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scoutmomskf's review against another edition
4.0
Good book. The story opens as Piper arrives in Greece for her older brother's wedding. Her arrival is a bit stressful as she waits for the promised driver to pick her up. The only other person there is a man holding a sign for a different hotel. After an irritated call to her brother, she discovers that the man is her future sister-in-law's brother and had grabbed the wrong sign. Both are grouchy over the misunderstanding and not in the frame of mind for a wedding celebration. Piper was conflicted about going to the wedding. She and Liam were not close thanks to a rough childhood with an emotionally abusive and controlling father. They reconnected after their father's death and so far she hasn't been impressed with what she has learned about Liam. She is concerned that he won't go through with the wedding.
There are sparks between Piper and Caleb from the beginning. Caleb is the oldest of the family and raised his brother and sisters after the death of their father. He is used to being in charge, and it makes an impression when Piper doesn't fall into line. He is intrigued and attracted, which doesn't make him happy at all. Piper is equally fascinated by him, but even more resistant. After years with a controlling father, followed by a boyfriend who turned out to be just as bad, Piper doesn't trust her judgment. She is determined to guard her independence. There are a couple of scenes that first day where that determination creates some awkwardness with Caleb. When the two of them witness an argument between the bride- and groom-to-be, and Liam runs away, Piper has to find him before the wedding. And Caleb is determined to be right there with her.
I enjoyed seeing Caleb and Piper's relationship develop. They are forced to work together to track down Liam which means they have to get along. I liked how Caleb quickly learned how to deal with Piper's prickliness. The more he learned of what she went through, the more he admired her strength and determination. Piper was a harder nut to crack. Between her father and her ex-boyfriend's actions she has a lot of work to do to believe in herself. The attraction between her and Caleb continues to simmer, adding to her fears. I ached for both of them when Piper's fears sent her running and cried for Caleb as he had to let her go. I rooted for Piper to finally see herself the way that Caleb saw her and believe that she could be happy. Her big moment at the end was excellent, as she opened her heart and allowed herself to trust Caleb with it. The epilogue was great. I loved seeing the changes in both Caleb and Piper. There was also a neat little bit with Liam and Emma.
There are sparks between Piper and Caleb from the beginning. Caleb is the oldest of the family and raised his brother and sisters after the death of their father. He is used to being in charge, and it makes an impression when Piper doesn't fall into line. He is intrigued and attracted, which doesn't make him happy at all. Piper is equally fascinated by him, but even more resistant. After years with a controlling father, followed by a boyfriend who turned out to be just as bad, Piper doesn't trust her judgment. She is determined to guard her independence. There are a couple of scenes that first day where that determination creates some awkwardness with Caleb. When the two of them witness an argument between the bride- and groom-to-be, and Liam runs away, Piper has to find him before the wedding. And Caleb is determined to be right there with her.
I enjoyed seeing Caleb and Piper's relationship develop. They are forced to work together to track down Liam which means they have to get along. I liked how Caleb quickly learned how to deal with Piper's prickliness. The more he learned of what she went through, the more he admired her strength and determination. Piper was a harder nut to crack. Between her father and her ex-boyfriend's actions she has a lot of work to do to believe in herself. The attraction between her and Caleb continues to simmer, adding to her fears. I ached for both of them when Piper's fears sent her running and cried for Caleb as he had to let her go. I rooted for Piper to finally see herself the way that Caleb saw her and believe that she could be happy. Her big moment at the end was excellent, as she opened her heart and allowed herself to trust Caleb with it. The epilogue was great. I loved seeing the changes in both Caleb and Piper. There was also a neat little bit with Liam and Emma.
turtleberry's review against another edition
5.0
I have at least two other Therese Beharrie books in my Kindle Library and now I am super excited to read them.
I loved this book.
Piper and Caleb were such interesting and layered characters. There was so much growth they went through. Their romance was wonderful.
I enjoyed the setting of the book. I definitely want to move Greece up on my travel list.
This was more of a sweet romance than a spicy one... but that honestly didn't take away from the story.
I loved this book.
Piper and Caleb were such interesting and layered characters. There was so much growth they went through. Their romance was wonderful.
I enjoyed the setting of the book. I definitely want to move Greece up on my travel list.
This was more of a sweet romance than a spicy one... but that honestly didn't take away from the story.
emmalita's review against another edition
4.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed Island Fling with the Tycoon so much. It was my first Therese Beharrie book and I look forward to many more.
Piper Evans flies from her home in Cape Town, South Africa to the Greek Islands to attend her older brother’s wedding. Piper and her brother, Liam, survived growing up with a very controlling father and have not been close as adults. She had not felt like she could afford to travel and stay on Mykannos, but her concerns were waved away by the bride’s older brother insisting on paying for her accommodations. Because she does want to be closer with her bother, she accepts the offer and takes the time to attend. But, she isn’t happy about it.
Things don’t get off to a great start when she arrives at the airport and finds no one there to greet her. Except there’s a very grumpy looking man standing around with a sign for a hotel at which she is not staying. Of course, it turns out to be her soon to be sister-in-law’s older brother, Caleb Martin, the tycoon in question. They are embarrassed/mad at each other about standing around for a half hour. They get further on the wrong foot when they see her brother run away from his sister and hop a boat from Mykanos to Santorini.
Piper and Caleb decide to go look for Liam and head for Santorini the next morning. Caleb is several years older than his siblings, and raised them after their father died. He is used to fixing their problems. Piper isn’t sure if he’s used to being in charge or controlling, but she is sure that he is overly involved in his siblings’ lives. The prickly pair uneasily fall in love while Piper tries to be vulnerable while not repeating past mistakes, and Caleb tries to figure out how to prioritize himself and let his siblings be adults.
Beharrie does a great job of painting complex, nuanced characters. I couldn’t help comparing this book to my memory of category romances I read in the late 80s and 90s. Beharrie’s characters are so grounded and un-glamorous (but not unstylish) that they are worlds away from the slick jetsetters romanticized 30 years ago. I appreciated that Caleb was just a guy rather than a local celebrity. no one fetishized his money. Caleb’s money greased some wheels and made life more comfortable, but it didn’t solve any real problems. This was a good read.
Piper Evans flies from her home in Cape Town, South Africa to the Greek Islands to attend her older brother’s wedding. Piper and her brother, Liam, survived growing up with a very controlling father and have not been close as adults. She had not felt like she could afford to travel and stay on Mykannos, but her concerns were waved away by the bride’s older brother insisting on paying for her accommodations. Because she does want to be closer with her bother, she accepts the offer and takes the time to attend. But, she isn’t happy about it.
Things don’t get off to a great start when she arrives at the airport and finds no one there to greet her. Except there’s a very grumpy looking man standing around with a sign for a hotel at which she is not staying. Of course, it turns out to be her soon to be sister-in-law’s older brother, Caleb Martin, the tycoon in question. They are embarrassed/mad at each other about standing around for a half hour. They get further on the wrong foot when they see her brother run away from his sister and hop a boat from Mykanos to Santorini.
Piper and Caleb decide to go look for Liam and head for Santorini the next morning. Caleb is several years older than his siblings, and raised them after their father died. He is used to fixing their problems. Piper isn’t sure if he’s used to being in charge or controlling, but she is sure that he is overly involved in his siblings’ lives. The prickly pair uneasily fall in love while Piper tries to be vulnerable while not repeating past mistakes, and Caleb tries to figure out how to prioritize himself and let his siblings be adults.
Beharrie does a great job of painting complex, nuanced characters. I couldn’t help comparing this book to my memory of category romances I read in the late 80s and 90s. Beharrie’s characters are so grounded and un-glamorous (but not unstylish) that they are worlds away from the slick jetsetters romanticized 30 years ago. I appreciated that Caleb was just a guy rather than a local celebrity. no one fetishized his money. Caleb’s money greased some wheels and made life more comfortable, but it didn’t solve any real problems. This was a good read.
wandering_reader's review against another edition
2.0
Whilst some of the ideas behind the book were interesting, the writing massively let this down. I didn’t feel like the main characters had any chemistry and there were lots of places where the phrasing was off.
chaosqueen's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good, too short and felt almost insta lovey, but still awesome
kjcharles's review
Therese Beharrie is my happy place. This is a very sweet romance with a bit of angst and a lot of kindness, between a man who runs a bunch of peoples' lives, and a woman who's sick of men running her life. This works out very nicely, as she clearly tells him she doesn't want taking charge of, and his efforts not to take charge are both sincere and revelatory to him that actually he's doing a lot of work that he shouldn't be. They're both quite hurt, but this author writes people unpicking their feelings brilliantly, and getting into the right place to make things work long term. Soothing to the soul.
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