opposites attract

Tough Cookie

Happy Thursday! Smartypants season kicks off today!

I really enjoyed this opposites attract fake dating romance. Tough Cookie is the third standalone in the Donner Bakery series, this one between Noah and Carla.

Stunt man Noah has returned home to Green Valley to recuperate from an injury suffered on this most recent film, where he runs into Carla, the reclusive woman who is renting a house from his mother. Noah’s mom is on his case to settle down and give her grandbabies, so Noah proposes that he and Carla hang out while she’s in town to fool his mom. Carla has been isolated while dealing with a debilitating illness, and she decides to let Noah help her ease her way back into the real world 🤝

I really enjoyed these characters, separately and together. Noah is an easy going, flirtatious cinnamon roll of a man, skilled both in stunt work and the art of cookie decorating. Carla is much more reserved, an extremely organized woman who’s life now revolves around treating her illness and work.  Both have bad experiences in their past so they promise not to fall for each other during their arrangement, which of course never works.

They had really excellent banter, it made me laugh out loud multiple times. There were immediate sparks between them and I loved how their romance felt natural, despite the short time frame. 

It was quick reading for me, I basically read it in one sitting and was kind of bummed when it was over! I really enjoyed this one.  Though this takes place in the Penny Reid universe you can read it as a complete standalone.

Georgie, All Along

Georgie, All Along is a heartwarming romance about a woman who returns to her hometown to find herself.

Or, more importantly, not necessarily finding a grand purpose but instead learning to be okay with living in the moment without everything planned out. Georgie has spent her adult life catering to other people’s needs, so when she finds herself suddenly unemployed without a plan she finds herself adrift. Levi has spent his life trying to prove his father wrong and outgrow his troublemaker reputation, living a quiet life so as to not rock the boat and draw attention to himself. 

The two find themselves as unexpected roommates due to a miscommunication and the forced proximity works its magic as it often does. Georgie and Levi seem like opposites at first, she’s all sunshine and bold outgoing energy while Levi is quiet and disgruntled and grumpy, but really they have more in common than they think and balance each other out quite nicely.

Levi and his dog Hank are two of my favorite characters I’ve read in a long time. Though this book is sort of the Georgie show, they were the stars for me. 

It was a warm and cozy read that I know I’ll be thinking about for a long time.  The beginning did start out a bit slow for me but I really loved it by the end!