ŷ������

4 1/2 stars

He's warm in that way some people are. Like they carry sunshine inside their skin. He bends, his mouth near enough for a secret. "You seem like you do whatever you want, but you always slip through things and come out perfect on the other side."

I've been wanting to read a book by this author (who is no longer writing romances for publication for various reasons) for quite some time, especially as a number of my GR peeps have given high ratings to her work. I decided to start with this novella to finally see what I thought.

Will lowers his mouth to my ear. "I think you're f*cking fascinating."
All at once, I know why I can't kiss him. What he's saying strikes a familiar chord and that chord is 'fix me, manic pixie dream girl. Make life worth living with your artsy vagina.' They played it once a week in Portland. It was my version of Wonderwall. Only, I could shake off the bearded mama's boys. Will is something else.

The connection between Marley Ellis and William (Will) Faulkner (yeah, yeah, he knows...) plays out in an enjoyable fashion. It was fun to witness their dynamics and chemistry as a bond quickly forms between them.

"I can't fix you," I say. "Whatever you've lost, you won't find it in bed with me."
Will raises an eyebrow. "Bed? Who said anything about bed. I'm saving myself for marriage, thanks."
I laugh. Will laughs too.

I liked these two, how their romance evolved, and the way this was written.

That being said, if you're not into (view spoiler)[a heroine wanting to call her lover "Daddy" in the bedroom (which is not my thing, but hey, these characters aren't me... I'm just the reading voyeur over here), you've been warned. (hide spoiler)]



(view spoiler)[
Will's arms tighten around me. "I know I said I'm committed to celibacy, but I'd make an exception for you."
But you're bored, I think. And I can only be new once. What about tomorrow, Will? What about my bills and your grayness? We can fuck, but who's going to save us?
I poke him in his muscly abdomen. "You don't need a lover; you need to not be bored with life."
"Things can be two things."
"Not these kinds of things. You don't want us to hurt each other, do you?"
His face grows solemn. "That's the last thing I want."
"Then how do we make something good out of this surprise connection?"
Will sways us back and forth, looking thoughtful. "We could have a bath?"
"Be serious."
(hide spoiler)]

A couple things to note:

1) I own this ebook and listened to the audio version (Narrated by Melissa Schwairy & Alan Morrison) on the "Read Me Romance" podcast:



2) This novella, according to my Kindle, is 52 pages long, but the whole ebook is 112 pages. Yup, there is a second novella included about these characters called "Sweetest". I haven't read it yet, but you know I will...

"Marley..."
I flash him a smile. "I swear on the sound and the fury we're going to be good for each other. See you at eight."

I'm looking forward to checking out more of Ms. Dangerfield's work in future.