4.5 stars, review on SMIBookClub.com.
This book is technically the third book of a series, with Geoducks are for Lovers, and Ready to Fall, proceeding it. But, as you may have noticed, there isn’t a series name for this book, so this story can be considered a standalone. If you don’t read either of the two other books, you won’t be lost. To catch you up, Selah Elmore is the fun loving carefree friend of Maggie and Gil (Geoducks), who she went to school with in Portland, Oregon. She’s the one who would always take something as a sexual joke (I loved her right away) and was more interested in a good time, then a relationship to tie her down. Upon taking a sabbatical to Ghana, Africa, several people and cultural experiences along the way, challenge her preconceived ideas on happiness.
The story has some rich history with exotic locales, and strong lessons about helping others, but it’s the characters that make it such a good story.
Selah: This woman and her free spirit won me over in Geoducks, but kept me on her side throughout this book. Her ability to make quick immediate connections with others, which included a chance meet up with a woman at an airport sushi restaurant, shows how likeable she was. She’s older and wiser (sexually) than your average romance book heroine, and I loved her inner monologue.
Scrolling through my mental file of lovers, aka The United Nations of Peen, I realized I’d never slept with a Dutchman. Maybe Gerhard could check off an item on my fuck-it list.
Selah meet’s Gerhard Hendriks in Amsterdam in a brief stay over, and while things never heat up between the two, I was just as eager as she was for them to reconnect.
I admitted when I first woke up, groggy from another Gerhard, Norse God pirate dream, I thought about emailing Anita and asking about his preference for teammates when playing hide the salami, but while showering I decided it would be weird and desperate, and anti-flow-going.
Instead, I would put on my lady parts and enjoy the company of a handsome man without wondering what it would be like to get in his pants.
It would be a first in a long time for me.
I loved getting inside men’s pants.
Kai: As much as I liked Gerhard, Kai is even better. Less mystery, more action. A man who personally admits to previously being a bastard, he’s used his wealth and influence to make a difference. And he gets Selah to finally open up to the idea of a relationship. Who can withstand the temptation of a Dutch man?
How had I missed his dimple? Had I forgotten the dimple? Dutch dimples. I was doomed.
Holy mother of pearl, he had the V. Damn Dutch V. Damn younger man.
Double Dutch became my new favorite thing.
Yes, Selah was getting double Dutched (this is not what you think it is, and will make more sense once you read the story).
While Selah had no prior interest in something other than the amazing sex Kai offers her daily, the more time she spends with him, the more she opens up to the possibility, for the first time. Selah’s independence, unlike other book heroines isn’t based on some tragic past. She just found sex was more fun and easier than the risk of heartache.
Ama: The owner of Selah’s hotel and then future roommate, is the first to really get Selah. Not only did see predict Kai might be a good match for her, but she notices that Selah is hiding her feelings.
“You take care of yourself perfectly fine on your own, but sometimes you have to let others pick up the heavier burden.”
“When you arrived, you were shut off, compartmentalized, like your objects. Now, you’re open and full of love.”
Selah has her moments of female stupidity. It takes a scare for her to finally admit her feelings, just as time is running out. And even though Kai makes promises, the distance between them has her backpedaling. Silly Selah. I’ll give her a pass since, even though she’s her forties, she’s new to the love thing. This is a fun, light story about giving love a chance. The connection between Selah and Kai is a mixture of hot and sweet. And who can dislike a woman whose side job is writing pirotica (pirate erotica) and a man that will live out that pirate fantasy?
.“You need to read more news and less smut, my love.”
“Smut is better for the soul.”
Amen, Selah, amen!
*An ARC was received from the author for a honest review.