Flirting with the Beast
by Jane Porter
Modern Love - Book 2
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: November 29
Reviewed by PJ
It’s been five years since Andi McDermott lost her husband, and she's finally starting to feel like herself again, ready to live fully—she’s even started dating again. But when her holiday plans with her stepson and his fiancée fall through, she refuses to spend another Christmas alone while everyone is celebrating with their families. Impulsively, she decides to go up to her cabin in Lake Arrowhead, a place she used to love to visit but hadn’t gone to in years, not since the feud started between her husband and their nearest neighbor.
Andi starts to rethink her decision when being alone at the cabin proves to be more challenging than she expected—a heavy snowstorm hits the area, and Andi finds herself trapped there with no one to help except for her neighbor, Wolf Enders. A military vet who lives full-time on Lake Arrowhead, Wolf is as grumpy and intimidating as Andi remembers. But he’s also unexpectedly kind and uncomfortably sexy—his presence reminds Andi that she may be older, but her body still works perfectly fine, thank you very much. But can this good girl tame this sexy beast of a man, and will this snowy fling turn into a love of a lifetime?
PJ's Thoughts:
I am thoroughly enjoying the mature love stories in Jane Porter's new Modern Love series. These characters have a fair amount of life experience and all that brings with it. They're proving you're never too old to start over, to fall in love, and to grow. I love that Porter has created complex characters with complicated family dynamics, unpacked emotional baggage, relationship wariness, and sizzling desire.
Andi and Wolf are fully developed, realistic and very relatable. In Wolf, Porter has perfectly captured a true alpha, very stubborn male. It was fun to watch the sparks he and Andi created, especially in light of his contentious past with her late husband. Watching Andi grow into her confidence and strength was especially satisfying. In many ways, even though she has several decades behind her, this is her coming of age story and it was heartening to see her take control of her life.
There were times when I wondered if these two would be able to find their way through their own emotional roadblocks. Porter gave them the time to work through issues - separately and together - before leading them to their happy ending. They created laughter, steam, friction, and deep emotional upheaval along the way but that made their eventual happily ever after all the more satisfying and believable.
If you enjoy heart-tugging contemporary romance with mature lead characters, give Flirting with the Beast a try. I highly recommend it.
Do you enjoy alpha heroes?
Have you read any romances featuring mature characters that you would recommend?
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