My rating: 4/5 stars
This is my first Stephanie Archer book and I surely had a blast. I found myself really immersed in the covers and I wanted to have the complete series because of this. The artwork was amazing and they all fit perfectly on my bookshelf. The blurb was also really mysterious and it was not very clear how complex and how steamy the plot would be, so I gave up and bought them all.
This is the first book from a 4 volume series, placed in Queen’s Cove, a very quiet area, small town thing. Here everybody knows each other and rumors go on very fast because all the people here gossip. Avery is a workaholic type of girl, very dedicated to her job at a restaurant and her dream is to buy it one day from the owner when she decides to retire and leave the business. That moment had come, but the reality was brutal with Avery because the bank declined her loan and she could not afford to buy it unless she found another person to co-own her loan.
Enter Emmet, a charming bachelor, with a very dreamy reputation. He has a construction company together with his brother, but he is not into relationships. He likes it casual and things will remain like this likely forever. When his best friend Will tells him he will leave town because the facilities are not that modern, he is struck with loss and wants to fix things. Seeing that the mayor is not invested in doing something for his town, he decides to run for mayor himself and WIN. But, for his chances to be real, he needs a lady by his side to complete the picture and win the people over. Are you guessing who that lady is?? Yap – Avery.
So, Emmet and Avery begin a fake relationship, which will begin to feel very REAL, because feelings will soon be involved and this will make the situation worst. Avery has only one dream and doesn’t want to complicate things further and Emmet wants to become mayor and is not interested in a relationship. When they realize how much they like each other and how much they crave each other, the plot will go CRAZY.
Even if the book was not full of drama and twisted plot, it was very nice, and cozy, perfect for cold days when you want to stay under the covers and just read. I liked the steamy scenes, they were very well written and with impact and the banter between the characters was true and palpable. I also liked the secondary characters, who built very well the community and made me feel at home.
I am looking forward to reading book 2 because it surely built the premise to be a fabulous book. Enjoy!!
Ramonisme 