4.25 stars

Oh, how I adore this series!! Ever since I read the first book, two years ago, I was charmed with the lovely fictional town of Harvest Cove, along with their residents that Ms. Leigh Castle created. I followed their romances and overjoyed with the happily ever afters. It is a little bittersweet that this book, A Little More Love, is the end of this lovely series. There will be no more Harvest Cove books, and Ms. Leigh Castle herself says that she might not return to contemporary romance for a while.

Anyway, A Little More Love, features Kira Andersen and Henry “Fitz” Fitzroy. Kira is the twin sister of Seth Andersen, the hero of book #2. While Fitz is a good friend of Jake (hero of book #1) and Shane (hero of book #4). The major conflict for this couple is the fact that Fitz has a ‘secret identity’. He is actually Malcolm Roy, an elusive fantasy author with a movie and TV series made out of his books.

Meanwhile, Kira is on the job trying to score an interview with Malcom – which will do so much for her career. She was burned in the past when her ex-lover stole an important position from her; she left her job and temporarily moved back to his job. So what would happened if Kira found out that Fitz was keeping a huge secret?

First of all, let me say that Fitz was ADORABLE!! Seriously!! That guy is a Beta-Male … he used to be painfully shy as a kid – especially because of his background, he often felt displaced. He bumbled through flirting, getting nervous around Kira. He was just … argh, making me want to squish his cheeks and hug him or something. Which is probably creepy because I am not much older than he was *lol*. Oh, I will just act like I am his big sister. I am entitled that way.

It was refreshing for me, a nice change of scenery from the usual Alpha confident men who walk through the room like they own it. Fitz even admitted to himself that he was a geek.

“I’m a thirty-year-old geek with lots of expendable income and too much time to spend shopping online”

He played games a lot, he had sword collections … he had a rather questionable taste for sweaters *lol*. But hey, Fitz was also a successful author, so he ROCKED my socks off.

Kira was lovely too … I loved that she was able to coax Fitz out of his shell. I loved that Kira made Fitz comfortable around her. She was charming – even if she could be a little guarded when it came to her ‘failure’. Oh, and she was also good in gaming, and totally loved reading fantasy books too. So yeah, Kira was an awesome heroine of her own. They were totally perfect for one another. Reading about them made my heart soar with joy.

Which was why I was a little bit disappointed that Kira and Fitz didn’t spend more time together as much as I wanted them to be. This being the last book in the series, various characters from previous books appeared quite frequently. While they didn’t totally steal the spotlight, I felt like Kira and Fitz also spent time more with them rather than together. Kira, most especially with her brother, Seth, and soon-to-be sister-in-law Emma. And Fitz with his friends Shane and Jake, or sometimes with his amusing huge Newfoundland, Norm.

But overall, I enjoyed this book. The epilogue felt like a great closure where everything came together for our couples, like a Christmas present with a gorgeous bow. What a satisfactory way to end a series. Thank you for giving a fan Harvest Cove, Ms. Leigh Castle.



A Guest Review for The Blogger Girls



The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.

3.75 stars rounded up

When I first read the glimpse of irritating slash intriguing arguments between Zoe Watson, the fiery gallery owner, and Jason Evans, the handsome park ranger (whom Zoe secretly called Treebeard behind his back) in book #1, I was already looking forward to their book. I thought Zoe and Jason had that “opposite attracts” factor down to a T. I couldn’t wait to read how they finally acknowledged their attraction. So when I was offered the ARC for this via The Blogger Girls blog, I couldn’t say “YES” fast enough. I immediately started reading it once it was delivered to my email.

Well, for the most part, I definitely got my wishes. I mean, look at the set-up!

Jason is forced into limited mobility after he broke his leg when trying to rescue a dog in the wood while avoiding trees coming down on him at the same time. He is out of commission, has to wear crutches, and ask for help every now and then. However, Jason’s biggest problem is coming his way … his mother.

Jason doesn’t have a good relationship with his family, especially his mother and his younger brother. He was always considered the less perfect one and having his mother over will smother him and drive him crazy. So when Zoe comes to visit at the ‘wrong’ time (Jason is on the phone with his mother), he ends up admitting a lie that surprises both of them. Jason tells his mother that Zoe is his girlfriend … in order to stop his mother from coming over.

Isn’t that perfect? Yep, fake girlfriend scenario (haha)

I really LOVED Zoe and Jason together … I loved that they finally, due to the circumstances, were able to learn about one another since they had to keep a united front in front of Jason’s mother. Zoe and Jason have been acquainted for the past two years and perform their ‘mating dance’ but there are still a lot of things they don’t know about each other. Add the adorable dog, Rosie, that Jason adopted, and I simply loved every single moment when they were together.

However, at the same time, that particular circumstance, a.k.a. Jason’s mother, became my biggest issue with this book. Molly Evans (Jason’s mother) is very overbearing – and we also have Jason dealing with his pompous younger brother later in the book – and every scene with her made my blood pressure rise. I could understand the need of having Molly as the antagonist character here. Reading the interactions between Jason and Molly is an effective way in showing how the scars run deep in Jason. We could understand why Jason became so hard-headed, why he built this wall around his heart.

Molly (and to an extent, his ex-wife, Sara) does a great number on Jason as a person, which as a result, makes it hard for Jason to see that Zoe is not at all like his mother or his ex-wife. Yes, Zoe is classy; she likes her tea, her arts, and she owns a gallery. However, Zoe is also quite down-to-earth. She loves Harvest Cove; she chooses to stay in this small-town. Yes, she brushes shoulder with gallery patrons, but Zoe can also enjoy a simple picnic. Zoe is nowhere similar to Molly or Sara and she doesn’t need all the things that Jason perceived being needed (or liked) by ‘the snobby people’.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that all the scenes with Molly took the time that could be spent for Jason and Zoe. And this frustrated me — because Molly frustrated Jason and it became a chain-like event. There was nothing good when reading about Molly and her inability to see Jason for his worth. So I wish there were MORE scenes of Jason and Zoe’s goodness. Even in the end, I expected more pages or an epilogue of some kind. Family drama is fine, but I don’t like it if it takes over the spotlight from the main couple’s romance, you know? That was the biggest obstacle for this book to be one of my perfect romance reads of the year, sadly. :(

Despite everything, One of These Nights reaffirms for me that Kendra Leigh Castle is an author to watch out for when it comes to small-town contemporary romance. I am so bloody happy that we already have book #4 looming on the horizon (though not until March 2016). Because that means I’m not done with the Harvest Cove residents and I have something to look forward to next year.



The ARC is provided by the publisher for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.