Love After All by Jaci Burton Series: Hope #4
Published by berkley, Jove on March 31, 2015
Genres: Contemp Romance
Format: Paperback
Source: Advance Reader Copy
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
In the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Hope Burns, a woman discovers that the man she least expects is exactly what she needs…
High school math teacher Chelsea Gardner has the perfect plan. She’s tired of dating all the wrong men, and after years of frustration, she’s developed a foolproof list of requirements for finding “The One.”
Bar owner Sebastian “Bash” Palmer finds Chelsea beautiful, smart and fun, but he thinks her list is ridiculous and unnecessary. Intent on proving Chelsea is looking for love in all the wrong ways, he offers to help her find the “perfect” man.
Chelsea knows Bash isn’t the right guy for her—he barely meets one of her criteria—but there’s something about the charismatic man that has her yearning for things that are most definitely not list approved.
Because sometimes, a relationship that looks totally wrong on paper can turn out incredibly right…
The good thing about this author and this book is that it’s easy to slip into. the story flows, and the writing is easy. For being the 4th book in the series, there’s no trouble sliding right in, and no confusion on characters.
The problem is, that I was bored. Nothing happened in this book. Seriously. For a character driven plot, I didn’t think it worked.
Chelsea is tired of being single, and tired of going on so many first dates, but never any second dates, so she makes a list. Bash is a friend, and owns the bar she and their mutual friends hang out at. So he decides to help her find her “perfect” man. In the meantime, the two get closer and closer, and finally begin sleeping with each other. But they aren’t looking for anything more. At all. Nope, no siree…riiiiggghhht.
I like this plot, I mean it’s not the first time I’ve seen a character with a list. I think it’s fun to watch the characters realize their list was crap, and that there’s no “perfect” man out there. BUT with Chelsea, she really stuck to the idiotic list for almost the entire book. It’s no fun when she grips on to that ideal perfect man, even though we’re just pages from the HEA with the man she refuses to see as a potential mate. She’s super high maintenance, and I hated that she couldn’t see how great Bash was, even though she’d constantly say just how great Bash was!
I mean when she’s sleeping with Bash and still refuses to acknowledge he’s perfect for her, even if he’s not perfect on paper, it really annoyed me. But even setting that aside, I just found the book to be drawn out. I haven’t read this author before, but everyone raves about her! I was highly disappointed. I have so many of her sports books, though, I’m going to give her another try, but I really hope more is going on in them.
I’ve really started to like these small-town, character-driven romances, and sadly this one fell flat for me. I think that it was readable, Bash was a great hero, but for me, this was very meh. After talking with some friends who love this book, I will say, that if you like this series, you’ll like this book.
***ARC courtesy of JOVE books
