Item: The Offer
Rating: 4.00
Author: stacey_is_sassy

by Karina Halle

THE OFFER is a STANDALONE, CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE NOVEL from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact.

She thinks he's an arrogant playboy.
He thinks she's an uptight prude.
But he's about to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Nicola Price used to have it all – a great career, the perfect boyfriend, an excessive shoe collection and an apartment in one of San Francisco’s best neighborhoods. But when she gets knocked up and her a**hat boyfriend leaves her high and dry, Nicola’s perfectly crafted world comes tumbling down. And stays that way.

Now, Nicola is the proud single mom to a five-year old daughter and living a giant lie. She can barely afford their ghetto apartment and all the men she dates run when they hear she comes with a child. She’s struggling and scared – and nowhere near where she thought she’d be at age thirty-one.

Her saving grace comes in the form of a tall, handsome and wealthy Scotsman Bram McGregor, the older brother of her friend Linden. Bram understands a thing or two about pride, so when tragic circumstances place Nicola at rock bottom, he offers them a place to live in the apartment complex he owns. It’s pretty much the perfect deal, so as long as she doesn’t mind living beside Bram, a man that, despite his generosity, seems to antagonize her at every turn.

But nothing in life is free and as Nicola gets her feet back on the ground, she discovers that the enigmatic playboy may end up costing her more than she thought.

She might just lose her heart.

Those McGregor brothers are nothing but trouble…

Though THE OFFER follows characters that were previously introduced in the novel THE PACT, you do NOT need to read The Pact beforehand as The Offer is its own story and is a fully standalone novel.

This book is rated 18+ for explicit sexual situations and language. Reader discretion is advised.

Love is simple...yeah right.

The Offer is the first story I have read by Karina Halle. I know I'm late to the party and always planned to read her work, but I'm glad this was my first. This story is about taking risks to find your happy place and learning that trust is hard to earn and once broken hard to earn back. Life is not always easy and sometimes you need to accept help when it's offered especially when it benefits a loved one. Communication is the foundation to every relationship and the truth always come out.

We meet single Mum Nicola and her very sweet daughter Ava. Nicola has been doing the hard slog by herself when Ava's Dad (Douche Extraordinaire) leaves and doesn't look back. Things had been fine but not great until Nicola loses her job and Ava becomes sick. We also meet Bram the sexy, handsome, rich, manwhore...with a Scottish accent. Bram and Nicola meet at her best friends marriage to Bram's brother. Bram has a wee bit of a reputation that Nicola knows all about and when he hits on her she shuts him down because she knows he's trouble.

I loved Nicola and Ava's relationship. Nicola is a wonderful Mum and Ava is a beautiful and sweet daughter. There was never a doubt that these two are a package deal. It was nice to read about a Mum who didn't resent having to go home to her daughter instead of partying. Yes, there were times when Ava was a cockblocker (Nicola's words, not mine) but neither Nicola or Bram show any resentment.

Bramtastic starts out as an arrogant jerk who seems to only care about getting laid. He does have a few relationships of the Bram kind (sex only) after he meets Nicola but she had turned him down so there was no cheating. I loved how Bram's character developed through the story. The poor guy is so misunderstood by his family and friends. He was bad, but he's working towards being a better man.

A great love story with a few stumbling blocks that kept my interest the whole time. Nicola is strong, Bram is Bramtastic and Ava is sweet. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This review and more can be found at http://edgyreviews.com/

The Offer (The McGregor Boys, #2)

by Karina Halle

Reviewed by stacey_is_sassy on Jun 19, 2015

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