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Smokejumper, Book 1

From the publisher:

Willa Frank has one simple rule: never go on a date with anyone more than twice. Now that her business is providing the stability she’s always needed, she can’t afford distractions. Her two-date rule will protect her just fine…until she meets smokejumper Grady Billman.

After one date―one amazing, unforgettable date―Grady isn’t ready to call it quits, despite his own no-attachments policy, and he’s found a sneaky way around both their rules.

Throwing gutter balls with pitchers of beer? Not a real date. Everyone knows bowling doesn’t count.

Watching a band play at a local show? They just happen to have the same great taste in music. Definitely not a date.

Hiking? Nope. How can exercise be considered a date?

With every “non-date” Grady suggests, his reasoning gets more ridiculous, and Willa must admit she’s having fun playing along. But when their time together costs Willa two critical clients, it’s clear she needs to focus on the only thing that matters―her future. And really, he should do the same.

But what is she supposed to do with a future that looks gray without Grady in it?

This book felt a little like it switched things up a bit; our hero, Grady, is smart and capable, even though his plans for the future are non-existent. Our heroine, Willa, on the other hand, has some serious baggage. Willa doesn’t do relationships, hence, the two-date rule. She’ll go out with a guy twice at most. After that, she cuts them loose so she doesn’t form any attachments. She is laser-focused on her career and she’s not going to let a man get in her way. Until she meets Grady.

Grady is definitely on board with the two-date rule, after all, with his work schedule, he can’t really get involved. But their first date goes so well that he is bound and determined to keep seeing her and somehow get around her rule and his scheduling issues. Willa is pretty smitten as well and finds herself bending her own rule quite a bit. She won’t break it, exactly, and that leads to a lot of comedy. But as her life story unfurls, Grady learns why she is the way she is, and the best way to deal with her issues. Willa is a workaholic and completely obsessed with money. She lost her mom as a young child, and her childhood was heartbreaking at best.

This wouldn’t be a romance if it broke all the rules, so boy meets girl, they fall pretty quickly, then boy loses girl. Only to get her back again. But I was so emotionally involved that it felt pretty devastating when they reached their breaking point. I only kept going because I knew they had to get their happily ever after.

I had a couple of very minor quibbles with this book; the cover wasn’t great, and I felt like I missed something regarding Willa’s relationship with Grady’s mom, but all in all, this was a very good romance. I liked learning about smokejumpers, I was not familiar with that specialized field of work, and I really like how it was integrated into the story. This was my favorite book so far from Entangled Publishing. It had all the elements I love in a romance; great characters that I cared about, lots of laughs, some heat when needed, lots of drama without ever going over the top, and of course, a happy ending. Best of all, this is the first book of a new series and I am all in!

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™