Review: The Best Kind of Trouble by Lauren Dane

She has complete control …and he's determined to take it away

A librarian in the small town of Hood River, Natalie Clayton's world is very nearly perfect. After a turbulent childhood and her once-wild ways, life is now under control. But trouble has a way of turning up unexpectedly—especially in the tall, charismatically sexy form of Paddy Hurley….

And Paddy is the kind of trouble that Natalie has a taste for.

Even after years of the rock-and-roll lifestyle, Paddy never forgot the two wickedly hot weeks he once shared with Natalie. Now he wants more…even if it means tempting Natalie and her iron-grip control. But there's a fine line between well-behaved and misbehaved—and the only compromise is between the sheets!

The Best Kind of Trouble was exactly what I needed to get me back into a romance-reading groove.  I've loved most of Ms. Dane's stories featuring the Brown siblings or the ladies of Delicious, and the Hurley Boys are a great addition to this world.

The Best Kind of Trouble is at its most basic a reconnection love story.  Both Natalie and Paddy were crazy when they were younger.  Crazy when they knew each other.  But things have changed.  If the two of them can get over their respective hang-ups and emotional baggage, they will set the other on fire.  (They do.  Read it and see.)

"Plus, asshole, I'm unforgettable."

As with all Ms. Dane's stories in this vein, we're given the whole-damn-family too:  the Hurleys, Natalie's nutty clan, and Tuesday, Natalie's best friend.  These extended players really give life to the book -- and its main characters.    

(A very special thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Best Kind of Trouble.)

Review: Shoreline Drive by Lily Everett

Dr. Ben Faulkner is a veterinarian on warm, welcoming Sanctuary Island, a refuge for wild horses. Though he’s dedicated his life to healing animals and rescuing the ones no one wants, Ben is nursing deep wounds of his own. After tragedy tore his family apart, he gave up his dreams of finding happiness long ago…until Merry Preston arrives on the island. Vivacious, friendly, and instantly loveable, Merry is everything Ben is not. She’s also nine months pregnant and attempting to carve out a new life for herself and her unborn child.

SHORELINE DRIVE

Though Ben tries to keep his distance, when a raging storm cuts them off from the mainland, he’s forced to help bring her new baby into the world.  It’s a harrowing experience that leaves him with one great certainty: I want these two to be my family. Seeing his opportunity, he makes a dramatic proposal to the young mother: a marriage of convenience. If Merry marries him, he’ll draw up a contract naming her son as his heir and promising to provide for them both. But as they’ll learn, love is more than a business proposition…and it’ll take all the magic hidden in Sanctuary Island to turn Ben’s proposal into something real and lasting.

Merry Preston is kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants person, which is why she's very pregnant and hoping to reconnect with her mother.  She's convinced her older sister Ella that tracking their mother down is a great thing to do.  The women came to Sanctuary Island in the previous book by Ms. Everett, and Shoreline Drive lives up to the expectations set therein. 

Ben is Merry's polar opposite, so of course their chemistry is off the charts.  And Ben is concerning with Merry and Alex -- he helped her deliver her son, who is named after Ben -- but he's surprised by just how much he wants to be in their lives.  He proposes a marriage of convenience, which Merry accepts.  

Given that this is a romance novel, both Merry and Ben are going to figure out they're marriage is not just for convenience naturally.  Despite some interference by Ben's parents, things work out for Merry and Ben -- and then the book just ends.  I was most disappointed by that!  I wasn't ready for it to end just yet.  Since there is a third book in the works (Heartbreak Cove, March 2015), I'm sure we'll be treated to more glimpses of Merry, Ben, and Alex. 

(A very special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Shoreline Drive.)