Sweetheart Sisters, #2
by Shirley Jump
Release Date:
April 1st, 2014
Publisher:
Berkley
Source:
Publisher
ARC received for review
Synopsis:
The Sweetheart Sisters are ready to give some old-school lessons in love…
Rescue Bay veterinarian Diana Tuttle is a great single mom, but she has a harder time taking care of herself. Having been burned in the past by her son’s noncommittal father, the last thing she wants is a man who isn’t in it for the long haul—until a foolish one-night stand from her past walks back into her life.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Mike Stark has never wanted to settle down. But when his ex-wife leaves their two small children on his doorstep, he is forced to become a family man in a hurry. His return to Rescue Bay, Florida and fatherhood isn’t easy, but reconnecting with Diana makes the challenge all the more worthwhile. Except becoming the long-term lover she has in mind may be one commitment too many…
Luckily, when Diana’s and Mike’s pasts begin to threaten their future, the Sweetheart Sisters have the perfect scheme to make this second chance last a lifetime.
Sweetheart Sisters Series:
The Sweetheart Bargain (Sweetheart Sisters, #1)
The Sweetheart Rules (Sweetheart Sisters, #2)
The Sweetheart Secret (Sweetheart Sisters, #3)
My Review:
The second installment in the Sweetheart Sisters Series was fun, romantic and entertaining! This was my first time reading a Shirley Jump book and I'm extremely happy that I got the chance to discover her fantastic talent! Her writing style is captivating and it will leave you cheering for Diana and Mike's HEA ;)
In The Sweetheart Rules, we follow Diana Tuttle and Lieutenant Mike Stark. One night of passion a few months ago was all it took to get under each other's skin. Mike Stark is not a commitment kind of guy, but when he comes back to Rescue Bay to take care of his two daughters, he comes face-to-face with the one woman who might change the way he thinks. Diana Tuttle has been burned in the past. When Mike comes back into her life, she tries to stay as far away as possible. He walked away from their night of passion leaving her with a simple note. The last thing she needs is to have her heart broken again. The more Diana pushes him away, the more Mike wants to get close to her. They will have to overcome obstacles to find their HEA, but with the help of The Sweetheart Sisters a second chance at love is just around the corner.
This book was a delightful reading escape! Diana and Mike were an awesome couple to follow and fall in love with! My connection with them was instant and the more the story developed the more they captivated me. You could feel their chemistry right from the start. The passionate night that they shared together got under their skin, and once they reunited neither of them could fight the feelings that they had for each other. Both characters had to deal with demons from their past. Diana reunited with a person from her past and she got the courage to talk to Mike about her personal struggles. On Mike's side, he took the steps to reconnect with his mom and he learned the ups and downs of parenthood. They both made mistakes and they learned from those mistakes. It was beautiful to see how their attraction to each other grew into a friendship (even if they think they can't be just ''friends'') and then evolved into a heartwarming love story.
I also wanted to mention all the secondary characters. This story was about Diana and Mike, but the secondary characters all brought their little grain of salt to this story. I loved reading about Jackson, Jenny and Ellie. I'm really happy that I got to see these kids in a lot of scenes. I also enjoyed the role that Luke and Olivia had in the story. Luke is Mike's best friend and Olivia is Diana's sister. After getting to know them in The Sweetheart Rules, I really want to read their story! I will definitely be buying The Sweetheart Bargain so I can find out how this ''matchmaking'' business started :) The next two characters made me LOL so many times that I lost count .... Grandma Greta and Harold!!!!! I love these two to pieces!!! Greta is the ''matchmaker'' and she is always looking to create a happy ending for a couple. Harold is such a sweetheart!!!! He's adorable and he's so in love with Greta, but she won't give him the time of day. She thinks she's allergic to him ... Tehehe ... Can you say DENIAL??? I really hope I get to see more of all these characters in the next installment, which will be The Sweetheart Secret.
My Rating:
I give, The Sweetheart Rules, by Shirley Jump 4 sweet, romantic, funny and enjoyable stars! If you are looking for a great reading escape that has a dose of humour, love and captivating characters, this book is exactly what you are looking for!
About the Author:
Shirley Jump didn't have the willpower to diet nor the talent to master under-eye concealer, so she bowed out of a career in television and opted instead for a career where she could be paid to eat at her desk—writing.
She started out in journalism, selling her first article at the age of eleven and dreaming of being the next Jane Pauley. She hosted two of her own shows on the local cable channel and was the co-host of a late-night comedy show for two years. After writing 3000 articles and two non-fiction books, Shirley grew too dependent on her robe and fuzzy slippers, though, and decided a career as a freelance writer suited her better.
Then she got married. And had two kids.
Humor became the only thing that got her through the mashed potato flingfests and toilet paper decorating sprees. At first, seeking revenge on her children for their grocery store tantrums, she sold embarrassing essays about her children to anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul and Chocolate for Women II. However, it wasn't enough to feed her growing addiction to writing funny.
So she turned to the world of romance novels, where messes are (usually) cleaned up before The End and no one is calling anyone a doodoo head. In the worlds Shirley gets to create and control, the children listen to their parents, the husbands always remember holidays and the housework is magically done by elves.
She sold her first book to Silhouette Romance in 2001. That novel, THE VIRGIN'S PROPOSAL, won the Booksellers' Best Award for Best Traditional Romance of 2003.
Shirley has since become a New York Times and USA Today bestelling author, writing for Berkley (The Sweetheart Sisters series), Harlequin and Entangled, writing about love, family and food—the three most important things in her life (though, there are many days when the order is reversed), using that English degree everyone said would be so useless.
She found a way to combine all her favorite things in her recipes with her own romantic comedy series which starts with the Amazon Top 20 and USA Today bestseller THE BRIDE WORE CHOCOLATE.
And if you ask her, Shirley will admit she mostly writes because it gives her an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets and helps feed her shoe habit.
She started out in journalism, selling her first article at the age of eleven and dreaming of being the next Jane Pauley. She hosted two of her own shows on the local cable channel and was the co-host of a late-night comedy show for two years. After writing 3000 articles and two non-fiction books, Shirley grew too dependent on her robe and fuzzy slippers, though, and decided a career as a freelance writer suited her better.
Then she got married. And had two kids.
Humor became the only thing that got her through the mashed potato flingfests and toilet paper decorating sprees. At first, seeking revenge on her children for their grocery store tantrums, she sold embarrassing essays about her children to anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul and Chocolate for Women II. However, it wasn't enough to feed her growing addiction to writing funny.
So she turned to the world of romance novels, where messes are (usually) cleaned up before The End and no one is calling anyone a doodoo head. In the worlds Shirley gets to create and control, the children listen to their parents, the husbands always remember holidays and the housework is magically done by elves.
She sold her first book to Silhouette Romance in 2001. That novel, THE VIRGIN'S PROPOSAL, won the Booksellers' Best Award for Best Traditional Romance of 2003.
Shirley has since become a New York Times and USA Today bestelling author, writing for Berkley (The Sweetheart Sisters series), Harlequin and Entangled, writing about love, family and food—the three most important things in her life (though, there are many days when the order is reversed), using that English degree everyone said would be so useless.
She found a way to combine all her favorite things in her recipes with her own romantic comedy series which starts with the Amazon Top 20 and USA Today bestseller THE BRIDE WORE CHOCOLATE.
And if you ask her, Shirley will admit she mostly writes because it gives her an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets and helps feed her shoe habit.
Thank you so much! I'm thrilled you enjoyed the book!
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Can't wait to read the rest of this series! I loved The Sweetheart Rules ;)
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