Review: Love with just enough Zing!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2012
I like contemporary stories with alpha males and strong women. This was my first Jennifer Blake book and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of zing (!) in it. After all, if we're going to escape into romantic stories, shouldn't there be some heat? This story takes place on the Tuscan coast (a beautiful area) between an American woman and an Italian man. His need to control things clashes with her need to be independent, all in a gorgeous setting.I have a few minor quibbles, which added up to taking off a star. The biggest quibble is that it felt dated - at no point does Ms. Blake have her heroine using a cell phone or checking email to contact the office. I'm not sure if this is a slightly older (print) story that has just been released to digital/Kindle. If not, it felt weird to me that Amanda spends her time relaxing and not handling work (when she's not at the hospital).Aside from that, a good read, especially for the price. When you compare this book to some of the serialized works out there (e.g., Beth Kery's Because You Are Mine, $2.99 for each installment), it's an excellent purchase. I'll definitely read more of Ms. Blake's work.I always find it helpful to understand a reviewer's reading preferences since we may not have the same perspective. So, for what it's worth, I like Nora Roberts (newer), Lisa Kleypas (contemporary), Victoria Dahl, MM Daughtridge and Shannon Stacey. I also like some of the grittier stuff like Fifty Shades, Sylvia Day, Beth Kery, Raine Miller (Blackstone) and Samantha Towle (Mighty Storm). Not all are great writing but they are good storytelling.