The Look of Love

The Look of Love is the first book in Bella Andre’s Sullivans series as well as the first in the San Francisco Sullivans sub-series. We begin with Chase Sullivan, third oldest of the San Francisco Sullivans, who is a jet-setting photographer and consummate playboy. One rainy night while on the way to his older brother, Marcus’s winery for a photo shoot, he comes upon a woman whose car has skidded off the road into a ditch. He stops to pick her up, but she’s pretty wary of him. When he sees the bruise on her cheek, which he quickly comes to suspect came from a person rather than the accident, her fear makes sense. Once he convinces her to come with him, he takes her to the guest house at the winery to put her up for the night. show more Given that she had to make a quick getaway from her abusive ex, Chloe isn’t sure whether she can trust Chase at first, but her misgivings quickly melt away in the light of her intense attraction to him. Although she knows that she should call the cops and take care of the situation she’s in rather than getting into a new relationship with another man, she can’t help stopping to catch her breath in this beautiful setting for a few days. By day, she finds ways to help on Chase’s photo shoot, and by night, she gets to know him better while burning up the sheets. But sooner or later Chloe knows her sojourn must come to an end, and she must make a decision about whether she wants to continue the relationship with Chase or chalk it up to a pleasurable moment out of time.

Chloe’s parents were distant while she was growing up, which left her longing for an intense love and a more involved family. She fell hard and fast for the man who became her husband, but he quickly turned violent. It’s been a year since she filed for a divorce, and she’s been trying to get her life back together. She’s been working as a waitress and starting to fix up an apartment when her ex shows up at the door, a visit that ends with him punching her in the face. She fought back and made a run for it, but wound up in the ditch, where Chase found her. After what just happened, Chloe isn’t sure if she can trust him, but with few other options, she decides to go with him. He takes her to the guest house at his brother’s winery, where she discovers a strong attraction to him, but she only intends to spend the night. However, in the light of a new day, things start to change for her as she helps him on his photo shoot and meets his brother. Chloe realizes that the attraction is going to inevitably end with them having sex, so she doesn’t even try to fight it anymore. Instead she gives in, taking all the pleasure she can get from the moment, while telling herself it’s just sex and that soon she’ll move on and get back to her normal life. But every day she spends with Chase makes her want to trust him more until she realizes that she doesn’t want to live without him.

Chloe was okay as the heroine, but I couldn’t help feeling that there was a lot about her that didn’t make sense and that she was somewhat underdeveloped. To begin with, I was very frustrated that it took so long for her backstory to come out. It’s obvious from the start that she’s been abused in some way. I could understand her keeping that information from Chase for a while, but if at least some of this had come out earlier in her introspection, it would have helped me connect with her better. Also given all that’s happened to her, I felt like she should have been more cautious with Chase. Instead, as soon as they get to the guest house, she’s already feeling attracted to him, even though she keeps asking herself why she is and why she isn’t more afraid of him. Every time she asked herself why (which happened a lot), I rolled my eyes. Merely asking such a question isn’t character development. The author should have been answering those questions as well, because it’s in those answers that a reader will find actual depth of character. I was also perturbed by Chloe not calling the police immediately to report her ex’s abuse. She ran out of her apartment, leaving him behind, so presumably the door never got locked. Then she just shacks up with Chase for days on end without worrying about her stuff or doing anything. Every abused woman is going to react differently, so I try to make allowances, but what Chloe was doing seemed rather foolhardy to me. Women often have trouble even getting the police to believe them, so allowing about a week to pass by before contacting them would probably make them more disinclined to take her seriously. Also her bruises would have faded out by then. Thankfully Chase thought of this and surreptitiously took photos of her, just in case, but she never even thought about that once, which would have left her with no evidence if he hadn’t. For someone who so desperately wanted to be independent and handle the matter herself, she wasn’t making the best choices. Overall Chloe wasn’t a bad character, but she did frustrate me at times.

Chase was even more underdeveloped than Chloe. He’s a well-known photographer who has traveled the world for photo shoots. He’s also the consummate playboy with his pick of beautiful woman, including models and others in the industry. He comes from a large family with seven brothers and sisters, and as one of the oldest of the siblings, he helped raise the younger ones when their father died when he was ten. Other than this, I couldn’t tell you much else about him, except that he really tweaked me at the beginning of the story. After picking her up on the side of the road, Chase irritated me by going against Chloe’s clearly expressed wishes to be taken to a hotel by instead simply taking her to his brother’s guest house. He was suspicious from the outset that she’d been abused, and this was the exact wrong thing to do for someone in that situation. He could have tried harder to persuade her to come with him to the winery instead of running roughshod over her. Then once they’re at the guest house, he tries to get a closer look at the bruise on her face. When she pulls away, he grabs her arm and drags her into what amounted to an embrace. Again the exact wrong thing to do with an abused woman. Later he simply walked right into the bathroom while she was bathing, only to find her self-pleasuring. He said he was concerned that she might have left when he didn’t see her stuff in the bedroom, but since the bathroom door was closed, I couldn’t help thinking, Dude haven’t you heard of knocking first to be sure? And when he found her in such a delicate state, he should have immediately left, but instead, he stands there watching the show, and even takes his good sweet time handing her towel when she asks for one. Sheesh! I would have been getting out of there and running for the hills not eating it up like Chloe was. All I can say is that at least once the sexy times actually commence between them, Chase finally practices enthusiastic consent, but up until then, he was behaving like anything but an honorable gentleman, which is how I prefer my romance heroes.

From everything I’ve seen, Bella Andre is a very popular and well-liked romance author, so I’d been looking forward to trying one of her books for some time. The Sullivans series seems to be a fan favorite, so that felt like a promising place to start. However, The Look of Love fell rather flat for me, ending up just being an okay read. Like I mentioned Chloe was all right, but there were aspects of her character that left a lot to be desired. In addition to what I’ve mentioned already, it was stated within the story that her ex had berated her for her sensual nature, but her feelings about that were hardly even explored. She also magically got over her past abuse and trust issues in a matter of days, which was not particularly credible. For the first quarter or so of the book, Chase was definitely on my bad side. On top of the consent issues I discussed, he just seemed a bit shallow in his pursuit of women. Playboys are a dime a dozen in romance, so I don’t have a problem with that in general, but I do like for my playboy heroes to show a little depth and vulnerability, which Chase lacked. I did like him better later on after he started treating Chloe right, but he was still just okay.

Perhaps as a results of me not connecting deeply with the characters, I also didn’t really vibe with their romance either. I love my sexy romances, but here, I thought there was a bit too much sex. This isn’t billed as an erotic romance, yet the ratio of sex to page count was pretty high. They spend the day on the photo shoot, maybe share a meal or some other activity in the evening, and then go home to make love. Wash, rinse, repeat for nearly the whole book. Chloe’s ex could have also been built up as a bigger threat. Instead, he’s just this nebulous villain who’s out there somewhere, shows up at the very end, and is dispatched with little fanfare. Likewise, the rest of the supporting cast was pretty weak, too. The only one of Chase’s family we really get to meet is Marcus, who is the hero of the next book, From This Moment On, but all we really learn about him is that his current relationship seems to be in trouble. Overall, despite all my criticisms, The Look of Love wasn’t a bad book per se, which is why I still gave it three stars, but it just didn’t fully capture my imagination in the way I wanted it to. That being the case, I may give the author/series one more shot, especially since I have more of her books on my TBR pile, but I probably won’t been a hurry to do so.

Note: While this isn’t really an erotic romance, it does contain a tasteful scene of light bondage, which could be objectionable to sensitive readers. show less

Never again.

I am just tempted to just repeat those words over and over in this review but I decided to explain myself. This is probably one of the most awful books I have read in some time. I am all for red hot romances and sex scenes, but if that is all your supposed contemporary romance has to offer I am going to get bored real quick and make sure that I don't go and read any of your books in the future. If it was not for the Kindle Unlimited I would never have read this author since I have become leery about purchasing many of the books that are in the $1.99 range. It doesn't mean you don't come across gems, but most times you are going to end up with a poorly put together book like this one.

Ms. Andre has created a series based on show more the Sullivan family. Apparently the Sullivans' have super awesome genes since not only are the eight brothers and sisters exceeding everything in their lives they are also the most handsome people in the world.

The first novel focuses on Chase Sullivan who is a world renowned photographer (seriously though how come none of these people are ever just average or crappy at their jobs in these books). Chase is hot (of course) and at the Sullivan matriarch's birthday party we are treated to an info dump on the back-story of the Sullivans which is always fun to read (no, it never is).

Chase leaving the party comes across a damsel in distress and feels instant attraction to her though she is not a typical beautiful woman. The woman, Chloe, who though just ended a brutal and abusive relationship also feels instant attraction to Chase. So much so that a few pages later we are treated to her pleasuring herself thinking about Chase. Seriously, like maybe 2 hours have passed and Chloe is so "het" up about Chase off she goes thinking about him having her every way possible (insert my own eyeroll). Also the fact that Chloe just got out of a relationship like the one she was in and acted as she did with Chase drove me nuts. That could have been a decent plot that Ms. Andre could have worked with. Instead of two people just running around talking about how hot the other one made them throughout the entire book actually have Chloe be cautious about starting anything new or being afraid of Chase anytime they have an argument. It could have been something that elevated the book from substandard to something better.

That said the entire plot consists of this. Chloe and Chase having lots of sex with Sullivans' running around here and there. So if you want to read some badly written sex scenes then I think this book is for you. Also I would like to say that I never want to read the word "wet" or "wetness" again in my life. Or at least for a few more weeks while I recover from this book.

To sum,I would recommend skipping this and reading someone else. show less

Chloe Peterson just ran her car off into a ditch on the side of a rainy road in Napa Valley. That is the least of her problems, she was already running away from something...she has a big bruise already on her face and it is obvious someone has hit her.

Chase Sullivan was on his way to his brother Marcus’ winery for a photo shoot and a booty call. He sees a lovely woman drenched to the bone walking alongside the road. He immediately pulls over to lend a hand and finds himself instantly wanting to help Chloe but she is guarded and scared being on a dark road alone.

Eventually giving in to Chase, Chloe gets in his car and asks him to take her to a cheap hotel but Chase has other ideas. He takes her to the guest house at the winery. He show more has plans to woo her and soothe her worries. He has a deep need to help her and take care of her now he just has to convince Chloe.

This is a sweet and heartwarming tale with some really steamy sexual encounters. Chase truly is a gentleman, knowing exactly how to give Chloe exactly what she needs hoping she will eventually care for him as he is growing to care for her.

I am looking forward to reading more of the Sullivans’ series. Bella Andre wove a great and enjoyable tale. 4 Stars show less

I liked this first book in this series. Although, I have to admit that at first I was not feeling the vibe of the story or the characters. Yet, this feeling did not last long. Chase and Chloe made a nice couple. I like that Chase let Chloe break out of her protected shell on her own pace. The chemistry between these two was there in plenty.

There are other readers that mention that they wished that there was less sex. I did not mind it. Yeah, I might have wanted a little more substance to the plot but I was fine with the sex. It was classy and steamy. Plus, I liked the fact that Chloe already had given Chase a nickname of Hotstuff aka HOTSTUFF. Hey, if you are going to be given a nickname of Hotstuff, you are going to capitalize it for show more all its glory.

Additionally, the author introduces one of the other Sullivan siblings, Marcus. I got to briefly know him and he seems serious. However, I got the feeling that he can let loose. I look forward to getting to know him better in the next book. show less

What a wonderful sweet and spicy romance. Chase Sullivan is happy with his life. He is handsome and talented. He is a fashion photographer who can have any model he wants. He has sown his wild oats and is now a little tired of it. He is part of a big wonderful family with five brothers and two sisters. He didn't realize that he was missing having a love of his life.

Chloe Peterson is not having a terrific night. She has run from her apartment after her ex-husband showed up drunk and wanting her back. After he hit her, she ran away in her bald-tired car and found herself walking in a hailstorm for help after landing in a ditch. The last thing she wants is to have any sort of relationship with a man.

Fortunately for both of them, Chase is show more the one who finds her by the side of the road. He takes her home to his brother's winery and begins to prove to her that not all men are like her ex-husband. He is immediately attracted to her but knows that he needs to wait until she is healed before anything can happen.

At her instigation, since she thinks he is hot and wants to reclaim control of her sexuality, they begin a relationship that she thinks is just sexual. And, my, those sex scenes are spicy. The second bathtub scene had me fanning myself! But Chase isn't going to give up his desire to have a loving relationship with her. He knows he loves her and each day he spends with her just deepens the love more. But she needs time and needs to find her courage to love again.

Fans of romance who like them with a little heat will enjoy Chase and Chloe's story. And we got just enough taste of the other Sullivan brothers that they will want to read their stories too. show less

I had read about 5 or more of this series but kept missing this first one. It was just as I suspected it would be. A good jumping off point for the series. The family is introduced, all their personalities are sketched out, and the series begins. While I liked the story, I had trouble with the 2 days and I'm in love with you part. Now, I've read stories where the characters meet and a romance quickly turns to love, but it has to be grounded in something for it to seem plausible. This felt a little baseless. That aside, it was a good story and made me want to read the series again.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book and let me tell you, if Chase was anywhere close to me I'd drop my husband it a heartbeat. This is the story of Chase and Chloe, part of a series on the Sullivan family. Chase is one of the brothers in the family of eight kids. Chloe is stranded in the middle of a terrible storm, in the middle of nowhere. Chase finds her and is instantly attracted to Chloe. The sparks are flying but Chloe is resisting - for four whole days. And there lies my problem - Chloe is someone who has been abused and I just can't get past the fact that there's no way an abused women would give her trust so quickly - even to a hot, oh-so-sweet and giving guy like Chase.