Mini Reviews: Hard Pressed & Ask Me Why

Contemporary romance mini-reviews!

Hard Pressed - Kate Canterbary
Ask Me Why - Harloe Rae

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Dear Jackson,

I'm leaving you this note because I know you're very busy and I don't want to waste the town sheriff's time. Lord knows I've already wasted enough of it.

Thank you for taking me home last night and...everything else. I made you a basket of wild blueberry muffins for your trouble. That seemed like the appropriate baked good for getting naked in your living room.

I wasn't myself last night. I didn't mean to kiss you or fondle your backside or ask all those intimate questions. Thank you for pretending to enjoy it.

It was very noble of you to sleep on the couch while I was starfished on your bed. I couldn't help but notice it's quite large. The bed, that is. I swear, I didn't notice anything else when I let myself out this morning.

As you know, Talbott's Cove is a ridiculously small town and there's no chance we can avoid each other. Not that I'd want to avoid you, of course, but I'm not sure I can look at you without thinking of the forty different ways I made a fool of myself.

Instead of avoidance, let's try to be friends. We'll forget all about last night…if that's what you want.

Please burn this note after you read it—

Annette

p.s. I whipped up some cinnamon buns, too. Please enjoy them. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't get buns out of my mind today.

This book was pretty much what I expected from the blurb... A funny, sexy and sweet, contemporary romance that made me smile from cover to cover. 

Annette is a book store owner, liked by all except her bitchy sisters, and doesn't realise her own appeal. 

Jackson is the new sheriff who is settling in nicely to his new town and can't take his eyes off Annette but has never had an opening.

When Annette is jerked out of her fantasy land featuring an unattainable guy (because he's gay and happily in a relationship!) she's thrust into the path of the sexy sheriff who is all too willing to catch her. 

There was a lot of flirty back and forth with this pair and lots of sex and sweetness. 

Jackson was the perfect catch. 

He knew what he wanted and when he got his chance he held on with both hands despite Annette's reluctance to accept all that he was offering.  He was patient, kind and understanding. He was protective and hot and good-natured. Everyone should have a Jackson in their lives!  

Annette was smart, bookish, sweet and totally unprepared for someone to love her. Her family had really done a number on her and although she was frustrating at times it was really hard to dislike her. I loved seeing the sparks fly between them. 

It was a quick, light and lovely summery read... But be warned! Have baked goods to hand while reading this novel as descriptions of Annette's baking (and she bakes a lot) will have you craving the sweet stuff!

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*Read via Kindle Unlimited*

One deep breath. Two slow blinks. Three hollow beats.

I’m still here. 

After three years, that reminder isn’t as necessary. But everyone has their bad days. This is definitely one of them. 

Until an adorable little boy dashes into my store. 

His zest for life makes me smile in a way that’s been long lost. 

Then I meet his father.

Well, confront is more like it. 

Brance Stone is volatile. 

Offensive. 

Harsh. 

And can’t be bothered to care. 

Not that I want him to. 

I get frostbite just looking into Brance’s glacial stare. But there’s something undeniable about him. 

My misery suddenly craves company. The suffocating numbness lifts whenever Brance is near. That alone should have me running in the opposite direction. Try as I might, there’s no avoiding him. If only I could understand why. As if he’d let me. 

I don’t ask. He doesn’t tell. A silent, bitter truce settles between us. 

That was our first mistake. 

It’s certainly not the last.

This book was ok.
It was easy to read and addictive enough that I read it over the course of one evening but I had issues.

Braelyn owns a store that sells a little bit of everything and has a very nice candy section.
One day, a little boy comes into the shop and falls in love with the sweets, the store and with Braelyn. This gorgeous little boy is being raised by his dad - his mum is completely out of the picture - and essentially he decides he wants Braelyn in his life.
His dad, however, has other plans.

His dad has no place in his life for a woman. His dad, Brance, is an abrasive dickhead who treats romantic attachments to women with utter contempt and is beyond rude. However, he has some redeeming qualities in that he works hard, loves his kid with everything he's got, and looks very nice in and out of a suit... But he's still a dickhead.

Braelyn is emotionally damaged by a tragic accident several years before. Her store is her sanctuary and as it is slowly invaded by this little boy and his dad she starts to truly move on with her life. She starts to live again instead of just being alive. It was nice seeing her come back to life but I didn't like how she seemed to 'recover' from her PTSD because of a guy. Getting over his loss, moving on from the grief, I can accept but PTSD? It doesn't work that way... Sigh.

Braelyn and Brance (gah, the alliteration of their names annoys me) had a rocky start to their relationship but they did have chemistry. I enjoyed seeing Brance let her past his guard without quite realising it was happening and I absolutely adored the kid.
I guess the reason this book wasn't a fail for me - because Brance really was THAT mean at times -  was that I'm trash for the mean boy who is gooey for his girl and ultimately that's what Brance was.