Sandra @ My Fiction Nook

Noah Kinley is the author of romantic suspense novels featuring a tough heroine. Since, and this is a delightful tongue-in-cheek, romantic suspense novels featuring a heroine are usually written by female authors, Noah has been using the name of his best friend, Julie Velazquez, as his pen name. Julie has also been attending conventions and other events for Noah, and her face is on the back cover. But Julie is now pressuring Noah to come out - to show his own face and claim these book as his. She wants her life back, as she has offers to become a singer, something she's always wanted, something she's very good at, and something she's put on the back burner so far to help Noah out.

On top of this, Noah is experiencing writer's block, and decides that perhaps he needs a change of scenery - instead of being all alone in his secluded cabin in the woods, he has arranged for a house swap with a family from a grand estate/horse farm, to get the creative juices flowing again. While Julie is in Paris accepting an award for the latest book.

The house is every bit as grand as Noah expected from the photos, but unfortunately, it's not as empty as expected, when Connor Harrison, retired USAF Major, bursts in on Noah taking a bath and singing a holiday tune, gun drawn to catch the suspected intruder. Though how someone as smart as a USAF Major thought that an intruder would be taking a bath is somewhat beyond me.

Still, it's a fabulous way for the two men to meet. Turns out that the previous occupant of the home, the one with whom Noah arranged the swap, isn't the actual owner, but the brother of the owner - one Connor Harrison.

Both main characters have flaws, and neither is perfect. Both have some serious issues, what with Connor being forced into retirement due to sort of going against orders by rescuing a buddy from behind enemy lines and now being at a loss as to what to do next, and Noah being a neurotic author who wants to retire his pen name persona, but doesn't know how and then spending most of the book procrastinating on the author thing and instead trying to fix Connor's problem with how to keep the farm because money is tight.

Clearly, they both have enough on their plate, but they also feel an immediate attraction that just isn't going to go away, and while they figure out how to proceed with the next steps in their lives, they also get closer and closer.

Noah's dry wit made for quite a few giggles - I so do appreciate snark in the books I read - and he was a mostly likable character. Connor was a bit of an enigma at first, since we only see him through Noah's eyes, but I liked him as well. He broods a bit, which was understandable given his situation. I would have liked to get his perspective as well instead of just finding out what makes him tick from Noah's POV.

This is a romance, and thus has a lovely HEA, as expected. However, my primary enjoyment of this book came from following the characters on their journey to this HEA, one I recommend you follow too by reading this book.


** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **