Review: Surprising and sweet!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 6, 2014
Being told a book is a standalone when it's second in a series always leaves me wondering is it -really- a standalone, but this book read beautifully without any need for having read the first book. The characters from the first book are in it; they do contribute to the story as a whole, but the reader is given enough background information to deduct who is who and what is what where they're concerned.Honestly, the characters are flawless in this. They're three-dimensional, fully-realized characters with imperfections and quirks and unique attributes which make them wholly believable. I loved everyone from Abby and Caleb (who are the perfect friends and make such a beautiful, loving couple) to their little girl Madison who is simply adorable in every scene to Leah's sisters Elena (who isn't precisely a sweetheart, but not everyone can be, right?) and Dani (who made me laugh constantly) to Leah's mother whose scene with Stefan and her novellas? Is literally my favorite in the book. The idea of this guy freaking out over Latin telenovellas was hysterical to me. I laughed out loud. I loved everyone in this. That's my point. All the secondary characters served their purpose. No one was background noise in this book. They all had meaning. I loved that about it.I also loved that this was, essentially, a clean-read book with scenes that largely faded to black instead of going into a lot of graphic detail and very little foul language. It's the kind of book that is simply sweet. It's a love story I could recommend to the people in my life who like simple and sweet in their romance rather than hot and heavy. Passion doesn't always have to be displayed in pages and pages of sex. It can be there in looks, glances, a brush of one body against another; Kimi Flores displays that kind of passion breathtakingly well.There were times when I wanted a little more from the story in terms of details relating to particular incidents that change Stefan's POV in the book and times when I wanted more from other plots that went on in it. I would go into more detail, but, for me, half the fun was discovering the story as it unfolded so I'll refrain from that. I will say that this story had more going for it than a simple love story! It was surprisingly involved which was fabulously fun!I'd be glad to give this story a solid 4 stars because it kept me guessing and laughing and falling in love until the end!***Review based on a complimentary copy provided by the author to This Redhead LOVES Books Blog in exchange for an honest review.***