SAVE ME (The Donovans 3) by Samantha Chase -Review tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 31, 2023

Pretending to date the town’s bad boy seemed like a good idea.
But who knew that being bad could feel so good…

Ryleigh Donovan has been unsuccessfully dodging her mother’s matchmaking attempts for far too long. In an act of desperation, she finds the one guy in her small town who is guaranteed to shock everyone to be her fake boyfriend. It doesn’t need to be for long, she just needs to buy herself enough time to recover from her mother’s last disastrous fix-up. It’s really a fool-proof plan. But when a few staged kisses lead to some very real feelings, she realizes she might be in over her head.

Ryker Masella has been patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to get Ryleigh to take him—and his numerous attempts at asking her out—seriously. When she grabs him and kisses him in front of her family to prove a point, he’s more than on board. But when she proposes a fake—and temporary—relationship, he’s 100% on board. After all, she might be all about pretending, but he sees it as a way for Ryleigh to truly see the real him.

Fake flirting and orchestrated dates quickly bring on real feelings. For Ryker, they’ve always been there and he’ll be as patient as he needs to be. She might have asked him to save her from her family, but what he wants is to save her from herself.

•••••••

REVIEW: SAVE ME is the third instalment in Samantha Chase’s contemporary adult THE DONOVANS romance series. This is web designer Ryleigh Donovan, and tattoo artist Ryker Masella’s story line. SAVE ME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Ryleigh and Ryker) SAVE ME follows the building romance and relationship between web designer Ryleigh Donovan, and tattoo artist Ryker Masella. Ryker Masella has lusted after Ryleigh Donovan for as long as he can remember but Ryleigh continues to shoot down our story line hero, a tattooed, long haired bad boy with no apparent prospects on the horizon. With every attempt to get to know Ryleigh, Ryker finds himself on the outside looking in until a fight with her mother, sends Ryleigh into the arms of our story line hero. In an effort to stop her mother from the continuous interference in her lack of a love life, Ryleigh makes Ryker an offer he cannot refuse-a fake relationship that quickly turns into something more for Ryker Masella. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Ryleigh and Ryker, and the potential fall-out as lies by omission threaten the building love between our story line couple.

Ryker Masella keeps secret his true identity; his famous past and present, and his desire for our story line heroine. Ryleigh Donovan is tired of her mother’s constant need to set her up with a steady stream of ‘suitable’ men, men Ryleigh has no interest in, or attraction to in the face of the ongoing interference. A fake relationship with Ryker is but the first step in stopping Ryleigh’s mother but the reality of the situation pushes mother and daughter in separate directions. There are no $ex scenes, everything is implied.

Once again, the Donovan siblings are front and center: Liam and Tessa, Patrick, Jamie, Arianna, Arianna and Will, and their parents Kate and Shane Donovan, and uncle Ronan.

SAVE ME is a story of family and relationships but more so on dysfunctional family dynamics. Kate Donovan, the family matriarch, is unable to let go or cut the proverbial cord. Her constant interference in her children’s lives is driving a wedge between members of the family, so much so, that some, including our story liner heroine begin to distance themselves from the mother they love. Often unlikeable, Kate Donovan struggles to stay out of her children’s lives.The premise is engaging and inviting; the characters are dynamic; the romance is passionate and seductive.

Reading Order and previous reviews
Dare Me
Tempt Me

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40’s to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.

When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.