A suit-wearing city man goes toe-to-toe with a small town woman recovering from heartbreak in this sweet and sensual journey of opposites attracting. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Puffin Bay by Annie Dyer, along with getting my impressions of this first installment in the Puffin Bay series, then add it to your bookshelf too!
Heartbreak led me to Puffin Bay, searching for peace in a small, coastal town. Four years later, my bar is thriving and my next business is just what the town needs.
It doesn’t need Roman Tominey. Arrogant, city-boy, suit-wearing grump - he knows how to push every one of my buttons, and after an evening of bad decisions, he knows how to push that one too.
When Roman’s newly found teenage son joins him, Roman’s summer stay is extended. We spend the days arguing over a building project the local council insisted we did together, and the evenings with him sneaking into my room.Roman’s a businessman with his own ambitions for Puffin Bay - and they don’t agree with mine. Our differences could turn our not-so-secret romance to dust, but my grumpy single dad doesn’t seem to want to stop the sparks.
Even if he has to discard his suit - and its buttons - to keep on pressing mine.
BUY here.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
A delightful small town romance drives this tale of opposites attracting in the bedroom while fighting each other in public. With a likable main couple, and a colorful community of characters just screaming for their stories to be told, this ends up being a sweet and entertaining series starter that kept me turning the pages with a smile on my face.
Amelie is the kind of heroine that you like from the very start. She was seen in a previous series of books by Ms. Dyer and quickly became someone readers wanted to see get a HEA. With her move to this small town she's made a successful start for herself, becoming a strong and confident businesswoman. She's a more mature heroine than you usually find in romance books, fiercely independent, and a bit set in her plans for herself and the town. She's thoroughly endeared herself to the denizens of the town though and I truly enjoyed her interactions with each and every one of them. She's unfortunately had her heart stomped on in the past which has her barricading her heart behind a very thick wall of distrust...a wall that Roman starts to wear down the moment he meets Amelie.
Roman Tominey is a big city developer who comes to this small town with a plan of his own after buying a piece of land Amelie wanted, a plan that immediately puts them at odds but also shows sexual sparks igniting between the two apparent opposites. Roman's a stoic and determined man, a man who looks a bit too polished for small town living, but he and Amelie just clicked. As the story progressed, as he and Amelie had more and more clandestine encounters, and as he interacted more with his grandfather and newfound son, readers discovered a softer and more vulnerable side that made him very appealing.
Amelie and Roman were an entertaining couple with witty and playful banter teeming with sexual tension. To the outside world they seemed like opposites but in the bedroom they crackled in their secret connection. This was a pleasant read on a whole with no manufactured drama, just a glimpse of small town living with a HEA made possible through the machinations of the likable and colorful townsfolk. Ms. Dyer beautifully and realistically depicted Puffin Bay, showed a sweetly serene and idyllic town and gave readers numerous appealing denizens that enriched this story and made me smile. Among the secondary characters, I found myself particularly drawn to Roman's grandfather and son. His grandfather was utterly charming with homespun humor and wisdom that warmed my heart while bringing out a soft and caring side to Roman that made his interactions with his son Caleb even more emotionally satisfying. Fleur too caught my attention...thanks to an unexpected twist towards the end that has me counting down the days until the next installment in the Puffin Bay series hits bookshelves!
My rating for this is an A-/B+
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Annie Dyer enjoys her alarm to be off, her books to be steamy, and her gin to be dry. Her stories are set in the UK and filled with more heat than an English summer. She writes about strong women and the men who are men enough to make them happy! Her books are made to binge read, and guarantee a happily ever after. Annie lives in Manchester, England with her husband and pets, in a Victorian house with leopard print carpet!
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