I'm so glad I didn't miss
Carol Snow's Getting Warmer when browsing through untidy library shelves. I finished reading it and I loved it!
First, the book spine caught my eye.
It's a library book, hence the ugly sticker around the bottom of the spine, but there's that heart shape symbol which indicates that it's a romance book, and then there's a woman in her bikini with her back to us and the title "getting warmer".
A really pretty cover:
I do find the head full of flower thingies (whatever they were) weird, but nice colour overall.
And the author had a pretty name:
And then there's the back cover:
Honesty is the best policy. It’s just so boring… A fashion-backward high school teacher, Natalie Quackenbush is approaching thirty, drowning in debt - and did she mention she lives with her parents? All in all, she'd rather not talk about it. So she and her friends have learned to entertain themselves on the Scottsdale, Arizona, social scene by getting creative. Okay - by lying.
It's an innocent game, but when Natalie finally meets a guy she likes, how will she explain that her mother isn't actually insane? Or that she doesn't really work with convicted murderers? Now she's looking for a way to come clean, get they guy, and keep her friendships intact. If only she can keep the truth from ruining true love...So I read it. And now I loved it.
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Basically the book is about Natalie harmlessly lying about her life to people she met randomly at the bar. And she never knew that she would fall in love with one of them. Nice to know the world is still normally twisted and unfair as usual.
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While reading, I kept thinking about how the guy, Jonathan (whom Natalie likes and lied to), would react once he discovers that Natalie had been lying to him. I thought he might go something like,
"I don't care. I love you. Will you marry me?"
Or
"Lie all you want. I'm so in love with you that I'm willing to overlook it. Will you marry me?"
Or
"Natalie, I'm holding you in my arms now. You're real. Our feelings are real. I love you. And I know you love me. Will you marry me?"
Or
"Okay. Will you marry me?"
Yea, big news, I'm a romantic. (Duh, I read romances.)
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Anyway, the ending is none of the above, nope, no weddings for them yet as of the end of the book, but of course the couple are still together. And of course they're going to get married, the author just didn't write that part. All couples in my romances get married. No matter whether it's stated in the book or not. I don't care. Bleh. I've a good imagination. I always try to picture the weddings of the hero and heroine. And it's a perfect wedding, complete with the part where the groom almost have tears falling out of his eyes upon seeing the beautiful bride walking down the aisle towards him.
Yup, a true romantic. Me.
Anyway, it's a kiss that got Natalie and Jonathan back together, and oh how I love that kiss. ♥
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There's a good part of the book (almost half of it?) where Jonathan is only available via phone. During these parts is mostly about Natalie's life as a teacher. Of course I'm more interested in a love story, not a teacher's life, and while reading I did wander if I should just skip to the end.
But I didn't.
It's kinda hard to want to skip to the end when the way
Carol Snow writes about Natalie's teaching life just sucks me in. Never once did I try to skim past these pages, but of course I did perk up upon Jonathan's rare presences. Oh come on, we read romances for the hero, not the heroine. Even though the hero in this book is described as not exactly handsome. We all still love the man more.
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Reaching the end of the story is a relief too. Gratification from happy endings. I didn't really hope for more of this story, I felt very satisfied with book. It's kinda enough for me. Although a little glimpse into the wedding of the main characters would be nice.
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Another book of
Carol Snow's has an interesting story line too. 32, but looking 18? What a bliss. I'd better seriously start taking care of myself.
Anyway, there's an upcoming anthology with Shannon Mckenna in it (and E.C. Sheedy & Cate Noble). Yes I amended that cover. I prefer it like this. See the original cover here. And the paranoid me hopes that no one sues me over this editing.
And lastly, I'm not forgeting Nick Ward. A great big jerk he is in Connor's story, but I'm sure he'll redeem himself by being all smoking hot and virile now that he's going to be in the spotlight. I only briefly glanced through the excerpt, something about Nick dragging a naked Becca out of the pool. Argh. I should not have even glanced at it. Dammit.
