Yours To Keep (Kowalski Family #3) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

Day three of this Kowalski extravaganza focuses on Stacey’s latest title in the series Yours To Keep. If you’re just joining this party check out Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours for an introduction to the large, loving family that is the Kowalskis. I’m not gonna lie. This was by far my favorite title of the series. You get a couple worthy of each other, lots of post-it notes, and a little granny romance. Oh and more Kowalski abs. Those Kowalski’s are genetically blessed in the six-pack area and this title does not fail to represent the feature well! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s finale…an interview with the series’s author: Shannon Stacey.

So without further ado…Kowalski Family #3: Yours To Keep

BookTalk

Sean Kowalski has just gotten out of the Military. A free man for the first time in years, he’s ready to explore life, kick back a few beers, and sow some wild oats.

Emma Shaw is an independent woman. She started a landscaping business from scratch and refinished her grandmother’s home and made it her own. Basically, she’s created a life she loves.

Too bad Emma got a little too creative in sharing her life with her Grandmother. You see, while Grandma has retired to Florida a large part of her still worries that Emma is a little lost living alone in that big old house. Enter the Fake Fiance. What started as a little white lie about a man around the house to put Grandma at ease has blossomed into a very complex engagement with a very real man…Sean Kowalski.

So begins this tale of laughs and love…Emma Shaw proposing the wildest of schemes to Sean Kowalski. She’s asked him to play the fake fiance for Grandma’s month-long visit. The gig comes with a job in Emma’s landscaping business and a bed…not 10 feet away from Emma. What neither counts on is the spark of attraction and the slow burn of a fake relationship that begins to feel very real…

Review

I. Loved. This. Book.

Ooooh, this one was my favorite in the series so far. This title centers around another branch of the Kowalski family tree, cousins of the Kowalski’s we’ve all come to love. Sean has just returned from a tour in Afghanistan looking forward to some freedom in his life. Just the ability to do whatever he wishes…to find himself…

Well, Emma Shaw finds him first. She’s integrated Sean into a year-long Grandma deception. Emma’s Grandmother (who raised her from the age of four, after Emma’s parent’s death) while retired in Florida, can’t stop worrying about her granddaughter. Constant phone calls centering on the care of the house and Emma’s single status caused Emma to invent a relationship to put her grandmother’s mind at ease. What starts as a little white lie to help her Grandmother enjoy her retirement has grown into a full-fledged marriage proposal. And Sean comes home just in time for Emma’s Grandmother’s visit.

Crazy right? I think Sean himself uses the term “batshit”. And normally I’d have to agree. I’ve done the invented relationship a few other times in my romance reading…And I don’t usually enjoy it. I always think that a woman who needs to make up a fictional man has issues, not to mention a lack of independence or strong-woman traits. I like my heroines to be strong…Which is where this book started to go so right.

Emma is one strong gal. She is fully independent, but still willing to let love into her life. The relationship that develops between Sean and Emma is balanced, respectful, and flirty. I love a couple that enhances and challenges each other. Emma and Sean are this type of couple. Add to that the fact that Sean helps rationalize Emma’s lie…seeing that it was done out of love rather than an insecurity. And that’s key. Sean and Emma are both very family oriented so purveying an untruth to save a family member from worry…no matter how harebrained the scheme…rings true for both characters.

But back to the romance. My most favorite part of this book, besides Sean’s abs, were his post-it notes. From the first tip about his dislike of broccoli to the final declarations at the end of the novel these post-it notes were the cutest way to watch their relationship grow. I think that most women have a soft spot for love letters and whether it comes in the form of a hand written note, email (that would be mine! lol), greeting card, or post-it the sentiment within is usually enough to melt. So, Sean’s sharpie-penned thoughts were a very special part of the romance.

And what would a Stacey book be without a side romance to complete the package? In this book Emma’s Grandmother gets a second shot at love with an old acquaintance. While the love between the older couple is far easier to achieve it does set a nice balance…Showing the reader that with age also comes the realization that everyday should be lived to the fullest. No need to push away the gift that love is. Which, obviously, is what Emma and Sean end up doing. Youngins…too stubborn to give into good sex, sweet friendship, and true love!

Pick up this book immediately. It’s a quick read and the book will stand-alone if necessary…but why wouldn’t you want to start from the beginning with Joe and Keri. The Kowalski family is a group that keeps the romance flowing and the love alive…They’ll suck you in I swear!

Rating: 10/10

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Undeniably Yours (Kowalski Family #2) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

Today is day two of my reviews/booktalks for Shannon Stacey’s Kowalski Family series. I recently discovered these books and blew through them in three days! It’s a series all about a large, loving, laughing family that is way too involved in each other’s lives. Lets just say I’m in love with watching all of them fall in love. Stick around because the week ends with an Author interview where she’ll spill the beans about writing the Kowalskis.

Without further ado…Undeniably Yours (Kowalski Family #2)

BookTalk

Beth and Kevin had a one night stand….At Kevin’s brother’s wedding. Kevin had met spunky Beth previously during a brawl at his bar. At the wedding Kevin finds Beth tending bar. And after a night of calculated flirtation Beth has no more fight left to combat Kevin’s roguish charm. Enter one hot night…followed by an early morning walk of shame.

3 weeks later Beth and Kevin learn first hand that the 2% failure rate for condoms is a real statistic. Beth is pregnant and Kevin is all for an instant family. Over the next nine months Kevin finds himself falling in love with the mother and excited for the baby…But Beth isn’t willing to trust in a love blooming between two people who only know each other through a surprise pregnancy. Will Beth and Kevin remain friends with a baby?…Or can Beth trust in the love and family Kevin is offering her?…

Review

I was super excited for this title. I liked the character of Kevin in the first of this series (Exclusively Yours) and I was intrigued by the pregnancy aspect of this book. Any situation that forces two characters to be so intimate so fast usually makes for some really great emotion and scenes.

This book didn’t disappoint in the emotional aspect. I loved how much Kevin loves Beth. Seeing him care for both Beth and their future child was super sweet. From the very beginning he is supportive of Beth and their decision to keep the baby. And the man doesn’t stop flirting for the whole book! He wants Beth. He wants her bad. And he’s willing to wait till the time is right to get her.

Where I got lost a little was with Beth. She is so insistent that she do everything on her own. EVERY. THING. She pushes Kevin away so many times the guy should apply for sainthood just for sticking around. Beth jumps down the poor guy’s throat for buying her a cell phone, even for offering to help her move to a better apartment. While I expected the independent streak to last quite awhile I had no idea that it would last the entire pregnancy.

Beth spends quite a bit of time talking about hormones making her a little lusty and yet she manages to resist Kevin and his amazing abs. I was so frustrated by this! lol. Maybe its just because my hubby doesn’t have to do a lot of convincing to get me feeling lusty…hormones or not…And as sexy as the hubs is, he doesn’t have Kevin’s 6-pack. Come to think of it, no one may have the Kowalski abs in real life…they only exist in our photoshopped imaginations, lol.

But back to my Beth frustrations. At one point she’s a new mother and everyone is tripping over themselves to help; to give her a break. And she accepts nothing! First off, what new mother doesn’t accept the offer to take a shower while some one watches the baby? Crazy talk for not accepting that. Second, Kevin spends a lot of time running around with no shirt and lots of abs…While begging Beth to accept him in a relationship. Crazy talk for not giving in months before she does.

I’m probably being a little hard on poor Beth…she’s just not my favorite type of character. I think that a little give and take would have saved her a lot of stress. That being said, even Kevin agrees that it was best for them to wait until post baby to truly get involved in an intimate relationship. Without the excitement of a baby on the way, and with the real life schedule of a newborn all fantasies are disproved…and if love is still there then the couple will have a stronger love than most for their sacrifice.

The ending is worth waiting for because of this. The emotional buildup yields great results, results that wouldn’t have had the impact had Beth given in months earlier. Also, the beginning of the novel had some of the sweetest scenes. Watching Kevin and Beth come together over such a big change in their lives while getting to know each other presents smile inducing moments. Throughout it all while I didn’t love Beth…Kevin is by far my favorite Kowalski brother. His looks, his sweetness, and that little naughty smile (he’s always giving shirtless!) had me at hello. He makes this story for me…and by the end Beth knows what an amazing guy she has too.

Rating: 7/10

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Exclusively Yours (Kowalski Family #1) by Shannon Stacey

It’s Kowalski Family Week!

So last week I fell in Love…with a books series! I started Shannon Stacey’s series about a large, loud, loving family from the North East. I read the first book and then quickly devoured the rest. So my booktalk/review posts of the week feature the three books currently released in the series. The week ends with an interview with the Author herself to give us a peek into writing about Kowalski family.

Without Further Ado…Kowalski Family #1: Exclusively Yours…

BookTalk

Joe Kowalski was Keri Daniels’ first…Her high school sweetheart, her first serious boyfriend, and her first lover. Together they created memories to the tunes of Whitesnake on lover’s lane. And that fresh young love is still the best sex she’s ever had. But at graduation Keri surprisingly drops Joe heading to the west coast to pursue a name for herself in journalism.

After years of no contact Keri finds herself one step away from the masthead of a major celebrity magazine and Joe has become a bestselling but reclusive author. Once, Joe had been in a relationship splashed across the tabloids, it ended in lawsuit mystery…and no one knows what happened behind courtroom doors. Now Keri’s boss has found out her childhood connection to Joe and has laid an ultimatum at Keri’s feet: Get an interview, and the dirt, on Joe and the promotion she’s worked her whole career for is hers…Fail and she’ll find herself with a pink slip searching for a new job.

Keri wrangles the interview…In exchange for spending a two-week vacation in the country with the Kowalski family Joe will answer one question a day. You see, Keri isn’t the only one with an agenda. Keri is the girl Joe never got over, and after seeing her again he doesn’t plan on letter her go anytime soon…But can a high school love stand the test of time?…and the test of two solid weeks with the family?…

Review

I’ll admit I wasn’t so sure of this book at the start. The main characters were close to 40 and while I’m not ageist, it does tend to mean that the romance is going to be of the mature variety. Full of romantic meals and steamy scenes that end at the bedroom door…what’s happening in the sheets not meant for the readers eyes. While that can be enjoyable it wasn’t quite what I was in the mood for…

So I guess it’s a good thing that this was NOT that mature romance book…Steamy scenes, witty banter, and hot muscles abound!

Keri and Joe had chemistry in high school and from the first time they meet in Exclusively Yours they have it again. The references to the couple’s 80’s love are sweet and funny. Full of clichés including big hair, bad cars, and Whitesnake. What really got me was when Joe puts Keri in “the Locker Pose”. The one where a girl would be leaning against a locker and the guy has one leg in-between hers with either hand on the locker beside her head. I suppose I’m describing this poorly…but I could just picture that pose from high school! Where the couple of the moment flaunted their relationship for the whole 5 minutes between periods. Like a pre-Facebook relationship update.

This family is definitely of the down-home American kind. For the family vacation they take off to camp grounds (granted in a few luxury RV’s because Joe is a famous millionaire author) to take ATV’s (four wheelers) off-roading and cook some smores by the campfire. The family is honest, sweet, and completely involved in each other’s lives. But some of my favorite relationship moments came from the other family couples…

An extravagant anniversary gift that cleared up any hesitation about love in the marriage…

The purchase of an ugly marble table and shoes with sex…

Honestly, the scene with the couple and the table (don’t want to spoil anything!) had me rolling on the floor laughing out loud…an honest to goodness ROTFLOL moment. It was sooo sweet too.

I liked Stacey’s characters. They were real people with real issues. Which makes seeing them reconnect their love over these everyday issues all the more squeal-worthy and heart-warming.

This is the first of a series of 3…and I’ve already started book 2, Uniquely Yours. The promise of the hot, ex-cop, ab-baring, younger brother falling in love was too much to bear! And from the start it seems even better than the first.

Rating: 8/10

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