Feels Like the First Time
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4.4 • 14 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
What's wrong with a little white lie?
There are a lot of things Ali Marshal doesn't do: pink anything, a day without chocolate, and Hawk, her sister's ex-husband. Sure, he's a sexy former NHL star who can make her pulse pound with just a wink. But he belonged to Bridget first. And no matter how long she's had a crush on him, how great he's always been to her dad, or that her sister is engaged to someone else now and Ali needs a date to their engagement party, she can't give in to temptation. Can she?
It's been years since his disastrous marriage crashed and burned, and Bradley Hawk has finally moved on. So when Bridget blows back into town with her new fiance, throwing the engagement party of the year, he could care less . . . until Ali tells one little lie that lands him smack dab in a fake relationship. After one promise to be Ali's date and two of the hottest kisses he's ever had, Hawk can't deny how much he wants her. But what happens when this fauxmance starts to feel very, very real?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Adair fails to convince with her second Destiny Bay contemporary (after Last Kiss of Summer), set in tiny Destiny Bay, Wash., which can't decide whether its central couple are friends becoming lovers or have always been meant for each other. Ali Marshal, an artist working with salvaged metal, is on the cusp of her big break, with a piece featured in Architectural Digest, when her social-climbing, limelight-stealing sister Bridget comes back home and announces her engagement to a wealthy Seattle developer. Ali sets out to comfort Bridget's ex-husband, former pro hockey player Bradley Hawk, and they impulsively start a fake romance. But both Ali and Hawk, whose career-ending injury also ended his marriage, quickly start to feel like the romance might be real. Readers will struggle to believe in the speed with which Ali's family, including Bridget, and the gossipy townspeople come to accept and cheer on the ex-sibling-in-law couple. Adair is better at capturing the competing demands on Ali (of career, childhood divorce issues, and caring for her diabetic father) than she is at making Ali and Bradley's confession of long-held crushes match their earlier behavior.
Customer Reviews
Finding His Sunshine
Ali devotes her life to making others happy. She's selfless, mothering, fierce, loyal, and strong. When she was young, her parents divorced and split the kids between them. Ali may not have had a motherly influence, but her dad surrounded her with love. He supported her and her dreams, while teaching her to be a strong independent woman. Her mom taught Bridget, Ali's older sister, to be a selfish, insecure person with no goals. So Ali and Bridget often clashed, especially when Bridget married Ali's longtime crush--Hawk.
Hawk has spent the last two years recovering from a failed marriage to Bridget and forced early retirement from NHL due to an injury. The only thing he asked for when they divorced was for her to NOT live in Destiny Bay. He wanted to come home and start a new life for himself. Hawk and his best friend own a successful bar in Destiny Bay. Hawk's friendship with Ali has grown and he's finally at a place in his life where he feels he can move on....until Bridget breezes back into town.
In a desperate attempt to "have Hawk's back", Ali tells her family that Hawk is her boyfriend. Bridget is newly engaged, but seems unhappy. Ali knows Bridget is up to something, but doesn't know what it is. So Hawk and Ali agree to be faux-friends, then sexy-friends. When Bridget makes a play for Hawk, Ali doubts Hawk's love for her causing all sorts of problems.
I really enjoyed this novel. I loved how supportive Hawk was of Ali and her dreams. I loved how he "listened" to her and loved her for who she was. I loved that he pampered her without suffocating her. I especially loved it when he called her his sunshine!!! While Ali was strong in nearly EVERY aspect of her life, I was a little disappointed in her willingness to allow her sister to walk all over her in the name of "family". She was the only one who made concessions so that Bridget was happy. What about her dreams? She even let her sister turn her congratulatory party into Bridget's engagement party!!! I wanted Ali to have it out with her sister and call her out on her selfishness! Other than that, I truly enjoyed this novel. It was engaging, funny, sweet, and ended with a HEA. I read a gifted copy and all opinions stated are my own.
A great must read!!
This was a great addition to the Destiny Bay series!
Ali was seriously the perfect heroine. Strong, fun, independent, but willing to let a man take care of her when needed. She loves big, and loves hard. Hawk is beyond sexy. He brings out this side of Ali that is fun to see, and he's exactly what a hero should be. There were a few secondary characters I wasn't too fond of, but one was beginning to redeem herself by the end, and hopefully we will see the other in an upcoming book and she redeems herself. This book had me laughing and crying in equal parts, and is definitely a must read!!
Sexy and fun second book in the Destiny Bay series!
Sexy and fun second book in the Destiny Bay series! Hawk and Ali perfect for each other, even if Hawk was married to her older sister. My heart broke for Ali and they way she always put everyone else's needs before her own. Hawk did a perfect job of showing her she deserved her own dreams. Lots of drama from Ali's family, but a great happy ending.
4.5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.