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If You Were Mine

3/15/2017

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CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

​Title: If You Were Mine
Author: Melanie Harlow
Publication date: 02/28/2017
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No
Rating: 5 out of 5

Blurb (from Amazon.com):
Theo MacLeod wasn't supposed to be the one.

Tall, dark and handsome suits me just fine, but the cocky grin, know-it-all attitude, and mammoth ego? No thanks. I only hired him so I wouldn't have to sit at the singles table again. It was just pretend.

He wasn't supposed to kiss me.

My heart wasn't supposed to pound.

We weren't supposed to spend the night together--the hottest night of my life.
One night turns into a snowed-in weekend away, and even the blizzard of the century can't cool the fire between us. I can't get enough--of his smile, of his body, of the way he makes me feel.
We’re nothing alike. He’s a daredevil, and I’m a nervous Nellie. He’s a drifter, and I want to put down roots. He’s an opportunist with a checkered past, and I’m a Girl Scout volunteer.

But none of it matters when I’m in his arms.

I know he’s made mistakes. I know his wounds are deep, and he doesn’t trust easily. I know he doesn’t believe he could ever be enough to make me happy, but he could.

All he has to do is stay.

My review
Before picking up this book, I’d never read anything by Melanie Harlow. I’ll admit that I’m often a little hesitant to pick up new authors. I’d rather go into a book with skepticism than hope. Why? Hope is a dangerous thing, folks. I’ve been let down many, many times by hope. But I went ahead and downloaded a sample of this one because the blurb was well-written and the cover was nice. I was at 2% of the sample when I decided to buy the book. Here’s what let me know I shouldn’t be afraid to hope on this one:
So I was all set to answer truthfully. The words were right there on my lips. No, actually, I couldn’t find a date for your wedding. I’m coming alone.

(Coming alone: A Memoir of My Sex Life, by Claire French.)
Ha! Laughed out loud on that one. Any author that can make me laugh out loud at 2% of a downloaded sample deserves a chance, in my opinion. And I’m happy to say this book didn’t let me down in any way.

Claire is an awesome heroine. She’s a dreamer, a romantic, but she doesn’t let her desire for romance take over her life. She’s in no way desperate. Claire is a hopeful romantic, not a hopeless one. ​
​I’d met some OK guys. But I’d never felt that thing — that pulse-quickening, breath-taking, Hallmark-channel thing. I knew it existed because I’d read about it in books and seen it in movies and even witnessed it in real life… and I didn’t want to settle for anything less. I believed in soul mates, and I wanted my own.
But where the fuck was he, already?
And Theo is definitely that Hallmark-perfect guy Claire’s been waiting for.  But too bad for Claire that beneath Theo’s smooth-talking, charming, sexy-as-hell exterior, he’s hiding years of emotional trauma and damage that make it hard for him to recognize love when it smacks him in the face, and even harder to accept that he’s worthy of Claire. If You Were Mine is the story of how Claire and Theo overcome their mostly self-imposed (I’m looking at you, Theo) obstacles to find their happily ever after. And through it all? They never really lose their funny, which I LOVED.
“Uh, are we still observing the no-touching rule tonight?” I asked as she kissed her way up my chest. “Asking for a friend.”

“It’s after midnight,” she whispered, her breath tickling my ear. “Tomorrow is here.”

“Oh, thank fuck.” I flipped her beneath me.
Overall, this is a sweet, sexy (very, very sexy at times), light-hearted, witty romance that still manages to pull on the old heartstrings a time or two. In other words: get to your Kindles and download this one, folks. You won’t regret it.  

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Crushes it! No rehab needed. This one’s clean and sober

Other reading suggestions
This book was well-written enough that I’d recommend checking out the author’s backlist, which is quite full. (You’re welcome, folks). For other stories about fake boyfriends who soon become all-too real, try Beautiful Entourage by EL Todd, Fake Fiancée by Ilsa Madden-Mills, or One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy. ​

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