Like with Welcoming the Bad Boy, this one seemed a little easier read (more traditional contemporary romance). While it does have a lot of heart and a lovely story about two people meeting and falling in love, the first couple of stories of the series seemed to have more angst to them. Mind you I'm not complaining, some times you need that and sometimes you don't :)

But the upside is that Rains doesn't lose her deft touch at writing involved stories just because she leaves out some of the soul-searching and drama. She still gives readers fully developed and wonderfully crafted characters. The narrative is engrossing and I found myself reading it in about a day because it was so easy to get into and so hard to put down.

Allison needs a pretend boyfriend because she's got one of those loving families that likes to get a little too involved in her life. Her mom is on her about settling down but when she brings a beau over then her mom's psychologist skills come out and she tells Allison exactly what's wrong with him ... darned if you do, darned if you don't, right? The family is very loving but you can totally understand how Allison finds herself in this situation. Recently burned, though, she's not in the market for a real boyfriend, which is where Troy comes in.

Troy doesn't have anything against love or relationships, he just not looking for either right now. But he's sure not going to ignore the intense attraction between him and Allison. I love that there isn't anything really wrong with Troy - he's just a happy-go-lucky guy who hasn't yet found a woman he wants to get serious with. He's sweet, kind, sexy, hard-working, caring, blah blah blah, ya know just perfect.

The slow build between the two as Allison resists her attraction to Troy and he enjoys flirting with her just to see her react is fantastically entertaining. They dance around the issue with humor and fun but you know that they are totally getting together.

There are some serious moments - the interactions with their families (Troy has his own troubles at home), orphans without toys, and a burglar stealing from people in Allison's neighborhood - but it all works together very nicely with the playfulness, heat and charm of them falling in love.

*** I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***