*[Review] Alice Close Your Eyes by Averil Dean

With haunting prose and deft psychological insight, Averil Dean spins a chilling story that explores the dark corners of obsession–love, pain and revenge.

Ten years ago, someone ruined Alice Croft's life. Now she has a chance to right that wrong–and she thinks she's found the perfect man to carry out her plan. After watching him for weeks, she breaks into Jack Calabrese's house to collect the evidence that will confirm her hopes. When Jack comes home unexpectedly, Alice hides in the closet, fearing for her life. But upon finding her, Jack is strangely calm, solicitous . . . and intrigued.

That night is the start of a dark and intense attraction, and soon Alice finds herself drawn into a labyrinth of terrifying surrender to a man who is more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. As their relationship spirals toward a breaking point, Alice begins to see just how deep Jack's secrets run–and how deadly they could be.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 288 pages (paperback)
Source: Book I Own
Available Format: Print/E-book/Audiobook
Publication Date: December 31st 2013 by Harlequin MIRA

Rating: 

You know how people always stop to watch a train wreck? 

That is exactly how I feel about Alice Close Your Eyes. I have never found myself so confused by a book after reading it. I am well and truly lost at see with this one. 

I bought this book a couple years back and it's another one that has been sitting, gathering dust for way longer than it should have before I finally got to it. In an effort to clean out my books I'm trying to read a lot of my older titles which is why I picked this one up when I did. I thought, that given how intense the synopsis was that I was going to be getting a hard hitting, complex, angsty romance bordering on bdsm.

Unfortunately I had a barely pieced together story about a young girl with some very obvious mental health issues, a man with serious control issues and how they came to be...what ever it was they were for a time. I wouldn't say they were a couple, because apart from weirdly timed, poorly written sex scenes and some definite boundary issues on both their parts neither were developed as individual characters enough for them to actually have a relationship in the story. Alice, our protagonist, is in her early 20s and a cutter. Jack is a guy of unknown age and he's recently out of jail for maybe or maybe not killing his ex-wife (we were never told what happened to Rosemary). Neither were likable. I hated them both right away but, I kept hoping that maybe I was just in a mood. Sadly, this wasn't the case. There was a definite lack of character development for both of them. 

In fact, I would say this is one of the most underdeveloped books I've ever read. I finished Alice Close Your Eyes feeling as though this was a rough draft of a novel someone pieced together from the jumbled remains of someone's cast off ideas. I just didn't see the real purpose of the story because the author wrote the story in such a way that it was obvious what Alice wanted with Jack, though her motivations were very cloudy due to her own issues. She was just completely distasteful. She was written as a tough character but just came off as a whiny little girl with some very serious problems. I found the same problem with Jack, although he was even more underdeveloped as a character that he may as well have been a prop.

There was no romance to this story as there really wasn't much of a story. There were actions, very little dialogue, lots of unnecessary inner monologues, awkward sex and very little plot. This was supposedly marketed as a psychological thriller/erotic read but lacked in both these aspects. I spent all 6 hours it took me to read this either shaking my head in confusion or disgust due to Alice's and later on Jack's actions. There was no cohesiveness and the broken timeline also added to the confusion. One minute Alice is cutting, the next she's remembering poisoning a dog in an act of revenge for a childhood bully calling her mother names. It was so out of whack I had no idea what was going to happen next in the mean time. 

This is not a book I would feel comfortable recommending just because of the lack of any substance to it. There were no redeemable moments, just pure confusion and if I hadn't bought the book I probably wouldn't have stuck it out to read it in the end especially given how slowly the book went. 

Alice Close Your Eyes was a definite case of overreaching for me,  and I wish I could have enjoyed it more as I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately it didn't deliver and gets my second one star rating of 2018.

[Review]* Christmas in Mustang Creek (The Brides of Bliss County #4) by Linda Lael Miller

Summary:

True love gets a second chance this Christmas in Mustang Creek.

Growing up in Mustang Creek, Wyoming, Charlotte Morgan couldn't wait to escape to the big city. But with a job she doesn't love and a sense of loneliness she can't shake, life in New York is less fabulous than she'd like to admit—especially now that veterinarian Jaxon Locke has left town. 

Jax's move to Idaho to fill in at his dad's practice ended things with Charlotte just as they were getting interesting. But he didn't expect to miss her so much. So when Charlotte returns home to help care for the great-aunt who raised her, Jax is determined to get to Wyoming and do whatever it takes to win her back…and he'll start by giving her the most magical Mustang Creek Christmas of all. 

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 267 pages (Hardcover)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Brides of Bliss County

Available Formats: Print/E-book/E-Audiobook/Audiobook CD

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: September 29th 2015 by HQN Books

Add to Goodreads

I finally did it, last week after years of seeing people reviewing Linda Lael Miller's books I finally decided to bite the bullet after this one strayed across my path at the library a while back. I wasn't sure how Christmas at Mustang Creek would read since it is the fourth book in the Brides of Bliss County series but I was worried for nothing.

This was a quick and easy holiday read and one that I really needed. I'd read a pretty heavy sort of book and this was just the right amount of lightening up and it fit in perfectly with the season. I really enjoyed the small town feel of this book but I do wish it had been highlighted more because while I enjoyed the glimpses, they were all too brief and I found myself wanting to get to know they other characters in the town more.

I liked Charlotte and Jaxon together more than as individual characters, well that's not true. I like Charlotte better when she was with Jax as a couple because on her own she wasn't the most likable heroine for me. There was far too much inner dialogue on her end and her "rationale" to find reasons not to do things got annoying after while but I will say I loved how she took care of her elderly aunt, she loved her so much and that really came through and in the end when Charlotte opened up more I did come to like her.

Jaxon was a great hero all on his own. He's a vet, a country boy and he is completely head over heals in love with Charlotte, Mustang Creek and all the residents. He was such a sweetheart and he had no problem being henpecked by the women and being at their beck and call. In fact he seemed to really enjoy having women to take care of and I loved it. He was such a good guy and the way he delt with all the townsfolk was wonderful I'm glad he balanced out Charlotte.

Mrs. Klozz though was the true star of the book, with her baked goods, feasts fit for a king, a welcoming embrace, advice and some good old fashioned old lady meddling I couldn't not love her, She had a delightful sense of humour and she was such a lovely character she really made tied the whole book together and she embodied the feeling of Christmas for me.

This is one that was on the sweeter side of the romance scale and didn't delve into the intimate details much though there was a certain amount of sexual tension and and the odd innuendo but nothing you wouldn't be shocked by. It had all the fixins' of a holiday love story and while I did think Charlotte needed more character development and I wish we'd gotten to know more of the folks in the town.
I'm glad these two characters got their happily ever after.

I would definitely recommend this book to all fans of holiday romances. If you're a fan of Debbie Macomber's Call Me Mrs. Miracle books Mrs. Klozz is sure to remind you of them. Check this one out if you're looking for a quick and sweet read to snuggle up with for the evening. I can't wait to read more of this series and enjoyed my experience reading Linda Lael Miller's work for the first time.

Really Liked It

★★★ 1/2

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[Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway]* Fa-La-Llama-La by Stephanie Dag

Summary:

It's very nearly Christmas and, temporarily jobless and homeless, Noelle is back at home with her parents. However, a phone call from her cousin Joe, who runs a house-and-pet-sitting service, saves her from a festive season of Whist, boredom and overindulging. So Noelle is off to France to mind a dozen South American mammals. She arrives amidst a blizzard and quickly discovers that something is definitely wrong at the farm. The animals are there all right, but pretty much nothing else, no power, no furniture and, disastrously, no fee. Add to that a short-tempered intruder in the middle of the night, a premature delivery, long-lost relatives and participation in a living crèche, and this is shaping up to be a noel that Noelle will never forget. Fa-La-Llama-La is a feel-good, festive and fun romcom with a resourceful heroine, a hero who's a bit of a handful and some right woolly charmers.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 165 pages (Kindle)

Publication Date:  October 15th 2016

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Welcome to Turning the Pages Stephanie, I'm happy to have you on the blog! Now lets get to some fun questions shall we?

1. How did you come up with the title for Fa-la-Llama-la?

‘Deck the Halls’ is one of my favourite Christmas carols, and the ‘Fa-la-la-la-la’ refrain changes easily to Fa-la-llama-la. I’ve been known to sing that to my llamas. The title is also a bit of a one-person rebellion! There are already loads of seasonal books out there with ‘Little’ and ‘Christmas’ in their titles. I could have jumped on the bandwagon and gone with ‘The Little French Llama Farm at Christmas’ but a) that’s far too long and b) I always prefer to be different!

2. Who was your biggest supporter during the writing process?

None of the llamas, I’m afraid to say. They weren’t impressed at all! Husband Chris is my greatest supporter and is always encouraging me to keep writing when, like all authors, the self-doubt creeps in. And I like to think the children are secretly a tiny bit proud of me. Maybe!

3. Do you use friends and family member as sound boards for ideas?

Not really. I tend to work away on my own and do a big reveal when I’ve written the last word. However, I do eavesdrop and people-watch and that can provide wonderful material for novels.

4. Do you have anything else in the works, if so can you tell us about it?

Yes, I’m close to finishing my cozy mystery, ‘Hens, Haircuts and Homicide’. This is the first in a series of three or four novels featuring Holly, a hairdresser, who inherits her cantankerous gran’s cottage in France. In the series there will be assorted poultry in cameo roles, crimes to solve and two handsome cousins, one a gendarme (policeman) and the other a farmer, vying for Holly’s heart. I’m having a great time writing the novel and I think it will make for fun reading, with plenty to chuckle about.

I’m also writing the sequel to ‘Heads Above Water’, which was the memoir of our first couple of extremely eventful years here in France. Renovating two hovels, starting a business, becoming a llama farmer and dealing with exploding toilets does make for an interesting life. The new book, ‘Total Immersion’, takes up where ‘Heads Above Water’ left off, as life continues to throw challenges and the unexpected at us. Never a dull moment.

5. What are your top three favourite holiday movies?

The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Arthur Christmas and Love, Actually.

6. Do you like a white Christmas or one without snow?

Oh, a white one, please. We get long, cold, grey winters on the whole here in central France. There’s usually enough to snow us in for a few days, the record being ten

days our first winter here, but it tends to come in January. We had one white Christmas several years ago and spent the whole morning following animals tracks in our fields.

7. What inspired you to write your book?

Loving Christmas and owning llamas! I’ve started several Christmas novels but not finished them. This time I was determined to stick it out. And llamas are a bit unusual and also very characterful so I decided they’d be great to include. Over ten years of owning them, and running a llama trekking business for a while, I’ve accumulated a lot of experiences to weave into a novel.

8. If you could cast your characters in a movie or television show who would you cast and why?

Callan Mulvey as Nick, and Kaya Scodelario as Noelle. My llamas will play themselves!

9. What is your favourite Christmas tradition? Food? Song?

I love carols so we usually go to a carol service in the run up to Christmas. We have all the usuals food-wise for Christmas – mince pies, turkey (home grown), Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, and too many chocolates. We go for a family walk on Christmas Eve, although this year we’ll be one member short as my daughter is in Australia until next autumn. I guess it’s mainly the family togetherness that I like the most.

10. How have you found navigating the world of book bloggers, publishers and social media? Do you have any advice for new authors?

I’ve worked in publishing for thirty years, first as an in-house editor and then as a freelance, so I’m fairly au fait with the world of publishing. Most of my books have been traditionally published (I’ve authored 30+ children’s books that were published by presses in Ireland, where I lived for fourteen years). They’ve been translated into five languages. These days I tend to self-publish.

Book bloggers are wonderful and a total godsend for indie authors, who can struggle to get their book noticed. Thanks to these generous bloggers and their voracious appetite for books and their amazing enthusiasm in spreading the word, self-published writers can reach an audience. Readers can discover hidden gems they’d otherwise miss.

I’m not too bad with social media. I was the first in the family to get onto Facebook, and onto Twitter, but that’s it. I’ve toyed with Pinterest and Instagram, but that’s all. I suspect I’m simply failing to see their full potential. Maybe I’ll have another go with them at some point. I’ve blogged at www.bloginfrance.com pretty much since we moved to France in 2006, and I run a book blog myself at www.booksarecool.com.

Advice to new authors: build an author platform, be persistent, be as professional as you can when you publish (i.e. use an editor and be sure to produce a classy cover), and most of all, keep writing.

11. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice about writing your book, what would it be?

Publish it earlier than mid-October. I should have had it out early September, but I suddenly decided to rewrite the ending. I’m glad I did, but it made me run rather late with getting publicity going.

12. If you could tell your readers one thing about you that not many people know what would it be?

That I swam competitively until I was thirty-seven and have broken my nose twice in high-speed collisions with pool ends!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Hi, I'm Stephanie Dagg. I'm an English expat living in France, having moved here with my family in 2006 after fourteen years as an expat in Ireland. I now consider myself a European rather than belonging to any particular country. The last ten years have been interesting, to put it mildly. Taking on seventy-five acres with three lakes, two hovels and one cathedral-sized barn, not to mention an ever increasing menagerie, makes for exciting times. The current array of animals includes alpacas, llamas, huarizos (alpaca-llama crossbreds, unintended in our case and all of them thanks to one very determined alpaca male), sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens and turkeys, not forgetting our pets of dogs, cats, zebra finches, budgies and Chinese quail. Before we came to France we had was a dog and two chickens, so it's been a steep learning curve. I'm married to Chris and we have three bilingual TCKs (third culture kids) who are resilient and resourceful and generally wonderful. I'm a traditionally-published author of many children's books, and and am now self-publishing too. I have worked part-time as a freelance editor for many years after starting out as a desk editor for Hodder & Stoughton. The rest of the time I'm running carp fishing lakes with Chris and inevitably cleaning up some or other animal's poop. Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter 

  BUY THE BOOK:

  Amazon.com 

 Amazon.fr 

 Amazon.co.uk

***

You can enter the global giveaway here or on any other book blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, they are listed in the entry form below.

ENTER HERE

Visit each blogger on the tour: tweeting about the giveaway everyday of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time! [just follow the directions on the entry-form] Global giveaway - international: 1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card

***

CLICK ON THE BANNER TO READ REVIEWS AND AN EXCERPT

 

*[Review] Hidden Summit (Virgin River #15) by Robyn Carr

Summary:

Return to Virgin River with the books that started it all… 

When Connor Danson becomes an unwitting witness to a violent crime, he is forced to leave Sacramento and keep a low profile until the trial is over. He arrives in the tiny mountain town of Virgin River with a chip on his shoulder and an ache in his heart. 

Leslie Petruso didn't want to leave her hometown, either. But she can't stand another minute of listening to her ex-husband tell everyone that his new wife and impending fatherhood are the best things that ever happened to him. Virgin River may not be home, but it's a place where she can be anonymous. 

Neither Connor nor Leslie is remotely interested in starting a new relationship…until they meet one another. Even they can't deny they have a lot in common—broken hearts notwithstanding. And in Virgin River, no one can stay hidden away from life and love for very long…

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 320 pages (Paperback)

Available Formats: Print/E-Book/E-Audiobook/Audiobook (CD)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: February 23rd 2016 by Mira (first published December 16th 2011)

This is one Virgin River book I was ever so slightly hesitant in reading, unlike the previous books in the series the characters in this installment were both completely 100% new to the series and Virgin River. I love that we usually have an idea of at least one of the characters in the books are like before we get into them so things were a little different. Not in a bad way though, it was nice seeing some new blood in Virgin River.

As always Robyn Carr did a really great job in creating both Connor and Leslie. Both are new arrivals with no long term plans for staying in the quaint little mountain town and both are trying to escape some pretty rough situations and neither counted on falling in love with each other or the town. There's Leslie, office manager extraordinaire, trying to get away from her weirdo ex-husband and Connor, who is in Witness Protection after witnessing a crime and coming forward. Strange circumstances brought them to Virgin River, and while they didn't seem like they'd work at first I really did come to like them as a couple. 

Connor was very sweet. He would literally give the shirt off his back to help someone and he has the biggest heart. However, he's no pushover and gives Leslie just enough resistance so that she can't always have her way (though she gets it pretty often where he's concerned). He's funny and charming and while I thought at first that he was a bit too much of a goody goody I'm pleased to say you don't want to cross him.

Leslie, was a great character as well. After the muck up of her marriage to a complete idiot I can see why she wanted to pick up and move on. I just wish that she stood up for herself to her ex-husband (whom we meet) much sooner than she did and as much as I liked her I felt that sometimes she over thought things and got in her own way too much and that kind of detracted from the story.

I enjoyed seeing the usual cast of merry characters and hanging out at Jack's Bar again felt like I was coming home and having a nice catch up with some old friends. I enjoyed seeing everyone again and I loved how they extended the classic Virgin River welcome to both Connor and Leslie who needed some good folks to have their backs. 

This Virgin River installment had more twists and turns in it than the usual ones what with Connor being a witness to a murder and Leslie being harassed by her ex but it was a refreshing one nonetheless. My only complaint with this one is that I wish Leslie wasn't the forefront of the story and that Connor was. Leslie as much as I liked her character was a bit too woe is me at times and that detracted from the story a bit.

I would recommend this one to fans of the Virgin River series who haven't read it yet and to new fans. Each story is self contained and a little bit of backstory into the town and its inhabitants are always worked into the books so if you want this can be read without reading the previous books. If contemporary romance with a great setting and wonderful characters and lots of laughs are your thing pick this one up as soon as you can!

Really Liked It!

★★★★

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[Review]* The McCullagh Inn in Maine (McCullagh Inn #1) by Jen McLaughlin

Summary: 

Her second chance at love. . .

Chelsea McCullagh escapes to Maine with a gun and fresh bruises. She's ready to begin anew-until she runs into her old flame, Jeremy Holland. As he helps to fix her inn, her heart heals and they rediscover what they once loved about each other. But as the two play house, it starts to seem too good to last. . . .

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 137 pages (Paperback)

Available Formats: Print/E-Book/E-Audiobook/Audiobook CD

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: July 5th 2016 by BookShots

I picked this one up on a whim a couple weekends ago, after stumbling across it at my library and because I'm  a wee bit behind in my Goodreads Reading Challenge I thought this one would be a great quick read and give me a chance to try a new series and author.

I went into this one with high hopes. I love a good second chance love story, a suspenseful twist and a nice quite setting in a small town so I was hoping this one would maybe not be great, but really enjoyable. Unfortunately for me, this one just didn't do it for me.

I wasn't expecting the characters or the story itself to be exemplary given the short 137 page length of this little romance, however I wasn't prepared for just how little I would like Chelsea. She was rude, self centered and I found her inner dialogue to be really annoying and repetitive I didn't care for her attitude or the way she treated Jeremy or her brother for that matter. She kept pulling the woe is me card and I couldn't really find anything redeemable about her.

Jeremy on the other hand was the one saving grace of the book. I thought he was very sweet and I wish he'd played a larger role. Yes he was the hero of the story and I'm glad that he was able to reunite with Chelsea, but I just couldn't help but want to scream at him to run far away from her and he seemed to be used more as a prop than a character in his own right.

The story revolving around Chelsea's escape from Miami and sudden reappearance in Maine wasn't fleshed out enough for me either. To me it read as if the author was just cutting and pasting storyboard ideas without fully integrating them into the story as a whole. There was promise of a good romantic story with a light twist of suspense but it was all far too rushed and forced together for it to truly work. It was all very bare bones and I feel like the author missed a real opportunity here. The suspense was negligible and the steamy bits weren't even steamy. The book didn't even really touch on other characters and I got no real sense of the setting of the story either. I imagined a story involving a quaint inn but got a surly heroine focused on herself instead.

That being said though I am curious to see what book two has in store for Chelsea and Jeremy because I really did like Jeremy and I don't want to be to quick to judge the author on this one story. I'm not sure why it warrants a series to be made out of it because things wrapped up pretty well for me (in a very hurried sense) and I want to see what may happen with these two. I'm hoping book two is better than this one. I gave this one a two star rating instead of a one because of Jeremy's character, and because there still is a bit of promise if the second book is better written.

I would probably recommend this one to folks looking for a quick short read that they can polish off in an hour or two but it isn't one that I'm going to go out of my way to tell people to read. My advice with this one is to borrow and not buy.

Just Okay

★★

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*Note Jen McLaughlin writes as Diane Alberts as well 

*[Blog Tour Review & Giveaway] Wild Iris Ridge (Hope's Crossing #7) by RaeAnne Thayne

Summary:

Lucy Drake and Brendan Caine have only one thing in common…

And it's likely to tear them apart. Because it was Brendan's late wife, Jessie—and Lucy's best friend—who'd brought them together in the first place. And since Jesse's passing, Brendan's been distracted by his two little ones…and the memory of an explosive kiss with Lucy years before his marriage. Still, he'll steer clear of her. She's always been trouble with a capital T.

Lucy couldn't wait to shed her small-town roots for the big city. But now that she's back in Hope's Crossing to take care of the Queen Anne home her late aunt has left her, she figures seeing Brendan Caine again is no big deal. After all, she'd managed to resist the handsome fire chief once before, but clearly the embers of their attraction are still smoldering…
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 352 pages (Mass Market Paperback)
Source: Review Copy
Available Formats: Print/E-book
Publication Date: June 24th 2014 by Harlequin HQN

This summer I've been working to knock some authors that I've been wanting to read for ages off my  tbr list so of course I had to sign up for this tour since I'd been hearing lovely things about RaeAnne Thayne's Hope's Crossing series for a long time and it turned out to be another series that I'm kicking myself over not starting it sooner.

While I do wish that I had started this series sooner, as it reminds me very much of Robyn Carr's Virgin River series, I'm just happy that I started it period. I loved Lucy and Brendan's story and really liked the small town atmosphere of Hope's Crossing which just felt like I was coming home when I read it.

I thought the backstory for Lucy and Brendan was quite good. Both were a little lost, and confused. Lucy was fired, and falling for her dead best friend (and cousin's)  husband. While poor Brendan was a widower with two wee ones to take care of and conflicting emotions about Lucy.

The chemistry between the two was apparent from the beginning but I did really appreciate that their relationship was slow building despite the fact that they'd known each other before, and had a past of their own that they had to deal with they didn't just jump in bed together and play house right away. There was a lot of hurt feelings, bad memories and apologies on both sides that I found realistic and refreshing.

I went through a wide variety of emotions when I read this one. I laughed, felt angry, got frustrated and wanted to bang both their heads together and tell them to smarten up. I liked both Lucy and Brendan on their own though Lucy was the star for me. I just loved her but Brendan annoyed me in a few parts (he is a man after all) but despite all that I loved their love story and reading about how they found each other was lovely.

I jumped into the series in book 7 and while I didn't have any real difficulty in following the story I feel as though I missed some things about some characters, but that didn't impact my over all enjoyment of the novel at all and now I'm wanting to start the series from the beginning and get to know some of the side characters I met.

I'd recommend this one to fans of the Hope's Crossing series as well as fans of Robyn Carr's Virgin River series with a bit of a sweeter twist. The small town atmosphere and the people in it will have you wanting to pack your bags and find a slower pace of life (and maybe a fire chief too!).

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

 

Really Liked It!
★★★★

 

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Author Bio:

 

USA TODAY bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne loves words. This led her to a fifteen-year career in journalismas a newspaper reporter and editor. But through it all, she dreamed of writing the kind of stories she loved best, romance, and has since published more than 40 titles. RaeAnne finds inspiration in the rugged northern Utah mountains, where she lives with her hero of a husband and their children. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website, RaeAnneThayne.com

 

Giveaway:

 

 

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*[Blog Tour Review & Giveaway] The Sweet Spot by Stephanie Evanovich

 

 

 

Summary:

The amazing Stephanie Evanovich returns with The Sweet Spot, the sizzling story of everyone’s favorite couple from her New York Times bestseller Big Girl Panties: hunky professional baseball player Chase Walker and his sassy wife Amanda

When pro baseball player Chase Walker first meets Amanda at her restaurant, it’s love at first sight. While Amanda can’t help noticing the superstar with the Greek-god-build, he doesn’t have a chance of getting to first—or any other—base with her. A successful entrepreneur who’s built her business from scratch, Amanda doesn’t need a Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet. And a curvy girl who likes to cook and eat isn’t interested in being around the catty, stick-thin herd of females chasing Chase and his teammates.

But Chase isn’t about to strike out. A man who isn’t interested in playing the field, he’s a monogamist who wants an independent woman like Amanda. His hopes rally when she discovers that squeaky-clean Chase has a few sexy and very secret pre-game rituals that turn the smart, headstrong businesswoman on—and into his number one fan.

Then a tabloid discovers the truth and turns their spanking good fun into a late- night punch-line. Is Amanda ready to let loose and swing for the fences? Or will the pressure of Chase’s stardom force them to call it quits?
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 272 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Review Copy
Available Formats: Print/E-book/Audio
Publication Date: July 8th 2014 by William Morrow

I went into reading this one without knowing that Chase and Amanda were introduced in Evanovich's previous book Big Girl Panties, but that didn't effect my over all experience with the book because I thought their story in the Sweet Spot was perfect.

I was really surprised that I enjoyed this one so much because I wasn't really the mood to read it when I did but since I had to read it for a tour I just dug in and really ended up losing myself for an afternoon in the pages. I just loved my first read of a Stephanie Evanovich book and though it turned out to be a really awesome summer time read. It was light, and funny, and had a sizzling romance but I didn't find it fluffy at all which was a relief.

I really liked getting to know Amanda and Chase, both individually and as a couple. Sometimes when I read I end up liking one partner more than the other but with these two I just couldn't pick who I liked more, and I think it's because of how good they were together. Neither was perfect, but they accepted each other's imperfections and kind of fell for each other for those imperfections. I thought their romance was not only sizzling when it came to the sexy times but sweet too, which I love because then a relationship between characters seems more real to me. They we're just one of those couples I felt at easy reading about. Sure there was a little conflict, a little drama but it wasn't over the top and it was used in a way that made sense.

Plus, the side characters in the book were just as good and I liked how they added to the story and weren't just used as props. I also liked seeing how Amanda and Chase interacted with other people and they really did have some lovely people in their lives that care for them.

Overall, this one just what the doctor ordered. It was as I said, funny, spicy and sweet and very well written. There was more than just romance between Amanda and Chase. There was also genuine friendship between them and I thought they were a hoot. Stephanie Evanovich definitely earned herself a new fan with me and I can't wait to read more by her.

I'd recommend The Sweet Spot to all fans of contemporary romance who want a couple that will really make you love them, have you laughing your ass off at times and smiling 95 percent of the time your reading. It was fast paced and definitely a book I'd recommend packing for vacation, a day at the beach or a pool side read.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

Really Liked It!
★★★★ 1/2

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