The Do-Over by Melissa MacKinnon – a Review

The Do-Over by Melissa MacKinnon – a Review

 

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Description:
After years in the grueling California dating scene, Maggie Kelley has finally agreed to marry her Mr. Right Now. But there’s just one teensy problem…the county clerk lets her know that she’s technically still married to her Vegas fling: the best three days she ever had…and can’t actually remember. The moment she sees her very hot husband after eight years, with his works-well-with-his-hands attitude, she’s sure their wedding night must have been explosive. 

The absolute last person Finnegan Garrity expected at his door is Maggie—his ultimate “one who got away.” Yet here she is in his small-town boat shop, looking just as adorable as ever…and wanting a divorce. Yeah, he has no intention of letting that happen. Now he’s got one week to convince Maggie that they’re still perfect for each other. 

But he’s going to need more than just a do-over: he’s going to need a miracle.

Content Warning The Do Over  is a heartwarming romance with two at-odds main characters. However, the story includes elements that might not be suitable for some readers. Cancer, a child with a disability after a car accident, mentions of a car accident, mentions of a violent relationship and alcoholism, parental death, and mentions of childhood parental neglect are included in the novel. Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note.

 

 

 

Review:

The Do-Over by Melissa MacKinnon is the 1st book in her new Finding Home series. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author, and I have to admit I laughed through most of the book. 

A drunken Vegas wedding!! Sounds like a recipe for a disaster. But for four days Maggie and Finn were inseparable, drunken dares had led to a spontaneous marriage proposal and Finn had hoped to keep Maggie forever. But with a dawn four days later comes regret and guilt. They both their separate ways, each thinking the other had “sorted” the annulment!! 

Eight years later, Maggie is looking for a divorce from her four day husband….. And that’s where we start our story. 

Maggie needs a divorce and she needs it done now. Her family need her to solidify a union between two families (I know right! Sounds like a mafia deal!). But doing her duty for her family is what she’s all about. But there is a small party of her that was relived when she finds out her divorce hasn’t gone through. 

Finnegan thought he’d found the woman he’d spend the rest of his life with. He’d even plucked up the courage to find her after Vegas. But he’d been made to realize that they were from two different worlds.  And so he resigned himself never to see her again. 

And now he’s got a second chance, can he get her to change her mind? Will she even want to after eight years? Well he needs to give it one last shot…..

A fake engagement leads to all sorts of misunderstandings. Finn tells his grandmother that Maggie is his girlfriend from New York (looooong story) grandmother sees Maggie’s ring and assumes they are now engaged!!! Finn asks Maggie to pretend to be his fiancée until the divorce is signed…. 

The chemistry is still there, but Maggie is trying really hard to keep her distance, and Finn isn’t helping one bit…So what happens when the papers finally come? Will Maggie leave and return to California? Or has Finn done enough to keep Maggie by his side permanently this time? 

Loved the grandmother, she wasn’t as silly as people thought her to be. And a few supporting characters were just a joy to read about. And if I had to pick a family to visit…. I’d pick Finn’s family every time, they were just so warm and friendly. Maggie’s family were just so cold and power oriented! 

It’s a book that can easily be read in a few hours. 

Reviewed by Julie

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The Do-Over by L.E.Bross-Review and Giveaway

THE DO-OVER by L.E. Bross-Review and Giveaway

The Do Over Banner

The Do-Over
by L.E. Bross
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
Release Date: March 28, 2016

The Do-Over

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 28, 2016

Melanie McAllister’s brand new copy of Home Improvement for Dummies doesn’t even begin to cover the DIY advice she really needs: how to put the pieces of her life back together. Her cheating ex-husband’s insider trading scandal destroyed her family’s multi-million dollar company and left Mel with nothing but the run-down oceanfront cottage she inherited from her parents. Biscay Beach, Maine, seems as good a place to start over as any.

Hot-as-hell carpenter Eli Stuart understands new beginnings. Once a rising star in the art world, the former sculptor has been secretly carving out a new existence in the small coastal town ever since the sheen on his old life turned to rust. He’s willing to bet the feisty brunette in need of major home repairs has never lifted a tool heavier than a nail file—until Mel is racing the clock to make her ramshackle home fit for winter and, facing a near-empty bank account, decides she can do it all herself.

So Eli offers Mel a deal: if she helps him with the renovations, he’ll cut the bill in half. Soon Mel and her damned home improvement book are driving Eli mad with an explosive urge to return to his studio and fire up his torch once more. His new work is crude and raw, and before long, he can’t keep his hands off Mel, either. But a muse from his past could ruin it all for the second time—if Eli and Mel can’t let go of who they used to be and trust their hearts with a do-over.

••••••••••••

REVIEW: THE DO-OVER by L.E. Bross is a romance story line about two people burned by previous relationships, neither one looking for a second chance at love. When Melanie McAllister’s life spirals out of control, she finds herself in Biscay Beach, Maine helping manage her very pregnant sister’s ‘Arts and Tarts’ café. Following the destruction of her marriage, her career and her father’s million dollar company, our heroine picks up the pieces of her life, and endeavors to renovate the family cottage-all that she has left of her mother’s possessions. Enter Eli Stuart- the local carpenter and handyman with secrets of his own.

In the beginning the relationship and attraction between Eli and Melanie is more or less one sided; Melanie has been burned, and lost everything in her life, and she isn’t willing to open her heart to another man. Eli’s past is haunted by betrayal and heartbreak, but he is a man who is willing to give love another try. There are some issues with a lack of communication; secrets from the past; and betrayal that has hardened the heart to a second chance. The $ex scenes are limited but seductive, provocative and hot.

We are introduced to Melanie’s sister Liesel, and her husband Dave-Dave is Eli’s best friend, therefore Liesel knows more about Eli’s past than she is willing to admit.

The world building focuses on the relationship between Melanie and Eli; Melanie’s inability to let go of the past; and Liesl’s hometown café where everyone knows your name !!

THE DO-OVER is a sexy read; a predictable story line about two people trying to escape the past, finding love and a possible future together. The premise is fun; the characters are colorful and animated; the romance is a slow build to a happily ever after.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

Giveaway

L.E. Bross’s publisher is offering an ecopy of THE DO-OVER to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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