Scan barcode
A review by annalisa_gatti
Love After All by Jaci Burton
5.0
FINALLY!
That is my reaction to this book. I have been sitting through three books to get to this story and it was totally worth it! I met Bash in the second book, when he flirted with one of Des’ friends and he struck as the perfect hero for a romance novel - not too perfect (see: masculine, a good guy who’s really in touch with his feelings, super gorgeous) and not overly gross (see: commitment-phone, lack of communication, overly interested in just one thing).
I was also excited to finally get into Chelsea, a character that I had really liked in the previous outings in this series. Chelsea is depicted throughout as being very independent; she knows EXACTLY what she wants in life and in a partner. She’s not lonely, desperate or pining away after some lost love; she’s happy with her life, just wishes there was someone to share it with. I love Chelsea, especially because I felt myself relating to her a lot. She’s got this great sense of humour, isn’t afraid to say things the way they are and she’s great at being by herself.
The book follows Chelsea as she draws up the list for her perfect man and the characteristics that he will possess. None of them are physical traits - it’s more about lifestyle and personal beliefs that concern Chelsea. She doesn’t want someone with a crazy-ex, works nights or weekends, and she wants them to enjoy hitting the town with her.
Sebastian “Bash”, the local bar owner and long time friend of Chelsea’s, offers to help her find the perfect guy. He runs a bar, meets tons of guys; he’s bound to know someone for her. The only problem is that both Chelsea and Bash are nursing crushs for the other. They’ve been flirting on and off for months, with nothing escalating. Bash knows that he’d love to have a fling with Chelsea, but also realizes that he can’t be the man she’s looking for.
They agree to have a fling, scratch the itch if you will in the hopes that they will both move on to better suited people.
You can probably guess, but things don’t go as planned and pretty soon, both are in over their heads. But you have to read it yourself to find exactly what happens.
The way that Burton dealt with Chelsea’s list was great. Burton never seems to let Chelsea or any of the characters take the list too seriously, which I think is how she pulls it off. If Chelsea were even a little more fixated on it, the book would fall apart. I liked that Chelsea’s friends nagged her about the list, especially when they all saw how much she liked Bash. I never got annoyed with Chelsea and her desire for certain traits in her partner; really a lot of her reasoning made sense and it came from a place of security - she wanted something that would last. She figured that if they shared some of the same interests and lacked a few variables (that crazy ex) that they would have more success. I also liked that she never once thought she could change Bash into the type of man she wanted. So often this is true of romance, that the hero just changes, like that to be exactly what the heroine needs. In Love After All, I really felt that both Bash and Chelsea compromised, which helped this book succeed.
It’s hard to find issues with this book, I liked it that much. I will say that the friends of Chelsea and Bash played a bigger role in this book than in the previous ones and there was the occasional moment that I couldn’t follow it all. But overall, Love After All met my expectations, made me smile like a doofus, squeal with unabashed glee and excited to return to this book again and again.
That is my reaction to this book. I have been sitting through three books to get to this story and it was totally worth it! I met Bash in the second book, when he flirted with one of Des’ friends and he struck as the perfect hero for a romance novel - not too perfect (see: masculine, a good guy who’s really in touch with his feelings, super gorgeous) and not overly gross (see: commitment-phone, lack of communication, overly interested in just one thing).
I was also excited to finally get into Chelsea, a character that I had really liked in the previous outings in this series. Chelsea is depicted throughout as being very independent; she knows EXACTLY what she wants in life and in a partner. She’s not lonely, desperate or pining away after some lost love; she’s happy with her life, just wishes there was someone to share it with. I love Chelsea, especially because I felt myself relating to her a lot. She’s got this great sense of humour, isn’t afraid to say things the way they are and she’s great at being by herself.
The book follows Chelsea as she draws up the list for her perfect man and the characteristics that he will possess. None of them are physical traits - it’s more about lifestyle and personal beliefs that concern Chelsea. She doesn’t want someone with a crazy-ex, works nights or weekends, and she wants them to enjoy hitting the town with her.
Sebastian “Bash”, the local bar owner and long time friend of Chelsea’s, offers to help her find the perfect guy. He runs a bar, meets tons of guys; he’s bound to know someone for her. The only problem is that both Chelsea and Bash are nursing crushs for the other. They’ve been flirting on and off for months, with nothing escalating. Bash knows that he’d love to have a fling with Chelsea, but also realizes that he can’t be the man she’s looking for.
They agree to have a fling, scratch the itch if you will in the hopes that they will both move on to better suited people.
You can probably guess, but things don’t go as planned and pretty soon, both are in over their heads. But you have to read it yourself to find exactly what happens.
The way that Burton dealt with Chelsea’s list was great. Burton never seems to let Chelsea or any of the characters take the list too seriously, which I think is how she pulls it off. If Chelsea were even a little more fixated on it, the book would fall apart. I liked that Chelsea’s friends nagged her about the list, especially when they all saw how much she liked Bash. I never got annoyed with Chelsea and her desire for certain traits in her partner; really a lot of her reasoning made sense and it came from a place of security - she wanted something that would last. She figured that if they shared some of the same interests and lacked a few variables (that crazy ex) that they would have more success. I also liked that she never once thought she could change Bash into the type of man she wanted. So often this is true of romance, that the hero just changes, like that to be exactly what the heroine needs. In Love After All, I really felt that both Bash and Chelsea compromised, which helped this book succeed.
It’s hard to find issues with this book, I liked it that much. I will say that the friends of Chelsea and Bash played a bigger role in this book than in the previous ones and there was the occasional moment that I couldn’t follow it all. But overall, Love After All met my expectations, made me smile like a doofus, squeal with unabashed glee and excited to return to this book again and again.