Two very different stories rolled up into one package. While one fell short, the other was very enjoyable! ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures
STAY WITH ME Description:
Was a little peace and quiet too much to hope for?
Mac Montgomery spent two years watching his father play matchmaker for his brothers and their wives and as the last Montgomery standing, he knew it wouldn’t be long until all eyes would be on him. While he couldn’t deny that things had worked out well for his siblings, the last thing that Mac wanted was to get married and settle down.
He hadn’t counted on his father not wanting to set him up with anyone.
And he hadn’t counted on Gina Micelli.
After more than a dozen years away from her beloved family friends, Gina Micelli comes home to take care of her ailing father. Some of her most cherished memories are of the times she spent with the Montgomerys – and her crush on Mac. She was a child when she moved away, but now as a grown woman, the thought of seeing Mac again actually has her wondering at the possibilities.
Ever the responsible one, Mac makes sure that Gina is taken care of during such an emotional time. He wants to see her as a friend, as the girl that he remembers from his youth. Unfortunately, the beautiful woman she has grown into has all thoughts of a platonic relationship flying out the window. Torn between honor and passion and peace or chaos, all Mac knows is that his life is never going to be the same.
The timing is all wrong but for two people fighting for control over their own lives, their response to one another is anything but.
MORE OF ME Description:
“More of Me” introduces us to some Montgomery cousins! This novella was a bonus story in the “All of Me” box set and is available for a limited time as a single title release!
Ryder Montgomery has returned to North Carolina to take a break from the corporate world and the first item on his agenda is to look up the woman he walked away from more than ten years ago. Casey is currently going to be playing a big role in the Montgomery family’s lives and when paired up with Ryder, it doesn’t take long for old sparks to reignite!
Review copy provided for an honest review
STAY WITH ME 2.5 stars
Sometimes a book labeled as romance is missing romance and that’s the case with Stay With Me by Samantha Chase. Yes there were two people who fell in love but they spent part of their time together denying their attraction, the other hiding their intimate relationship, and a good part of the book at odds and while they seemed to have an appreciation for each other I didn’t really feel a complete connection between them.
Gina Micelli is returning to North Carolina to spend time with her dying father she hasn’t seen in years. Following her parent’s nasty divorce Gina has been living with her mother in California and only saw her father when he came to visit, something that tapered off in the recent years. Gina is angry at her father but she wants to see him before he’s gone forever. She’s glad his best friend William and his wife and their sons will be around for some moral support but what she doesn’t expect is for his oldest son, Mackenzie Montgomery, to be the one to pick her up at the airport, the man she had a crush on as a young girl.
I appreciated that these two hadn’t seen each other in years and both were attracted from the start and I even gave Mac a lot of credit for trying to do the right thing given Gina’s circumstances and keep their relationship as just friends. As Gina uncovers how little she really knew about her Dad’s desire to have her with him, her emotional state is even more fragile and try as he might Mac will do anything to help her through it even when he worries he won’t be what she needs long term. I had issues with the fact that so much of what these two discussed was superficial, especially from Mac who simply refused to let Gina into his life. As each person close to him berated him for his bad behavior including Gina he just couldn’t see it so his complete turnaround really didn’t seem realistic. I liked these characters despite Mac being a broody, and somewhat self centered ass and as Gina woke up and started realizing she really hadn’t lived her life I really liked her but I would have liked to see some really heart to heart talks and some big emotional break through from Mac.
There just seemed to be so much thrown into this book that the relationship, romance, love part was lost in the subplot of Gina’s father dying, Mac’s one brother having a baby, the other one happily married and house shopping, his parents on a 10 day cruise…a lot of it just felt like filler and really added nothing to the story and did not advance the plot much at all.
Although disappointed in this story, I’m not sorry I missed it I just wish there had been more romance between Mac and Gina and as for the ending; a thrift store boom box would have made that scene so much better.
MORE OF ME 4 stars
Wow, More of Me was such a delight to read after the heavy, unsatisfying Stay With Me. As the wedding of Mac and Gina from Stay With Me approaches, Gina is needed in California to assist her ailing mother and Mac is needed in London to finish up a job. Mac’s father, William is more than willing to help but finding out that the happy couple’s wedding planner Casey Peterson once dated his nephew, Ryder he puts on his matchmaking hat once again. A whole lot of fun, a little bit of drama and some supreme sensuality made More Of Me a delight to read.
Ryder walked away from Casey twelve years ago determined to make his mark in the family company but seeing her again he knows that while he’s been successful in business what he really wants is Casey back in his life. I’ll admit I really enjoyed watching Casey make Ryder squirm by not sharing anything about her current life and leaving him guessing and making assumptions. I’m sure for her it was somewhat gratifying given that he broke her heart years ago. I respected Ryder in that he was up front about wanting to get to know Casey again but that he put the ball in her court knowing that she had to be the one to make the decision to trust him again. The chemistry between these two was off the charts and you could also see the familiarity in the way they were with one another.
This is a couple that once they figured out they could move past what happened when they were teens, they went into a relationship eyes open. I think Ryder went a long way to repairing the damage he did as a teen by sacrificing things in his life to be with Casey.
More of Me just proves sometimes love is truly better the second time around!
3.25 Stars
Thanks for the review Slick