Review: 3.5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2012
For three long years Maddie Wilson has waited for her boss, Owen Bishop, to see her as more than his tomboy best friend.  With a little help from some new friends, Maddie gets a makeover that knocks Owen off his feet.Whether she's dressed up, dressed down or not dressed at all, Maddie leaves Owen breathless.  But having grown up with a father who constantly cheated on his mother, Owen's paranoid that he's inherited the tendency to stray.  There's no way he'd ever hurt Maddie like that, so he tries to keep his distance...and fails.  Maddie believes he's the one for her, but Owen has to learn to trust himself before he can embark on any kind of relationship with the woman he's crazy about.Return to author Elle Kennedy's delightful town of Paradise in TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT.  Maddie is a heroine who is so incredibly likeable, she's sure to charm any readers' socks off.  Owen, in turn, is a good man who is so convinced he'll hurt Maddie that he manages to do just that by trying to avoid hurting her.  Ms. Kennedy makes it hard to stay mad at Owen, though the man definitely needed a few kicks in the behind.  And he gets those from Maddie.  She may be blindly in love with him, but she's no doormat.  Even when Owen inadvertently damages her self esteem, Maddie picks herself back up and - in a way that sure as heck surprised me - regains and even strengthens her confidence.  Though I won't spoil what she does, Ms. Kennedy definitely had me saying "Go Maddie!"TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is the second story in Ms. Kennedy's WELCOME TO PARADISE series, but it can be read as a standalone.  Nate and Charlotte, the hero and heroine from the first book, WELCOME TO PARADISE, do play supporting roles, but it's two other supporting characters that threaten to steal the show from Maddie and Owen.  The ongoing series subplot involving Nate and Charlotte's friend Lexie and Maddie's friend Cooper have me ready to beg Ms. Kennedy for their story.  Cooper actually manages to out-sexy Owen in TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT, and it's not an easy feat to be more drool-worthy than a book's hero.TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is Ms. Kennedy's fresh take on the classic friends-to-lovers storyline.  I enjoyed Maddie and Owen's story, and I absolutely cannot wait for more WELCOME TO PARADISE stories!LilyReview courtesy of Romance Junkies