Review: Great Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 1, 2011
This short story packs a punch in only a few pages. Author Keri Ford did a fabulous job giving me all the backstory and fabulous characterizations I needed without force-feeding, all the while keeping me invested in finding out what was going to happen to our hero and heroine.Shellie has been molded by her mother into a mini-me, and has spent her life trying to find Mr. Right - but only if his wallet is fat enough. You've heard the phrase "It's as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one", right? Well, Shellie's mom lives by that mantra and has forced her daughter to do the same. Not only that, but Shellie's spent her entire life being nagged about, well, everything: her attitude, her clothes, her posture, her speech ...When this story begins, she's had it and has run away to the farm her best friend from high school owns. Nevermind her best friend is a man. And that she hasn't seen him in six years. And that he's changed pretty dramatically.Riley learned a really tough lesson about life in college, and it's made him much more sober and responsible than he ever was before. So, while Shellie is looking for a fling, he doesn't do casual sex and really, the first half of the story is how they deal with the push and pull of their mutual attraction, but opposing choices.Shellie was a little hard for me to like at first - she felt weak and it frustrated me that she'd taken so long to get out from under her mother's thumb. Riley, though, is a great guy. He's gorgeous, responsible, caring... everything a real hero should be. But he's also injured emotionally, and not prepared to deal with Shellie's sudden need to do everything her mother always told her not to.It's clear there's deep affection between the two of them, and this friends-to-lovers story is very sweet. I enjoyed it more than I imagined I would and finished the last page with a sigh and a smile. Don't let that word "sweet" fool you though - the sexual tension and eventually the act itself is hot, hot, hot! Riley fights off Shellie's advances time and again until I was about bursting with need as much as he was. And when he finally gives in? Whoo.. boy! Did I mention what a perfect hero he was?My only complaint is that I really think this could have been a little longer. Parts of it seemed a bit rushed, and I was so involved with the characters that I felt a little cheated. I wanted MORE. There's a reason for that: Ms. Ford's writing is descriptive, strong and clean and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from her.If you're looking for a quick read to get your heart sighing and your hormones racing, then I highly recommend On the Fence. It'll press all your happy buttons.Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews