This is the first book I've read by Ms. Marcus and I enjoyed it. Shane and Brooke are from two different worlds, hers being a world of politics and privilege and he is a soldier from New Jersey. Now, don't get me wrong, Brooke is not a snob. She lives her life as quietly as possible as a teacher, while staying out of the spotlight of her father's political aspirations. Her father has always been busy with politics and her mother is a jerk with concern for Brooke's needs. So, she has chosen to lead her life on her terms. Shane and Brooke are sooooo very different. While he is just a regular guy from Jersey, she is very refined and at times very proper.
Shane and Brooke meet via a pen pal program that Brooke set up at her school and through those letters, they get to know each other. I'll admit that I would've liked to have read those letters or read more about the evolution of their friendship. When they first see each other when he returns home for a short visit, it's clear that they have bonded through those letters. I enjoyed the scenes when they meet face to face for the first time. Shane is flirty and playful with Brooke and I liked his personality. Shane has made it clear that he does not want a girlfriend and Brooke has no interest in being some guy's quick piece of ass. (For lack of a better term) Brooke has some pretty serious baggage she totes around due to an incident when she was younger. Enter Shane who is wildly attracted to her and things get interesting.
This one took a turn in a direction I really didn't fully see coming. It started out as a sweet and sensual story and then quickly transitioned in a pretty serious and timely narrative of the dangers of social media and cyber bullying.
I felt so horrible for Brooke, when the crap hit the fan, it just kept getting worse for her and she just had to sit back and let it work itself out. Luckily, Brooke has some very good friends that are instrumental in making sure her innocence is proven.
While all of this is going on, Brooke gets to know Shane and is family. His family is...interesting and I'll admit that I found some of the members of his family somewhat annoying and some of the drama that ensued felt a little OTT.
During all of this, we meet Brooke's best friend and Rory, Shane's friend who was deployed with him. I really liked both of them and I hope that we get a story for them.
Overall, this was a great read. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading whatever Ms. Marcus has in store for further books in this series.
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This review was originally posted on Straight Shootin' Book Reviews