Sunday, April 17, 2016

Review: Ain’t She Sweet by Marie Force

Ain’t She Sweet by Marie Force
Series: Green Mountain, Book 6
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9780425280836
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

Charlotte “Charley” Abbott has gone out with every guy under thirty-five in Butler, Vermont—except for one. Tyler Westcott’s attempts to date her may be determined, and frequent, but Charley can’t stand how he acts like he knows her better than she knows herself. So when Tyler turns up at the running club Charley joined to train for a marathon, she’s almost ready to quit before she even gets started.

Tyler knows that behind Charley’s prickly personality and dismissive attitude is a sweet woman he wants in his life. And when Charley suffers an injury while training, Tyler is ready to prove that the perfect man for her has been right there all along…

Ain’t She Sweet is a romance that’s as sweet as can be without entering saccharine territory. Marie Force isn’t afraid of giving her stories and unconventional start, and Charley and Tyler sure get one. The story kicks off with Charley taking what could have been a lethal fall off a mountain. It isn’t the close call that changes her life forever, but rather Tyler stepping up to help her heal from her injuries. Though she’s been turning him down right and left, Tyler knows Charley is the woman for him. And when he nearly loses her, he manages to convince her to recuperate at his home. While Tyler’s only thought is to help her, being in close quarters with the woman of his dreams does give him the opportunity to break down the walls around Charley’s heart.

Charley is the prickliest of all the Abbott siblings, and with a family as picture-perfect as hers, that was my favorite thing about her. In her own story, she’s missing that prickliness, though taking a tumble off a mountain could easily do that to a person. In Ain’t She Sweet, we get to see the real Charley. She’s been hurt in the past and has no desire to take a chance on a man like Tyler, someone who is too perfect for words. And Tyler really is the perfect hero. He’s smart, kind, incredibly generous, patient to a fault, successful, wealthy, and gorgeous. He also had a hidden dirty side that I really wish we could have explored, because the glimpses that were given added a much-appreciated hit of spice to the tale. As much as I liked Tyler (and I really did) he was a bit too perfect for me. I wish Ms. Force had given him some flaw, or even a mildly annoying quirk or habit that would have made him feel more real.

Tyler and Charley have a relatively easy slide into love, and they are both so likeable that it’s easy to root for them. That being said, for me the story was missing something. I don’t need angst in my romance and I appreciate the lack of formulaic plot points that would have added unnecessary drama. However, given that we were told of the tension between Charley and Tyler before her accident, it would have been nice to see it. I haven’t read all of the Green Mountain books, so perhaps their dance was included in previous stories, but I would have loved to see some of their history. I truly did like Charley and Tyler’s story, but there were a couple of missed opportunities that would have taken the book from good to great.

Ain’t She Sweet is the sixth book in the Green Mountain series, and if you don’t mind some spoilers from previous books, this one can be read as a standalone. That being said, the Abbott family is out in full force, and they do tend to overtake the story, pulling focus from Charley and Tyler. Whether or not you enjoy this could depend on your level of investment in the series and its characters. I fell somewhere in the middle, as I would have liked more depth and focus on Charley and Tyler, but you can chalk this up to reader preference. All in all, I found Ain’t She Sweet to be a fast-paced, entertaining read with a likeable hero and heroine whose happily ever after will leave you with a smile on your face.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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