Better Together (One Fond Embrace #1) by Crista McHugh-Review & Giveaway Tour

Better Together
One Fond Embrace #1
by Crista McHugh
Release Date:August 20, 2018
Genre:adult, contemporary, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play / iTunes

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20, 2018

Hawaiian rancher Alex Kahale needs a temporary wife to close a deal that’s vital to the welfare of his herd. Thankfully, he’s already married to a woman stole his heart in less than a week, even if that same wife filed for divorce a few days after they said their “I dos.”

Rising country music star Britney Moore had a wild fling with a cowboy in Las Vegas a year ago which ended in a drunken drive-through marriage. Once she returned to Nashville, she filed for divorce to save her squeaky clean image. Besides, spontaneous marriages never last, and she knows better than to risk her heart on Alex. But no matter how many requests she sends him, he refuses to sign the papers. Then he sends her an intriguing offer. Come to his ranch on Kauai and pretend to be his wife for two weeks for business purposes, and he’ll sign the papers.

As much as Britney tries to resist his charm, Alex manages to tear down her defenses one by one until she falls for him all over again. But when the press finds out about her secret husband, will their revived romance be killed by the tabloids?

••••

REVIEW: Better Together begins with Alex Kahale thinking through how he got to this place in is life. Inheriting the family ranch, which was never supposed to be his, has come with a set of challenges that he’s trying to overcome. He is trying to secure a deal with a rancher in Idaho that will provide financial security for the ranch and all who live and work there. When said rancher, Stan, informs Alex that he wants to make sure the person he’s selling to is a dedicated family man and he and his family are coming to visit the ranch and Hawaii for a week, Alex knows what he has to do.

Britney, aka Shelby Morris, is working hard in Nashville, trying to finish up her album. To say she’s surprised when her manager tells her Alex has offered to sign the divorce papers is an understatement. When she finds out she has to go to Hawaii for two weeks to ensure that happens, she’s hesitant. Needing those papers signed, she agrees to his terms and heads to Hawaii. After all, two weeks away could do her some good and it will get her what she wants. Uh huh…………..

Better Together is a great story and first book in McHugh’s new series, One Fond Embrace. Alex Kahale is a character whom you will fall in love with immediately. His sense of loyalty, not only to his family heritage, but to those he considers friends and family, will endear him to everyone. Britney is a likable character as well, but it’s her backstory that will pull you in. Incredibly talented, she’s determined to make it on her own and not fall down the rabbit hole as her mother did. However, it’s the chemistry between the two of them that heats up the pages and keeps you wanting more. I love the world McHugh has built in this one. Every time I read one of her books, I think ‘there is no way her world building can get any better’, and she has once again proved me wrong. You can see the mountains, hear the waves crashing and feel the island breezes as you read this intriguing tale. The secondary characters are well written and add another layer to the story, and I can’t wait to read more. If you’re a fan of romance, you’ll definitely not go wrong with this one. Well done, Crista McHugh! Very, very well done!

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Vickie K

Crista McHugh is an award-winning author of fantasy and romance who writes heroines who are smart, sexy and anything but ordinary. She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends.

She is an active member of the Romance Writers of America (including the Greater Seattle Chapter and the Seattle Eastside Chapters), and Romance Divas.

Just for laughs, here are some of the jobs she’s had in the past to pay the bills: barista, bartender, sommelier, stagehand, actress, morgue attendant, and autopsy assistant.

And she’s also a recovering LARPer. (She blames it on her crazy college days)

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads