In Too Deep (Blue Spruce Lodge, #3)
by Dani Collins
Publication date: August 7th, 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
The family he didn’t know he needed…
At her wit’s end with her twelve-year-old niece, Wren Snow takes the manager’s job at Blue Spruce Lodge so Sky can get to know her father, Trigg Johanssen — a tycoon snowboarder with a playboy reputation.
Gold-medalist Trigg Johanssen is furious she kept Sky a secret, but quits competition to focus on his newly discovered daughter only to have his chemistry with Wren complicate their attempts to co-parent.
When outside forces threaten the ski resort he’s rebuilding, a marriage of convenience seems like the answer. It would give his daughter the life she deserves, but is it too much for a heartbroken woman still nursing past hurts?
~BOOK REVIEW for "In Too Deep"~
****(4) out of 5 Stars!
This was a totally darling insta-love with a marriage of convenience tale! It was a bit of a stretch to believe that things turn out so well, more by convenience than design. But I've known enough true cases of weird meet-cutes and falling in love tales, not to mention bizarrely interconnected families, to know that anything is possible.
Wren, although she seems like a shy and nervous little birdie on the outside, is really quite the formidable person on the inside. As Rolf says late in the book, "[she] is too smart to let [anyone] take advantage of her." Trigg, while considered nothing but a playboy, has never really tried to have a romantic relationship, so he doesn't know any more than we do if he can succeed. But we want him to! And given that he claims his feelings for Wren are different than for any woman he has ever know, we are hopeful that he can. Sky is basically your typical 12-year-old brat. She brought back horrible memories of my daughter's tween years, and even some of my own. But underneath the hoodie and sunglasses, the meanness and snark, is a frightened girl who wants to do good, but isn't quite sure how to handle all of the things that life suddenly throws at her.
I found it a little odd that a book billed as a romance was actually from the multi-point of view of the male lead, female lead and supporting female (child) character. And while I generally do not like stories with a dual, let alone multi, point of view, it just worked for this tale. Given that they were truly working to create a family, and not just a couple, it was nice to see Sky's perspective on things, that was often vastly different than that of the adults.
Many of the peripheral characters were just as endearing, or at least interesting. I quite enjoyed Marvin, Nate and Murphy, all of whom were delightfully charming, each in their own way. Almost all of the characters were exceedingly witty, which always makes things fun.
There were a few items that I wasn't crazy about, mainly how Wren and Trigg both seemed to go from a place of mild interest and physical attraction in the other, to proclaiming their love for one another, before they really even seemed to grasp their feelings themselves. And I do think would and should have been more reluctance on Wren's part to enter into a relationship with someone considered such a player. But otherwise, most of the boxes for a fun, romantic read were definitely ticked.
I had forgotten that this book is part of a series, and is in fact #3 in the set. It reads wonderfully as a standalone book. But I am now interested in reading the previous volumes to learn more on the backstories of the characters highlighted in them.
Author Bio:USA Today Bestselling author, winner of 2013 Reviewer’s Choice Award from Romantic Times Book Reviews
Before making my first sale to Harlequin Mills & Boon in 2012, I spent two decades writing and submitting to every publisher with a transom while holding down a day job and raising a family with my high school sweet heart. Since then, I’ve gone to contract on over thirty books.
While Harlequin Presents remains my first love, I also write romantic comedy, medieval fantasy romance, erotic romance, and small town contemporary romance for Tule Publishing’s Montana Born. In fact, I write just about anything, so long as it’s romance. P.S. I’m also Canadian.
Thanks for being on the tour, Jen! Glad you liked it! :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete