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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, from a Twitter contest (I think).
Jaci Burton has a strong start to her new contemporary romance seriesin Hope Flames. This story features a strong heroine with some past issues she's working to overcome and a sexy hero who just might be ready to settle down, even if he doesn't realize it. Also, he's a small-town cop with an awesome dog. And also, she's a vet and there are adorable puppies! Who can resist adorable puppies? Not I.
I enjoyed Emma and Luke's 'friend' dates and it was very believable how they moved from buddies to happily ever after.
The only downside to this book is that there's more conflict than really needed, with both a storyline of a pharmaceutical-seeking burglar and an evil ex-boyfriend. Neither of those story lines were fleshed out very well. It could have been a better book if only one plot line was used and then fully developed. But that's honestly a minor quibble. I really did enjoy this book!
Adorable puppies!!
Jaci Burton has a strong start to her new contemporary romance seriesin Hope Flames. This story features a strong heroine with some past issues she's working to overcome and a sexy hero who just might be ready to settle down, even if he doesn't realize it. Also, he's a small-town cop with an awesome dog. And also, she's a vet and there are adorable puppies! Who can resist adorable puppies? Not I.
I enjoyed Emma and Luke's 'friend' dates and it was very believable how they moved from buddies to happily ever after.
The only downside to this book is that there's more conflict than really needed, with both a storyline of a pharmaceutical-seeking burglar and an evil ex-boyfriend. Neither of those story lines were fleshed out very well. It could have been a better book if only one plot line was used and then fully developed. But that's honestly a minor quibble. I really did enjoy this book!
Adorable puppies!!
After both their bad relationships, I liked how slow their's was to develop. It was real, chemistry was there and I could understand the reasons why both would want to say the L word and R word.
Luke was so resistant he made me laugh! Emma kind of took being independent a little too far but I could understand why.
There were a few things that were resolved too easily for my book. But It was definitely an enjoyable read!
Luke was so resistant he made me laugh! Emma kind of took being independent a little too far but I could understand why.
There were a few things that were resolved too easily for my book. But It was definitely an enjoyable read!
Ok, so here's the thing: I don't particularly like romance novels.
I don't mind a bit of romance in my books, I actually like it a lot, but a purely romance novel is just not my thing...
But I needed a palette cleanser after all the fantasy YA I read and the hope series by Jaci Burton happened to be on my e-reader, so I thought: why not?
I thought the story was flimsy, they were just love scenes with a bit of dialog, but not a whole lot of interesting plot in between, but still I read 3.5 books over the past weekend...
Every time I finished one, I thought: Ok, time to pick up a "real" book, but I still ended up reading the next book in this series...
What is it with romance novels that is just so addicting???
Just because of that, I'm giving this series (because let's be real, all the books are basically the same, just with different characters) 2.5*
I don't mind a bit of romance in my books, I actually like it a lot, but a purely romance novel is just not my thing...
But I needed a palette cleanser after all the fantasy YA I read and the hope series by Jaci Burton happened to be on my e-reader, so I thought: why not?
I thought the story was flimsy, they were just love scenes with a bit of dialog, but not a whole lot of interesting plot in between, but still I read 3.5 books over the past weekend...
Every time I finished one, I thought: Ok, time to pick up a "real" book, but I still ended up reading the next book in this series...
What is it with romance novels that is just so addicting???
Just because of that, I'm giving this series (because let's be real, all the books are basically the same, just with different characters) 2.5*
This was my first Jaci Burton book, so I didn’t really know what to expect. This was an okay book. Nothing memorable, but some things did make me mad.
Emma and Luke were actually good together. They were just the only ones who couldn’t see it. Hell, even their dogs got along. The book spent so much time on Emma and Luke's inner monologue going back and forth about how they didn’t want a relationship. That and a lot of their everyday life. While I liked them both, Emma made me want to shake her a few times. If you’ve read this book, then you know why.
I kept asking myself when we were actually going to get the suspense. Once we got to the suspense plot, it was rushed and some things didn’t really make sense. A few things felt like they were there just for shock value.
I did enjoy the majority of this book, so I think I will continue with book two about Luke’s brother Logan.
Emma and Luke were actually good together. They were just the only ones who couldn’t see it. Hell, even their dogs got along. The book spent so much time on Emma and Luke's inner monologue going back and forth about how they didn’t want a relationship. That and a lot of their everyday life. While I liked them both, Emma made me want to shake her a few times. If you’ve read this book, then you know why.
I kept asking myself when we were actually going to get the suspense. Once we got to the suspense plot, it was rushed and some things didn’t really make sense. A few things felt like they were there just for shock value.
I did enjoy the majority of this book, so I think I will continue with book two about Luke’s brother Logan.
The characters and plot were ok. Honestly this just not my type of book. I liked Jaci Burton’s spy/motorcycle ones back in the day so I decided to try her sweeter gentler fare and just not for me.
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: C
Emma has moved back home to Hope and has taken over the local animal clinic after the town’s long time vet retired. She’s put everything she has into her new business and is ready to get her life back on track. She’s been rebuilding since leaving an abusive relationship and she’s finally happy and content.
Luke is a cop who works with his dog Boomer and is known for his love em and leave em attitude when it comes to women. He’s a one night stand kind of guy and doesn’t want to think about having a relationship. He went down that road with his now ex-wife and doesn’t want a repeat performance. But when Boomer is injured and he takes him to see Emma for treatment, he can’t stop thinking about the pretty vet days later.
Luke and Emma start out just being friends since neither one wants a relationship, but they’re both single and in Emma’s case maybe a bit lonely and gun-shy. They have quite a bit in common from their love of dogs (who are really sweet throughout the story) and the outdoors, so a few “friendly” dates end up leading to much more and before they know it, they’re in that relationship that neither one wanted.
I have no complaints about these characters, both Emma and Luke are so darn likable there’s really nothing to frown at. If I had any issue with them it was their need to make their relationship harder than it was. They’re good people, they complement each other and I loved how they included their dogs as part of the family. But that said, their romance felt a bit bland. Don’t get me wrong, Jaci Burton writes some sexy love scenes and Emma and Luke certainly benefit from that, but there really wasn’t anything that made their romance stand out.
The small town setting of Hope is charming and we meet a few supporting characters who I’m interested to see lead their own books soon, including Luke’s older brother Logan, Emma’s wandering sister Molly and Luke’s close friend Carter.
In addition to the romance between Luke and Emma which is the main focus of the book, there are a couple smaller suspense storylines, one related to a case Luke’s working on and the other related to Emma’s ex. Not much time is given to the ex storyline and it almost felt tossed in at the end with how it all played out, but it served more of a purpose with regards to Emma and Luke’s relationship and giving us a little bit of angst for Emma to deal with.
I will always go along for the ride with a Burton romance, especially one set in a small town setting. I like the set up for this new series and I am interested to see who’s up next but for Luke and Emma, I felt a bit underwhelmed with their romance. They are the perfect couple, but there wasn’t anything about them that made me stand up and say wow. A good read, but I was left wanting something more.
Blog rating: C
Emma has moved back home to Hope and has taken over the local animal clinic after the town’s long time vet retired. She’s put everything she has into her new business and is ready to get her life back on track. She’s been rebuilding since leaving an abusive relationship and she’s finally happy and content.
Luke is a cop who works with his dog Boomer and is known for his love em and leave em attitude when it comes to women. He’s a one night stand kind of guy and doesn’t want to think about having a relationship. He went down that road with his now ex-wife and doesn’t want a repeat performance. But when Boomer is injured and he takes him to see Emma for treatment, he can’t stop thinking about the pretty vet days later.
Luke and Emma start out just being friends since neither one wants a relationship, but they’re both single and in Emma’s case maybe a bit lonely and gun-shy. They have quite a bit in common from their love of dogs (who are really sweet throughout the story) and the outdoors, so a few “friendly” dates end up leading to much more and before they know it, they’re in that relationship that neither one wanted.
I have no complaints about these characters, both Emma and Luke are so darn likable there’s really nothing to frown at. If I had any issue with them it was their need to make their relationship harder than it was. They’re good people, they complement each other and I loved how they included their dogs as part of the family. But that said, their romance felt a bit bland. Don’t get me wrong, Jaci Burton writes some sexy love scenes and Emma and Luke certainly benefit from that, but there really wasn’t anything that made their romance stand out.
The small town setting of Hope is charming and we meet a few supporting characters who I’m interested to see lead their own books soon, including Luke’s older brother Logan, Emma’s wandering sister Molly and Luke’s close friend Carter.
In addition to the romance between Luke and Emma which is the main focus of the book, there are a couple smaller suspense storylines, one related to a case Luke’s working on and the other related to Emma’s ex. Not much time is given to the ex storyline and it almost felt tossed in at the end with how it all played out, but it served more of a purpose with regards to Emma and Luke’s relationship and giving us a little bit of angst for Emma to deal with.
I will always go along for the ride with a Burton romance, especially one set in a small town setting. I like the set up for this new series and I am interested to see who’s up next but for Luke and Emma, I felt a bit underwhelmed with their romance. They are the perfect couple, but there wasn’t anything about them that made me stand up and say wow. A good read, but I was left wanting something more.
So this is actually the only book besides Holiday Games that I've read by Jaci Burton. When I read what the synopsis I immediately knew that I had to read it. And after reading through the whole book practically nonstop. I am hooked on this series and I am really excited to read the second book in this series.
******SPOILERS*********
I fell in love with the main character Luke right from the beginning. He was not what I expected him to be, he turned out to be so much better. When I was reading from Luke's point of view it was really easy because his perspective on life and all the crap he's been through was really interesting to read about. He didn't let his past mistakes define him or control his life completely it seemed. The other main character, Emma was just as easy to relate to as Luke.
Although I really enjoyed this story there were somethings in that I disliked. I noticed throughout this book and her other books Holiday Games that the dialogue between her characters are boring and stiff. Most of the time it seems like the characters are constantly complimenting each other. And I know that most people would consider this a good thing, but it really annoyed me a lot of times. It's just no realistic to toss out compliments left and right. Than I felt like it was hard for the characters to even have a decent conversation without it feeling stiff and forced.
Another thing that I disliked was the fact that Emma's past overshadowed the mystery about the business break ins. I was looking forward to finally being able to find out who was breaking into the pharmacies around town, but when they finally catch the guy it's doesn't seem like a big deal anymore in the book because the situation with Emma's past has took the spotlight even though it wasn't really the main issue throughout the book.
But besides those two little things this books was still amazing and beautiful. I would definetly recommend others to read this. Especially if your into romance that is light and simple.
******SPOILERS*********
I fell in love with the main character Luke right from the beginning. He was not what I expected him to be, he turned out to be so much better. When I was reading from Luke's point of view it was really easy because his perspective on life and all the crap he's been through was really interesting to read about. He didn't let his past mistakes define him or control his life completely it seemed. The other main character, Emma was just as easy to relate to as Luke.
Although I really enjoyed this story there were somethings in that I disliked. I noticed throughout this book and her other books Holiday Games that the dialogue between her characters are boring and stiff. Most of the time it seems like the characters are constantly complimenting each other. And I know that most people would consider this a good thing, but it really annoyed me a lot of times. It's just no realistic to toss out compliments left and right. Than I felt like it was hard for the characters to even have a decent conversation without it feeling stiff and forced.
Another thing that I disliked was the fact that Emma's past overshadowed the mystery about the business break ins. I was looking forward to finally being able to find out who was breaking into the pharmacies around town, but when they finally catch the guy it's doesn't seem like a big deal anymore in the book because the situation with Emma's past has took the spotlight even though it wasn't really the main issue throughout the book.
But besides those two little things this books was still amazing and beautiful. I would definetly recommend others to read this. Especially if your into romance that is light and simple.