Review: Really good contemporary romance <3 Mav & Win
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 20, 2014
4-4.5 starsThis was a really good story. I liked Windsor a lot. Maverick I ended up really liking as well but at the beginning...not so much. The story was a good one with frequent changes and such so things stayed interesting throughout the story. This is the first book I've read by this author and based on this I'd try more of her work in the future.Windsor is a CPA and is a nice woman. She was in a serious relationship with a guy that she was supposed to marry but then found out he was cheating on her for 2 years. They broke up and she never really trusted enough to go out again and has been avoiding men and relationship since then. Windsor isn't really in to it when her friends drag her to the bar and try to hook her up with a blind date.Maverick is a Navy SEAL. He grew up with wealthy parents that didn't understand him and turned their back on him when he decided to become a SEAL. He hasn't spoke to them for years. Maverick is a ladies man and doesn't do relationships. He's just looking for the next warm body to take to a hotel for the night (because he never takes them to his home).Things start out with a bang because at the beginning of the book we get a scene from part way through the story and then get sent back to the beginning of the story. The starting scene is shocking but ultimately not what it seems. When we get thrown back to the beginning of the story, Windsor is being pushed in to going out to a bar by a friend of hers. While there, Windsor runs in to a guy (Maverick, who is a friend of the husband of one of her friends) and there's a strong mutual attraction between them. The problem is that Maverick is a real jerk when the books starts and his attitude doesn't help him with Windsor. Mav starts out planning to look for an easier lay when it seems Win isn't as easy as he would hope but her easy dismissal of him rankles him, making him want to get her to like him. He doesn't get anywhere that night but Mav doesn't stop and finds her at work...unfortunately hes still behaving like a jerk and makes another move that really pisses Win off. Mav starts having to actually make an effort to get an in with Win and while doing so he finds out more about her. As he finds out more, he finds that he likes everything he's seeing. For a bit, Mav is still determined to get Win in bed and then dump her as soon as he gets tired of her (which he figures wont be long) but things change as he and Win spend more time together. Eventually Mav realizes that Win is perfect for him and has gotten under his skin big time. He realizes that he doesn't deserve her but he wants to do whatever he can to have her, make her his and make her happy. Win makes Mav work for it but once she starts seeing his good side and not the over confident jerk that he acted like before, she gives him a chance and finds there's actually a lot in Mav to like.Mav and Win start dating seriously but Mav's determined to take things slow and wont sleep with Win in the beginning, first because he wants to make sure she knows he's serious about her and second because he secretly fears that once they take the relationship there, that Win will leave him (also he knows once they sleep together he'll never be able to let her go). They date for a while (over a month) before they finally sleep together and once that hurdle is jumped they then try to spend as much time together as they can before Mav has to go back on duty and do his SEAL duties (not sure how this works in RL but in the story Mav and his team are in the states doing training and such for months at a time before they are sent out for 6 month terms overseas to do missions and such). When Mav gets sent overseas, he and Win keep their relationship going long-distance and send each other emails, calls and skype as they can. Unfortunately, there's a tragic incident during a mission and Mav's best friend and fellow SEAL (who is the husband of Win's best friend) dies during the mission. Mav is injured and sent back home and crap goes way wrong. Win gets hurt and Mav stays away from her because he's torturing himself over his guilt at his friend's death. Things aren't easy for Win and Mav during this time and there's a lot of drama as Mav tries to work through his issues. Win and Mav are split up for months and have trouble reconnecting as both of them are hurting. Eventually Mav pulls himself back together and decides he may not deserve Win but he's going to do everything he can to get her back and make her happy. Mav has to work for it but, after a decent amount of grovelling, Win gives him another chance. Mav does well with his chance and I loved the end of the book and how things turned out. This book made me cry both sad and happy tears and I certainly needed some of those tissues for the end of the book because it was a definite happy tears moment (I'm misting up a bit just thinking about it). The ending brings a sweet HEA for the couple and a glimpse in to their happy future.This was a really enjoyable story. I really liked both Win and Mav and was glad things worked out for them. Once I started liking Mav (around 15-20% in to the book) I couldn't help but root for Win and Mav to get their HEA. There was a lot of stuff that went on between them that kept me wondering how things would work out and I found this a little frustrating but ultimately it was a good thing and kept me engaged throughout the story. I'd recommend this story. 2 thumbs up. :DNote - For those that have problems with editing issues, I did notice a few editing issues in the book but not many (but I tend not to notice editing issues most of the time so it may be worse than I noticed). Also, the second chapter says it's going back 1 year and 8 months (to the beginning of the story) but I can't figure out how that would be right since the whole story took place in around a year overall, so I'm thinking that is a typo or editing mistake as well.