4 Stars: A Great Read
Series: Kowalski Family #3
Ebk: 201 Pages, pub June 6, 2011 by Carina Press
Pbk: 331 Pages, pb February 21, 2012 by HQN Books
Sean Kowalski no sooner leaves the army than he’s recruited by Emma Shaw to be her fake fiancé. Emma needs to produce a husband-to-be for her grandmother’s upcoming visit, and, though Sean doesn’t like the deception, he could use the landscaping job Emma’s offering while he decides what to do with his civilian life. And, despite his attraction to Emma, there’s no chance he’ll fall for a woman with deep roots in a town he’s not planning to call home.
Emma’s not interested in a real relationship either; not with a man whose idea of home is wherever he drops his duffel bag. No matter how amazing his “pretend” kisses are…
Once again, Shannon Stacey gives us another crafty, down-to-earth, romantic story about another Kowalski man–this time, a cousin. I always thought that the idea of fake dating was fun. A friend of mine told me that she once pretended to go out with a guy, and it took them a while to finally convince their friends that they were really going out (and then, of course, they got to laugh at their friends when they told them that it was all a joke). To try and pretend that you’re in love with someone so much that you’re going to get married? Yeah, you’re going to think someone’s going a little crazy, especially when you never met her before.
I confess that I’m not fond of explicit scenes–not at all–and this book has quite a few of them. It was the scenes in between that got me reading the books in this series. Stacey has a wonderful writing style and a great sense of humor.
Sean has just come back from the army. Having nothing better to do and feeling a bit sorry for Emma, he decides to go along with her plan. Watching the two blunder their way through this deception was hilarious, especially when Sean’s cousins and their wives put him and Emma in tough situations. I love how the romance plays out, confusing Sean and Emma. Trust Emma to pick a fake partner who turns out to be someone with whom she could have mutual feelings.
Yours to Keep had me falling even more in love with the Kowalski family. If it wouldn’t get old, I would seriously be a huge advocate for more Kowalski books. Stacey is an brilliant romance author to keep an eye on for more works.
Warning: This is an adult novel, and there are mature scenes!
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A copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
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