Life As We Know It
by JD Hollyfield
Fourth in the series, but perfectly comfortable as a standalone read, this is a story that will charm the pants off you, it was a fairly swiftly paced romantic comedy at heart but it had more than a little flavour of angst dusted throughout. Told primarily from the female character’s point of view this si one you will really enjoy but I have to say that the parts of the story that were told from Sam’s point of view were amongst my favourites to read and in that respect I would have loved to spend a little more time inside his head.
By the time my kindle flicker over to 5% I was toast, completely hooked and totally unrepentant at the fact that my plans for the day were sliding by the wayside.
The story centres on Penny and quite rightly so because, boy does she take up a lot of space, she had so much going on it was almost impossible to know where to start, recently single…I think that is the nice way of saying she got dumped, she was teetering on the edge of a downward spiral that was threatening to get completely out of control, she really was a bit of a calamity but with her best friend by her side the made a spur of the moment decision to lift their spirits and head off on a wipe the slate clean vacation…you know the sort that only your bff is ever going to be able to pull off, the chance to do all the things you would never really dream of doing at any other time but that you friend will egg you on to just to see a smile on your face….well, yep that was the plan!
And what better place to kick up their heels that on the high seas – a cruise it is!
The trip that ensued was hotter than hades because when Penny meets Sam on the ship, there wasn’t a hope in he** that they weren’t heading straight between the sheets, it a vacation after all…a little fun and frolicking is allowed!
Sam was with his mates on a bachelor party but couldn’t believe his luck when he saw Penny but when they are back on dry land and he sees her again, the feelings are all too different because this time he is her latest client…way too awkward!
So the scene was set, this sexy guy was willing to move mountains to get his girl and despite the fact that she seemed determined to deny what she was feeling and to put obstacles in the way, she was on a hiding to nothing because one thing you learn about Sam is that he is relentless.
I thought Sam was the quintessentially perfect boy boyfriend and I adored him, he was such a strong character, so self-assured. I loved his alpha side and the fact that he was determined to get his way but I also liked the fact that he was willing to show his sensitivities too and with Penny that was a trait that I think he had to put to good use because she was a walking talking contradiction. There were times when I think I just wanted to reach into the kindle and slap her upside the head. Most of the time I got her, she made me smile, in fact she made me laugh out loud at some of the things she did and said but other times she just grated on my very last nerve.
The chemistry between them was off the charts, they were made for each other, they just had to find a way to both get with the programme and while I knew it was possible I also knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. The author threw more than a few twists into the plot, just enough angst and attitude to keep the story flowing along at a pace that determined it to be impossible to put down.