Review: Love, Laughter and Happily Ever Afters Collection
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 26, 2014
FINDING THE RIGHT GIRL by Violet Duke-Another winner from Violet Duke! Finding the Right Girl continues with the great characters of Brian Sullivan, his daughter Skylar, his brother Conner, and his best friend Abby. In this book we get to know Tessa Daniels better. She is the quirky magazine editor and caterer who helps Connor with fundraisers and writing grant proposals to fund Huntington's disease causes. Like the Sullivan's fighting this disease is close to her heart because she has lost her father and her older sister to Huntington's DiseaseTessa comes across as a fun and carefree, living for the moment kind of girl, who refuses to fit inside the box, but she has an edge and is extremely independent. This comes from needing to take the responsibility of caring for her loved ones at a very young age and then being left all on her own. Her story is heartbreaking and you can't help but love her. Likewise, the last bachelor Sullivan brother can't help falling in love with her either! She brings out a protective alpha side of him and he is quickly smitten.While this book has a wonderful and touching love story between the two main characters, it also takes a more serious turn at the life a person with Huntington's disease suffers. Brian's daughter Skylar's fears, anxiety and sacrifice of her ability to focus on what other girls her age are focused on is front and center in this book without overwhelming it or bringing it down. Instead we get a fine example of true unconditional love and family support. Expect to shed a tear or two. But let's not forget this is a Violet Duke book so we are treated to lighthearted fun as well, in the form of great banter, humorous times, and steamy sexy times. I found this book to be a bit more serious than the previous three, but well-rounded and definitely well-written. 4 starsGETTING OUT OF HAND by Erin NicholasI officially have a new book boyfriend! Mason Riley, the hero in GETTING OUT OF HAND, the first book in Erin Nicholas's wonderful new series Sapphire Falls, is the new love of my life! Well, at least in my fantasies he is. The man is a genius who graduated two years early in high school, but got no respect from his classmates in Sapphire Falls. Instead they wrote him off as a nerd who didn't fit in. He crushed on Hailey, the most beautiful and popular girl in school for years only to have her humiliate him by rejecting and laughing at him in front of all her friends. They say the best revenge is to live a wonderful life and he certainly has! He moved away for college where with the help of his best friend, Lauren, he learned to dress stylishly, pumped up his body at the gym, and learned how to fit in at social settings. Now the man is a renowned scientist who meets with the President of the United States, implements ground breaking projects to help save third world countries, dates beautiful women, and has more money than the other four most successful men in his class combined. Oh, and did I mention he's used his scientific mind to study and learn how to best please women sexually? So a rich, handsome, kind, philanthropic, genius who dresses well, and has mad skills in the bedroom and is a bit of a dirty talker. Mine!!Adrianne Scott didn't grow up in Sapphire Falls like most the townsfolk, but she was Hailey's friend in college. After a health scare she decided to walk away from her fast-paced, crazy, competitive, stress filled life working for her family's international business based in Chicago. She takes the low-key job as assistant to Hailey who is now the Mayor in Sapphire Falls. She may have only lived in town for three years, but she loves her quiet, slow-paced, peaceful life and all her new friends. She's a smart, beautiful, kind, giving woman who has all the men crushing on her to the point there's an ongoing bet as to who will get to kiss her first. But she hasn't been willing to risk her heart, so she hasn't dated any of them.Hailey's determined to put herself in the Sapphire Falls history books by developing a shopping center that will bring growth and boost revenues for the townsfolk. She wants to build on land Mason owns so she invites him to town hoping to capitalize on the crush he'd had on her and talk him into donating the land along with about a hundred grand to get the project off the ground. When Adrianne researches Mason she becomes fascinated with his accomplishments, not to mention his good looks, and can't wait to meet the man himself. When Mason does come back to town after eleven years, it's not to help the town or the woman who spurned him. It's to thumb his nose up at Hailey and her project in person. However, the minute he sees Adrianne he can hardly think of anything else, including his revenge. The attraction is mutual. Adrianne is equally smitten with the sexy scientist. She finds herself forgoing all her rules to keep her heart safe and is instead peeling off her clothes for him at every opportunity. Their romance is quick, hot & heavy, eye-opening and life-changing for each of them. They are perfect for each other and it was wonderful to read their love story.Sapphire Falls comes with a cast of adorable, quirky, sassy, enchanting characters that round out this story in such an enjoyable way. Erin writes so splendidly I felt right in the middle of what was happening as if I was there laughing and plotting along instead of merely reading about it. The ending was marvelous. A true romantic, I love nothing better than a great HEA ending. Getting Out of Hand delivers in a sigh-worthy way, leaving me wishing for more. I can't wait for the second book in the series, Getting Worked Up, and more fun with the people in Sapphire Falls. 5 stars