Title: My Valentine Adventure
Author: Amber Daulton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Resplendence Publishing
Release Date: February 10, 2016
Rating: 4.5 Kicks to the Heart
Kara's Review: I'm always hesitant of reading / reviewing novellas because it takes a certain finesse to get the pacing right without it feeling like a case of insta-love strapped to a runaway freight train. I'm thrilled to say Ms. Daulton has mastered this skill! I was very pleasantly surprised with how well rounded both the characters were and how, despite being shorter in length, the story and their love developed at a reasonable and believable pace.
As a big animal lover myself, I absolutely LOVED the aspect of the animal rights activists, and whoa! Talk about a crazy first date. lol. It was fun and unique and it seriously made me want to hunt down more books with this angle.
There were a few word choices and phrases that made me cringe during the one sex scene. But, I'm pretty sure this is nothing more than a personal preference and probably won't bother others, but it was enough to briefly pull me out of the story.
I'm typically left wanting more after reading novellas, but not this time. This was the perfect story at the perfect length. Everything was nicely resolved by the end, and I reached the last page with a big smile on my face. If you're looking for a quick, sweet read, then this is definitely the story for you! Pick it up, you won't regret it :)
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Parker Townsend raised his children alone after he lost his beloved wife to cancer. When his two little hellions placed a ‘Mom Wanted’ ad in the local paper, Parker found himself roped into an unwanted blind date.
Claire Lauer answered the want ad with few expectations and met Parker on Valentine’s Day, a day she hated with a passion. As an animal rights activist and a divorcée, she felt more comfortable with a placard in her hand than in the company of a handsome man with emotional baggage.
After a protest takes a turn for the worse, she seeks shelter in her date’s arms and loses time in his bed. Will Parker and Claire find the courage to lay their fragile hearts on the chopping block by morning, or will they forever live in a world of gray?
EXCERPT:
“You’re not a coward.” Claire gripped the steering wheel hard as she parked her beige car across the street from the Italian restaurant. A few minutes ahead of schedule, she stayed inside the warm vehicle and listed aloud all the reasons why she’d agreed to the date. As it stood, she couldn’t remember more than two. “Don’t drive off. Could you really stand a man up on Valentine’s Day? Just give him a chance.”
She pried her hands off the wheel, grabbed her clutch purse and opened the car door before she lost her nerve. Beautiful shades of purple streaked across the darkening sky and a cool, soothing breeze ruffled her hair. Car exhaust filled her lungs as an old station wagon chugged by and she bit her tongue to not shout a few greenhouse statistics at the driver. Her friend, Marybeth, definitely would have. Claire hurried across the asphalt to reach the awning of the two-story building and a well-dressed doorman opened the door for her. She wished Parker hadn’t suggested the uber-romantic La Volare Giardino. She loved to window shop in this side of town, but she couldn’t afford anything in the boutiques.
If he flashes money at me and offers to get a room, I’m outta here.
Unlike her mother’s ridiculous claim, Claire would savor a few words of love compared to gifts but she didn’t know or love the man she planned to meet. Hell, she wasn’t sure if she even liked him but she couldn’t stand another Valentine’s Day alone. She’d been on several first dates since her divorce, a few second dates but no thirds, and none on February 14th. Her friends usually helped her forget her single status as they protested or shared dinner, but her failure as a wife sometimes clogged her throat as she tried to sleep in her comfy bed. A simple date might make all the difference in the world to how she slept tonight.
If Parker proved to be a gentleman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amber Daulton lives her life by that one belief even though she normally isn’t so Zen.
Author of several novellas, she published her first book in 2012 and hopes to publish countless more in the future. As a fan of contemporary, paranormal and historical romance novels alike, she can’t get enough of feisty heroines and alpha heroes. Her mind is a wonderland of adventure, laughter and awesome ways of kicking a guy when he’s down. She probably wouldn’t be too sane without her computer and notebooks. After all, what’s a girl to do when there are people jabbering away in her head and it’s hard to shut them up? Write! Nothing else works.
You can find Amber on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
Thank you so much for the post and review!!
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