RELEASE: April 21st, 2015
It’s all fun and games…until someone’s heart is broken.
They’re not kids anymore, but Milo Caro is certain that
Colton Mathews will only see her as his best friend’s little sister for the
rest of their lives. After all, he made that clear the night before she left
for college. But four years later, her brother is getting married and Colt’s
the best man—and guess who is the best man’s last-minute date?
Milo vows to use the wedding to either claim the smoldering
firefighter’s heart or douse this torch for good. When Max—her best friend from
college, who may be carrying a torch of his own—crashes the party, they devise
a plan to make Colt see what he’s missing. But after Colt catches on, he
decides to cook up his own revenge.
Now it’s personal. Colt and Milo are at war, and between
Max’s questionable acting methods, an unfortunate trip to jail, and a maniacal
fiancée, what could possibly go right?
AMAZON: http://amzn.com/B00P9QJVSW
4.5 Star Review by Jennifer Hagen
This has to be the most laugh-out-loud book that I have
read. Yes, I have read books that have
humor interspersed throughout that make me laugh sporadically, but this one had
it consistently. Every chapter was a new
experience and a new addition to the already huge web of “what can go wrong
next” parody. I have read several of Ms. Van Dyken’s writings, most notably the
Eagle Elite and Ruin series, and she was able to show us that she is capable of
injecting humor to her more drama-filled storylines, but I was very impressed
with her ability to continue humor throughout an entire book never lagging or
dragging the story.
Jason, Colton and Milo were childhood playmates. Jason
and Colton were best friends. Jason’s
little sister, Milo, was always a tomboy and hung around them until she
developed boobs. Then she was no longer
welcome. Milo has had a crush on Colton
since the age of 13, and at age 16 she took the opportunity to seize the moment
and capture his lips. This didn’t go
over well and he mortified her by not only referring to her as the little
sister, but also by laughing in her face.
“To be fair, your
skirt was tucked into your underwear.”
Milo has returned home for a weekend festive occasion and
is suddenly faced with seeing Colton again.
She has successfully avoided him on her return trips home from college
for 4 years, and in fact it has been 18 months since she last saw him. She is still fully attracted to him and is hoping
to steal a kiss sometime during the weekend.
That kiss isn’t too hard to steal when Colton is a willing participant;
however, afterwards she is once again reminded that she is the “little sister.”
My mouth dropped
open. No. Freaking. Way. No way was he pulling the sister card
again! One day I was going to find that
card, rip it to shreds, put a hex on it, and bury it next to his body. Okay, a little harsh, but I hated that card.
Hated it more than peas and that’s saying a lot. Peas shouldn’t exist. Period.
Milo is brought to tears with this brush off and she does
now want Colton to know that he is the real reason for her tears. Milo does the the first thing that comes to
her mind by throwing out the only name she can think of that can save her from
this mess of emotions…Max.
“Shit balls. Oh, look, a bus! What? What was that? You want to throw me under it?”
As I’m writing this I am laughing again – the type of
laugh that you try to contain and all you end up with is squinty eyes and
nobody would guess that you are holding back a laugh. Instead they think you are possessed. Well, either way, I’m still laughing about
Max’s role in this story. He is Milo’s
best friend from college and he can find a way to turn around a plan gone wrong
in an instant. Max is a genius when it comes to his plans and he can talk
anybody into believing him. Of course
that means he may have to continually take one for the team (of which consists
of him and Milo) and throw himself under that proverbial bus on more than one
occasion.
“Man, that bus just
keeps driving by and your whole family just keeps pushing me under it.”
I have no idea where I’m going with this review. I can’t stop laughing about the antics that
this group has going on and how it continually keeps rolling. Nobody comes away unscathed from this
weekend. There is a lot of ice being
used to keep down facial swelling. If
you are familiar with the author’s The Bet series, you know she likes to
include Benadryl.
“Oh, and I gave him
Benadryl. Though I wasn’t aware he’d
consumed so much alcohol. Max is
absolutely certain Jason’s still breathing so there’s that.”
I raised my
hand. “Max isn’t a doctor.”
“No?” Mom
asked. “Oh, well, he seemed so informed
on the topic of allergic reactions.”
Can’t forget to mention crazy grandma. Gotta love a grandma with some libido!
I yelled his name.
But I was too late.
She launched
herself into his lap like a rabbit in heat.
There was no time, no time to save him
It all started as Milo wanting a kiss from Colton and then she would be able to forget him. Instead it turns out to be an unforgettable weekend. You will not believe the craziness that is jam packed into 3 days! I guarantee you will be laughing your booty off! Every character plays a part in the shenanigans, but the main focus is getting Milo and Colton together. All that craziness pays off and there is a happy ending in store for Milo… “Milo,” he whispered against my mouth. “I. Love. You.”
The story is told from multiple points of view. I’m holding out hope that the author will
treat us to more books in this series based on the secondary characters. In parting, I will leave you with the words
of Max, who sums it up perfectly.
“All, in all” – Max
looked around the room – “I think the weekend went pretty good. We should do this again sometime.”
Please…let’s do it again soon!
Prologue
Summer 2009
“I can’t believe
you’re really going to college, Milo.” Colton’s teasing smile flashed right in
front of me, rendering me temporarily blind. Man, he was beautiful. His
normally dark-brown hair had shots of gold from the summer sun. Dimples peeked
out from his mega-white smile and I was pretty confident that I saw a twinkle
in his green eyes meant just for me. He’d been home for two months since
graduation and was already off saving the world one fire at a time. I watched
his full lips curve around the mouth of his Corona. He and my brother Jason had
organized a going-away party for me. Apparently me getting accepted into NYU
was a big deal: they’d even gone so far as to get a Star Wars–themed cake from
Dairy Queen and a princess tiara that said “Pretty” across it. It was always
their joke with me. I was a complete and total tomboy—I loved picking fights
and getting muddy—yet still demanded they treat me like a princess.
With a sigh I leaned
back on the picnic blanket and looked up at the stars. My crown fell to the
side of my head, causing my hair to fall all over my face. The party had been over
for a few hours, leaving me, Colt, and Jason. I should have been happy: after
all, who does that for their little sister? What brother would even care?
Furthermore, the fact that it had all been Colt’s idea, someone who wasn’t even
family, was huge. But . . . maybe that’s the part that left me feeling empty. I
might as well be family to Colton. I was the little sister he’d never had—and
secretly, I’d always wanted to be so much more.
“Aw, you messed up
your hair,” Colton teased, lifting the crown with the tip of his finger and
giving me a sexy wink.
“Whatever shall I
do?” I huffed.
“I’ll save you.” His
voice was just above a whisper. “I’ve always wanted to save a princess.”
“You did.” My grin
was huge. “You saved me a least a hundred times when we were little—slew the
dragon at the top of the stairs and did it all without getting a scratch.”
“Messy job.” He let
out a long, exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know how I made it to my twenty-first birthday
without getting singed.”
“Donald didn’t
breathe fire. He was a fireless dragon, remember?”
“Oh, right.” His eyes
twinkled. “How is the old dragon anyway?”
I shrugged and chewed
on my lower lip. “Haven’t been in the attic since you guys left for school.
I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to play?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Too busy graduating to play, yeah.”
“Where’s the fun in
that?”
“Fun.” I snorted.
“The last time I had fun was when we snuck into your parents’ pool and—” I
clamped my mouth shut before the words could tumble out on their own. Crap.
Crap. Crap.
“Skinny-dipped.” He
finished my thought. “Yeah, that was a blast.”
“Hey, guys!” Jason
called as he ran out of the house. “Dad needs me to grab Mom from work so I’ll
be right back! Don’t do anything fun without me! I mean it!”
The loud roar from
his truck drowned out our conversation for a brief second and then slowly
dissipated as the vehicle barreled down the driveway.
“You thinking what
I’m thinking?” Colton asked.
If his thoughts were
along the line of finally getting him alone, away from my brother?
“Absolutely.” I grinned as he grabbed my hand and helped me off the blanket.
“Come on. Let’s go
have fun.”
Curious, I followed
Colt as we ran through a few backyards and finally ended up at his house.
“What are we doing?”
I asked in a hushed voice.
“Having fun.” I swear
his grin made my heart almost stop. “Now strip, Milo, we don’t have all night
and Jason’s going to be pissed he isn’t with us.”
Laughing, I took off
my shirt and shorts—I’d spent years swimming with the guys in my sports bra and
underwear, though as we got older it became weird, but only on my end. It felt
strange to strip down to nothing, knowing that my feelings for Colton were very
real whereas his were nonexistent. I mean, it was Colton. Sure, I had a crush
on him, but he never, ever thought of me that way. Ever.
“Last one in’s a
rotten—”
I didn’t hear him
finish—but I did beat him into the water. His mom and stepdad’s pool was always
my favorite place to swim. It had a little waterfall in the deep end that you
could swim under that always made me think of fairy tales and the movies. Then
again, that could be because every time I broke through the water it was
Colton’s face I saw, and his smile that drew me. He was my own personal Prince
Charming.
Laughing, Colton
splashed around, then hauled himself out of the pool and did a cannonball right
by my face. I was glad that it was dark—I must have been beet-red. Man, the guy
was ripped.
“Wanna race?” he
asked, out of breath.
“Wanna lose?” I
countered.
“Never.”
“Um, it’s an everyday
occurrence.” I swam over to the edge. “Ready, set—”
“—go!” He ran instead
of swam and then dove under water.
Bastard! Arms
burning, I tried to make it to the other end of the pool. I usually didn’t open
my eyes under water, but this time I did to see where I was going.
His body was a blur
in front of me. All I saw was hard-lined muscle.
I stopped right in
front of him and jumped to the surface. “You cheated.”
“I like to call it
winning.” He beamed triumphantly.
“Cheating.” My teeth
ground together as I pushed against his chest. Laughing, he fell backward,
pulling me with him. Our bodies ground together, heat against heat, skin
against skin.
And suddenly sneaking
away from Jason wasn’t funny anymore.
Neither of us was
laughing.
His hands moved from
my waist slowly up my body until they rested on my face. With a curse he pulled
my head toward his. “We should . . .”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
Neither of us pulled
away.
His lips brushed
mine, just enough to make me strain toward him—I needed him like I needed air.
“Kids!” His stepdad’s
voice rang through the night air. “You out here making noise?”
Colton pushed me away
and I nearly hit my head on the waterfall rocks.
“Yeah, just . . .
hanging out!” Colton called. “I’m with Jason’s sister.”
I froze. He’d never
called me that before. He even said it in such a final way, as if that was all
I would ever be. Period. My heart didn’t just sink . . . it shuddered, then
combusted, as all the hopes I’d harbored since I was thirteen came to a
crushing world-altering halt. My suspicions were finally confirmed. Out loud.
On the day the boy I liked had thought enough to throw me a party.
The line had been
drawn. And I might as well be on the other side of the universe.
That was the day I
lost Colton Mathews—forever.
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When
she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting
her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
Links:
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Van-Dyken/e/B0054TW5AA/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1407369649&sr=8-2-ent
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