Title: Trusting Jake
Author: Lauren Giordano
Release Date: September 26, 2015
Publisher: Harvest Moon Press
Blurb:
Broken down at the side of the road, Jenna Stone's life is like her car. In need of a jumpstart. Tired of playing by other people's rules, the widowed single mom guards her new freedom by keeping her deadbeat husband alive . . . in name only. But meeting Jake Traynor makes her question the merits of lying. Will he break down the fortress around her heart?
Falling for a married woman was never in the blueprint. The definition of responsible son, workaholic executive Jackson Traynor is driven to prove his father right in promoting Jake to run the family construction company. He's all business. No pleasure. Until assisting a beautiful redhead with her broken down car reminds Jake what he wants.
What if the only person you want is the one you can never have? Battling their deepening attraction, Jake must question everything he's ever believed-- because Jen and her kids are the family he's always dreamed of. Jenna must choose between a safe life and the one of her dreams. When Jake's company is threatened, she will risk everything to protect him-- even if it means exposing old secrets.
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Review:
I’m always fascinated by the stories that include children
as some of the main characters. Whether we’re talking a single mom trying to make
it in the world, or a single dad just trying to keep it all together while life
goes on, I can’t help but be interested in how these little people will change
the basic dynamic of a romance novel. Trusting Jake by Lauren Giordano caught
my attention for just this reason.
Jenna Stone is finally free of a bad marriage, one from which
the only good things to come of it are her children – Alex and Megan. Forced to
move and start over after being fired from her job, Jenna looks forward to a
new beginning and is determined not to allow the past to repeat itself. To
protect herself she maintains the illusion (er, lie) of being married, not truly
realizing the very limiting conditions she’s placing herself and her children’s
lives in. That is, she didn’t realize until after she meets Jake and remembers
that not all men are like her ex-husband, and realizes that by lying she may
have made an even bigger mistake than ever before.
Jake Traynor had very specific goals and expectations for
himself. Desiring his married assistant was nowhere on the list. Falling in
love with that very same, married assistant never even occurred to him as
possible. And yet, it’s not long before he finds himself consumed with thoughts
or her and, surprisingly of her children. But while he accepts that he can’t
help but think of her, it would go against every moral and good intention he
ever had if he were to act on those thoughts...
I really liked this story. It was sweet and romantic but
held just enough edge – with deceptions, jackasses and angst, to keep it from
being too sweet and romantic. Jenna lies through her teeth and yearns with all
her heart, and Jake is confused and absolutely miserable.
Alex and Megan, these two little kids who seem to fall for
Jake just as quickly as he falls for them, and who want him in their lives just
as much as their mom wants Jake too, they are quite simply adorable. These kids
could have been used as a road block for the relationship between Jenna and
Jake, many an author take that route with kids, but instead the kids were a
bridge between them. A common ground that even while holding themselves away
from each other, Jenna and Jake couldn’t hold away from themselves.
I enjoyed watching as they struggled – as Jenna sought a way
out from under the lies she’d been telling, as Jake fought with his own
conscience and morals. I liked seeing the process their minds took, enjoyed how
they finally came together and the aftermath of those moments. And you know, I
liked that they both bent; that both of them adjusted what they thought they
could accept, and readjusted it before really, really becoming ‘Jake and Jenna’.
All in all, Trusting Jake is a story that I
thoroughly enjoyed and as it’s the first in a new series (Blueprint for Love) from the author, I’m happy that I’ll have the
chance to revisit the characters from time-to-time, even if only peripherally. So
if you’re looking for a short and sweet romantic tale – look no further than Trusting
Jake by Lauren Giordano.
About the Author:
Lauren Giordano writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Her next series, Blueprint to Love, will start in September, 2015 with the first book, Trusting Jake. When not writing, she is usually burning something in the kitchen. A book lover of all genres, Lauren is always searching for her next great read. She lives in the mid-Atlantic with her husband, daughters and two vacationing cats who never seem to leave.
Connect with Lauren:
1 comment:
Thank you
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