RATING
I’m not reading much these days but when I do… It’s for the light and swoony romance!
My first Kate Canterbary book and I couldn’t have wished for a better pick me up story. The best review for this book is actually… its blurb.
But enough about the swoon… what you need to know ultimately is that Sheriff Jackson Lau is a genius dirty talker! THERE. I said it.
Dear Jackson,
I’m leaving you this note because I know you’re very busy and I don’t want to waste the town sheriff’s time. Lord knows I’ve already wasted enough of it.
Thank you for taking me home last night and…everything else. I made you a basket of wild blueberry muffins for your trouble. That seemed like the appropriate baked good for getting naked in your living room.
I wasn’t myself last night. I didn’t mean to kiss you or fondle your backside or ask all those intimate questions. Thank you for pretending to enjoy it.
It was very noble of you to sleep on the couch while I was starfished on your bed. I couldn’t help but notice it’s quite large. The bed, that is. I swear, I didn’t notice anything else when I let myself out this morning.
As you know, Talbott’s Cove is a ridiculously small town and there’s no chance we can avoid each other. Not that I’d want to avoid you, of course, but I’m not sure I can look at you without thinking of the forty different ways I made a fool of myself.
Instead of avoidance, let’s try to be friends. We’ll forget all about last night…if that’s what you want.
Please burn this note after you read it—
Annette
p.s. I whipped up some cinnamon buns, too. Please enjoy them. I’m not sure why, but I couldn’t get buns out of my mind today.
Author : Kate canterbary
Title : Hard Pressed
Series : Talbott’s Cove #2
Number of pages : 336
Publisher : VesperPress
Release Date : June 29th, 2018
Genre : contemporaryl Romance
I loved it! SO MUCH!
Of course I did, after all, I knew the heroine was going to be my best friend just from reading the blurb. (READ THE BLURB YOU GUYS, it sold me the book better than any review.)
Hard Pressed was my first book by Kate Canterbary and I’m definitely going to read more very soon.
I loved everything in this story, EVERYTHING.
➊ The setting in beautiful Maine, I just adore small town romances and I could pretty much picture myself there. Escape goal: check.
➋ The premise—the town’s good girl swerving off path. A one night’s mistake becomes the best reward.
➌ The heroine—Loyal and kind bookstore owner a baking obsession, Annette was a little silly, naive, a bit unsecure, she just needed someone to take the lead and nudge her in the good direction.
➍ The hero—UNF! Jackson Lau was possibly the most steadfast and supportive male lead I’ve ever met in my romance books. The charm, the flirt, the commanding vibe, the DIRTY MOUTH on him!!! Sheriff Lau was a walking fantasy hero with a one track mind: making Annette his.
➎ The storytelling was on point, delivering the perfect balance of romance, humor and STEAM at a perfect pace.
➏ Yes, CAPITAL STEAM. The love scenes between Sheriff Lau and Annette were charged with chemistry and playfulness. I also adored the development between both MCs, Annette seemingly luring Jackson in with baked goods, and Jackson pacing at her with all his might.
➐ The friendship goals between Annette and her BFF Brooke. OMG BROOKE. Brooke was the highlight of this book. Whenever Brooke appeared laughter followed. Their text convos were adorable and inappropriate. Their face to face convos were downright a menace! I simply ADORED Brooknette together. (Brooke actually got her book next, full disclosure, I didn’t care much for it.)
➑ The books and baked goods porn. Ugghhh this book was hard to read without a snack. So if you plan to start, grab yourself a cupcake, a slice of pie or a donut. Anything.
I have to acknowledge —even fleetingly—how Annette kinda irrated me at first regarding her hang-ups about relationships, but honestly I enjoyed the chase between her and Jackson so much, it pretty much made up for everything else. Yes her reasons were silly AF, but whatever, she admitted herself she lied to herself about it so long she actually believed the lie.
To sum up, this was the perfect lighthearted, playful romance. I can’t recommend enough!
Kate Canterbary doesn’t have it all figured out, but this is what she knows for sure: spicy-ass salsa and tequila solve most problems, living on the ocean–Pacific or Atlantic–is the closest place to perfection, and writing smart, smutty stories is a better than any amount of chocolate. She started out reporting for an indie arts and entertainment newspaper back when people still read newspapers, and she has been writing and surreptitiously interviewing people—be careful sitting down next to her on an airplane—ever since. Kate lives on the water in New England with Mr. Canterbary and the Little Baby Canterbary, and when she isn’t writing sexy architects, she’s scheduling her days around the region’s best food trucks.
