Alea Heling has wanted her brother's best friend John O'Donnell since high school. He never seemed to notice her except for the one time she tried to dress sexy for him and he rejected her. Now years later when he is home on leave, she decides to be exactly what he is looking for. She trades in her sexy and bold clothes for her more understated teacher clothes. She is determined to convince him to give her a chance and see where things between them could go. John has no intention of seeing Alea while he is in town, but when he arrives home to a welcome home party he quickly realizes that he has no choice. The more they are around each other the more the attraction between them grows. John has always wanted Alea but stayed away because of her brother and because he always felt she was too good for him. He has worked hard to provide for his mother and sisters, but it will never be enough for Alea and what she is used to coming from with her family. But Alea is also struggling with whether to pursue a career that her family has pushed her into and living the life she has come to love. Can these two have a shot together or will their differences be too much for them to overcome.
I liked John, but I didn't really love him. For some reason I just never really connected with him or Alea. I thought that he was sweet and hardworking, and that he was good with his family. But I thought that he let his family run his life too much and that he was a bit too insecure about his station in life. He had worked hard and made it to a successful career, and yet he still thought that he wasn't good enough and that he was beneath Alea's family. It just kind of turned me off to his character. A military man is usually confident to the point of cocky, and I just never got that with him. Alea was also hard for me to connect to and I just didn't understand her character. She was bold and confident at times, challenging men to games of pool and wearing daring clothes. But then she felt like she couldn't be herself and had to alter her looks and personality in order to land John. I just couldn't get behind her changing herself for a guy and it was pretty much over before it began since that is the way this book started. I thought that they had some chemistry together and that they had a good sort of friendship having known each other for years. But I didn't really ever see the love between them or connection. It just never really clicked for me for some reason and I was left wanting more when it came to their relationship. I think part of what hurt it was that even though they knew each other, they had never really been together or had a strong relationship before. They hardly spoke, and the only reason he even had her phone number was that his mom had given it to him. It just didn't seem to really develop for me.
I also felt like this one was just sort of cliche and predictable. It was like everything that happened was straight out of how to write a romance. There was nothing new or different here, and I just felt like it was a bit too corny at times. The ending was especially hard to get behind. It was too sweet and cutesy for me, and honestly it felt pretty unbelievable. I am not an expert in military matters, but it just seemed as though things were too easily altered and I just couldn't get behind how neatly everything was tied up at the end. I think that this could have been a great story and showed promise, but overall I was disappointed with this one. I also felt that it was a little light on the action and less sexy than what I have come to expect from Entangled's Brazen line. I think that if you are looking for a cute story with a happy ending that you might give this one a shot. This one just wasn't for me and I thought that it was less than what I had been hoping for.
**ARC Provided by Entangled Publishing**
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