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The Rebound Guy (Harlequin Kiss) ♥♥♥

The premise of this story is that a cancer survivor whose ex-husband was a philanderer falls for a guy who is a known player. Kelly is not looking for a relationship because she knows how much she can be hurt. Jason is of the opinion that life is a game. Or at least that is the way it seems from the way he treats his women. While she is trying to protect herself from his charms, he is struggling not to flirt openly with her.

Despite all that she has went through by surviving cancer and getting over the fact that her first husband left her in her moment of need, she still tries to remain positive. And this is part of the reason she entertains a possible fling because her well-intentioned sister-in-law wants her to have a little fun. But this does not mean that she’s going to leave herself open for another man to break her heart. Jason has to convince Kelly that he is worthy of the risk. Because of the seeming similarities between him and her ex-husband, she had every right to be cautious. I was glad she was suspicious of him from the beginning.

For part of the book, Jason had several affairs with nameless women while he casually flirted with her as they worked together. That did little to engender me to his character. Why should love come easy for him? He always had been love-them-and-leave-them. Now that he wants a relationship, everything is supposed to fall into place? I do not think so.

Overall, it was an okay story. For most of the book I did not like Jason too much. I am not used to reading book in which the hero is sleeping around in the time he is talking to his love interest. I have a weird morality that guides what is acceptable behavior for romance novel heroes and heroines. For me, his behavior: NOT ACCEPTABLE. In contrast, I thought that Kelly deserved happiness in her life. I was rooting for her happy ending since she had a hard life with more than her fair share of heartbreak.

I recommend The Rebound Guy (Harlequin Kiss) if you are looking for something to read during a relaxing afternoon or vacation. The book can be finished in a couple of hours.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Divorce Party (Harlequin Presents) – ♥♥♥♥

Lilly wants a divorce. Riccardo is of the opinion that they are married and should just work out whatever problems they have. He has the right idea but with all the tact of a bull in a china shop. Needless to say, Lilly does not take too well to being railroaded.

I thought another name for this book could have been: Billionaire Romance – The rest of the story.

The sequel to the fairytale romance is called reality. He uses his money to wine, dine and sweep this girl off of her feet. Then daily life sits in. It is not all about wining and dining when he has to go to work. He might be the CEO of a successful billion dollar company, but it will not stay that way unless he goes into the office.

Sometimes it seems that love is not enough. Lilly and Riccardo had a whirlwind romance.

However, when it is time to live normal life, they have problems.

Plus, both of the characters had internal issues that they needed to resolve before there could be success in the marriage. In short, two people from dysfunctional families will experience some form of culture shock in what they consider to be a “healthy relationship”. Just because two people fall madly in love, this does not necessarily mean they will have a happy ever after ending.

The characters to this story were not one-dimensional. Lilly’s insecurities and Riccardo’s imperfections cause their personalities to the leap off of the page as if they were real people. Both had preconceived notions of what they thought the relationship would be like, but their partner did not meet their expectations. Since Riccardo was extremely arrogant, he did not question the fact that his will would always be done in the relationship.

The question was not if he loved her, it was could keep her?

They might love each other, but are they right for each other?

I loved The Divorce Party (Harlequin Presents) because it validates all the things that I have been saying about some of the love at first sight romance stories. The two people need to have a connection and a lot of common ground. A torrid love affair in which they spend more time in the bed than they do actually talking to each other means they’re probably not going to be together for very long.

The Divorce Party (Harlequin Presents) was a great story with great emotional characters. Buy this book!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.