Spring Serendipity

Romancing Wisconsin #8

by Stacey Joy Netzel

Can she dare trust her heart to someone new?

Lora Howell is stunned to find out her husband cheated on her before his death, but drinking too much and picking up a one night stand to get back at him might not have been the smartest thing to do. Facing the stupidity of her actions, the thirty-two year old mother of two recognizes the emptiness in her heart can’t be filled by sex—especially not with the town playboy whose reputation for loving-and-leaving is legendary.

Charismatic SWAT Officer Shane Parker was perfectly happy with his carefree bachelor ways until that one night with the beautiful widow. Now he can’t get the woman out of his head, and the more time he spends with Lora and her young boys, the higher the risk to his heart. Convincing her he’s ready to settle down becomes the most important negotiation of his life—until one last unexpected bombshell threatens everything.

Romancing Wisconsin, a USA Today Bestselling Series from NY Times bestselling author, Stacey Joy Netzel

To everything there is a season...

Love finds a way during the four seasons in the Romancing Wisconsin Series. Starting with the Christmas holiday/Winter, then moving on to Autumn, check out the first six books in this bestselling, heartwarming series set in small town Wisconsin. Meet the Rileys, the Walshes, and best of all, Butch...a.k.a. Santa Butch. The mischievous matchmaker makes a cameo in each story—adding a touch of magic to the lives of everyone he loves, and even those he's just met.

Romancing Wisconsin Series
Mistletoe Mischief, book 1
Mistletoe Magic, book 2
Mistletoe Match-Up, book 3
**Mistletoe Rules – short bonus story
Autumn Wish, book 4
Autumn Bliss, book 5
Autumn Kiss, book 6
**Autumn Glimmer – short bonus story
Spring Fling, book 7
Spring Serendipity, book 8 – Feb. 1, 2016

Genres: Romance

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2016

About the author

Wisconsin native Stacey Joy Netzel fell in love with books at a young age, so for her the graduation to writing them was natural. A member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Wisconsin Romance Writers (WisRWA), she credits her parents for encouraging her dreams of becoming a published author, as well as the very talented friends she’s made in WisRWA since joining in 2004. Her Christmas anthology, MISTLETOE RULES, took 1st place in WisRWA's 2010 Write Touch Readers' Award. Check out her romantic suspense Colorado Trust Series, Trust in the Lawe, Shattered trust, and Shadowed Trust. Other titles include: Lost In Italy, Ditched Again, Welcome to Redemption Series, Chasin’ Mason, Dragonfly Dreams, If Tombstones Could Talk.

An avid reader and big fan of movies with happy endings, Stacey lives in Wisconsin with her husband and three children, a couple horses and some barn cats. She works part-time as a travel agent, and in her limited free time she enjoys gardening, canning, and visiting her parents in Northeastern Wisconsin (Up North) at their cabin on the lake.

Reviews

[Kyjuliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I loved this story, I laughed a lot and I cried a little, always the sign of a good book! Everyone deserves a second chance at love, learning to trust again after a major betrayal however can be a huge road block to happiness. Throw in a player with a reputation and his florist on speed dial and let the fireworks begin.

I love Lora and her children are precious. Shane surprised me, turned out there was a true heart of gold hidden under all that superficial packaging.

There was a very surprising twist to the story with a real moral dilemma, loved the way that was resolved. I have not read all of the Wisconsin series books, there is mention made of many couples from previous books. I didn't find it totally confusing, for anyone who has read the complete series I would imagine it was nice to have some of their favorite characters come back for a visit.

Oh and did you know that Santa resides in Wisconsin during the off season and runs a little matchmaking business on the side? Who'd have thought!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.

Book 10 in the Romancing Wisconsin Series and a stand-alone novel.

I was completely hooked and totally entertained. The plot is expertly conceived and executed. I loved the writing style and her development of characters, settings and scenarios. Lora and Shane are almost perfect, their attraction is confusing to them which leaves them scared but also gives them hope. I loved the emotional scenes between these two. The secondary characters are also given due spotlight and they pique the readers interest. Jeremy stole my heart with his banter with Shane.

The reader is kept interested even if they are doing mundane things, which is very noteworthy and shows the skill of the author in her writing while also keeping her readers captivated.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Lora and Shane's story! Butch and Judy are great! Love how these two suggest to Shane that he needs to do something or he may regret it. Shane rescues Lora from doing something she would regret. These two have a chemistry that is great! Shane wants to change his old ways and Lora has some major changes that she knows she has to do. Loving this series!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series

I really am enjoying this series, I really loved Shane, the ultimate good guy but still the player in town, it is always great to read the inner thoughts of a man not quite sure if he was in love

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in epub format on my Nook.

[Kim Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of heart

This is one that pulls at all your emotions. Shane and Lora are great together and a bit of a surprise. Definitely an interesting storyline.

[Adria's Musings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Adria's Romance Reviews

* A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via author for the purpose of an honest review.

So basically SWAT officer Shane walks into a bar, spies a pretty woman who is too far into her cups and about to be taken advantage of so he swoops in and saves her. Then he recognizes her. Lora Howell, and a year before he had been one of the officers to tell her that her husband had been killed in a car crash. Lora is out to get back at her dead husband for cheating on her but she doesn’t quite get the nerve to pick up a one night stand and instead is cared for by local playboy Shane . Now Shane can’t get Lora out of his mind and while he was previously carefree, he finds that spending time with Lora and her two kids brings him a different kind of happiness he isn’t sure he wants to let go of.



Now who says a romance can’t be both sweet and seriously hot?

Spring Serendipity did more than just make the world fade away, it tugged at my heartstrings and that’s not an everyday occurrence. Plus, in true Stacey Joy Netzel fashion, there was plenty of humor to be found at the oddest times! This is why she remains one of my favorite romance authors!

I’m always apprehensive about a romance with a single mom as a heroine because if the author devotes too much time to mom/kid scenes and involves the kids in every scene then it kills the romance and the development of the relationship between the heroine and the hero. Then it starts to feel like a bad reality show that might be called “Find my Kids a Daddy.” However, if the heroine is always passing her kids off to friends and family while she goes off and burns up the sheets with the hero then I won’t like her for being a neglectful mom.

But Lora was a great mom and she wasn’t portrayed as this super mom character that would have gotten on my nerves. She was floundering at times with two young boys and yeah she did get frazzled and needed her adult time. Never did she ever paint this perfect Utopia where being a mom was the see all, be all of lifestyles. I loved seeing her overwhelmed and at her wits end because it made her more real and likable to me. And while her sons were a very important part of her life they didn’t take over the entire story. They provided the reality check to Lora’s life and reminded her that while she deserved her “me” time, the kids still depended on her for the most basic things in life.

Shane was such a softie it wasn’t even funny. He had such a reputation as a playboy but I never got to see that side of him since the story began with him meeting up with Lora in a bar and that was fine. Showing his playboy antics would have brought unnecessary drama to a story that already had enough conflict brewing. My favorite thing about this guy though was that he didn’t have the “Grr, I’m a macho man/tough guy and I am here to save you” mentality towards Lora. He pursued her sure but he didn’t do it in an overly aggressive way and he let Lora set the pace of their budding relationship. To me it felt like a real partnership between him and Lora and those are the kinds of couples I like, not a He-Man who solves all the woman’s problems because he thinks he knows better. Shane had such a quiet confidence about him that made him sort of an anchor for Lora during those chaotic moments that come with having kids.

Yet for all the quiet tender moments between Shane and Lora there was also an abundance of heat. Whether it was a look, a touch, a few words or clothes flying everywhere, once Shane and Lora overcame the “I don’t want to/shouldn’t be attracted to you” phase the temperature of Spring Serendipity sure went up!

Along the way there were appearances from previous characters but given that I have yet to read the previous books I wasn’t familiar with them. However it isn’t necessary to read the first seven books in order to enjoy this one.

Final Verdict: Stacey Joy Netzel always manages to bring the heat, the humor and the heart to her stories and that’s what makes me come back for more. Shane and Lora were great characters and an even better couple. It was a little sad having to say goodbye to them.

[Cheryl Steckling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring Serendipity (Romancing Wisconsin Series) by Stacey Joy Netzel
When Lora Howell found out her husband had cheated on her before his death it hurt her badly. She had 2 children by him and she wanted to still get back at him. Drinking too much and picking up a one night stand was not the smartest choice she had ever made. That goodness Shane Parker was looking out for her even though he had no clue what that was going to lead to for him and her and her sons.
Shane was a SWAT Officer and there was a convention in Green Bay Wisconsin and he was contemplating going in for a drink or two with the guys or heading home to Pulaski, Wisconsin or heading over to the hotel where he had a key for a room. He knew when he saw Lora that she was someone he knew. She was 2 grades ahead of him in school. Shane had been the officer to come to Lora’s door to give her the bad news about the accident and death of her husband.
Pretty basically Shane did not like the fact that Lora was very drunk and would not remember any part of the night no matter who took her home. Shane did not want her to be taken advantage of for just a quick night in the sack. She deserved better than that. Shane took her to the hotel room and she pretty much fell asleep there. He did with some clothes on crawl in bed next to her so she did not wonder how she got there and what had happened. He helped her with taking her dress off but left anything else on.
Shane and Lora had some "not being sure they could trust" and issues with good ole Butch AKA Santa Butch feeling that they were meant for each other and he is a mischievous matchmaker in these Romancing Wisconsin Series.
Shane could not get Lora out of his thoughts and Lora realized that her dead husband had had a second life. Another wife and baby girl in Wausau, Wisconsin. But there was no good news for the 2nd wife who not only had lost her husband, realized that her husband had a second wife and also got cancer and had not long to live.
You will not be disappointed to read this romance story and it will make you believe in real love and finding love a second time around. It is book 8 in this series but it is a complete story in the book.

[Liz J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story in this series!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read the entire Romancing Wisconsin series, and this book tells Shane’s story. We met Shane in Autumn Bliss (Book 5). That book told his sister Mallory’s story, and was one of my absolute favorites of the series. So I was very excited to have the opportunity to review this latest addition to the series!

Shane has quite the player reputation. Lora was a young widow with two young sons who lost her husband a year ago, and Shane had had the unfortunate task of breaking the sad news to her. A year later, Shane happens to see Lora getting herself in a sticky situation and comes to her assistance. From that point on, he can’t get Lora out of his mind.

It was a very sweet story, with poor Shane, who is not used to being in an actual relationship (or ever wanting to be in one) trying to navigate the waters of being part of a couple. I had to chuckle more than once when the poor guy tripped himself up without even realizing it, and having to deal with the after-effects.

I loved this book. LOVED it, and once I started reading, did not want to put it down. In fact, I started reading it one evening before bed, figuring I would cover a few chapters and finish it later. But I literally could not bring myself to stop reading it! At one point, I turned off my Kindle, put it down, and was halfway down the hall on the way to bed, and actually stopped and turned around and went back to read some more. I did not stop until the entire book was read (and had a terrible time getting up the next morning, but it was totally worth it!).

Great story, Stacey. I loved it as much as I did Mallory and Levi’s story! And, I’m looking forward to the next ones in the series!

[Jennifer Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring Serendipity by Stacey Joy Netzel is another great entry into her Romancing Wisconsin series with the story of Lora and Shane. Over a year ago, Shane Parker had to deliver the bad news to Lora Howell that her husband had died in a car accident. Now Lora has just found out that her husband had been cheating on her at the time of his death. Shane is on his way home after an exhausting day at work when Butch convinces him to go in to the nearby bar and join his friends for a bit before heading home. It is there that he encounters Lora, who is very drunk and about to make a mistake of going home with one of his player colleagues for the night. Shane rescues Lora from this situation that he is sure that she would regret in the morning.

Afterwards, Shane realizes that he wants to spend time with Lora, but she is especially wary as Shane has a reputation as a love them, then leave them type of guy. As Shane works to gain Lora’s trust and spends time together with her and her boys, they fall in love. There are many obstacles to overcome and a series of misunderstandings, but love wins out in the end. Stacey writes realistic characters that are easy to relate to and root for. I thought that this was a great continuation of the series, but it can also easily be read on a stand-alone basis. I enjoyed seeing characters that I had met and followed in other entries of this series.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Rosemary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lora Howell is lonely. Her husband was killed in an accident. She is raising their two boys with help from her family. She's coping or so she thought. When she finds out that he had a another family, she rashly tries to pick up a man in a bar as revenge. Luckily she's saved by Shane Parker. What a way to find your HEA. The chemistry between Lora and Shane is powerful. Lora is an amazing woman. I loved that she's protective of her two boys, but I wanted her to find the love that she deserves. I didn't want the past to stop her from living again. Shane has a dangerous job. He's a SWAT officer. He's doesn't want a permanent relationship. That is until he meets Lora. He desires this woman and to his surprise he wants her and her boys in his life. I feel in love with Shane when he stepped in to protect Lora at the bar. He's a decent and honest man. I cared for his couple. I wanted them to find each other. I love the Romancing Wisconsin series. It's filled with familiar characters who are there to provide love and support. The story is well written and filled with some emotional twists. I must admit to sheading some tears. Thank you Stacey Joy Netzel for this pleasurable and romantic story.

[Bev Sten · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Lora Howell finds out that her husband had cheated on her before his death she decides that a one night stand is in order to pay him back. In her heart she knows it won't matter but her head seems to think differently. Luckily, before Lora leaves the bar tipsy with the wrong guy she is saved from her mistake by an old acquaintance. Shaun Parker, the love 'em and leave 'em, Sheriff saves her from herself. In their small town Wisconsin it's hard not to be running into each other and their siblings. Shaun, unknowingly, weasels his way into Lora's heart and that of her two children. Together they go on a journey of righting wrongs either real or imagined and falling in love. Spring Serendipity is book 8 in the Romancing Wisconsin series. Each book can be read stand alone but it helps to read them all with so many characters overlapping. I love Stacey's writing I've read everything she has written and never been disappointed. I hope you'll enjoy the journey.

[Christina Bowling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute story, and was very well written. I love the cozy, small town setting, and it makes me wish I could live there myself. Lora and Shane were an adorable couple together, and I was definitely rooting for them to get their HEA. Which I absolutely loved, by the way!

The only thing that kept this from being a five star book was because Lora was a widow (even considering her husband had cheated on her). This is just a personal preference of mine, but it puts a sad tint on the story that I just don't like, so I had to take one star off for that, since it kept me from enjoying the story as much as I would have otherwise. Besides that, though, I loved the book, and I'm really looking forward to reading more books in the series, and by the author in general.

[Tanya Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me by the author for an honest review. I love all of Stacey Joy Netzel's book and this was another awesome read. We get to meet Lora, mother of 2 toddlers and a widow. Trying to move forward until she learns of a secret her dead husband has kept from her. She decides revenge is in order and goes out on the town. Unwittingly, she wakes up in the bed of the police officer that gave her the devastating news of her husband's death, but not all is as it seems. Shane recognizes Lora and tries to save her from herself but Lora can barely look him in the face. I was rooting for Shane all along but he needs more than his good looks to win over Lora.

[Rhonda Ziglar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring Serendipity by Stacey Joy Netzel is a sweet romantic book, that is a must read. I absolutely loved this story, Stacey had me flipping pages to the end. This book had me crying, smiling, mad and happy which is my kind of romance story. The characters were very believable Lora a beautiful widow with children and Shane a hot SWAT officer are perfect together. Will they be able to make this work, you will find out.
If you are looking for a great romance book that you can't put down, here it is and you will not be disappointed.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The characters were well-rounded and there was growth throughout the story.

The issues which Shane and Lora had to work through to get their HEA are ones that the reader could relate to. I could easily relate to Lora's concerns of getting involved with someone and her kids, but I really liked the comment that Shane was given "The way to a mother's heart is through her kids".

Thank you Stacey for another wonderful read

I received a copy of the book in return for an honest review

[Clara Deoliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.
Lora and Shane's story kept me captivated from page one. This touching story is endearing, pationate, and funny. Lora is a busy Mom raising her two boys and trying to deal with her late husband's betrayal.
SWAT officer Shane doesn't do relationships and has a reputation with the ladies.
Can they overcome their issues and have a happy ever after?

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Thinxsphinx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely done. Spring Serendipity was sexy and funny, not overly erotic but definitely for prudes. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jalissa Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. If there was a definition of drama it would be this book. An affair before he died and now two women get death benefits which reveals the secret. Now, the first wife has to deal with the outcome and the chance of falling in love again.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

I love this series. Santa Butch is by far my favorite character who is always up to something. Shane and Lora fit so well together.