Finders Keepers

Rating:
Summary: Title to be Revised
Review: After being diagnosed with a health condition that threatened her life, Nicole decides to give up her fast-paced career as a lobbyist. She reevaluates her life and pursues the dream of owning a Bed and Breakfast. She feels her business is flourishing until the B&B reviewer - Brad Calverton - makes an impromptu visit. It is her other guests who enlighten her about who he is. Panic sets in and she begins to wonder if her B&B is up to par and whether or not she's going to receive a favorable review. Determined, she sets out to ask Brad to for another review, not realizing that he ever intended to review her B&B.

Brad actually visits Nicole's B&B after a realtor named Audra tells him about an excellent location for his idea of starting a retreat for troubled teens. He gives his time to these teens by mentoring and teaching them not to let obstacles deter them from success. He is an example of the lesson he teaches. But he often wonders if his past hinders him more than it helps. Audra is a cutthroat realtor who is out to make money and lots of it. She is from meager beginnings and the need to remain successful drives her. She wants Nicole's B&B and is willing to go to any length to get it...even sabotage. She sends a friend to make a deal for the property but almost falls flat on her face when she realizes that Nicole is playing hardball and not willing to sale her prized B&B.

Nicole gets more than she bargains for when Brad agrees to do another review on her B&B. He becomes her knight in shining armor, so to speak, and she is ready to relinquish her heart to him, but is he ready to do the same? Brad's life takes too many twists and turns and he starts to believe he's not cut out for love. Just when their relationship begins to flourish, skeletons start falling (out of closets) and pasts are revealed. Will they live happily ever after like a fairy tale? Or, will they part and go their separate ways? Audra may be pushing her limits with her drive for success. What will be the end result?

Finders Keepers is even paced. It shows the real emotions people deal with in relationships (i.e., trust, insecurity, fear, etc.). It's an easy read and I was delighted by the story. It's a true romance that will keep the reader intrigued.

Reviewed by Esther "Ess" Mays of Loose Leaves Book Review

Rating:
Summary: Exciting Love Story...
Review: After suffering a health scare, Washington lobbyist Nicole Montgomery trades in her fast-paced lifestyle for life in peaceful Glen Knolls, Maryland, as the owner of a bed and breakfast. Brad Calverton, famous travel critic, chooses Nicole's B & B as a respite location after a nasty break-up. Many things go wrong during his stay, and it isn't until after he leaves that Nicole finds out what he does for a living. Fearing a bad review that could shut her down, Nicole goes on a quest for Brad to return and give her establishment a second look.

It's not all business-definite sparks fly between Nicole and Brad from the first moment they lay eyes on each other. Even after he leaves, they return to each other's minds often. There are other issues brewing below the surface, though. Brad is trying to come to terms with his past, and working with inner city teen boys is one way he attempts to exorcise those inner demons. Greedy developers are after Nicole's property, and she fights from all angles to prevent them from succeeding. What is Brad's involvement with the developers? Can Brad move from the hurt of the past and open his heart to Nicole? Will Nicole's take-charge attitude scare Brad away?

Nicole and Brad touched my heart. Both desperately seek love, but neither will admit it. Ms. Monkou allows the reader to see the motivations and struggles behind each character, helping us to get to know them as well as creating a bond. There were many secondary characters with stories that were left hanging. Will Brad find his brother? What about Nicole's best friend Toni and her predicament? This disappointed me until I read the author's note that this is the first of several books featuring the citizens of Glen Knolls.

Although FINDERS KEEPERS is marketed as a multicultural romance, it has widespread appeal. It will interest any reader looking for a sensuous, exciting love story. I look forward to the upcoming installment to find out what happens next with my newfound friends. Readers looking for well-written romance with suspense and a surprise resolution need look no further, pick up FINDERS KEEPERS today.