The Look of Love by Bella Andre

 

Sometimes one look is all it takes Chloe Peterson has vowed never to make the mistake of trusting a man again. Her reasons are as vivid as the bruises on her cheek. So when her car skids off a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced the gorgeous guy who rescues her must be too good to be true.

As a successful international photographer, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women. He’s satisfied with his life-until he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley.

With every loving look-and every sinfully sweet caress-the attraction between them sizzles, and Chloe can’t help but wonder if she’s met the man who may be the exception to her rule…Description from Goodreads

Paperback, 384 pages

Expected publication: May 28th 2013 by Harlequin MIRA (first published January 1st 2011)

ISBN

0778315568 (ISBN13: 9780778315568)

original title

The Look of Love (The Sullivans, #1)

series

The Sullivans #1

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure what to think when I started reading this novel. Hmmm. The story begins with the male lead attending the birthday party of his mother and there are A LOT of character introductions all at the same time. Although I was able to sort them out and the author kept the main focus on one character, I did feel it was a bit much for a reader to handle, trying to keep them all straight. There was also a little question of how old someone would have been in so many years before and how they would have done the things the author claimed they did if you do the math. I’m not nitpicking, but I have math brain so I can’t help but notice this stuff.

Here’s what I did like:

The characters are part of a dynamic family and this will guarantee plenty of material for future books. There are 8 kids (6 males 2 females) and they are all pretty interesting characters that the author can work with.

The author has an excellent sense of what language to use in contemporary romance and the writing and dialogue never felt the slightest bit dated. Bella Andre will no doubt be a force in her genre.

There were some decidedly sweet and romantic moments in this novel and I thought the author was really original when she wrote these scenes. She didn’t do the same thing I have seen a hundred times before and that made me pretty happy to keep reading. There is also a bit of humor that I thought was well placed and made it more fun.

Here is where the warning comes in. If you didn’t already know, this book comes with a BIG, RED, FLASHING “SEX SCENES AHEAD” sign. If you like mild romance and innocent sexual tension you may want to detour and choose another route so you don’t inadvertently run over any naked people. I was a bit surprised that for a character who claims to be avoiding men that the main female character reacted the way she did. I think I just need more than “Hi, you’re hot hey we should check out that bed.” and this book is full of stranger sex…and some just downright strange sex…anyway, overall it was pretty good and it broke away from the norms of the genre.

I would recommend this to those who really like their steamy scenes to resemble a jalapeno–hot and spicy.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher.