Max Crawford has reached the point in life where he's starting to think about settling down. Unfortunately, he's always been a little awkward when it comes to social interactions, and working from home doesn't help. He spends so much time alone, painting beautiful, historically accurate model trains that half of Whitford has begun to joke that he may be a serial killer. Not exactly prime husband material.

Tori Burns has found happiness in Maine, thanks in large part to her shifts at the Trailside Diner. She likes the work, and she loves the local gossip. When shy, geeky Max Crawford becomes a regular, she's intrigued. When she finds out he's in the market for a wife, she's fascinated…and determined to help.

Molding Max into every woman's dream turns out to be much easier than expected. But has Tori's plan worked a little too well? As she turns his comfortable life all sorts of upside down, she'll have to find a way to show just how she's fallen for him…the real him.

Another great installment in the Kowalski series, though we have already moved away from the Kowalski family to other inhabitants of Whitford, Maine.

I have read almost all the previous books in this series and I really like the style of Ms Stacey - light romances some of which I loved, others didn't really win me over. This one falls in the category of my favourites.

I was intrigued by the blurb since I have a soft spot for awkward, shy, somewhat nerdy characters. And I found Max to be pretty wonderful, his issues made him real and rather endearing. He resented when Tori described him as adorable, but he was exactly that, in every aspect of his behaviour. Still, this didn't take away from his manliness and sex appeal. 

His portrayal was fair and sounded authentic, he didn't appear childish or naive, even simple, as is sometimes the case. He was literal in his understanding of the world but he also had a sense of humour. He liked to follow a plan, but his friendship with Tori helped him become more open, flexible. He was honest and sometimes even blunt in his opinion, but he had learned to be respectful of the feelings of other people, he even managed to flirt and actually woo Tori (without either of them realizing it initially).

What I liked most about Tori was the fact that she liked Max the way he was, she didn't force him to change, to pretend to be someone else. His opening to her and to the world was a gradual process and it felt natural.

The I-am-teaching-you-how-to-be-with-someone-else trope doesn't always work well for me, but I found it fitting here. Max needed to take things slow, to get used to the new people and situations in his life and the trnasition from friendship to love was the natural path for him.

I felt that Tori's anti-marriage stance was a bit too much. The bad divorce of her parents (which happened recently when she was already a grown-up) affected her too much. At the same time I don't know people in similar situations in real life so I don't know how authentic her feelings and fears might be. 

I liked seeing some of the couples from the previous books and their presence created the warm and noisy small-town feel which I really like in this series.

Overall, this is a cute romantic story with no major issues or drama, some awkwardness and nerdiness and a lot of fun. A recommended to read to fans of the series and to all lovers of sweet romances.

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Synopsis

When you open up, who will you let in?

When Alex Morris loses her fiancé in dreadful circumstances, she moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Alex takes a job at a Pupil Referral Unit, which accepts the students excluded from other schools in the city. These are troubled, difficult kids and Alex is terrified of what she's taken on.

There is one class - a group of five teenagers - who intimidate Alex and every other teacher on The Unit. But with the help of the Greek tragedies she teaches, Alex gradually develops a rapport with them. Finding them enthralled by tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge, she even begins to worry that they are taking her lessons to heart, and that a whole new tragedy is being performed, right in front of her...

Why am I waiting for this? - It's a new to me author and I'm intrigued by the blurb - a realistic contemporary story with some mystery and characters dealing with difficult psychological issues. It's right up my alley.

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme hosted The Broke and the Bookish. There is a new topic for each week and the participating bloggers are invited to post their Top Ten lists on it.

 

Top Ten Books I Wanted to Read but I'm Not Sure Anymore

The Promise by Kristen Ashley – I loved Benny and Franky in At Peace, but I’ve read far too many negative reviews of their book and I’ve been disappointed in the latest books by Kristen Ashley that I read.

What books are you hesitant to read? Leave me a comment and I'll stop by the check your blog.

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My rating: 5 Stars - Recommended Read

“I swore an oath to avenge the death of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath.” 

Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains, and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. And he must do it all with only one good hand.

The deceived will become the deceiver.

Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.

The betrayed will become the betrayer.

Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.

Will the usurped become the usurper?

But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi finds his path may end as it began—in twists, and traps, and tragedy.

I'm a not the biggest fantasy reader or expert out there but I do enjoy the occasional fantasy story and I have to say that this one goes straight into the list of my favourties of this year.

It's my first book by Mr Abercrombie and initially I was surprised by the sarcastic, rather laconic and blunt voice of of the main characters, Yarvi. I expected the writing to be more poetic and descriptive, typical for the fantasy novels I've read so far. I did discover that I very much enjoy Mr Abercrombie's writing style. It quickly got me deeply involved in the story and made me care about all the characters and I just couldn't put the book down. 

I guessed some of the plot twists and other were a complete surprise. The story flowed nicely and I quickly grew to care for Yarvi, who is the narrator. He is an unlikely hero, a physically deformed second son, never meant to be a king or hero, yet fate had other plans for him. It was a true coming-of-age story for him and I enjoyed myself immensely following his growth from a scared, grumpy boy into a a cunning, strong young man.

The story had its fair share of political intrigues, betrayals and battles set against a complex Viking-like world with a rather unique mythological system. I found it rather curious how the author reversed the traditional male/female models in the mythology he builds in this book. We have Father Peace and Mother War, many women taking typically male positions - sea captains and navigators, king's advisers and religious leaders.  

There is politics and intrigues, betrayals and bloody battles, but mostly it's a story about the human nature, about the choices that make us. Yarvi and the other characters are not perfect, they make mistakes and learn from them, they have honour and loyalty. He and the other oarsmen are on a journey, each one of them learning about themselves and friendship.

Yarvi's companions on his journey to reclaim the throne were a colourful bunch of characters and each of them added a lot to the story. Each of them had an essential role to Yarvi's growth as a person and each of them had his/her own story to tell and destiny to fulfill. They secondary characters, yet the author made me care a lot about them and I hope to see more of them in the next books in the series.  

I loved the complexity of the relationships throughout the story, how they grow and change, representing a world in constant motion.

One of the reasons why I absolutely loved this book was the ending which I felt was just perfect. It completed the story in the best possible way, with a twist I never expected, yet it left plenty of room for the news plotlines to develop in the next installment of this series. 

In short, I'd say this book is a MUST read for fans of well written, imaginative fantasy stories.

Purchase links: Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com | IndieBound.org