Kristie J’s review of Only You (Bachelor Brotherhood, Book 1) by Denise Grover Swank
Contemporary Romance published by Forever 14 June 16
I’ve been reading a lot of intense books lately, so this nice fluffy book that had me laughing in a number of places was just what I needed.
Kevin Vandemeer trusted his sister. He gave her a great deal of money to buy a fixer-upper that he could work on and then flip in order to earn some money. But he didn’t think she’d get one this bad! Kevin has just left the Marines and is reestablishing a civilian life again. One of the things he’s hoping is to get closer to his sister, thus the money he gave her, and reconnect with old friends. In fact, he is also working for one now and avoiding his mother as much as he can. The one thing he DOESN’T want is any kind of relationship with any kind of woman. Neither do his friends. None of them have had any luck in relationships, and in one cute scene they compare horror stories.
But then he meets Holly, his next door neighbour. She’s not looking for any kind of relationship either, but her cousin with whom she shares a house is really on her case to make a move on the hottie next door. So Holly very reluctantly takes some lasagna to Kevin and makes a fool of herself. She then follows that up next time by managing to lock herself out of the house, wherein he has to rescue her. It all makes for such adorable scenes. Kevin is rather charmed with Holly and, despite the vow he and his buddies took, he’s ready to break it.
But there are complications. Holly works for a wedding planner and when he discovers who it is, well, that throws a monkey wrench into things. Her boss is not a very nice one and is causing her much stress. Another monkey wrench is his interfering mother, who is trying to set him up with a young woman from her club. Their ‘date’ had me laughing through the whole thing.
Light and fluffy this was, and although it had me laughing in a number of places, it’s not without fault. I find the whole relationship and its resolution a bit too quick timewise. Insta-love isn’t really my thing. Also, I wish the author had given Holly more of a backbone. She lets people, such as her cousin and boss, walk all over her. Easy going is one thing, but Holly borders a bit too much on doormat.
The price is good on this one, and I’ll have to see what it will be on the next book in the series before I purchase it. But this gave me some well-needed giggles, so I’m glad I read it.
Grade: B
Summary:
Never say never . . .
Romance isn’t an option for Holly Greenwood. With her wedding planner career on the line she needs to stay focused, and that means pleasing her demanding boss, not getting distracted by her mind-alteringly hot neighbor . . .
Ex-Marine Kevin Vandemeer craves normalcy. Instead, he has a broken-down old house in need of a match and some gasoline, a meddling family, and the uncanny ability to attract the world’s craziest women. At least that last one he can fix: he and his buddies have made a pact to swear off women, and this includes his sweetly sexy new neighbor.
After one hot night that looks a whole lot like a disaster in the light of day, Kevin and Holly are about to learn that true love doesn’t play by the rules.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
Until You – May 2017
Always You – Fall 2017
