Review: Not Quite Over You by Susan Mallery

Silver Tesdal owns a portable bar that serves the weddings and many events in Happily Inc. She wants to expand her business and goes to the bank for a loan - where she is turned down. Drew Lovato works for the bank and is in line to take it over but not in time to help Silver now. So he devises a plan that doesn't initially sit well with Silver. The two had a relationship he summer after high school but Silver broke up with Drew before he went to college. Then she found out she was pregnant.

Fast forward over a decade and Drew and Silver are living and working in Happily Inc again. Drew manages to become business partners with Silver. She is reluctant at first but then gives in because what he says business-wise makes sense and she wants to expand. The thing is, they had a child together and Silver kept in touch with her and now she has to share that knowledge with Drew.

There were elements of this book I really liked - the humor, the friendships, the emotions. I also liked Silver and Drew as people but I didn't feel the spark between them as a couple. They had really good moments together but they were supposedly so 'hot' together in the past but it wasn't in their present story.

I like this series and look forward to continuing with it but Silver and Drew's story was so-so for me. 

Review: Why Not Tonight by Susan Mallery

I really enjoyed this book! Natalie and Ronan are wonderful together. This a slight case of opposites attracting in that Natalie is an eternal optimist with a bright and sunny outlook about life while Ronan is not. He's quiet and enjoys a good brood. I think he's entitled to that brooding though considering he was dealt a major blow and something huge was changed within his family dynamic. He needs to learn to accept that he is still very much a part of his family and loving Natalie helps him do that. Natalie wants family and she gets frustrated with Ronan because she thinks he is ignoring the family he has right in front of him.

This is a wonderful book, full of heart, charm, humor and love. Natalie and Ronan are both artistic people (he's a world-renown glass artist and she's a mixed media artist still finding her way) and their artistic endeavors through the book were fun to read about.

If you like a love story with a bit of spice and a happy ending then I think you'll enjoy this book. Also, if you like quirky small towns, giraffes, characters with a lot of great imagination (dragons) and family dynamics you'll like this book. Did I mention that there are giraffes? 

Musing Monday: Series

 Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by The Purple Booker that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

This weeks random question: Do you like or dislike series?

Generally speaking I do like series of books. I enjoy "seeing" characters throughout the series and watching them as they grow. My favorite is the In Death series by J.D. Robb. Right now I am reading the fourth book in the Heartbreaker Bay series by Jill Shalvis. Another favorite is Fools Gold by Susan Mallery. She brought that series to an end and has a new one called Happily Inc. I haven't read any of those yet but will be starting it within the week. 

Teaser Tuesday: You Say it First by Susan Mallery

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from You Say it First by Susan Mallery:

"You can't control every aspect of what's happening."

"She smiled. "I can sure try."

"Sometimes the mess-ups are the best part. It's where the magic happens."

"I'm too pragmatic to believe in magic."