Love Story - Lori's Review of LAST FIRST KISS by Lia Riley

Title: Last First Kiss
Author: Lia Riley
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Publication Date: 6/23/2015
Source: ARC from publisher through Edelweiss

Synopsis:
A kiss is only the beginning...

Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her popular blog. Reality is... messier. Especially when it lands her back in one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous six-foot-four reason she left. Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the big city. Simple, easy, perfect.

Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful, wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to? And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.

Lia Riley writes offbeat romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound pretty sweet.

She and her family live in Northern California.

This was another fun second chance romance. Annie Carson returns to her hometown to sell off her family's farm. She isn't looking forward to the ridicule of being a 'Kooky' Carson, nor is she looking forward to seeing the man who broke her heart, Sawyer Kane, also known as the town Sheriff and Annie's next door neighbor.

Annie and Sawyer engage in a sweetly tender romance. Sawyer never wanted Annie to leave and he feels just as strongly for her as he did those many years ago. So what, that she has a kid and is actively seeking a career and home in another state. Sawyer Kane is a man on a mission to make Annie change her mind.

Annie is rather trepidatious in her dealings with Sawyer. She acutely remembers the pain of the town's rejection as well as that of her ex-husband. But when a sexy cowboy is actively trying to woo you off your feet, sometimes the best choice is to just give in and let him.

I really liked that Annie and Sawyer were very adult in their relationship. They communicated freely and both tried to remain up front with their emotions. There wasn't a lot of making the other jealous with someone from the opposite sex and the misunderstandings were kept to a minimum.

I think what kept this from getting more stars from me is that I found some of the dialogue to be especially awkwardly worded (much like this sentence). Some of the things that were spoken just seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't seem in character. Also, I was reading really well until about 60-65%. I don't know what happened, but that's about the time that my mind began thinking of all of the other things I could be doing besides reading. This is not a good sign. I continued on and finished the book but it ended up being just okay for me. However, I do think there is something good happening here. The author has set up a great world with some interesting characters, so I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Overall, I think this was an entertaining read. If you are a lover of cowboys and swoony small town romance, give this one a chance.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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