Tough Cookie

de Talia Hunter - Smartypants Romance (2023)

Résumé : Noah Malone is back in his hometown for a short break from his stunt work, but his mother’s set on convincing him to settle down in Green Valley so he can give her grandbabies like the good Lord intended. Not only is she pushing him to help out at the Donner Bakery decorating cookies, but her matchmaking is relentless.

To end his mother’s awkward set-ups, Noah needs a no-strings-attached pretend girlfriend. And who better than Carla, a mysterious recluse who seems to have taken an instant dislike to him? When she reveals she’s been isolated by illness, he proposes a fake relationship that’ll stop his momma’s shenanigans and help Carla ease back into the world.

Tech-geek Carla creates a spreadsheet of fake-date challenges. She’s serious and focused on her goal of slowly becoming more social… until daredevil Noah starts messing with her spreadsheet. He’s ridiculously charming, and his sexy additions may be even more appealing than the cookies he brings her, but Carla won’t let her resistance crumble.

Opposites may attract, but can such different people find a recipe for love ?

note : 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

Gros coup de coeur pour cette romance grumpy/sunshine sur le modèle héroïne grumpy et héros sunshine. Je suis tout de suite rentrée dans l'histoire, les personnages sont attachants et l'auteur est bien arrivée à faire que leur personnalité et leur profondeur prennent tout de suite corps dans ma tête.

C'est impossible de ne pas fondre pour Noah. Il est gentil, serviable, c'est le genre à mettre tout le monde a l'aise, avec son humour et sa facilité à être en contact avec les autres. Sa maman essaie de le caser avec toutes les jeunes femmes célibataires de Green Valley, quand elle lui demande d'aller faire une réparation pour la locataire de leur maison de campagne, il soupçonne un coup monté, mais il y a va quand même. Est-ce qu'il s'attendait à ce que Carla, la locataire, le prenne en grippe dès les 5 premières minutes ? Pas du tout, il n'a pas l'habitude et ça m'intrigue !

Comme il y a vraiment un trou dans un mur à cause de la chute d'une branche d'arbre, Noah va devoir passer quelques jours à faire les travaux, ça lui donnera l'occasion d'essayer de craquer la mystérieuse carapace de Carla.

De son côté, Carla espère que Noah repartira aussi vite qu'il est arrivé, elle n'a littéralement zéro énergie à lui consacrer. Diagnostiquée récemment d'un syndrome de fatigue chronique, avec des effets secondaires pas terribles (crise d'angoisse), son corps ne lui permet plus d'avoir une vie "normale". D'un jour sur l'autre, elle peut arriver à travailler sur son programme informatique, ou ne pas avoir la force de sortir de son lit. Sa maladie l'a rendu peu à peu recluse, et éloignée de toute vie sociale, rien qu'aller faire ses courses est une épreuve.

La venue de Noah pour réparer son mur l'a fait interagir avec quelqu'un depuis bien longtemps, et au fil de leurs échanges Noah et Carla vont tous les deux avoir une idée pour se sortir de leur impasse : Noah propose à Carla un fake dating pour que sa mère le lâche un peu. Même réticente au début, Carla y voit la possibilité de se réacclimater avec des activités sociales, Noah va pouvoir l'aider à surmonter ses angoisses. Très organisée Carla va mettre en place une liste de choses à faire, liste que Noah va éclater évidemment... Parce qu'où est la spontanéité dans tout ça ?

Pour moi, Carla et Noah sont un couple chouchou, ils vont tellement bien ensemble qu'on se demande où ils étaient depuis tout ce temps ? Même si Noah est un rayon de soleil, il y a une part d'ombre à son personnage qui vient contrebalancer la joie de vivre qu'il dégage, et pareil pour Carla, malgré la douleur et la rigueur de vie qu'elle doit suivre, on sent qu'il y a un petit grain de folie en elle qui ne demande qu'à sortir.

Une romance qui se lit toute seule et que je recommande vivement !

Big book crush for this grumpy/sunshine romance where the grumpy one is the heroine and sunshine one is the hero. I immediately got into the story, the characters are endearing and the author managed to make their personality and their depth immediately take shape in my head.

It's impossible not to swoon for Noah. He is nice, helpful, he is the easy going type of guy, with his humor and his ease in talking with others. His mom tries to hook him up with all the single young women in Green Valley, when she asks him to go do some repairs for the tenant of their farm house, he suspects a set-up, but he goes anyway. Did he expect Carla, the tenant, to take a dislike to him from the first 5 minutes ? Not at all, he's not used to it and that intrigues him !

As there really is a hole in the wall, due to a fallen tree branch, Noah will have to spend a few days doing the repairs, it will give him the opportunity to try to crack Carla's mysterious shell.

Carla hopes that Noah will leave as quickly as he arrived, she has literally zero energy to give him. Recently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, with some bad side effects (anxiety attack), her body no longer allows her to have a "normal" life. From one day to the next, she may manage to work on her computer program, or may not have the strength to get out of bed. Her illness has made her a little bit reclusive, far from any social life, just going shopping is a challenge.

The arrival of Noah to repair her wall is her first interaction with someone since some time, and over the course of their exchanges Noah and Carla will both have an idea to get out of their problems : Noah asks Carla to fake dating so that his mother would let go of him for a bit. Even reluctant at first, Carla sees the possibility of reacclimating herself with social activities, Noah will be able to help her overcome her anxieties. Very organized, Carla is going to put together a list of things to do, a list that Noah is obviously going to break out... Because where is the spontaneity in all this ?

For me, Carla and Noah are a favorite couple, they go so well together that you wonder where they have been all this time ? Even if Noah is a ray of sunshine, there is a dark side to his character which counterbalances the joie de vivre he exudes, and the same for Carla, despite the pain and the rigors of life that she must follow, we feel that there is a little bit of whim in her that is just waiting to come out.

A can't-stop-reading-it romance that I highly recommend !

 

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Well Acquainted

de Laney Hatcher - Smartypants Romance (2022)

Résumé : There are three things you need to know about Lady Eliza Morgan:
1. In addition to being a busy physician, she’s an accomplished seamstress.
2. She’s the victim of a broken heart.
3. The man who shattered it is the one man she can never have.

Some things are better left in the past, but Eliza has spent years running from hers. When the man who upended her life re-enters it in the most unexpected way, Eliza must decide if reacquainting herself with Nicolas is worth the heartache. He’s charming and irritating and makes her realize there is so much more than the life she’s been living. But first she must confront her painful past if she and Nicolas have any hope for a future.

Après Neanderthal Seeks Duchess, c'est au tour du tome 2 de Penny Reid, Friends Without Benefits d'avoir sa réécriture en historique.

Dans le tome précédent, Lady Eliza découvrait avec surprise le visage de Nicolas dans les journaux, dans un article sur une pièce de théâtre dont il a le premier rôle. Savoir qu'il est à Londres, si près, sans nouvelles depuis des années, fait ressortir tout un passé douloureux chez Eliza. D'autant que peu de temps après, Nico frappe à la porte de son cabinet médical avec un enfant malade. Malgré son trouble, Eliza reprend sa tâche et va tour faire pour aider la fillette.

Eliza et Nico se connaissent depuis leur enfance, ils auraient pu grandir et ne plus être que des amis, mais la vie en a décidé autrement. Un drame, de mauvaises décisions et des années de silence ont eu raison du coeur d'Eliza. Elle se sent coupable de ce qui s'est passé et se refuse à imaginer qu'un coeur brisé peut se réparer. Heureusement, Nico est bien déterminé à lui prouver le contraire.

Tout comme le premier tome, j'ai beaucoup apprécié celui-ci, la façon dont Laney Hatcher s'empare de l'histoire et la réarrange à sa sauce pour en faire quelque chose de différent, mais sans trop s'éloigner de l'âme du livre originel.

Et donc évidemment, ce tome 2, nous offre un teaser du 3, et évidement, je l'attendrais avec impatience !

After Neanderthal Seeks Duchess, it's the turn of Penny Reid's book #2, Friends Without Benefits to have its rewrite in history romance.

In the previous volume, Lady Eliza was surprised to discover Nicolas' face in the newspapers, in an article about a play in which he had the leading role. Knowing that he is in London, so close, without news for years, brings out a whole painful past in Eliza. Especially since shortly after, Nico knocks on her medical office's door with a sick child. Despite her confusion, Eliza resumes her task and goes out of her way to help the little girl.

Eliza and Nico have known each other since they were kids, they could have grown up and been more than friends, but life decided otherwise. Tragedy, bad decisions and years of silence have taken a toll on Eliza's heart. She feels guilty for what happened and refuses to imagine that a broken heart can be repaired. Fortunately, Nico is determined to prove her wrong.

Like the first book, I enjoyed this one a lot, the way Laney Hatcher takes the story and rearranges it in her own way to make it something different, but without straying too far from the soul of the original book.

And so obviously, this book offers us a teaser of the 3, and obviously, I would be waiting for it impatiently !


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Architecture and Artistry

de Nora Everly - Smartypants Romance (2022)

Résumé : Sadie Hill has a lot going on.

New job, twin boys, deadbeat ex, and a mother from hell. Her life is chaos and no matter how hard she holds on, every plan she makes flies straight out of her grasp. The last thing she needs is for her devastatingly hot co-worker to become her new neighbor. A distraction like Barrett does not fit into her precarious plans for the future.

Barrett Monroe has got it going on.

His wicked ex-wife is nothing but a memory, his daughter is back home where she belongs, and he loves his job. His control-freak ways have paid off and he can finally relax into his perfectly scheduled life—alone, just how he wants it. The last thing he needs is an irresistible single mom and her adorable kids to move in next door. Sadie was hard enough to stay away from when she was just his co-worker.

But one night spent stranded in a snowstorm together finds these two sneaking around, sharing stolen kisses, and losing their hearts. Will they give into the flying sparks between them? Or drive each other crazy fighting their feelings instead?


Enfin le tome de Barrett ! Après l'avoir aperçu en personnage secondaire des tomes de ses frères, on savait bien que l'ainé de la fratrie avait beaucoup de potentiel. Et Nora Everly ne nous a pas déçu *-*

Barrett est enfin à un moment de sa vie où tout semble calme : son ex-femme n'est plus qu'un lointain souvenir, sa fille est revenue vivre chez lui, son travail lui plait. Malheureusement pour lui, il n'arrête pas de penser à Sadie depuis qu'elle a emménagé à côté de chez lui. Il pouvait gérer quand il la voyait juste au travail, mais maintenant qu'il la côtoie dans la sphère privée, il ne peut s'empêcher de craquer encore plus pour elle et ses jumeaux terribles.

Sadie, de son côté, peut enfin commencer une vie normale : son divorce est enfin prononcé, et après avoir galéré elle peut enfin offrir une stabilité à ses enfants dans une maison dans sa ville natale, Green Valley. Emménagé avec sa soeur est aussi un avantage pour elle. On me mentionnera pas que Barrett est désormais son voisin, si elle peut éviter de sortir de chez elle en pyjama et les cheveux en bataille ça serait pas mal...

Sadie et Barrett se plaisent depuis longtemps, et maintenant qu'ils sont tous les deux divorcés, qu'est-ce qui les empêcheraient de tenter quelque chose ? Il leur en faut pas beaucoup pour finalement se sauter dessus, parcontre là où il va y avoir des difficultés vont être leurs enfants : les jumeaux sont jeunes et encore traumatisés pas l'abandon de leur père, la fille de 19 ans de Barrett est en pleine crise amoureuse elle aussi. A cela s'ajoute, le retour en ville de l'ex-mari de Sadie qui cherche les embrouilles.

Ce tome propose aussi une belle conclusion pour le clan Monroe avec plusieurs apparitions des 3 autres frères.

Finally Barrett's Book ! After having seen him as a secondary character in his brothers' books, we knew that the elder of the siblings had a lot of potential. And Nora Everly did not disappoint us *-*

Barrett is finally at a point in his life where everything seems calm : his ex-wife is just a distant memory, his daughter has returned to live with him, he likes his job. Unfortunately for him, he can't stop thinking about Sadie since she moved in next door. He could handle it when he just saw her at work, but now that he's around her in their private life, he can't help but fall for her and her terrible twins even more.

Sadie, for her part, can finally start a normal life: her divorce is done, and after struggling she can finally offer stability to her children in a house in her hometown, Green Valley. Moving in with her sister is also an advantage for her. No one will mention that Barrett is now her neighbor, if she can avoid leaving her house in her pajamas and her hair in disarray that would be great...

Sadie and Barrett have been attracted to each other for a long time, and now that they're both divorced, what's to stop them from trying something? It doesn't take much time for them to finally jump each other, but where there will be difficulties will be their children: the twins are young and still traumatized by the abandonment of their father, Barrett's 19-year-old daughter is in full love crisis too. Added to this is the return to town of Sadie's ex-husband who is looking for trouble.

This volume also offers a nice conclusion for the Monroe clan with several appearances of the 3 other brothers.


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