Sean lives life the way that makes him happy, no responsibility, no commitment he is on his third job this year. But Sean is committed to hockey and his family and if his job interferes with his life he will just get a new one. When he meets Emma on the side of the road he fixes her car to get her to the shop and he takes her for a drink. Emma is a teacher a kindergarten teacher at that and having a relationship is the last thing she needs and she tells him so. They agree to have fun together but she wants a marriage and kids and he doesn't. They both have issues with being stubborn and I kept silently screaming at them to see what was right there in front of them. I really enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to read more by Shannyn Schroeder.

3.5 Stars

This was a pretty good story with flawed characters that change and grow . They both thought that they knew what they wanted for their futures, but isn't amazing how things change when the right person comes along? This is my first story by Ms Schroeder, but I definitely will be reading more by her. Emma and Sean weren't perfect, they were human and I liked watching the changes in them.

I loved getting to know the O'Malley boys in Nora's book, Under Your Skin, so I was super excited to dig into In Your Arms knowing I was going to see one of those boys knocked out by love. In Your Arms, Sean's story was just as fabulous as Nora's; full of emotion and unexpected feelings.

There's was a meeting by chance, the bad boy with no care for responsibility stopping to help the nice and proper respectable teacher on the side of the road. What could have been a weekend tryst of unexpected pleasure led to so much more.

Emma wants stability in her life, she wants things smooth and following her plan; Have a good steady job, find a nice man, marry, and the babies will follow. It works out perfectly in her head and she knows jsut the type of man she should be aiming for. But the heart doesn't always listen to the head and when Emma finds herself in the sphere of Sean O'Malley, well all bets are off.


If Sean had dreamed up who the perfect woman for himself would be, he couldn't have gotten close to who Emma is, because Sean wouldn't have realized that its not really about the traits of a person, but more who they truly are. I really enjoyed that aspect of this book, the fact that Sean had to grow up and change during the story, to figure out what love really is and what it takes to find it. Sean knew he wanted to get to know Emma, he wanted to add something to her life, but it took him a little while to figure out why that was.

In Your Arms is a fun romantic tale, that left me laughing, swooning and also sometimes a little frustrated with the characters and the things they were doing/thinking. Shannyn Schroeder pulls it all together with relatable characters and details that grab you into the story. This book proves that love truly is unexpected and sometimes we find it where (and with whom) we least expect it. It also shows us that for the right person and at the righ time, people can and do change their life outlook. Sean shows a lot of growth throughout this book, from the carefree attitude of a single and happy male at the start to something more worthy of a relationship.

I love how Schroeder hooks me into the story by making me fall for each of the characters, giving me the chance to root for them as the rest of the story unfolds. I can't wait to see what comes in future books in this series.

I've been craving birthday cake for two days straight now...I wonder why? ;)

I really liked Sean and Emma together--they had good chemistry, and clearly brought out good qualities in one another, even though they couldn't always see it. I wasn't crazy about how Emma wrote Sean off from the very beginning, though I did understand her instincts there--yeah, a guy who lives in his parent's basement and thinks nothing of having three different jobs in one year doesn't exactly scream "stable grownup". She was a bit out of line not wanting to date a mechanic, though (seriously, with how much I have a tendency to shell out to gentlemen of that profession each year, they'd be on my short list), and the whole dating other guys to find "the one" while keeping up a friends(? up for debate--even they weren't sure how to label them) with benefits thing she had going on with Sean was not cool. Even though he freely admitted he wasn't looking for anything permanent, I had trouble believing he'd be okay with that aspect.

And yeah, Sean definitely needed to do some growing up, but overall he was a really good guy...though that could be my partiality for bar league hockey players doing some of the talking there. ;) Still, he was easy to root for, and it was clear from the start that the two of them had something that was going to be worth the work in the end--if they'd let it get to that point, that is.

It was also nice to see a realistically-written teacher for a change! Yes, lesson planning, grading, and getting up early Monday through Friday are very real facts of life for teachers, even in kindergarten. So many authors over-romanticize their characters, having it be all sunshine and rainbows and I-adore-my-student-y with dedicated teachers who hardly seem to do much more than show up for class every morning. Emma loved her job and seemed good at it, but she also worked for it, which was refreshing.

Though both the hero and heroine were frustrating at times, ultimately this book was more satisfying than the previous one in the series, Under Your Skin , where the heroine (Sean's younger sister Norah) being pregnant with another guy's baby for 2/3 of the book made it more than a little bit disconcerting. The entertaining O'Malley family dynamic was here again, making me look forward to the last two siblings (Kevin and Tommy) finally getting their HEAs.

In Your Arms should work fine as a standalone if you haven't read book one or the original series this is connected to (oldest brother Jimmy's story is part of the O'Learys series--Catch Your Breath ).

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I've been craving birthday cake for two days straight now...I wonder why? ;)

I really liked Sean and Emma together--they had good chemistry, and clearly brought out good qualities in one another, even though they couldn't always see it. I wasn't crazy about how Emma wrote Sean off from the very beginning, though I did understand her instincts there--yeah, a guy who lives in his parent's basement and thinks nothing of having three different jobs in one year doesn't exactly scream "stable grownup". She was a bit out of line not wanting to date a mechanic, though (seriously, with how much I have a tendency to shell out to gentlemen of that profession each year, they'd be on my short list), and the whole dating other guys to find "the one" while keeping up a friends(? up for debate--even they weren't sure how to label them) with benefits thing she had going on with Sean was not cool. Even though he freely admitted he wasn't looking for anything permanent, I had trouble believing he'd be okay with that aspect.

And yeah, Sean definitely needed to do some growing up, but overall he was a really good guy...though that could be my partiality for bar league hockey players doing some of the talking there. ;) Still, he was easy to root for, and it was clear from the start that the two of them had something that was going to be worth the work in the end--if they'd let it get to that point, that is.

It was also nice to see a realistically-written teacher for a change! Yes, lesson planning, grading, and getting up early Monday through Friday are very real facts of life for teachers, even in kindergarten. So many authors over-romanticize their characters, having it be all sunshine and rainbows and I-adore-my-student-y with dedicated teachers who hardly seem to do much more than show up for class every morning. Emma loved her job and seemed good at it, but she also worked for it, which was refreshing.

Though both the hero and heroine were frustrating at times, ultimately this book was more satisfying than the previous one in the series, Under Your Skin , where the heroine (Sean's younger sister Norah) being pregnant with another guy's baby for 2/3 of the book made it more than a little bit disconcerting. The entertaining O'Malley family dynamic was here again, making me look forward to the last two siblings (Kevin and Tommy) finally getting their HEAs.

In Your Arms should work fine as a standalone if you haven't read book one or the original series this is connected to (oldest brother Jimmy's story is part of the O'Learys series-- Catch Your Breath ).

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Review by Leah for Love Romance Books Blog

In Your Arms by Shannon Schroeder

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

A twenty-something kindergarten teacher with a penchant for bad boy's car breaks down on the side of the road. Luckily, her knight in not-so-shiny leather pulls up on his shiny motorcycle and comes to the rescue. What starts as a fun-filled weekend fling soon turns serious when neither party wants to say goodbye. Can Emma let sleeping dogs lie and not let old ghosts take the wheel? Can sexy Sean be the man that Emma needs and that he has the potential to become?

This was a quick read, but the plot was a bit predictable. I thought the characters were well thought out and liked how the backstory for both main characters was added in a timely fashion and didn't leave the reader confused as to reason behind their comments/actions. If you're looking for a good-girl falling for the bad-boy romance, then you're in the right place.

In Your Arms was a great follow up to Under Your Skin! The story grabbed me from the very first page. Emma hasn’t had the best day, and to top it off, she’s stranded on the side of road. She isn’t looking for love. The only thing on her mind is seriously hurting her brother when she realizes he didn’t fix her car after she paid him to. Her world is thrown a bit on its axis when a rugged, sexy knight in shining armor on a motorcycle comes to her rescue. Sean is everything she is trying to run from…he screams “bad boy.” She’s done that before, and she knows she should run screaming in the opposite direction. However, she finds herself agreeing to drinks after he takes her to the garage where he works to get her car repaired. Drinks turn into something more, and Emma and Sean will have to determine if their fling can turn into something more.

I really liked both characters because they were written in a very realistic way. Both Emma and Sean were flawed individuals. Sean was irresponsible and enjoyed his life to the fullest. In ways, especially concerning his temper and fighting, he was still immature. He hadn’t met a woman yet that made him want to change his ways. Emma makes him stop and think about what he wants to do with the rest of his life. Emma is trying to escape the mistakes of her past and want to forge a different path than her mother did with a string of losers and bad boys. On the surface, Sean causes all those alarm bells to go off. As she spends more time with him, she realizes he’s not just the irresponsible bad boy she thought he was, and he allows her to be herself. They really do bring balance to each other’s lives.

What I love most about this novel is while there is a HEA, it isn’t a “perfect” ending, but it’s a realistic HEA. Each character still has flaws, but as people in real life, it is a work in progress and compromise. Isn’t that what all relationships are in real life? That is exactly what makes this book stand out in the genre. Another great book by Shannyn Schroeder, and the icing on the cake is her excerpt from the next book in the series which is about Sean’s brother, Tommy.

***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***
***Copy provided in exchange for an honest and unbiased review***

4 Stars

The story has laughs, and heartbreak.

I would recommend reading the below before reading this story:
Under Your Skin (For Your Love #1)

This is Emma and Sean’s story. Emma is a kindergarten teacher. She seems all prim and proper. When Sean pulls his bike over to help Emma he sees past all that prim and proper to the bad girl underneath. Emma has sworn off bad boys but can she resist Sean? Sean wants to see where this can go with Emma but will she give him a chance? Can two different people really come together and make it work?

I felt I was able to connect with the characters and the story was a great read. At times I struggled with the book but was able to read through. I will continue with this series.


I recommend this book, this series and this author.