Review: Funny, Sexy, Sweet. Loved Declan.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2014
Raine and Blair are room mates, best friends, and together they have a secret life as romance authors using the name Scarlet Rose. But their day jobs, night time writing, and deadlines are burning them at both ends. I was engaged from the beginning with these two friends. Raine and Blair were so funny. Their best friend language of fast and furious interactions, snarkiness and humor had me giggling. And their desperation showed.When Blair, a Children's librarian meets Declan, a single Dad with a delicious British accent, he immediately catches her eye. But her friend Raine wants her to step it up and really catch is attention and do some sexy book research. And Raine is quite pushy and outgoing and challenges Blair to move out of her comfort zone as often as she can.Declan is one hot Brit. He is sexy, charismatic, thoughtful, and caring. The whole package...except he does not want to be in another relationship. He's been there, done that and has just a son left to show for it.  That being said he was so endearing and I adored him. His interactions with his son, Drake melted my heart. And Drake was the cutest little leading man who always made me smile.They seem like opposites. The tatted, outspoken woman and the buttoned up, gentleman Brit. But they have a good chemistry and rapport. They find a  sweet, sexy arrangement even as they both deny it will ever be more. But life gets messy and quite a few things happen, and they start acting like a couple...even though it is supposed to be casual.  But there are secrets, pasts, and fears that affect them and have the potential to ruin everything.But once it is all exposed how will the rest of their story be written?This was fast,  humorous, and had some emotional situations too. The characters were really likable. It was told in Blair's Point of view, but I still felt connected to Declan as well. And I felt a connection between them as well.I did have a couple of  issues as the book went on. It started out so funny and sexy then kind of did a detour and got bogged down in a certain event. I understood the significance of it to the story and it added some depth and emotion, but it seemed to drag on a bit and at times overshadow their romance. Then the ending kind of felt a bit  rushed despite the epilogue.But it was still a unique, engaging read with interesting characters and plot. I enjoyed the behind the scenes look into authors and co-writers. I liked the relationships and rapport of the characters.  Some of the other side characters added some comic relief and drama to the story. I found myself laughing a lot, tense at other times, and then swooning over Declan and his romantic ideas. For a relationship-phobe he was a really good date and he made a magnetic leading man.I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.