Vanilla Twilight - A Review of LOVE, IN ENGLISH by Karina Halle

(Goodreads Blurb)

He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.

He speaks Spanish. I speak English.

He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.

He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.

He’s married and has a five-year old daughter. I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.

Until now.Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.

***

To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.

Mateo Casalles is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something…more.

Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time.

Something that can never, ever be.

Or so she thinks.

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiance and rescue pup.

Karina is represented by Scott Waxman of the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.

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Love, In English is a bit like taking a sip from a glass expecting sweet tea but finding that someone had switched it with Jameson.  It may not be what I was expecting, but it only took one small sip to have me hooked.

Love, in English is full of things that I would normally run away from.  For one thing, the page count can be a bit intimidating, but I promise you that you will be grateful for each and every page and even find yourself longing for a few more.

The story also contains the touchy subject of an affair, which again, I generally stay away from.  The good news is that bod Mateo and Vera do attempt to get things out in the open and get them right before they continue with their physical relationship.

Vera and Mateo meet innocently, but the attraction is instant and gripping.  They spend weeks dancing around each other and even attempting to stay away, but they always find themselves back together again.  I am so glad that the author took the time to show the sweet ways that Vera and Mateo developed their relationship.  This was instant attraction, but the love that they share grows from time spent in each other's company and just having common interests and philosophies.  But sometimes, love just isn't enough.

I know I'm skipping over a lot, but I do not wish to spoil the story.  I do not have enough words to give this story the proper accolades anyway.  Just go and read it and you can thank me later.

This is a story about love and how it changes us and the way we see things.  The characters are all so very lovable.  The scenery described in the book made me spend some time on Google searching out vacation spots in Spain (and researching Spanish football players as well).  I was extremely impressed with Halle's first venture into the Contemporary Romance.  I look forward to seeing more.

5 out of 5 Stars