If You Were Mine (The Sullivans, #5)

by Bella Andre

[kimbacaffeinate]

4.5 I am back with another Sullivan book, this time it is Zack Sullivan’s tale in If You Were Mine. Bella Andre turned up the heat in this one, as she peeled back Zack’s layers. I fell for this sweet, charismatic and stubbornly stupid man. This is the fifth book in the Sullivans stories and I still cannot get enough of these siblings. Mini review: hot, heart-warming and filled with adorable animals who stole my heart.

So yummy fire fighter Gabe and his new family Megan and seven year old Summer are going on vacation. Only there is a problem, Summer just got a new puppy named Cuddles. What to do? What to do? Summer thinks the best solution is to leave Cuddles in the hands of her new favorite Uncle, Zack. Of course Zack is a sucker for little girls and big puppy dog eyes. Besides how much trouble can a 3 lb Yorkie named Cuddles be? When the puppy turns his world upside down, a friend sends dog trainer Heather Linsey and her Grey Dane, Atlas to the rescue. The tale that unfolds is steamy hot, hilarious and so heart-warming I cried.

I love flawed characters and Andre knows how to create them. From the outside Zack and Heather both look like beautiful, success people, but ooh, looks can be deceiving. Zack owns a successful string of Auto shops, sponsors a NASCAR team and even races. He loves the ladies and is a confirmed bachelor. Can we talk about how smexy this man is? While I have never been a fan of smooth talkers, Zack is very charismatic and once you get past his one-liners you find this caring, tender, man. He is the type of guy who walks into a crowded room and even has Grandma tripping over her walker to get closer to him. Kids and puppies adore him; men want to be him. *swoon* Zack plans to live fast, play hard and die young, but Heather completely trips him up. Heather loves animals and owns her own Doggie daycare and training center, she works for shelters and rescues puppies so naturally I adored her. Thanks to a dysfunctional upbringing she has trust issues, and doesn’t believe in happily-ever-after. She carries some emotional and physical scars. Andre really made me fall for these characters and feel their personal struggles. The harder Heather resisted Zack, the faster he fell, and I loved watching it all unfold. I found myself swept up in the witty banter, little unnerving moments, their racing hearts and stolen breath…delicious. Of course, we see some of the other Sullivan’s, and they totally added to the tale.

If You Were Mine was such a delight from the puppies to the steamy hot love scenes that were so hot my eReader went on the fritz. While I am not a fan of insta-love, Andre made their fourteen day romance develop slowly, and gave it depth and believability. I found the core of the character’s flaws regarding commitment to be both plausible and incredible heartbreaking; furthering my desire for a happily ever after. I honestly cannot believe how much I adore this family and the Sullivan men in particular. Just when I think I have found my favorite Sullivan brother, Andre ups the ante, and I find myself falling hard for another one. My only complaint and believe me it wasn’t a real burden, was that we spent most of this book in bed! Thankfully Andre knows how to bring the heat, and while detailed it still left some to the imagination and also gave us tender, beautiful, moments. The next book brings us baseball player; Ryan Sullivan’s story and I cannot wait.

Copy received in exchange for unbiased review and originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer