outtatowner

Just My Luck

Happy Monday! Just My Luck is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC. 

There’s not much I love more than a grumpy/sunshine marriage of convenience romance and this one was so good! I think this might be my favorite Lena book yet. 

We know Abel from previous books, he owns the local brewery, and is very grumpy. Sloane is his employee, a sunshiney single mom who overhears that Abel is having trouble securing a business loan to buy out his evil father’s stake in the brewery, so she concocts the perfect plan – they’ll marry so she can get her trust fund early and give him the money he needs in exchange.

The forced proximity of living together worked its magic and the tension between them was so great. Sloane was so upbeat and fun and I loved how grumpy Abel melted for her and her kids. He was so soft for them when he generally didn’t allow softness in his life – due to his heartbreaking past. 

I loved being back in Outtatowner! It was so great seeing both the Sullivans and the Kings and how their overall relationships have changed throughout the series. The subplot that has run through the background of both series continues to grow and I’m dying to see what happens next! Royal’s book is coming and I’ve been waiting not so patiently for him.

Just This Once

Well, I guess I’m a King girlie now! (Fictional) bad boys are more fun anyway.

If you’ve read the Sullivan family series, you know the King family has had a long standing rivalry with the Sullivans, and now it’s the King’s time to shine.

Whip King has a steamy one night stand with a stranger at a bar, only to later find out it’s his boss’s daughter who just moved to town. He’s trying to impress his chief to get a promotion so canoodling with his precious daughter isn’t the best way to go about that. Emily is new to town, starting over, and doesn’t need a cocky (& pierced!) firefighter sniffing around her, but the two are unable to stay apart and boy did I love their chemistry.

Their relationship is full of secret encounters and stolen moments, and I just loved how they supported and brought out the best in each other as they slowly brought their walls down. 

It was great to be back in Outtatowner and see glimpses of the Sullivans and other townies, and I’m so looking forward to more Kings! 

One Chance

Happy Monday! One Chance by Lena Hendrix is out today. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

It was so good to be back in Outtatowner and with the Sullivan family. We’ve seen playboy firefighter Lee and his bestie Annie circle around each other in previous books, and this was their time to shine. I don’t love the friends to lovers trope in general but I have to say – what an excellent friends to lovers romance! 

The two have been friends for a long time, continually insisting they’re just friends to everyone, until the town’s Matchmaker Gala inspires Lee to bid on a series of dates with Annie. It starts off as sort of fake dating but quickly turns to more as Lee tries to prove to Annie it’s been real between them all along.

There were some angstier elements to this one that I wasn’t expecting but loved. The two have a somewhat complicated history and I was curious how that would play out. It’s all mixed in with lots of humor and I love that quirky town and its residents. 

This has quickly become one of my favorite small town series and I’m so looking forward to Duke’s story! And then hopefully the Kings’ stories!