Across the Street by Sandra Marie

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Title: Across the Street
Author: Sandra Marie
Series: Romance for all Seasons #2
Published by: Indie
Release Date: November 1st 2018
Format: eARC
Pages: 159
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Source: the author
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 #LetsReadIndie Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

His dinner for one just got complicated.

Steven Atkinson moved back home to win his ex-girlfriend’s heart, only to find she’s fallen completely in love with someone else. With a Thanksgiving dinner ticket to his ex’s family dinner, he’s dreading showing up alone, pining over the one that got away.

Ginny Thompkins is ready to put herself out there, even if it is just about the scariest thing since IT crept out of the sewers. And the cute boy across the street wants her to be his date for Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of strangers. Maybe it’s just the thing to get her to find that confidence for that opening position at work.

But when using each other for their own personal gain turns into an unbridled attraction, Steven and Ginny just may get way more than they bargained for.

My Review:

I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — Another super cute story by this new author…  I just love the way she writes characters — they feel so real and relatable.

In this one we have Stephen, the ex from the first book…which, you don’t have to read the first book btw, it just gives a richer experience.  But it stands alone just fine.  Anyways, Stephen is this perpetual good guy, which makes him right up my alley.  I don’t know why nice guys don’t get the same book boyfriend play as alpha jerks, but this readers loves a good to the core man, bonus points if he’s a little beta.  So needless to say I enjoyed Stephen.  He had a few moments where I was baffled by his lack of reaction to something (usually when we were in Ginny’s POV), and I wouldn’t have minded knowing what he was thinking in those moments.  But on the whole he was sweet, thoughtful, adorably sexy, just a bit misguided.  And who doesn’t love an animal lover?  Seriously.

Ginny was the kind of character that just speaks to me…I never know why I’m drawn to certain characteristics.  It’s not as though I can necessarily vibe with all of Ginny’s quirks, but I do empathize with them.  She’s this chronically shy overthinker, who has a hard time putting herself out there.  So yeah, she’s like an extreme Lenore.  I was drawn to her from the start, and I just wanted good things to happen for her.  I loved seeing her come into her own with the help of Stephen, and I appreciated that she wasn’t a doormat or anything.

And the two of them together were freaking adorable.  It was kind of a hard romance to get involved in, because initially Stephen is hung up on someone else.  But you get to watch them connect and have these moments, and you just want them to make it!  And wow, that Thanksgiving kiss was hooowwweeeee!

This one had some great secondary characters, though they didn’t play a huge role…  But my fave was definitely Grandpa!

The only downside for me is that I was surprised by the time jumps sometimes.  We would finish a chapter and I would be wanting to know what the other character was thinking, only to have the next chapter start the next day or whatever.  Sue me, I’m greedy.  It’s the only reason I’m rounding down instead of up.

I can tell this is going to be a super fun series, and I’m loving all the subtle ways the characters from each of them are woven together.  Very sneaky!