Review: Sweet, Romantic, Principle Paul!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
Let me say, the first chapter was one of my favorites. It was a such nice break from so many of the alpha male, haters of relationships, avoiders of commitment, man-whores of the world, books that are out there. While those books have their place and can be quite fun to read, this time around, I was thrilled to get the flip side - sweet, romantic, Principle Paul's story. Finally a guy who actually wants a relationship!! Paul was such a treat to read about. He was so sweet and so genuine, yet he still maintained all of his masculinity. He wasn't perfect, and I was worried about him for a bit there, but I wanted him to find his happily-ever-after just as much as he did.And Holly/Zoe... oh girl, you made me struggle! I had lots of mixed feelings about her. On the one hand, I could really appreciate her internal and external struggles. She's so insecure and so broken. What's she's been through? Not easy! Not easy at all. And her struggles aren't even over yet. She's been living in a dark place, wracked with guilt and highly insecure about the changes in her body, so when Paul's light shines on her, she equally shines with it and hides from the truth. But there are many missed opportunities for honesty. Which brings us to the other hand. She is hiding certain highly important truths from Paul, and at a certain point I just wanted to shake her. Hug her, pep talk her, and then shake her again.Which brings me to the story. Honestly, midway through I wasn't sure how I was feeling about this book and its direction. I've loved every single one of Katy Regnery's books, so my gut was clenching that I'd discovered the first book of hers I was going to hate. But I hung in there, and you know what? I ended up loving it! I loved the risks that were taken and how Katy brought everything together. I won't tell you how, but I was really impressed. I loved Paul and Zoe! I loved the way their characters and their story developed, and the depths that were taken to get there. (And I loved their texts and emails!) I loved their hearts, their vulnerability, their chemistry. My doubts were completely won over.While this can be read as a standalone, I really loved seeing returning characters from the previous books in this series. I love the community feel of these novels. I love revisiting the couples from before, as well as getting hints about the next novel. I loved how everyone helped each other out. I loved them all! But I also loved that the other characters did not overshadow the main couple. I'm a big city girl, but books like this almost make me want to move to a small town just like Gardiner (or at least come for an extended visit). I'm super excited about the Nils and Maggie's book next!!