Series & title: Saddler Cove, Book 1: Handle with Care
Author: Nina Croft
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Publisher: Entangled Publishing: Amara
Release Date: July 30, 2018
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
ARC Received From: Entangled Publishing via NetGalley
Reviewed For & Hosted By: Social Butterfly PR
What if all you want is the one thing you can’t have?
First grade teacher Emily Towson always does the right thing. The sensible thing. But in her dreams, she does bad, bad things with the town’s baddest boy: Tanner O’Connor. But when he sells her grandmother a Harley, fantasy is about to meet a dose of reality.
And then he goes and calls her “sensible”...
Tanner can’t believe sweet Emily is standing in his shop. Yelling and waving her hands and looking so god damn sexy he’s having trouble focusing. He’d spent two hard years in prison, with only the thought of this “good girl” to keep him sane.
He really should send her away...
Before either one thinks though, they’re naked and making memories on his tool bench with apparently the oldest condom in history. Now Tanner’s managed to knock-up the town’s “good girl” and she’s going to lose her job over some stupid “morality clause” if he doesn’t step up.
But can this bad boy teach his good girl they’re perfect for each other in time?
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Goodreads
I wonder when it became a crime to be sensible. Sure it doesn't make you the wild child of the bunch but sensible people have a certain appeal. Some people appreciate it. Others don't. You just need someone to appreciate that quality in you and make sure you understand it's what makes you you.
I can see how being called something can wear on your nerves after a while. That label tightens around you each time you hear it, suffocating the rest of who you are under its wrap. So it makes sense that Emily had had enough. It just didn't make sense to strip down in front of the town's bad boy who happens to play a starring role in her fantasies. It was a bit a extreme, I think.
The upside is that Tanner has wanted the town's good girl for a long time. She was his constant when he served time for a crime he didn't commit but decided to take the fall for. Stupid on his part but lesson learned. It leaves him a pariah in Saddler Cove, a fantasy indulgence for every woman in town but not someone they'd proudly declare as theirs. Which is sad, honestly, because under Tanner's tough exterior beat the heart of a man capable of giving and loving more than anyone would dare to believe.
The one night stand that resulted in pregnancy resulted in casual dating that escalated into wanting and needing more, but Tanner and Emily saw society differently and it was, for me, a sticky point in their relationship. Emily couldn't understand why Tanner didn't seem to care about the townsfolk's opinion of him. Tanner struggled with getting Emily to understand that their opinion of him or her or their situation didn't matter.
I like this story. It captures that small town essence and romance nicely in words and deeds without overshadowing the issues lying between Tanner and Emily. It's a frustrating struggle watching Tanner convince Emily he's worth taking a chance on, but I believe that struggle is worth it in the end because they gained more than they started with--love, happiness, and family.
Growing up in the cold, wet, north of England, Nina Croft spent a lot of time dreaming of faraway sunnier places and ponies. When she discovered both, along with a whole load of other things, could be found between the covers of a book, her life changed forever.
Later, she headed south, picked up the perfect husband along the way, and together they volunteered to work in Africa. There they discovered a love of exotic places and a dislike of 9-5 work. Afterward they spent a number of years travelling (whenever possible) intermingled with working (whenever necessary.) Eventually they stumbled upon a remote area in the mountains of southern Spain and the small almond farm they now call home.
Nina spends her days reading, writing and riding her mare, Gencianna, under the blue Spanish skies—sunshine and ponies. She reckons this is proof that dreams really can come true if you want them enough.
Nina's writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.
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