Love and Lust rec: 'Kiss Me Hello' by Grace Burrowes
Kiss Me Hello by Grace Burrowes
What it's about (courtesy of Sourcebooks Casablanca):
Sidonie Lindstrom's hands and heart are full—she's been uprooted from the urban life she loves, she's grieving for her brother while raising her foster son Luis, and she's trying to find a job with meaning. But her burdens feel lighter when she meets rural lawyer Mackenzie Knightley. Their attraction is powerful and unexpected. Life is perfect… until Sid learns that Mack hasn't been completely honest about his job.
When problems arise with Luis' foster care situation, she must decide: can she trust Mack again, when she has so much more to lose?
Why you should read it: If you have enjoyed Grace Burrowes' historical novels, wait until you read what she can do with a contemporary romance. Readers of the Sweetest Kisses series will finally find out why Mackenzie Knightly has gone 10 years without a date. No, he's not a closeted gay man, but he does have a dark secret that has robbed him of the trust needed to develop a relationship with a woman.
Mac is a country lawyer who is also a farrier. He's on his horse-shoeing job when he hears that a new neighbor has discovered large horses on their property that weren't part of the purchase deal. Mac agrees to look in on the welfare of the horses on his way home and discovers a woman and her foster son have somehow become guardians of two elderly well-known horses but have no idea how to care for farm animals at all.
The horses aren't the only curve balls that have come at Sidonie. Her life is what would be labeled "it's complicated" on social media. Her brother, who was going to be a major part of this farm property flip enterprise, has passed away. Not only does that leave Sid woefully unprepared to deal with the property, but because his will is tied up in probate court, she is also very short of funds just to keep the property that was her dream to financial independence. It also causes problems in her attempt to adopt her teenage foster son, Luis. Complicated is right!
So, we've got three people with secrets they are unwilling to share: Mac, Sid and Luis. Sid and Mac are attracted to each other but blocked from letting things progress by these secrets. Mac can be the knight in shining armor to help Sid and Luis, but when Sid finds out who and what Mac is, everything grinds to a halt. By that time, Mac is thinking that maybe he can let go of his past and fall for a woman again, so her rejection throws him for a loop.
Sid is accustomed to dealing with lawyers who are not necessarily on her side, through the probate and adoption court processes. The foster care system is full of bureaucrats, red-tape barriers, a lack of caseworkers, errors and seemingly anything that can block placing a teenager in a good home. Therefore, Sid's experience with lawyers is not good and causes her to transfer those negative prejudices to Mac and, in fact, causes her to see him as an adversary rather than someone who can rescue her from her troubles.
Mac needs the help of his family and friends to turn Sid's fortunes around, but with her negative attitude against lawyers due to her past experiences, she can't see that there is another side to the profession and that is what the Knightleys represent. Success will not only save the ranch and Luis' place in Sid's life but also give Mac and Sid a chance at love.
Characters from the previous two books pop up, and their backgrounds are helpful to what Mac and Sid need to accomplish, but enough information is shared in this book that if you haven't read the other stories, you will not be lost. This is an angst-filled love story with hot sex and a plot that will grab your heart from the beginning and not let go until the last page. Right along with the characters in the story I was rooting for this little family to get their chance at happiness. This is a romance novel, so the love of Sid and Mac is central to the story, but my favorite character is Luis, who is so smart and full of compassion for his foster mother. Luis has a lot to contribute but hasn't always had the chance to show what he is made of. He is very protective of Sid, and when Mac takes Luis under his wing Luis, blossoms into a nurturer as well as a protector.
Kiss Me Hello is a long novel, which is a good thing since even at the end I wasn't ready to let go of the characters and the story. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a wonderful contemporary romance with a Western flavor and children who are fighting their own battles and need to be loved and cherished.
Becky Condit is a widow, mother of three and grandmother of 10 who reads all kinds of books, but her go-to comfort books are erotic romances. A romance novel coupled with just-out-of-the-oven chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of cold milk is her idea of heaven. She reads and reviews more than 250 books a year, so you won't often find her without her Kindle in hand, but when you do, she'll probably be gardening, doing needle crafts, working in her upholstery workshop and spending time with her family.