Exciting, sweet, emotional, and filled with one surprise after the other, Gin Fling was a fantastic addition to what has been a strong series. ~ Slick – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Blurb:
Personal trainer Jonah Bodine discovers more than he bargained for with the half-siblings he didn’t know he had in small-town West Virginia. Not only is his dead father a person of interest in a cold case disappearance, but the entire town seems way too invested in Jonah’s happily ever after potential.
His summer of solitude in a lakeside cottage is ruined when his matchmaking sister saddles him with an unwanted roommate.
Adorable, snort-laughing nerd Shelby Thompson came to Bootleg Springs looking for answers and ends up getting adopted by the town’s nosy elders. Maneuvered into sharing a cottage with the handsome trainer, she makes the best of a sticky situation by offering her perpetually shirtless roommate a strings-free summer fling.
Jonah is tempted. Very tempted. But Shelby has secrets. And as the Callie Kendall mystery unravels, Shelby’s own past comes back to haunt her. The danger is very real and so are the feelings she’s developing for Jonah.
Pleasure Buttons: Small-town. Romantic comedy. Summer fling. Roommates to lovers. Rescued puppies. Family series. Mystery. Happily ever after.
5 stars
The Bootleg Springs series is winding down, but the excitement in this small town is ratcheting up. Gin Fling pairs a man who was desperate to know his siblings and a woman trying to show the world she can take care of herself no matter what she must endure; both are a little bit lost, while both grew up in a loving households they are still trying to figure out love, and more than anything they want to belong. I loved this couple, their story, and everything else 
that took place in this book (and this cover is GORGEOUS). Exciting, sweet, emotional, and filled with one surprise after the other, Gin Fling was a fantastic addition to what has been a strong series.
When Jonah Bodine arrived in Bootleg Springs a year ago to meet his half siblings, he never expected the reception he got or the instant connection he felt with his three brothers and one sister he’d never met before. Meeting them and working with them and their attorney to prove their father wasn’t guilty in the disappearance of a young girl over a decade ago, he’s somewhat assimilated to this small southern town and their ways. As he’s watched most of his siblings find love, Jonah is at a crossroads, does he return home to where his mother is or can he put down roots and open a gym to support his training programs he’s been doing in various places around town? And is he finally ready to put the girl who broke his heart firmly in the past?
The first time Shelby Thompson was in Bootleg Springs the whole town decided she wasn’t to be trusted and she didn’t bother to correct them. Now her brother is living in town and in a happy relationship Shelby is back after taking care of some things back home in Philadelphia and ready to finish work on her doctorate degree. As most of the town now realizes she’s not a “bottom feeder journalist” and is in fact a geeky girl just trying to earn another degree, she’s making friends and learning a lot about small town relationships with each survey the townsfolk fill out. When she gets a lead on a long term place to live, the last thing she expects is her roommate to be Jonah Bodine, the man who has treated her like the gum on the bottom of his shoe.
There is so much attraction between Jonah and Shelby from the start but Jonah is loyal to his family and thinks Shelby is just trying to uncover a story about them which creates all kinds of friction. Friction that everyone around them notices and uses to their advantage to match make, but Jonah and Shelby are pretty smart and they have a great time showing their friends and family a thing or two. I loved these two together; they were different enough to keep things interesting, but had enough in common to get along really well. I did have to crack up at Shelby’s eating habits and Jonah’s determination to help her learn to eat right for her needs.
The ongoing mystery arc really heated up in this book and the suspicions I’ve had from the start came to fruition (one of the reasons I don’t read mystery books I always guess the outcome) adding quite a bit of excitement. We also get a Bodine wedding and get to meet Jonah’s mom and Shelby and GT’s parents.
While there was a lot going on in this story, trust me it was jam packed; Ms. Score did a fantastic job of keeping the focus on the relationship between Jonah and Shelby when it could have been very easy for it to get lost in the shuffle.
From start to finish Gin Fling was a wild ride filled with twists and turns and a really sweet love story between two very deserving people. I am highly anticipating the last book in this series which is available for pre-order here.
5 stars
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