Readers will find themselves charmed by this tale of a fun-loving playboy who discovers he wants more than friendship from the single, pregnant woman next door. In a tale that’s fun and flirty readers will fall in love with the immensely likable main couple while getting my impressions of their delightful romance. So keep reading to get a tempting taste of Chaser by Kylie Scott, then add this third installment in the Dive Bar series to your bookshelf!
Given his well-earned bad boy reputation, Eric is having a tough time scoring.. When single Jean moves to town, she seems heaven sent by the sex gods. Only problem is, she not only wants nothing to do with him, but it turns out that she’s pregnant.
Starting over in a small town, Jean is determined to turn her wild lifestyle around and be the kind of mother she always wished she’d had. Since local bar owner and all round hottie, Eric Collins, is now determined to steer clear of her pregnant self, it should be easy. When she goes into labour during a snow storm and her car slides on some ice, it’s Eric who comes to the rescue.
There seems to be a bond between them now, but is it enough? And can Eric give up his manwhore ways to be the man Jean needs?
EXCERPT:
I’d been tricked. Betrayed.
After Andre and Jean ate their lunch, we headed outside to deal with her stuff. The cold wind suited my mood to perfection.
Talk about disappointed.
“Don’t lift that, it looks heavy,” I snapped.
Jean blinked. “It’s a pillow.”
“The world’s largest pillow ever. You can’t be too careful.” My gaze roamed over her swollen middle. “You’re...”
“Pregnant?” she asked with a voice dripping poison and sugar.
“Are you having trouble with the concept?”
“Absolutely not. I was just going to say huge, that’s all.”
She blew out an exasperated breath. “Thanks, Eric. That makes me feel so much better.”
“I just...”
“Don’t bother.” The woman turned back to her sensible, medium-sized SUV and got busy riffling through the contents. I was surprised she’d been able to squeeze into the driver’s seat.
Boxes and stuff took up almost every inch inside the vehicle. Each and every box seemed to have been neatly labeled with the contents.
The woman took her organization seriously. She looked over her shoulder. “You know, I can’t help noticing that Eric-the-smooth-moving-flirt has been suddenly replaced by Eric-the-awkward-jerk.”
“Well, you said you were single.” I folded my arms defensively across my chest.
“I am.”
And then there was an awkward silence.
“Yeah, but . . . I mean, in your condition . . .” I fumbled to a halt.
She turned, face all scrunched up. Like I was the one with the problem.
“Just hop out of the way so I can grab some boxes,” I said, voice gruff.
Still nothing from her. “It’s a second-story walk-up and you have a lot of stuff to get up there. You should be taking it easy.” Hands on hips, I tapped my black leather boot against the sidewalk, waiting her out. “Jean, I’m not trying to insult you. It’s the truth.”
She swore quietly, going back to fussing with the contents in the vehicle. I don’t think any woman has ever given me the silent treatment quite this quickly. Usually I’m good for at least a couple of hours after seeing them naked.
Man, I still couldn’t believe this was happening. God hated me or something. Pregnant women and me were enema. Anathema. Whatever. Now that I’d seen her out in the autumn light, however, she looked younger than I’d first guessed. Despite her tired eyes, her skin was smooth, soft looking. She was likely closer to her early twenties than mid.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Why do you care?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Just curious.”
“How old are you?”
“Nearly thirty.”
She sniffed. “I’m twenty-two.”
Young, like I’d thought. She was probably too immature for me, anyway.
“Come on, Jean. Let me get some of the boxes.”
Boyd ambled out of the Dive Bar, turning his head this way and that, looking up and down the street. I raised my hand and he started over in our direction. The big cook would make short work out of moving all this stuff. Behind us, Andre and Nell came out of the tenants’ entrance to the Bird Building. The place was a big brick building about a hundred years old. Just past the door was an entryway with stairs leading up to the second floor, followed by two empty shops, their windows covered in flyers about local events. Concerts and parades and shit. They’d been vacant for a while, unfortunately. Andre’s Guitar Den came next, then Pat’s tattoo parlor Inkaho, and the Dive Bar on the corner.
“Everything’s good to go. Alex and I gave it a cleaning last week just to be sure,” said Nell, smacking a kiss on Jean’s cheek.
“You’ll meet Alex later. She’s probably busy working or something now. She’s sort of a shut-in.”
“You two didn’t have to do that,” said Jean. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Andre leaned against the SUV. “Your furniture got delivered yesterday too, so it’s all good to go.”
“Excellent,” said Jean. “I can’t wait to sleep in a decent bed again. Road trips when you’re seven months’ pregnant kind of suck.”
“I bet.”
“Who’s minding the kitchen?” I asked.
“Lydia will text Boyd if they need something,” said Nell.
“We’re only going to be a few feet away from the place.”
I frowned.
“I own the kitchen, Eric. Not you,” she said. “You’re in charge of the bar, that’s all.”
One of Jean’s eyebrows inched up slightly. So I might have implied that I was the sole owner. Shit happened.
I crossed my arms. “Fine. No need to bite my head off.”
“My best online friend just moved to town. We’ve been texting and skyping for months. She’s been an absolute rock for me through all the nerves of being pregnant again,” said Nell. “Stop messing with my happy.”
And then there was an awkward silence. Great. If only there was some way to get out of helping without looking like a raging asshole. The possibility of anything happening between me and Jean had been buried six feet deep, never to be spoken of again.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Readers pull up a chair and join in on the flirtiness and fun of the Dive Bar in this charming romance of friends to lovers. Be reintroduced to the friends and family who’ve become a family to readers too as they all put in their two cents as playboy Eric finds himself attracted to his unwed, pregnant neighbor. Preconceived notions, jealousy, and unexpected feelings are soon on the menu as both of them struggle with their ever-intensifying connection which will keep readers grinning with each turn of the page.
Eric Collins has always been seen as the carefree playboy, the good dresser who enjoys the ladies. The last year though, a year that saw the woman he impregnated lose their child, has made him a bit more introspective and longing to be seen differently. The moment he meets his new neighbor Jean is the chance to forge a new path and it’s a journey that brought out a new and charming side to the formerly egotistical player. It’s a journey that was full of sweet interactions and heartwarming friendship that soon teemed with sensuality. Through it all I fell for Eric even more as he truly became a man, a man worthy of HEA that I was rooting for every step of the way. When readers first met Eric he was like a little boy, good for a laugh and uninterested in obligations. His family saw him as the likable screw-up, but with the pregnancy of his friend Nell, something shifted within him. The loss of their baby was hard on Nell but hard too on Eric as it was the first thing he started taking seriously. Being around Jean gives him a second chance and he makes the most of it, fully immersing himself in taking care of a baby while becoming equally invested in Jean as a friend and a lover. His interactions with baby Ada were heartwarming and though he started out feeling insecure he became a pro with his handling of her making him even sexier. He was supportive to Jean when she needed help most, taking pride in being the one she called on and it made their friends to lovers connection even richer and more rewarding. Eric’s journey was a delightful one and the highlight of this story that had me often grinning...when I wasn’t blushing.
Jean’s the girl who always did what her parents wanted, always toed the line and did the expected. With her decision to keep her baby from a one-night stand though, she’s disappointed her parents for the first time and is left on her own to start over hundreds of miles away. Jean’s full of preconceived notions about Eric, courtesy of Nell, the moment she meets him but never holds it against him. That’s the likable thing about her, she’s kindhearted and non-judgmental. Her early interactions with Eric are as friends, playful and supportive, but soon turn sensual. It’s an easy transition, one that felt natural and oh so right. Once she and Eric became lovers she became his champion, standing up for him whenever Nell put him down and subtly nourishing his desire to be a better man. She’s an admirable heroine who knew what she wanted out of life and went for it wholeheartedly.
This was an entertaining story full of charm and sexiness. There was an easy vibe to the journey Eric and Jean took. Though I wish they hadn’t taken things quite so slowly the fireworks between them were well worth the wait. I don’t normally care for children in romances, but Ada was a joy. She brought out a delicious side to Eric, gave readers a more mature view of him, and their scenes together brought a smile to my face. The three of them made a wonderful yet unexpected family, gave Eric a glimpse of the HEA he could have if he just had faith in himself. A lot of his insecurities are courtesy of Nell, who I found to be rather unlikable, and throughout this story she didn’t hold back in her petty condemnations. Whenever she came on the scene I actually cringed which bummed me out as I was caught in an Eric haze. Despite my anger at Nell this story is full of other supportive and endearing characters who won me over. I especially enjoyed Ms. Scott entwining characters from her Stage Dive series into the action here as it expanded the familial connections. From the first page to the last this is a story that cocooned me in its warmth, a warmth created by the delicious Eric who became the quintessential book boyfriend. The more committed he became to Jean and Ada the more I fell in love with him and wished for real life men to be more like him. Readers looking for a heartwarming romance with erotically-charged encounters will get all that and more with this dreamy tale that put a permanent grin on my face.
Eric Collins has always been seen as the carefree playboy, the good dresser who enjoys the ladies. The last year though, a year that saw the woman he impregnated lose their child, has made him a bit more introspective and longing to be seen differently. The moment he meets his new neighbor Jean is the chance to forge a new path and it’s a journey that brought out a new and charming side to the formerly egotistical player. It’s a journey that was full of sweet interactions and heartwarming friendship that soon teemed with sensuality. Through it all I fell for Eric even more as he truly became a man, a man worthy of HEA that I was rooting for every step of the way. When readers first met Eric he was like a little boy, good for a laugh and uninterested in obligations. His family saw him as the likable screw-up, but with the pregnancy of his friend Nell, something shifted within him. The loss of their baby was hard on Nell but hard too on Eric as it was the first thing he started taking seriously. Being around Jean gives him a second chance and he makes the most of it, fully immersing himself in taking care of a baby while becoming equally invested in Jean as a friend and a lover. His interactions with baby Ada were heartwarming and though he started out feeling insecure he became a pro with his handling of her making him even sexier. He was supportive to Jean when she needed help most, taking pride in being the one she called on and it made their friends to lovers connection even richer and more rewarding. Eric’s journey was a delightful one and the highlight of this story that had me often grinning...when I wasn’t blushing.
Jean’s the girl who always did what her parents wanted, always toed the line and did the expected. With her decision to keep her baby from a one-night stand though, she’s disappointed her parents for the first time and is left on her own to start over hundreds of miles away. Jean’s full of preconceived notions about Eric, courtesy of Nell, the moment she meets him but never holds it against him. That’s the likable thing about her, she’s kindhearted and non-judgmental. Her early interactions with Eric are as friends, playful and supportive, but soon turn sensual. It’s an easy transition, one that felt natural and oh so right. Once she and Eric became lovers she became his champion, standing up for him whenever Nell put him down and subtly nourishing his desire to be a better man. She’s an admirable heroine who knew what she wanted out of life and went for it wholeheartedly.
This was an entertaining story full of charm and sexiness. There was an easy vibe to the journey Eric and Jean took. Though I wish they hadn’t taken things quite so slowly the fireworks between them were well worth the wait. I don’t normally care for children in romances, but Ada was a joy. She brought out a delicious side to Eric, gave readers a more mature view of him, and their scenes together brought a smile to my face. The three of them made a wonderful yet unexpected family, gave Eric a glimpse of the HEA he could have if he just had faith in himself. A lot of his insecurities are courtesy of Nell, who I found to be rather unlikable, and throughout this story she didn’t hold back in her petty condemnations. Whenever she came on the scene I actually cringed which bummed me out as I was caught in an Eric haze. Despite my anger at Nell this story is full of other supportive and endearing characters who won me over. I especially enjoyed Ms. Scott entwining characters from her Stage Dive series into the action here as it expanded the familial connections. From the first page to the last this is a story that cocooned me in its warmth, a warmth created by the delicious Eric who became the quintessential book boyfriend. The more committed he became to Jean and Ada the more I fell in love with him and wished for real life men to be more like him. Readers looking for a heartwarming romance with erotically-charged encounters will get all that and more with this dreamy tale that put a permanent grin on my face.
My rating for this is an B+
*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.
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