PLUS!! It had all of my favorite tropes rolled up into one. Sexy-single dad-cop that’s also her neighbor that she’s been crushing on for YEARS!!! YEEEEEEEEEEARS!!!! 😲 YES PLEASE!!!
Rae: Love her Maryse. The whole story including the book cover was 
Kimberly: It was a great read!
Very sweet with a minimal amount of angst (just enough to get your blood simmering in a few parts). 😉 Er… in some *ahem* very good 😏 and some… not-so-good ways. 🤨 Tee hee!!
So what’s it about?
Cole (the sexy police officer/single father next door) is Cheyenne’s brother’s absolute best friend, and her childhood crush. Her teen crush. Her current crush! Yep… she has crushed on him FOREVER, pinning away secretly over him, even when he married another girl (and crushed her heart in the process).
I was nineteen and thought I was over Cole Mitchell once and for all. Then I saw him standing at the front of the church in a black suit, tears in his eyes, watching Trisha walk toward him, and it hit me—I’d never be over him. And he’d never be mine. I stayed as long as I could at the reception, then I came home and bawled my eyes out.
Ahhhhhhh the agony of unrequited love. <— I WAS ALL OVER THAT!!!!
They just so happen to be neighbors so she gets to seem him (and his adorable daughter) often,
“Real love doesn’t fade. It only gets stronger.”
“I love my dad the most out of anybody.”
Girl, same, I wanted to say. Instead I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I know.”
…but she continues to keep her feelings a secret. After all, he’s pretty stoic and reserved, and has never given her any inclination that he might be interested.
“You’re only human, Officer Mitchell. You might look like a superhero—especially in uniform—but underneath it all, you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us. You can admit it. And you can always talk to me.”
Now he’s raising his daughter with the help of his mother (while still coping with the loss of his wife), he’s made it clear to everybody (especially his meddling mom 😉 ) that he’s uninterested in dating. Focused, committed… to his daughter, and his job.
That is, until he starts finally noticing Cheyenne. 😉
My heart was beating hard and fast. I felt ridiculous, like a fifth grader who’d just held hands with a girl for the first time. For f*ck’s sake, I’d tackled her on my bed the other night. This was nothing.
Except, it felt like something.
But then…
“This doesn’t have to change anything. I know we’re just friends.”
He exhaled. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that.”
*gulp*
Let the fun begin!
It’s a very sweet, lighthearted read that I enjoyed. Easy on the eyes AND the heart (though not without its moments of potential heartache). 😉
Maryse: NANCY & I ARE BUDDY-READING THIS NEW RELEASE!! Melanie Harlow ‘s HOT COP, SINGLE DAD, NEIGHBOR ALERT!! …Oh this one is gonna hit all my buttons, I just know it!!!!
Jennifer: Is this a standalone?
Maryse: It reads as one, but it comes after “Drive Me Wild” (about a different couple) – though they now appear in this one too. I haven’t read the first one, and I’m having no issues following it.
Summer: I’m reading it also so far so good
Jenn: EEK! It’s so good!
Maryse: …very good, enjoying it but somewhat predictable – Reasons why he can’t get in a relationship with her etc etc…) though I’m reading it with gusto so I must like it anyway. LOL!
Had this been told strictly from her POV I know it would have affected me even more, not knowing what he was thinking, and having to go solely on his actions, but we get both perspectives throughout. Still, I know there are plenty of readers out there that love both POVs so this one’s for you!!
Plus, did I mention the super-steam? Sweet, gentle, comfortable, fun… and HOT!
And yes… it was somewhat predictable (for me). Like… I kind of new the trajectory it would take, and new *something* was gonna throw a money-wrench in all of it, and it DID!
Now while I analyze my “moments” during the angsty stuff, below, you might want to skip the next part of my review so you can go in “blinder”, so-to-speak. Not that I spoil anything but you know how it goes. I don’t want you going in with any pre-conceived ideas of how this one builds into that “crescendo”.
It had that “moment” where the angst kicks in which had me asking a few questions of my own (and actually in regards to the heroine herself). And with that I mean, I felt that while the drama and her reactions were justified (oh yes, there’s one spot that had it been me? Would have made my blood run cold), I found the drama over-stretched out after awhile, and I couldn’t understand why… considering. You know?
Maybe I forgive too quickly. <— Probably that. *sigh* 😉
All that to say: A fun, heartwarming read, with a Hero I could totally swoon over and a heroine I could connect with – for the most part.
It’s book #2 in the series (though it can easily be read as a standalone – since this is the book I started with), but I bet had I read #1 (Drive Me Wild), I would have been even more attached to the plight of the characters that were the focus in this book. And also, Cheyenne’s moody hot brother (the Hero in the first book) would have totally been my thing too. 😉
4 STARS!!
➔➔➔ Looking for more of my must-read recommendations? Browse my 5 star and 4.5 star and 4 star reviews. 😀
➔➔➔ Love this trope? Browse more unrequited love & love after loss and/or police romance features and reviews on my blog. 😀
Just so you know, I liked this book, but liked, DRIVE ME WILD, BETTER!
Yeah?? Thank you Nancy!! I bet I’d love her moody grouchy brother. He was funny and grumbly in this one.