Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Shannon Stacey - Exclusively Yours

When Keri Daniels's boss finds out she has previous carnal knowledge of reclusive bestselling author Joe Kowalski, she gives Keri a choice: get an interview or get a new job.
Joe's never forgotten the first girl to break his heart, so he's intrigued to hear Keri's back in town -- and looking for him. He proposes an outrageous plan -- for every day she survives with his family on their annual camping trip, Keri can ask one question.
The chemistry between Joe and Keri is as potent as the bug spray, but Joe's sister is out to avenge his broken heart, and Keri hasn't ridden an ATV since she was ten. Who knew a little blackmail, a whole lot of family and some sizzling romantic interludes could make Keri reconsider the old dream of Keri & Joe 2gether 4ever?


Comment: Before buying this book I've seen the comments of two people whose opinion I usually follow for being similar to mine in certain genres, this included. I was very impressed with both and I decided I would try it. Besides, the blurb is quite appealing and I was already imagining scenes in the family trip where I could get both funny and sweet moments.

This is the story of Keri, she's a cosmopolitan woman, she lives in a huge city and is told by her boss she needs to do an interview to the mysterious and successful author of the moment, someone she knew since her school days. Joe Kowalski is the author everyone talks about but he doesn't give interviews. When Keri looks for him he knows what she's after but he proposes a challenge and the prize is a set of questions. Of course, to achieve that, she needs to spend some time with him and his family doing things she might not find so amusing, like getting mud all over her and watching people she used to know treat her not so well...

I have to say I was very disappointed. I wasn't as impressed as I'd have liked and I can't put aside what I didn't like to just enjoy the better parts.
The whole story was based on how, after years apart, former sweetheart couple Joe and Keri would be together again after she dumped him to pursue her career in another place, where she could grab better an opportunity. 
First issue for me: I don't like lovers reunited story lines. I didn't realize they had been hot for each other that way, I pictured a more...innocent dating lol, oh well. So, no discovery between them, no new sensations, no new feelings just arising, no new nothing. Just the memories from the old days and how they never forgot the other. Really boring for me.
Second issue for me: I didn't like Keri. She seemed too harsh, to aloof to be a good heroine in my book. How she acted at the end? Not believable for me, because she spent so much time apart from Joe and what it meant to live in a smaller place, with a different pace that when compared to those things, her attitude didn't seem reliable for the way she used to act or, even more, for how the author had stressed she liked to live in a big city, how important her job was to her, to her aspirations, how important it was to leave, to have things, to be that person. Fine, she is who she is. Bit I didn't feel empathy towards her and would have preferred Joe to end up with someone else.
In the end, it's a matter of personal taste, of course, and for me this wasn't that good. Some parts were enjoyable but overall I couldn't really put aside what bothered me to enjoy it more. I don't intend to keep up with this series, and I feel bad because it sure was promising at first...

2 comments:

  1. Aww, you don't like lovers reunited? That right there is a problem with this one. Definitely. Keri is not easy to like either in my opinion. I had a tough time with her for a while, but in the end I liked the Kowalski family a lot and remember enjoying Joe.

    I think I've only read two books in this series, and I liked the other one (Yours to Keep) much more. But, Shannon Stacey is a hit and miss for me. There's another book I read that everyone loved, Slow Summer Kisses (not a Kowalski book) that got A's and high grades, but for me it was a C! It's fun, light, sexy, but not a great, great read in my opinion. So, I think in the end it all comes down to taste, I think.

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  2. Yes, lovers reunited story lines usually don't work for me. Also, the writing style just didn't strike me as that great, now that some time has passed since I read it. We can't enjoy everything, right? lol
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