Review: I’ve found my next “must read” author.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 27, 2014
I’ve found my next “must read” author.  Jane Linfoot’s books are full of fun and funny, with characters that are accessible to every reader: you could know these people.  Endearingly goofy in their missteps, these are characters that have flaws and troubles, but their relationship gaffes are ones that we all can relate to.In this story, a touch darker than her earlier How to Win a Guy in Ten Dates, both Shea and Brando are lost souls with huge trust issues.  Realistically, Linfoot has managed to build the characters’ own obsessions with their pasts and bad experiences as huge elephants in each character’s life: every time something potentially good happens, they look at that elephant and retreat.  What neither is willing or able to admit is the deep rooted desire to find their ‘one’: that one person that can slay their elephantine obsession and allow them to move forward, wiser and together.Shea is an organizer with a knack for everything having a place and being put there to maximum display or hideaway effect.  Well regarded for her skill, she works with those who can afford her pricey dedication to eliminating their clutter and making their lives easier.  Of course, an organizer must always look the part: pulled together, competent and polished, and Shea uses her professional appearance as armor: keeping the inner demons of insecurity and loneliness at bay.Brando is rich, powerful and SO not interested in committing to a woman. His reluctance to indulge in more than commitment free entanglements will keep, he thinks, the gold-diggers at bay, and he really is happy with the status quo he has established. Really. He is.  His younger sister Bryony, however,  thinks that big brother Brando is avoiding the simple fact that he is lonely and unfulfilled without a partner, and she will do all she can to find him the one.  She is a television producer, and hounds, harasses and cajoles Brando into agreeing to her plan. She will craft a ‘bachelor-like’ show to find him a wife, and he reluctantly agrees to pick a winner:  ANYTHING to keep his sister from meddling in his life.Told with insets from the character’s point of view, we are able to see their reactions, emotions and intentions. These additions push the story forward while providing insight into the characters and helping readers to find moments of “I Know THAT feeling”.  From funny moments in thought and action, to truly emotional slips that reveal the turmoil within each character as they reach out toward one another, the relationship develops for the readers far before the characters realize that their chance for a happy ending is only a handbreadth away.  And, the electricity between the two in the several steamy scenes should have given both characters their own aha moments, but they are stubborn and far too concerned with their own issues and hang-ups that their final moments of realization are all the sweeter.Linfoot has again created characters that you want to know, and can see yourself, your friends and even your family in.  Funny, fast-paced and emotionally fulfilling, this book has firmly placed her onto my must read shelf.I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.