"The Look of Love" - Review

Thanks to BookBub for this enjoyable find, if you don't know what that is you can learn about it and other services in a recent blog post.  The Look of Love by Bella Andre is the first book I've read from this author and it made for a wonderful bedtime read. [goodreads review]

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A worthy introduction to the Sullivan family and their pantheon!
#romance #chicklit #fiction

3 Stars!
Series:  book 1: The Sullivans
Characters: Chloe & Chase
Setting: Napa Valley California
Mature Themes: domestic abuse & sex

Recommendation: As a quick and easy read designed for the romance lover who wants steamy scenes and very little fluff this satisfies that itch extremely well.  If you're looking for intense character growth and epic realization moments, you'll not find them here.  This was a pretty standard contemporary romance, but enjoyable nonetheless.

When Chase finds Chloe on the side of the road, car wrecked and sporting a fresh bruise on her cheek, he swoops in to be the gentleman his mother raised him to be.  Chloe is unsure but out of options, so warily she accepts his help and agrees to stay a single night in his brother's vineyard guest house.  Chase soon realizes being honorable and keeping his promise to Chloe of chivalry may be harder than he initially expected.

The Napa Valley setting was described very briefly and with my prior experiences in that region I was able to really enjoy the stunning pictures in my head, but without that knowledge, I'm not sure how enjoyable it would have been. The instant love and trust with two main characters that were well developed and a wealth of side characters that are little more than faceless shadows narrowed the plot and removed a lot of the world building.

This was a quick, cut to the chase (no pun intended), instant love like I've never seen before.  The first minute Chase see's Chloe he's in lust and by the time he drives her to the winery, he's practically ready to marry her.  The back and forth from his point of view was interesting, seeing his internal struggle to keep his promise to her all while trying to fight his lust.

Chloe was an interesting character.  For most of the story her struggle to trust again, both in herself and in Chase, is interesting to read.  Near the end of the book though, all of that hard work of building up the character's fear, worry, and insecurities were thrown out. She seems to forget her past suffering and instead trusts this strangers she's known for a week with everything making me as a reader feel a bit betrayed.  Where'd that strong negotiating woman go who owned he pain and didn't need a man to over come it?