A Sure Thing (Donnigans, #1)

by Marie Harte

[EBookObsessed]

I was on the fence on the last Marie Harte series, but I am all in on this one. It was not just a love for Landon Donnigan and Ava Rosenthal that makes this story so great, it is the family dynamics on both sides that grabs your attention for even more stories to come.

Ava and Landon meet at the gym where Landon’s brother is an instructor. And the former marine shows off his bossiness when he decides to help Ava with her technique. She might reluctantly admit that Landon is correct, but the cocky man doesn’t need any more encouragement.

Clinical psychologist Ava is currently working on her five-year plan and while her career is on track, her romantic life, is not so much. She is currently trying on-line dating and while the men she is meeting all meet her checklist of a successful and attractive future husband and father of her children, there is no spark with any of them. Which makes it all the more frustrating, that there is nothing but chemistry between Ava and the muscle-bound know-it-all who is absolutely not her type.

Against her better judgment, Ava agrees to go on a date with Landon and reluctantly admits that he does have many appreciable qualities, such as a strong tie to family and he is really thoughtful…or maybe it is just her hormones screaming “let’s jump the hot marine.”

While the bedroom scenes, as well as the didn’t quite make it to the bedroom scenes, are well-written, it is the crazy family dynamics on both side that will keep you reading further into this series. Ava’s cousins include her Sophie, currently on a man-hating moratorium from dating, and Elliot, whose recent heartbreak has him working his way through all the hot men in town. Neither has a successful relationship, but that doesn’t stop them from heaping all kinds of helpful hints on Ava.

Then there are the Donnigans which include younger brother, Gavin, who is suffering PTSD; younger sister, Hope, who is butting heads with her mother and hanging with all the wrong type of men; and the youngest Donnigan, Theo, recent High School graduate who is trying to figure out what to do next.

There is hints as to the next book at the end, I will be looking out for that although I am sure it won’t be out until next year.