and Andi gets the happy ending they both deserved.

Not one of Walker’s greatest stories but enjoyed it.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Dr. Linc Blaise
Heroine:  Daisy Flattery
Date of Publication: January 26, 2010
Started On: February 23, 2010
Finished On: February 24, 2010

Jennifer Crusie is an author famous for writing romances with loads of humor put into the mix that you can’t help but laugh aloud or smile throughout the novel. I think this is the 3rd book that I tried from this author and the story was a wonderful mix of humor, married life, passion and the quirks of living in a small town where every single person knows the other.

Daisy and Linc couldn’t be any more different from one another even if they tried. Where Daisy is an artist struggling to make ends meet whilst trying to get her career as an artist on track, Linc is a university professor specialized in historical studies. Though they both live in the same housing complex, Daisy has always considered Linc to be a bit stuffy and of course the time he kicked Liz her cat has totally painted Linc to be the bad guy in Daisy’s eye. Linc considers Daisy to be a bit of a nut case who wears clothes in bright and mismatched colors that hurts one’s eyes to look at her.

Daisy hits a rough patch when her savings all but dry up leaving her destitute. And Linc covets a position in a small town college as a professor so that he can devote more time to write his second book. However, Linc realizes that without a wife on his arm he wouldn’t land this job that he so desires and so strikes up a bargain with the weirdly homely looking Daisy to pose as his fiance for a day so that he could convince the college to offer him the job.

Linc never thought that he would end up utterly fascinated with Daisy’s vibrant and colorful nature. Although Linc and Daisy do go their separate ways once their Cinderella deal is up, Linc is forced to come back and make the offer of marriage to Daisy, though Linc refuses to acknowledge the fact that he yearns for Daisy in a way that he never thought possible.

Daisy tries so hard to mold herself to be the perfect, respectable college professor wife and in turn nearly loses what essentially makes her who she is. Though these two agree to keep their relationship on a platonic level till the 10 month period of their marriage is over, it doesn’t make the heat that flares between the two any easier to ignore.

This story is wonderful in the way Daisy and Linc both grew in their marriage without the physical hocus pocus that clouds everything from the beginning. Linc learns to loosen up, to appreciate Daisy for what and who she is and in turn Daisy learns that she is worthy of being loved and wanted for who she is.

The side characters in the novel and all the antics and hilarity of Daisy being landed with three mothers to look after her gives the  book the edge of humor which makes this book an unforgettable romance. Loved the book from the beginning.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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