The HEA Cafe

I always worry about reviews until they start to come in – always have, so it seems that won’t be changing anytime soon. It’s great when the first review across the threshold is a really good one, as this one is, so I had to share.

This is from CoffeeTime Romance, and will be posted on their site for April when ALL OR NOTHING is released. The reviewer Jenn gave the book their highest ranking – 5 cups! – and I’m just a little bit excited. Here’s a sneak peek:

“Jen Maitland has put her life on hold for reasons of her own which she does not share. The walls around her heart are built to withstand the strongest of assaults, or so she thinks, until she meets a man who is willing to give his all to break them down.

Zachary Coxwell is the black sheep of his illustrious family, content to float through life without gathering much in the way of possessions, or anything else for that matter. Then he sees Jen and all that changes, for the better, he thinks. But she remains aloof and mysterious, and for the first time in his life, he has to work hard at something.

Jen’s first impression of Zach is not so favorable simply because of his old college buddies and the way they act around her. She and her sister hatch a scheme to use him to stop her mother’s matchmaking in its tracks, since he is a vain, conservative yuppie, something her hippy family is sure to hate. However, Zach is much more than he seems, and she finds out much too late to change her plans or to save her heart. Soon he is much too close for comfort because Jen is hiding a secret, and she thinks once she lets him know about it, he will be gone just like her last boyfriend. But Zach has surprised her once before, and he could just do it again.

Jen and Zach were both so wounded that you rooted for them to get themselves straight and then get it together. When they finally start to, you bite your nails, hoping that nothing will happen to mess it up. I loved this story because it was so heartwarming. I ended up crying quite a few times, but I am really glad that the hero and heroine, flawed and all, gave me what I wanted in the end, and that is a happy and realistic ever after. The secondary characters were so vivid, and funny, but never intruded; only supported as they were supposed to do. However, I was delighted to find out that All or Nothing is part of a series of books based on the Coxwell family, so I can find out about them too. Ms. Cross writes a romance the way it should be done, in a book and, if you are lucky, in real life too, beautifully.”

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