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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I wasn't enamoured by the start of the book but by a few chapters in, it had won me over.
I really liked Poppy's spunk. I thought that she was a good heroine without being overly set in any way. I liked that she had plans but was willing to accept problems as they came along without losing her optimism. I felt that her optimism was well done, it was not overly-Pollyanna (although I have to say that I have a fondness for Pollyanna in her own story). Optimist heroines often get on my nerves but I felt that Poppy had enough realism in her character to temper that innate optimism. I didn't like that she only associated herself with being Mason's mom. It made her seem only and stodgy and the idea that she could be not-Mason's mom while he wasn't there and so could sleep with Ryan but then would be once he got back from Disneyland and have nothing more to do with Ryan was warped. And the whole he-made-her-realize-that-a-mom-was-still-a-woman-too, thing-bah.
Ryan. I wasn't really sold on him. I never felt like there was a deep connection for him, when it comes to Poppy. His relationship to her son was worse. It reminded me of an absent father, almost. Or a father that's there but not really present. On the flip side, I liked that he wasn't perfect with the kid. Being a step-parent myself, I always hate that romances have very little conflict with between the steps (or will be steps once the HEA occurs). Because being a step parents is not so quick and easy as often portrayed so I liked that there was reluctance on Ryan's fault. I'm not sure if others would see it that way, because there are some cute moments as well.
I didn't like that it took so long to understand what happened to make March so terrible and I felt that he was using the month as an excuse to let himself go and be an idiot. I can empathize with his grief, but it is hard to believe that he is fine for 11 months but one month he makes stupid decisions, and all the decisions that he does make, he blames on the month. The idea of making Poppy another March mistake, given that I didn't really see that he tried hard not to make bad decisions.
I liked the story and relationship between Charlie and Linus but I didn't like the way it was set up, I get the idea because of the movie/Hollywood business aspect to the brothers (Linus and Ryan) but I really didn't like the script part of the past story. It drove me crazy.
Overall, I will probably continue reading the series.
Ryan. I wasn't really sold on him. I never felt like there was a deep connection for him, when it comes to Poppy. His relationship to her son was worse. It reminded me of an absent father, almost. Or a father that's there but not really present. On the flip side, I liked that he wasn't perfect with the kid. Being a step-parent myself, I always hate that romances have very little conflict with between the steps (or will be steps once the HEA occurs). Because being a step parents is not so quick and easy as often portrayed so I liked that there was reluctance on Ryan's fault. I'm not sure if others would see it that way, because there are some cute moments as well.
I didn't like that it took so long to understand what happened to make March so terrible and I felt that he was using the month as an excuse to let himself go and be an idiot. I can empathize with his grief, but it is hard to believe that he is fine for 11 months but one month he makes stupid decisions, and all the decisions that he does make, he blames on the month. The idea of making Poppy another March mistake, given that I didn't really see that he tried hard not to make bad decisions.
I liked the story and relationship between Charlie and Linus but I didn't like the way it was set up, I get the idea because of the movie/Hollywood business aspect to the brothers (Linus and Ryan) but I really didn't like the script part of the past story. It drove me crazy.
Overall, I will probably continue reading the series.
http://allaboutromance.com/book-review/take-my-breath-away/
This latest offering and the first book in a new series by contemporary romance staple Christie Ridgway was a decent summertime read that will keep the reader turning the page. However there were a few problems with the story (the main one being a BIG SECRET) that prevented this from being a keeper for me.
Poppy Walker is a native of the resort town of Blue Arrow Lake. Tourism is what keeps this picturesque town alive as Blue Arrow Lake is a winter resort for the famous and wealthy. But Those who live in the town year round are not so well off. Poppy Walker is one who is trying to scrape out a living for herself and her five-year-old son Mason. Mason was the result of a brief affair between Poppy and a wealthy, winter tourist. Mason’s father wanted nothing to do with Poppy or his son, so Poppy is raising him alone. The Walker family has some property with a pristine view and a number of dilapidated cottages that she wants to refurbish and rent out to vacationers. Her siblings believe the property is cursed and refuse to assist her in her project. As she is tackling one of the cottages, a stranger drives up and wants to rent one for a month. As they are not in any condition to rent out, Poppy declines, but Ryan Harris aka Hamilton is determined to get the seclusion he desperately needs. So Ryan keeps offering Poppy more money to rent the cabin until the amount is too much for Poppy to resist.
Ryan Hamilton is famous and has been since he was a teen idol. The paparazzi follow him incessantly and he just wants to get away from everyone…especially in March. Each March seems to find Ryan in the midst of a disaster and the cause of those disasters are related to THE BIG SECRET. Because of whatever happened with the big secret, Ryan gets in trouble every March. This March, he plans to keep his head down and avoid the disaster the paparazzi have come to expect from him. The isolated cabins on Poppy Walker’s property seem like just the thing to keep him hidden and out of trouble. When he realizes that Poppy has no clue who he is, he knows he has come to the right place. He convinces Poppy to rent him one of her cabins and everything seems to be working out fine with his plans until…disaster strikes. A March snowstorm collapses the roof on his and Poppy’s cabins and they have no choice but to find shelter elsewhere. That shelter is Ryan’s mansion on Blue Arrow Lake. With the paparazzi staked out in the town, it is inevitable that Ryan will be discovered and Poppy caught up in his drama.
What was good about the book? Poppy is a great protagonist. She has been burned once by an “outlander” and doesn’t intend to be burned again. So the caution she shows in not wanting to get involved with Ryan is understandable and true to her experience. Even though she had been through a tough time, she was still an optimistic sort that was true to her name. Ms. Ridgway did a great job writing the character of Mason, Poppy’s son. Children are, in my opinion, very difficult to write authentically. Authors either tend to give them too many grown up characteristics or they are merely wallpaper in the background of the story. Ridgway writes a very credible and adorable child and he may have been my favorite character of the bunch. Ryan Harris/Hamilton is also a good character, although his mysterious angst begins to wear after a while. He is a good person just trying to get through life the best he can. All in all, you really want the hero and heroine to have their HEA.
What was not so good? The BIG SECRET. This was my biggest problem with the book. Ridgway took way too long to reveal what trauma caused Ryan to implode every March. I was ready to pull my hair out by the time the reasons for his March Madness was revealed. Also, the fact that he was such a large public figure and had been for years, along with the yearly implosions that kept him in the public eye, it was a little unbelievable that Poppy had never heard of him. A side story with the father of Mason, while interesting, did not really add all that much to the story. Ryan’s best friends were based on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and the comparison was not even thinly disguised. I personally found that a bit cheesy.
Criticisms aside, the book was well paced and plotted, the main characters likeable and realistic for the most part and I would recommend this book for those who enjoy a light, contemporary romance.
This latest offering and the first book in a new series by contemporary romance staple Christie Ridgway was a decent summertime read that will keep the reader turning the page. However there were a few problems with the story (the main one being a BIG SECRET) that prevented this from being a keeper for me.
Poppy Walker is a native of the resort town of Blue Arrow Lake. Tourism is what keeps this picturesque town alive as Blue Arrow Lake is a winter resort for the famous and wealthy. But Those who live in the town year round are not so well off. Poppy Walker is one who is trying to scrape out a living for herself and her five-year-old son Mason. Mason was the result of a brief affair between Poppy and a wealthy, winter tourist. Mason’s father wanted nothing to do with Poppy or his son, so Poppy is raising him alone. The Walker family has some property with a pristine view and a number of dilapidated cottages that she wants to refurbish and rent out to vacationers. Her siblings believe the property is cursed and refuse to assist her in her project. As she is tackling one of the cottages, a stranger drives up and wants to rent one for a month. As they are not in any condition to rent out, Poppy declines, but Ryan Harris aka Hamilton is determined to get the seclusion he desperately needs. So Ryan keeps offering Poppy more money to rent the cabin until the amount is too much for Poppy to resist.
Ryan Hamilton is famous and has been since he was a teen idol. The paparazzi follow him incessantly and he just wants to get away from everyone…especially in March. Each March seems to find Ryan in the midst of a disaster and the cause of those disasters are related to THE BIG SECRET. Because of whatever happened with the big secret, Ryan gets in trouble every March. This March, he plans to keep his head down and avoid the disaster the paparazzi have come to expect from him. The isolated cabins on Poppy Walker’s property seem like just the thing to keep him hidden and out of trouble. When he realizes that Poppy has no clue who he is, he knows he has come to the right place. He convinces Poppy to rent him one of her cabins and everything seems to be working out fine with his plans until…disaster strikes. A March snowstorm collapses the roof on his and Poppy’s cabins and they have no choice but to find shelter elsewhere. That shelter is Ryan’s mansion on Blue Arrow Lake. With the paparazzi staked out in the town, it is inevitable that Ryan will be discovered and Poppy caught up in his drama.
What was good about the book? Poppy is a great protagonist. She has been burned once by an “outlander” and doesn’t intend to be burned again. So the caution she shows in not wanting to get involved with Ryan is understandable and true to her experience. Even though she had been through a tough time, she was still an optimistic sort that was true to her name. Ms. Ridgway did a great job writing the character of Mason, Poppy’s son. Children are, in my opinion, very difficult to write authentically. Authors either tend to give them too many grown up characteristics or they are merely wallpaper in the background of the story. Ridgway writes a very credible and adorable child and he may have been my favorite character of the bunch. Ryan Harris/Hamilton is also a good character, although his mysterious angst begins to wear after a while. He is a good person just trying to get through life the best he can. All in all, you really want the hero and heroine to have their HEA.
What was not so good? The BIG SECRET. This was my biggest problem with the book. Ridgway took way too long to reveal what trauma caused Ryan to implode every March. I was ready to pull my hair out by the time the reasons for his March Madness was revealed. Also, the fact that he was such a large public figure and had been for years, along with the yearly implosions that kept him in the public eye, it was a little unbelievable that Poppy had never heard of him. A side story with the father of Mason, while interesting, did not really add all that much to the story. Ryan’s best friends were based on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and the comparison was not even thinly disguised. I personally found that a bit cheesy.
Criticisms aside, the book was well paced and plotted, the main characters likeable and realistic for the most part and I would recommend this book for those who enjoy a light, contemporary romance.
I read this on audio. It's a good story with characters I liked. I'm looking forward to the next book. The secondary storyline with Charlie was a little confusing in the audio format but it's not difficult to follow once you get used to it. The narration fell flat for me because the narration itself was flat, very little emotion or inflection was used even during key emotional scenes.
A sweet start to a new series by Christie Ridgway. Poppy grew up in a small mountain town on the outskirts of Los Angeles, loving the quiet life. She loves the mountain resort owned by her family but it is falling down around her. When her son goes off to enjoy a short trip with family she knows this is the perfect time to fix up the cabins on the property. What she doesn’t expect is a handsome stranger looking for the quiet life available in the mountains. Ryan hates the month of March and knows the only way he can survive the memories is to escape. His escape becomes a little more complicated when he meets Poppy. She’s nothing like the starlets of LA and he’s intrigued by that. As they hole up they are both forced to face the demons from their past and accept that sometimes the best way to heal is to open up again. Really enjoyed the story, I liked the set up for future books and really loved both Poppy and Ryan’s families. Great read!
Very good beginning to a new series. Poppy is a single mother with great plans to renovate the cabins at her family's resort as a way to bring in cash for the family. When Ryan offers extra cash to rent one of the cabins now, she takes him up on it. Ryan is there, running from his memories, but Poppy turns out to be quite a distraction. When a storm traps them together the sparks fly between them.
Poppy grew up in Blue Arrow Lake and is quite familiar with the way the wealthy visitors behave. She was burned several years earlier by a guy who bailed on her when she got pregnant. So she isn't going to let herself fall for Ryan. She's got her hands full raising her son and working on the cabins, Thanks to the storm that traps them together, she finds it harder to stay away from him.
Ryan was a child star who has left acting behind for the production side of the business. For eleven months of the year his life is fine, but March is always bad. In trying to escape from tragic memories, he seems to end up in some kind of trouble each March. He's come to Blue Arrow Lake to find a place to hide out and try to avoid the paparazzi who follow him around. Landing in one of Poppy's cabins is great because she has no idea who he is. The downside is the very inconvenient attraction he has to her.
Poppy is independent to a fault, refusing to ask for help from anyone, but she is also cheerful and optimistic most of the time. In spite of his wealth and fame, Ryan is basically a nice guy. But he is in so much pain from his personal tragedy that he hasn't been able to move on with his life. When a steamy kiss is caught on camera by the paparazzi, Ryan whisks Poppy and her son off to his home by the lake to protect them. It's there that the connection between them becomes more obvious. Poppy sees that Ryan is in pain, and even though it takes a long time before he tells her the cause, she tries to be there for him. Ryan's pain is made stronger with the presence of Poppy's son Mason in the house, because it reminds him of what he has lost. He tries desperately to keep his distance, but finds both Poppy ad Mason creeping into the heart he thought was frozen. Though their physical attraction took off quickly, a deeper relationship was slower to form. I really liked the way that Ryan was so sensitive to Poppy's emotions and could tell when something was bothering her. Even though he refused to believe he could love again, he couldn't help but want to help her. I also loved the way that even though being around Mason brought back painful memories, he didn't take it out on Mason. There were some really wonderful moments between them that gave Poppy hope that there could be something more between she and Ryan. I loved seeing them grow closer, even as both resisted thinking about a future together. There were definitely some trying times before they were both able to overcome their insecurities and look for that future together.
Poppy's son Mason was really adorable. I loved the way he followed Ryan around and how Ryan never pushed him away. The fun they had with the spy maps was great, and I had a feeling they were going to be important. I loved what happened at the end, and how Mason was such a big part of Ryan's healing.
I also enjoyed the secondary romance with Linus and Charlie. She hadn't expected to see him again after their time together the year before, and his reappearance really messed with the way she deals with her summer flings. I really liked his patience in getting her to keep seeing him. It was pretty sweet the way he was the first to realize his feelings for her. Then he had to convince her that there could be more for them both.
There's also a lot going on with family relationships. Poppy is having trouble convincing her brother and sisters that fixing up the cabins is the right thing to do. But even with their disagreements, they are there for her when they think she's in trouble. Linus is Ryan's brother and is worried about him because of Ryan's actions. I loved the way that he came to watch over him, even though Ryan didn't want him there. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these folks in the next book.
Poppy grew up in Blue Arrow Lake and is quite familiar with the way the wealthy visitors behave. She was burned several years earlier by a guy who bailed on her when she got pregnant. So she isn't going to let herself fall for Ryan. She's got her hands full raising her son and working on the cabins, Thanks to the storm that traps them together, she finds it harder to stay away from him.
Ryan was a child star who has left acting behind for the production side of the business. For eleven months of the year his life is fine, but March is always bad. In trying to escape from tragic memories, he seems to end up in some kind of trouble each March. He's come to Blue Arrow Lake to find a place to hide out and try to avoid the paparazzi who follow him around. Landing in one of Poppy's cabins is great because she has no idea who he is. The downside is the very inconvenient attraction he has to her.
Poppy is independent to a fault, refusing to ask for help from anyone, but she is also cheerful and optimistic most of the time. In spite of his wealth and fame, Ryan is basically a nice guy. But he is in so much pain from his personal tragedy that he hasn't been able to move on with his life. When a steamy kiss is caught on camera by the paparazzi, Ryan whisks Poppy and her son off to his home by the lake to protect them. It's there that the connection between them becomes more obvious. Poppy sees that Ryan is in pain, and even though it takes a long time before he tells her the cause, she tries to be there for him. Ryan's pain is made stronger with the presence of Poppy's son Mason in the house, because it reminds him of what he has lost. He tries desperately to keep his distance, but finds both Poppy ad Mason creeping into the heart he thought was frozen. Though their physical attraction took off quickly, a deeper relationship was slower to form. I really liked the way that Ryan was so sensitive to Poppy's emotions and could tell when something was bothering her. Even though he refused to believe he could love again, he couldn't help but want to help her. I also loved the way that even though being around Mason brought back painful memories, he didn't take it out on Mason. There were some really wonderful moments between them that gave Poppy hope that there could be something more between she and Ryan. I loved seeing them grow closer, even as both resisted thinking about a future together. There were definitely some trying times before they were both able to overcome their insecurities and look for that future together.
Poppy's son Mason was really adorable. I loved the way he followed Ryan around and how Ryan never pushed him away. The fun they had with the spy maps was great, and I had a feeling they were going to be important. I loved what happened at the end, and how Mason was such a big part of Ryan's healing.
I also enjoyed the secondary romance with Linus and Charlie. She hadn't expected to see him again after their time together the year before, and his reappearance really messed with the way she deals with her summer flings. I really liked his patience in getting her to keep seeing him. It was pretty sweet the way he was the first to realize his feelings for her. Then he had to convince her that there could be more for them both.
There's also a lot going on with family relationships. Poppy is having trouble convincing her brother and sisters that fixing up the cabins is the right thing to do. But even with their disagreements, they are there for her when they think she's in trouble. Linus is Ryan's brother and is worried about him because of Ryan's actions. I loved the way that he came to watch over him, even though Ryan didn't want him there. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these folks in the next book.
This is a case of me not knowing if it's me or if it's the book. Mostly I just wanted this book to be over, but I also don't think it was a terrible book. Let's see if I can work my feelings out.
First, no mentioned in the description, but Poppy, the female lead, has a five-year-old child. Do I wish I had known that going in? Yes, absolutely. I'm not a big fan of books where the main characters have children. There's too many things about kids that (rightly) take away from the romance and I prefer my romances to be about romances, not a child. That said, Poppy's son was kind of cute and I liked his adoration of Ryan so it wasn't all bad, but still, if I had known in advance there would be a child I probably wouldn't have even picked this up.
Second, part of me feels like this is a book for older people, which is weird because Poppy is 27-years old, two years younger than I am, and Ryan is only a handful of years older (31 maybe?). However, Poppy is such an old maid. Since having the kid she's cloistered herself off up in the mountains outside of Los Angeles. She used to manage an inn, but when it closes for repairs she decides to renovate some cabins her family owns and try to rent them out to rich "flatlanders" aka Los Angelenos aka people from Los Angeles, which is how she meets Ryan, a former childhood star. Poppy seems impossibly perfect and independent. I understand why her circumstances would have made her that way, but still it just didn't seen genuine to me.
Third, when Ryan and Poppy met I liked their relationship. Ryan is the brooding guy from LA and Poppy is the small town girl who's been beaten down. And there was heat and attraction there and I was into it. But as the story went on I never got what either of them really saw in each other. Their interactions were few and far between and when they were interacting it was either with Poppy's son present or when they were having sex. I don't want to use the term "instalove" that's so popular with my beloved YA books, because it wasn't like that, but it also left me feeling confused. They're both very closed off characters, but I there had to have been a better way to allow them to get to know each other. The book is told in alternating third-person perspectives between Poppy and Ryan and honestly if we hadn't had Ryan's perspective we would have known nothing about him.
Fourth, I just lied above. The book is told from Ryan and Poppy's perspectives, but then oddly there were also excerpts from Ryan's brother Linus's screenplay which, even more oddly, is based on a relationship Linus had the previous summer with Poppy's cousin Charlie (a girl). Then, after the screenplay excerpt the book would go into the story of Linus and Charlie in the present from either (but mostly Linus's) of their third-person perspectives. I did not understand this at all. From Linus and Charlie's relationship I did get to learn more about the relations between locals and flatlanders, but otherwise it just seemed like an unnecessary distraction. Even though I liked Linus and Charlie. I wouldn't mind reading a book about them, but I don't understand why their story had to be interjected here.
Fifth, for much of the book the story just seemed stuck. At the beginning of the story Poppy and Ryan are at Poppy's family's cabins and, since they're the only two people there and they're trying to avoid each other, not much was happening. Which was sucked because it meant spending a lot of time in Poppy and Ryan's heads. After maybe 50 or 75 pages I didn't know how I was going to get through the rest of the book. But then, movement! Poppy and Ryan have to leave the family compound! But unfortunately they end up at Ryan's mountain home. Poppy's son (who was in Disney World with her cousin) and Linus are now in the picture, but still, it stagnated. Honestly, nothing really happened. Poppy's son hero-worships Ryan, but Ryan keeps to himself, Poppy takes care of her son, and sometimes Poppy and Ryan have sex. It was just very slow and drawn out.
Sixth, something good, the story didn't unfold how I expected it. Ryan, through a series of unfortunately events, became infamous with the tabloids. Poppy, who's not into celebrity culture at all, doesn't recognize him. I thought that the story would go along without Poppy knowing Ryan's true identity and that, at the end, that would be the problem between them. Also, Ryan doesn't immediately know about Poppy's son and that was another thing I thought would be a problem in the end. But then Poppy finds out that Ryan is famous and Ryan finds out Poppy has a son and that wasn't ultimately the issue. The thing that was ultimately the issue was heartbreaking and I found how Ryan deals with it and ultimately came to terms with it compelling, but still, it didn't make up for all my other issues.
Bottom Line: I didn't want to give this book two stars, but I don't think I have any other choice. There were characters and moments that I enjoyed, but in the end there were too many things about the characters, the story, and the pacing that got under my skin and made it feel like I was reading a book that's much longer than 384 pages.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
First, no mentioned in the description, but Poppy, the female lead, has a five-year-old child. Do I wish I had known that going in? Yes, absolutely. I'm not a big fan of books where the main characters have children. There's too many things about kids that (rightly) take away from the romance and I prefer my romances to be about romances, not a child. That said, Poppy's son was kind of cute and I liked his adoration of Ryan so it wasn't all bad, but still, if I had known in advance there would be a child I probably wouldn't have even picked this up.
Second, part of me feels like this is a book for older people, which is weird because Poppy is 27-years old, two years younger than I am, and Ryan is only a handful of years older (31 maybe?). However, Poppy is such an old maid. Since having the kid she's cloistered herself off up in the mountains outside of Los Angeles. She used to manage an inn, but when it closes for repairs she decides to renovate some cabins her family owns and try to rent them out to rich "flatlanders" aka Los Angelenos aka people from Los Angeles, which is how she meets Ryan, a former childhood star. Poppy seems impossibly perfect and independent. I understand why her circumstances would have made her that way, but still it just didn't seen genuine to me.
Third, when Ryan and Poppy met I liked their relationship. Ryan is the brooding guy from LA and Poppy is the small town girl who's been beaten down. And there was heat and attraction there and I was into it. But as the story went on I never got what either of them really saw in each other. Their interactions were few and far between and when they were interacting it was either with Poppy's son present or when they were having sex. I don't want to use the term "instalove" that's so popular with my beloved YA books, because it wasn't like that, but it also left me feeling confused. They're both very closed off characters, but I there had to have been a better way to allow them to get to know each other. The book is told in alternating third-person perspectives between Poppy and Ryan and honestly if we hadn't had Ryan's perspective we would have known nothing about him.
Fourth, I just lied above. The book is told from Ryan and Poppy's perspectives, but then oddly there were also excerpts from Ryan's brother Linus's screenplay which, even more oddly, is based on a relationship Linus had the previous summer with Poppy's cousin Charlie (a girl). Then, after the screenplay excerpt the book would go into the story of Linus and Charlie in the present from either (but mostly Linus's) of their third-person perspectives. I did not understand this at all. From Linus and Charlie's relationship I did get to learn more about the relations between locals and flatlanders, but otherwise it just seemed like an unnecessary distraction. Even though I liked Linus and Charlie. I wouldn't mind reading a book about them, but I don't understand why their story had to be interjected here.
Fifth, for much of the book the story just seemed stuck. At the beginning of the story Poppy and Ryan are at Poppy's family's cabins and, since they're the only two people there and they're trying to avoid each other, not much was happening. Which was sucked because it meant spending a lot of time in Poppy and Ryan's heads. After maybe 50 or 75 pages I didn't know how I was going to get through the rest of the book. But then, movement! Poppy and Ryan have to leave the family compound! But unfortunately they end up at Ryan's mountain home. Poppy's son (who was in Disney World with her cousin) and Linus are now in the picture, but still, it stagnated. Honestly, nothing really happened. Poppy's son hero-worships Ryan, but Ryan keeps to himself, Poppy takes care of her son, and sometimes Poppy and Ryan have sex. It was just very slow and drawn out.
Sixth, something good, the story didn't unfold how I expected it. Ryan, through a series of unfortunately events, became infamous with the tabloids. Poppy, who's not into celebrity culture at all, doesn't recognize him. I thought that the story would go along without Poppy knowing Ryan's true identity and that, at the end, that would be the problem between them. Also, Ryan doesn't immediately know about Poppy's son and that was another thing I thought would be a problem in the end. But then Poppy finds out that Ryan is famous and Ryan finds out Poppy has a son and that wasn't ultimately the issue. The thing that was ultimately the issue was heartbreaking and I found how Ryan deals with it and ultimately came to terms with it compelling, but still, it didn't make up for all my other issues.
Bottom Line: I didn't want to give this book two stars, but I don't think I have any other choice. There were characters and moments that I enjoyed, but in the end there were too many things about the characters, the story, and the pacing that got under my skin and made it feel like I was reading a book that's much longer than 384 pages.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
4.5 stars.
Take My Breath Away, the first novel in Christie Ridgway's Cabin Fever series, is a delightfully sweet yet very sexy contemporary romance. In a town where love affairs between the locals and the wealthy visitors have an automatic expiration date, Poppy Walker learned the hard way to keep her distance from the tourists, but Ryan Hamilton quickly awakens her long dormant desires.
Poppy is determined to re-open the family's dilapidated resort despite of her siblings' strenuous objections. With very little cash, but a whole lot grit, she has just begun her repairs when she agrees to rent one of the cabins to Ryan. Shocked and dismayed by her attraction to Ryan, Poppy maintains a safe distance from her gorgeous renter until unforeseen circumstances force them into seclusion along with Poppy's adorable young son Mason and Ryan's brother Linus.
Poppy and Ryan are fabulously developed characters that seem to be completely wrong for each other. Poppy is fiercely independent, a little naive and hopelessly optimistic. Ryan is jaded and tormented by the heartbreak of his past. One of the things they both have in common is their inability to confide in one another until they are absolutely forced to reveal their secrets. Poppy and Ryan also share a strong attraction and while they are surprisingly willing to give in to their passion, they each continue to guard their hearts from further pain.
In addition to Poppy and Ryan's storyline, love also blooms between Linus and Poppy's cousin Charlie. They rekindle their summer romance, but both are hesitant to commit to a real relationship. Their backstory is written as a screenplay which is confusing at first and makes the story feel a little choppy.
Take My Breath Away is an extremely heartwarming novel with an endearing storyline and charming characters. The plot is very engaging and realistic and the romance between Poppy and Ryan is slow-growing and believable. While the storyline is mostly light-hearted and laced with laugh out loud humor, there are also a few heartbreaking scenes that are tear-inducing. The brief, but intriguing, glimpses of Poppy’s siblings neatly set up the future installments in the Cabin Fever series.
All in all, Take My Breath Away is a lovely, heartfelt novel of healing and love that old and new fans of Christie Ridgway are sure to enjoy.
Take My Breath Away, the first novel in Christie Ridgway's Cabin Fever series, is a delightfully sweet yet very sexy contemporary romance. In a town where love affairs between the locals and the wealthy visitors have an automatic expiration date, Poppy Walker learned the hard way to keep her distance from the tourists, but Ryan Hamilton quickly awakens her long dormant desires.
Poppy is determined to re-open the family's dilapidated resort despite of her siblings' strenuous objections. With very little cash, but a whole lot grit, she has just begun her repairs when she agrees to rent one of the cabins to Ryan. Shocked and dismayed by her attraction to Ryan, Poppy maintains a safe distance from her gorgeous renter until unforeseen circumstances force them into seclusion along with Poppy's adorable young son Mason and Ryan's brother Linus.
Poppy and Ryan are fabulously developed characters that seem to be completely wrong for each other. Poppy is fiercely independent, a little naive and hopelessly optimistic. Ryan is jaded and tormented by the heartbreak of his past. One of the things they both have in common is their inability to confide in one another until they are absolutely forced to reveal their secrets. Poppy and Ryan also share a strong attraction and while they are surprisingly willing to give in to their passion, they each continue to guard their hearts from further pain.
In addition to Poppy and Ryan's storyline, love also blooms between Linus and Poppy's cousin Charlie. They rekindle their summer romance, but both are hesitant to commit to a real relationship. Their backstory is written as a screenplay which is confusing at first and makes the story feel a little choppy.
Take My Breath Away is an extremely heartwarming novel with an endearing storyline and charming characters. The plot is very engaging and realistic and the romance between Poppy and Ryan is slow-growing and believable. While the storyline is mostly light-hearted and laced with laugh out loud humor, there are also a few heartbreaking scenes that are tear-inducing. The brief, but intriguing, glimpses of Poppy’s siblings neatly set up the future installments in the Cabin Fever series.
All in all, Take My Breath Away is a lovely, heartfelt novel of healing and love that old and new fans of Christie Ridgway are sure to enjoy.
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
I enjoyed this story. It started off a little slow for me but the further in I read the more invested I became in the story and the characters. I thought Ryan and Poppy were a good match for each other. I really like Mason, Poppy's son. He was a scene stealer for me. Overall, this was a feel good book about romance and family. This was my first Christie Ridgway book and it probably won't be my last.
I enjoyed this story. It started off a little slow for me but the further in I read the more invested I became in the story and the characters. I thought Ryan and Poppy were a good match for each other. I really like Mason, Poppy's son. He was a scene stealer for me. Overall, this was a feel good book about romance and family. This was my first Christie Ridgway book and it probably won't be my last.