bella andre | The Opinionated Woman's Musings

Can’t Help Falling In Love (The Sullivans Book 3)

Synopsis

Megan is a widow whose first husband was an adrenaline junkie died in a plane crash. Now mother a 7-year old daughter, she lives in an apartment in San Francisco. When there is a fire, the firefighter who saves her and her daughter is Gabe. While she is attracted to Gabe, she has a rule not to date men whose jobs are dangerous.

Gabe is a firefighter who is used to being the hero. However, he gets tired of people putting him on that pedestal and expecting him to be perfect. That is why he has a rule not to date women that he saves while firefighting. The rule was a result of a failed relationship that he attributed to that fact. Even though he tries hard to avoid a relationship with Megan, it seems that the attraction is too strong.

“There was an earthquake going on inside her from nothing more than Gabe’s hot eyes staring at her from across the room.”

Opinion

Gabe was a hottie firefighter. Love him. When he decided what he wanted, he was a man with a plan.

While in the beginning Megan and Gabe has their reasons for thinking they were not right for each other, it seemed the rest of the characters were conspiring to ensure they got together. Megan’s daughter was the most devious of the bunch in that aspect. It was humorous the way that Gabe and Megan were fighting the attraction.

“The growing heat in his eyes was response enough for her to realize that she already gone off course on the whole ‘nothing but friends’ thing”

I understand Megan’s reasons for trying to avoid a relationship with Gabe. As the wife of a firefighter, I know the reality of fighting fires is that their lives can be in danger. But after a while, I wanted to tell Megan to get a grip. She was sending so many mixed messages to Gabe. At least she worked out all of her hang ups and let herself be happy.

SIDENOTE: A long time ago (about 3 years), I read a book by Bella Andre and I thought it was trashier than my normal trashy. I cannot remember the story line but I remember thinking it was ridiculous. For a while I would not read any of Bella Andre’s books. I think because I have a soft spot for firefighters, I decided to give her a try again. I enjoyed reading “Can’t help falling in love” and I am looking forward to reading other books in the Sullivan series.

For the record, this book does not qualify as a trashy romance.

Free Books may be a good read or a waste of time

Here are three books that I got for free and had three different reactions. Just because a book is free does not mean it is going to be cheesy, but it is definitely a chance. I have found that some books are free for the author to introduce you to their characters and sample their writing style. Other books are free because the author just decided to publish a book. They might not have edited their book or have a decent story line. But at least they can say that they have published a book!

GOOD (not really to me but you might like it): Love Me (Contemporary Romance) (Take Me) – Bella Andre

When I read this, I was not very impressed with the story. The romance seemed too contrived and I did not find the characters likable. I know that I am the first to admit that romance novels should be viewed as “contemporary fairy tales”, but even with that being said, I still cannot figure out how these characters found love. The emphasis of a romance novel should be on the fact that the characters are able to fall in love or profess their love for one another. In this book, it seems that there was too much lust confused with love. Maybe if the author developed the characters some more, it would be involve the reader more emotionally in order to understand how the characters fall in love with each other.

BETTER: The St James Sisters – Leen Elle (downloaded from Smashwords not Amazon)

There are too many sisters and not enough time to develop the story for each one of them. This book would have you believe that if a young girl spends a considerable time with any one guy, they will fall for each other. And they will be so in love that they will be willing to overcome all odds to be together.

When I chose this book, I thought the story was going to focus on one sister’s story. As you probably know from my post about Dakota Home, I don’t like it when an author tries to cram too many stories into one book.

The book was mediocre to me, but not terrible. If you are looking for something for free, check it out.

BEST: The Billionaire Wins the Game (Billionaire Bachelors – Book One)– Melody Anne

When it comes to romance novels, it is always great when there is limitless amounts of money involved. That being said, this was a sweet story even if it followed a very predictable storyline.

Super rich man and his secretary fall for each other. Sparks are ignited, but her insecurities make her think that he would not seriously consider loving her. Plus, she feels that this is a good job and she does not want mess it up by sleeping with her boss. She could put behind her the fact that she had one indiscretion, if it was not for the fact that she got pregnant. That led to a whole another set of problems. He is the consummate bachelor but knows how to face up to his responsibility. Each person had to confront their reservations about what will make the relationship work. In the end, I was rooting for both of them.

This story was fun and the characters provided me with some laugh-out-loud moments.

I am going to find the rest of Melody Anne’s books and read them. I loved this story so much. I have re-read parts of it just when I wanted to feel warm and fuzzy.