Robin Bielman

Robin Bielman puts the fun in dysfunctional. Lips Close to Mine has a special kind of crazy that only Ms. Bielman can create. Harper is a touch neurotic. Between matchmaking mothers, a controlling father and a pesky attraction that refuses to go away, who can blame her. What happens when the man of of your nightmares becomes the guy of your dreams? Chaos! Levi and Harper are proof of why any Bielman novel is a class act. She never strives for perfection, only truth. Flaws and all. Her show more ability to allow us to laugh at ourselves is why she continues to be a constant on any bestseller list. show less

When I asked to review this book, I had second thoughts. I kept thinking, "Did I make a mistake requesting this book?" It sounded like one of those cliche, poor-rich-girl books where the main character comes from a wealthy family and whines about "daddy isn't paying enough attention to me because he would rather work 24/7 and make tons of money so I can live off my designer shoe collection."

I was wrong. I admit it. I loved it. It wasn't what I'd consider a hot and heavy romance novel filled show more with sexy times, although there were a few moments here and there. It's a cute sentimental romance without being too sappy. It had some funny moments, some crazy moments, and some mushy moments, but I never felt the urge to quit reading.

Kagan Owens leaves New York and her domineering father for a new (temporary) life in small town USA. She takes on a waitressing job at the town bar, and that's where she meets playboy Shane Sullivan. He's sexy, he's sweet, but he's a one night stand kind of guy. That is, until he becomes Kagan's accidental boyfriend.

Shane Sullivan is a different kind of playboy. His reputation stems from the desire to keep from getting close enough to women to hurt them. In grad school, a serious relationship goes very south, so he decides he'll play the field so he won't hurt another girl the way he did Mia.

I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but I get where he's coming from. He lives in a small town, and everybody knows he has a reputation for serial dating. No sane woman is going to mistake his interest for a marriage proposal (keyword: sane). I'm glad he's not the cliche Badboy that leaves a trail of broken hearts everywhere he goes... It just gets old.

All-in-all, this book was very enjoyable. It's a fast little romance for those of you looking for a light read that won't leave you hanging. When I finished reading, there was a happy little glow, but I didn't have a book hangover like I have when I read books like The Original Sinners. It's a lovely book, and it left me wanting to read the entire series, but I won't die if I don't get around to it.

Many thanks to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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This one was okay for me. The writing flowed well, my issue was more with the characters. Hunter was a good guy, but I like my heroes to be more assertive. Callie was super annoying. She knew going in that Hunter liked her and wanted more than a hookup. She did it anyway, and then got upset when he confessed his feelings for her. Hunter did everything right, constantly proved that he was a good guy, but Callie still pushed him away. It annoys me to no end when characters punish new love show more interests because of the crappy things people have done in the past. The "will they or won't they" lasted all the way up to like 94% of the book. The way Callie's issues were suddenly cleared up after one conversation with her sister was silly IMO. Like I said Hunter proved himself time and again, but her sister apologizing suddenly made Callie okay? I did enjoy the setting and the family from this one. I love a small town romance, and this book does that well. Jenna was cute and a sweet side character. Birdy was hilarious and I like her relationship with Callie. Although I wasn't a huge fan of this one, I did like the writing style. This was a first for me from this author, but I would read her again.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. show less

Loved!

I absolutely adored Mateo's voice--his cocky confidence in himself and his abilities was so much fun to read! (And made it all that much more meaningful when he started to question things he'd never questioned before!) Teague wasn't too bad herself--plus, she was so easy to identify with--really, I just had so much fun with this one. There are many, many highlighted passages in my digital version, and there may have been a few instances of snort-laughing. Though I'll never tell. ;)

The show more secondary characters here are a lot of fun too--Teague's BFF Harper and Mateo's roommate Levi are clearly being set up for a future series book (yay!), plus they have a third roommate (double yay!), and don't even get me started on Zoe, their six-year-old next door neighbor and the cutest kid (sadly only fictionally) alive--Ms. Bielman made them all come alive on the page, and made you want to become besties with every single one of them.

The first in a new series, Talk British to Me (and OMG, that title leads me to one of my favorite bits, at the very end) is also being referred to as a standalone, but if you really want more of these characters and don't feel like waiting for book two, Teague's the younger sister of Luke from Kissing the Maid of Honor and Erin from Wild About Her Wingman in the Secret Wishes series.

You're welcome ;)

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. show less