She's a feisty, sly marketing exec intent on hiding her small-town roots. He’s a laid-back engineer with a shaggy mutt and a pushy ex.When Joshua asks Melina out, she asks what kind of car he drives. She’ll do drinks, not dinner. She’s always in control. But with Joshua’s easy confidence and sharp wit, Melina is soon breaking the dating rules she made for herself.
Opposites attract—but friends think Melina and Joshua can’t possibly last. When crisis throws their world off its axis, Melina must confront her childhood family, the people she’s come to care about, and the destruction of her pristine image.
MY REVIEW -
It may have took me some pages
before I start to finally lay down, grip my e-reader and had myself engrossed
in Melina and Joshua’s story. Once the pacing was perfect, I swear, you would
not have the heart to put it down.
Melina loves to have and be in
control. She had a set of rules when dating, and she never, ever, ever breaks
them – until Joshua comes along. And never in a million years would she realize
that he was the only one who can break the ice that surrounds her. Her career
in advertising is soaring, but it was never enough for her family.
Joshua, on the other hand, I
love his character, he’s so cool! Nevertheless, after breaking up with his
longtime pushy ex, he finally decided to be someone better. Then Melina comes
along – he made her his mission. He wanted her to be his. With his great and
cool personality, Melina is a lost cause.
It might have been a little
long for my taste, but I enjoyed the story, it made my night – especially with
the last chapters. I love the characters, and how they finally get the HEA to
their love story. It was sweet, and you couldn’t help but fall in love. But it
is not just romance – there are a lot of conflicts, past baggage, deceptions
and not to mention, over-protective friends that will make you read, and read
until you finally reach the final page.
RATING:
★ARC Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.★
EXCERPT -
Setup: Joshua and Melina are wrapping up their first date at a restaurant Seattle’s hip Belltown neighborhood. But it’s just drinks—not dinner—because Melina refuses to do dinner on a first date. It’s one of Melina’s many rules about dating. Another rule is that she always asks what kind of car her date drives. Joshua told her the short answer—a Porsche—but it’s not thewhole truth. “I’d offer to take you home, but I don’t know where you live,” Joshua said after signing the check. Melina sidestepped his implicit question with a laugh and a smile.
“No thanks, I can handle my booze. I’m sure a couple of glasses of wine won’t make me cross-eyed,” Melina joked. “Besides, you don’t have your Porsche here anyway.”
Joshua’s eyes flickered. “No, I guess I don’t. Well, if this is the end of our first date, maybe I could ask you about your problem?”
“My problem?” she asked, on edge.
“Yes, your aversion to dinner,” Joshua said smoothly, smiling as she tookthe bait hook, line and sinker. “I know your mother told you that breakfast isthe most important meal of the day, but I’d like to suggest that you give dinner a chance, at least on another date with me.”
Melina leaned back, nodding and smiling. Well played. She had to admit he’d gotten to her. But he was also eager, and she wanted to cool him down a bit.
“I’m not sure. You can call me. We can see if something, or dinner, would work,” she said.
Joshua leaned toward her, a sudden intensity shifting the energy at their table.
“Did you like the wine I picked out for you?”
“Yes,” Melina hesitated, confused.
“And the story about the Turkish bazaar?”
“Yes, it was good.”
“And my encyclopedic knowledge of The Simpsons?”
“Yes—though I’m not sure you’ll ever need it to solve an engineering emergency,” Melina quipped.
“Well, then, I’m pretty sure you’ll be having dinner with me next week,” Joshua said. Confident. Almost cocky.
Who does he think he is? “And what makes you so sure?”
“Communications one-oh-one, freshman year, one of those classes I had to take to meet the general studies requirement at UW,” Joshua explained. “If you can get your audience to agree with you three times—it doesn’t matter on what topic—then you can usually get them to agree to what you want. I’ll bet your first communications class taught you the same thing.”
“Mmm, something like that,” Melina hedged. “You’re not a bad salesman. I’ll definitely consider your offer.”
He’s right. I’ll probably have dinner with him. He’s worth a second date.“I’ll call you,” Joshua said. And with a handshake—not a hug, an air-kiss, a peck or any of the half-dozen awkward ways to end a first date—he headed out into the cold Seattle night, coat slung over his shoulder as if the sun was shining.
That’s nerve, Melina thought. That’s the kind of nerve it takes to be in my business. The nerve it takes to live my life.
AUTHOR BIO -
Heidi Joy lives in Happy Valley off Sunnyside Road. She swears she did not make that up.Heidi’s obsessed with storytelling. Her career includes marketing, journalism, and a delicious few years as a food columnist. Media passes took her backstage with several rock bands, where she learned that sometimes a wardrobe malfunction is exactly what the rock star intends.
You’ll most often find Heidi Joy with her husband and two small kids cooking, fishing, exploring the Northwest, and building epic forts in their living room.
She loves to hear from readers via messages at facebook.com/author.heidi.
Find Heidi here:
· Website: heidijoytretheway.com
· Facebook.com/author.heidi
· Amazon.com/author/heidi
· Goodreads.com/heidi.tretheway
· Twitter.com/heiditretheway
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