Review: But pretending you have it all isn’t so bad really, is it?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2014
We return to Clover Park, Connecticut in the second installment of the series, and we check in with Daisy, Liz’s rather scatterbrained sister, now a single mum and doing all she can for the little boy she loves so much.Daisy is bored, and decides to add some fantasy to her life, starting a blog where she details her perfect family and gives tips to other new mums about life, love and relationships.  Yet, this is all fantasy:  Bryce’s father is a bad boy with a list of conquests as long as your arm, and a relationship with the man he was is the last thing Daisy wants to disrupt her life.  But pretending you have it all isn’t so bad really, is it?  Until a national television show contacts her because her blog is the ‘next new thing’ and wants to interview her and her ‘perfect’ family.Bryce’s father Travis is super-hot and sexy, and has done much to reform his ways to make Daisy take a chance on a relationship with him.  And the television interview is the perfect opportunity for him to make his move.  But, can he convince Daisy that he’s not just in it for the publicity?Gilmore manages to add plenty of real issues, heart and heat into this story; Daisy isn’t the unreliable hoyden that Liz feared for, her love and determination to do the best for her son is apparent and palpable.  There are plenty of moments to laugh as well, since this is a story that is based in family, and whether you are in the middle or just looking back, the time does come when the most embarrassing issues are funny, and part of your ‘remember when’.  Neither Daisy nor Travis are truly prepared for parenthood (who really is), and the honesty about the struggles, pitfalls and struggles are real, while providing what I have come to see as Gilmore’s humorous twists on situations to add a levity and lightness that doesn’t distract from the emotions and caring that is between them all.Travis and Daisy are delightful, and they enjoy one another’s company, even if she can’t really believe that he is changing his ways FOR her.  And his devotion and dedication to the end result: a family with Daisy, is apparent.  Several sexy scenes show the connection between them, even before they both manage to get on the same page in their journey to a happy ever after.A great follow up to the first book, characters and situations feel real and possible and their connection is palpable almost from the first encounter.  A fun and romantic series that has characters overcoming their own issues, pasts and histories to find the one thing we all want: love.I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review with Tasty Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.