Review: This story has laughter, romance, and heart - a good read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 10, 2014
In the author's biography, it says that "her favorite stories are those that inspire laughter through tears." That is a good way to describe this story. Ellie comes back to town because her father was found in the park during an Alzheimer moment; even though he doesn't recognize her most of the time, one time he does, and he asks her to take over running the family funeral home. Okay, that's a first for me - a heroine in a funeral home. I wasn't turned off, though, because I was already invested in the story. The Marine from the title is Finn, who grew up with Ellie - they were "frenemies" - they both were smarter than all the other kids in school, and they taunted each other as they got ready for each test or contest.After some hanky-panky at the end of their senior high school year, they lose touch until Ellie comes back to town; she finds that Finn now owns a funeral home in the same *small* town! Both characters are dealing with very serious issues related to their families, and that part is heart wrenching. Because they desperately need each of their family's funeral homes to win the town's business, they see each other a lot as they fight to win.Finn "...[has] the trimmed, toned body of a warrior. The sexily mussed hair of a man who liked to take life easy. The strong, chiseled face of a Greek God. And a voice that could melt butter." AND this ex-Marine rides a motorcycle!The book's story was unusual. The characters had jobs that I've never seen in a romance before, and they were dealing with family issues that were deeply serious. However, there is laughter, romance, and heart in this story. And...some very sexy scenes as well. I have to admit that I cried in a few parts near the end, and I was rooting for them (and yelling at them) to have their HEA ending. The depth of the story, the idiosyncrasies of the two leads and the many characters around them, and the idea that there CAN be laughter through tears made this a good read for me.Oh, and I can't wait to read about the other two Donovan brothers.**Thanks to the author and Entangled/Bliss for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**