I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really cute story. It's my first of the Sterling Canyon books, and I think I would have been slightly better served if I'd read the others but not much.

Emma is secretly an author, hiding beneath a pen name and a lot of guilt. Wyatt is a snowboarder recovering from a family tragedy. When they meet, sparks fly.

Like I said, the story was sweet. I identified with Emma and her shyness, though Wyatt could be a bit demanding for my tastes. There was erotic romance for people interested, but it wasn't too silly or graphic, for people like me who aren't. Despite minor bits of predictability, it was an enjoyable read. I'd definitely look into more of her books.

After reading the second book in this series, I didn't think twice before picking this up to review. And the writing remains as lovely.

Aside from one night of freedom years ago—which has led into her first published novel about to be published—, Emma has always been the good girl her mother hoped from her, especially after her father abandoned the family to follow his dream of Hollywood. Now she was left by herself to take care of the family's inn for a movie crew, the real version of her sexy character Dallas is back in her life, thus she needs to be careful not to be unmasked.

Montlake Romance books do have an appeal to me and this one was no exception. As was the previous number in the series, Unexpectedly Hers is even above average, compared to the others I have read from them. But it's impossible not to compare to Sterling Canyon #2, and this time I can't use the word above.. I did find a lot of the elements I loved in the second and the plot was even more interesting but the development of the story was a little flat. Again, this is better than most romance books but weaker when we're only talking about this series.

Character-wise, Emma was a good idea. Leading some sort of double life not because she wanted to fool others but because she wished her outside persona were her real self made my heart go to her. Also she's a great cook, how not to love? Her romantic interest Wyatt is a family guy even if he has the party boy fame. I liked how he wasn't a walking cliché whom Emma was supposed to break.

I think one of my issues with this book was when it came to the couple. I don't mean chemistry but I didn't find their getting together exciting and while they had a lot of material for a main conflict, the climax came and I felt even less willing to cheer for them. To be honest, that was a good excuse for conflict but a terrible reason for arguing. It was like the wrong person got angry there, and for being presumptuous. Pause for clicking my tongue here.

One nice point was an absence of rivals. There were lots of candidates, and I confess I hate that device in romances, so I was a little anxious every time a character seemed about to get in the way. Fortunately, Beck never went that route. For those following the series, you will love the appearances from previous characters, and Trip from #2 was again the funniest here. They gave a new life to a story that seemed on the brink of going stale, in my opinion.

In all, this was another heartwarming story from Jamie Beck. Family is the big theme here, as well as following your own passions while being yourself. I do recommend it to those who enjoy romance books, this is cute enough to warm your winter.

This book almost made it to a Did Not Finish, but I hung in there to avoid making this my 1st DNF for the year. It was an interesting idea, but the execution more often fell flat. The characters, the sexier moments, the ploy to make us sympathize with the unfortunates, and the moral of be true to yourself and not try to meet the expectations of the holier than thou mother all fell short of being something that could've been done better and earned this book a higher rating.

The sex really seemed odd to me. It felt as if the escapades -- whipped cream, tying, etc. -- were a bit cartoonish. I'm not even sure if the author stuck with more vanilla ideas if it would've been better. The scenes tried to shock but were completely unforgettable because it lacked emotion and sensuality.

As I don't usually read God-spiration books, I was sort of uncomfortable with the preachiness/justification. As it's part of the character, I just had to grit my teeth and get through it.

The only thing I wanted to hear more about was the food Emma prepared. 1-2 stars.

I really, really liked this book. Having read the first two in the series, I was very hopeful that I would like this one just as much. And well, I liked it even more.
Emma was an unusual heroine and I was totally on board with that. She was a very deeply developed character. She was so much more than her surface self. Wyatt was the perfect hero for Emma and also a lot more complex than he first appears. He too was a very well-developed and a lot more than what was on the surface. I instantly fell in love with both of them and was cheering them on throughout the book. Jamie really knows how to get you to care about her characters. The side characters, particularly Ryder, Wyatt's brother, really caught me in his story and I so hope there will be a book about him some day.
Very interesting storyline. Another great read in the Sterling Canyon series.

a cute read.

Another solid book, the characters are beginning to grow on me more. I just wish that Emma was more forthcoming.

I have read and enjoyed everything Jamie Beck has ever written and after loving Trip and Kelsey's book, I was so excited for this one and the fun premise, but I'm sad to say that it missed the mark for me. Completely. To quote the book, this review is “only the opinion of one person, not a wholesale assessment of a writer's skill”. Ms. Beck has written multiple books about various topics, and I have enjoyed all of them until now, so this is not an assessment of her skill, but my takeaway from what was - for me - a rare miss from this incredibly talented author.

While I appreciate her attempt at branching out and being more daring, the entire book felt like Ms. Beck was told that the series was too sweet and that she needed to add some spice to it. Sadly, in changing up the theme and tone, the characters seemed to suffer. Something that was so surprising to me considering that Ms. Beck's talent lies in writing fantastic characters that always make the story.

The best thing about this book was Ryder. I loved him and I wish that we had gotten to know more about him because he was the only 'new' character in this book that I liked. I wanted to know more about his past, his struggle and his recovery, his newfound artistic skills, and about what he was up to in Sterling Canyon while he was there. And admittedly, at first I wanted Emma to fall for him, but that faded pretty quickly and I was glad he got out of dodge when he did.

Instead of it feeling like a really nice love story, like the other two books in the series, this one felt like some kind of social justice crusade against 'societal expectations' full of clunky pop culture references which would have been fine, except that this one starred two incredibly unlikable main characters. The more I read of Wyatt and his self-centered arrogance, the more I wished this book had been about Ryder, or even Andy. But no, we got Wyatt, who swaggered his ego into a small town inn, met the shy, reserved woman running it – a woman he so casually dismissed in his own mind as unworthy of his notice, until he saw her butt, of course - and because she was later singing a suggestive pop song by herself in the privacy of her own pantry, he felt he had the right to put his hands on her without her consent? That is not okay. And not only that, her anger at being touched without warning or permission automatically made him think that she might like rough sex...because that's a totally logical leap. Ironically enough, all of this happened with Emma - who did NOTHING to encourage his advances and was obviously uncomfortable around him - just pages after he lamented the fact that he was painted as an arrogant misogynist in the media. I can't imagine why anyone would think that of him... Then, in an effort to prove that he wasn't a total pig, he ignored her attempts at putting distance between them, and instead of respecting her when she said that she didn't want to get involved with him, he deemed her firm rejection of him a “challenge”. All of this is a typical romance novel “alpha” schtick and others will probably love it, but I found it off-putting. It was ironic that Emma used the term “alpha-hole” for her book hero because that's exactly what Wyatt was.

But Emma...Emma was worse. She was weak and fake and so worried about what all of the “good Christians” (aka the bad guys in this book) around her would think that I just wanted to shake her. She's 31 years old, living in a town where Trip Lexington used to troll for women constantly, but she was terrified that the town and her mom might find out that she kissed a guy? She constantly acted like she was 13, not 31. Whenever she felt weak or scared, she blamed whoever was convenient at that moment (her mother, her father, her religious upbringing, the entire town she lives in, or her being too “conservative”) for her issues instead of growing up and admitting that SHE is the one with problem. “Emma Duffy wasn't interested in easy” because “easy” wouldn't leave her anyone else to blame for her own shortcomings. But never fear, Wyatt and his magical rough sex were there to get kinky with her and make her feel like a whole woman. Because she couldn't be a whole woman by herself, she could only achieve that by being with an “alpha male”. But the worst part was at the end of the book when instead of making her own life and standing up to the mother who ran roughshod over her from the first page of the book, she used her earnings from the book that her mother had reacted so hatefully to in order to buy her mother's approval. That was actually worse than her years of blaming everyone for her issues or being magically fixed by kinky sex. Although I so badly wanted to love Emma and her erotica writing secret, she was everything that I didn't want in a book heroine.

I can't stand stereotyping, and this book was rife with blatant stereotyping that seemed to be added in just to give Emma a reason to be indignant. Emma went from praying when she was worried to cursing her Catholic upbringing and all of the “good Catholics/Christians” in town the next chapter. One of the most ridiculous examples of “good Christians” being awful people is how they are apparently the only people in town who judged Andy for driving drunk and hitting Grey with his car then making excuses and blaming everyone else for his problems. I guess we're supposed to believe that the non-Christians in town are totally fine with his irresponsible actions and his inability to face his own mistakes. Also, to compare the “scandal” of writing erotica to almost killing someone by doing something ignorant and preventable was baffling, even for a romance novel.

This story had so much promise. I loved the idea behind Emma writing erotica and having a fun, daring alter-ego, but this one just didn't work for me. Which makes me sad because I liked Emma in the previous books and was looking forward to her HEA. Although my review was harsh, unlike Emma's judgmental mother I hope this book sells well and that other people enjoy it more than I did because I have a lot of admiration for Ms. Beck and her incredible writing talent. I will still be one of the first in line to read her next book.

I requested and ARC from NetGalley and wrote an honest review.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
On the surface Emma is an introvert working at her mother's B&B in the mountains but in fact she writes erotica under a pseudonym, largely inspired by a one night stand she had a while ago. Then the day comes when this man, Wyatt, from that night turns up to stay at the inn for a few weeks whilst a film is being made about his life as a professional snowboarder. Hurt that he does not remember her Emma fights their growing attraction towards each other. But their chemistry is strong
I liked the way the book was written and overall this was an easy, enjoyable read.
3.5***

Every new Jamie Beck book is my new favorite. I loved Emma's story. Yeah, I loved Wyatt too, but I feel like many who read this story will say they are an Emma. A person looking to make others happy, do good, not ruffle feathers and be seen as someone respectable. BUT those same people, aka ME, are an Alexa Aspen with a sexy, naughty side wanting to be seen as desirable, and not always prim and proper, without judgment.

Wyatt, I am right there with you with Google.

Ryder, I want you to have a story.

Emma, you go girl. Don't let simple minded people, aka your mom and her biddies, deter you from being you.

Emma cannot believe that the man who is her inspiration for her erotic romance novel will be staying at her family's bed and breakfast while he training for an upcoming competition. When Emma meets Wyatt, she can tell that he obviously doesn't remember her from their one night together 3 years ago. Initially, she hopes that she can keep it that way. However, when Wyatt is determined to seduce her, Emma decides that maybe he can provide some new material for her next novel.

I really loved Emma & Wyatt and it was fun to catch up with Trip and Kelsey from Secretly Hers. Trip and Kelsey are one of my favorite couples. I love this series! I hope there will be more Sterling Canyon books.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This was a cute romance between two characters who were complete opposites. After a glorious one night stand Emma is shocked to discover the month long guest at her family's inn is none other than Wyatt, her sexy one night stand.

To make matters worse, she's just published an erotic novel based on that night...and Emma is finding herself wanting to let go of caution and get with Wyatt again.

Overall, I liked this story and the constant struggle of letting go and just enjoying the moment. Both characters had some personal issues keeping them from opening up and really letting their relationship develop. The tension kept the story moving. I was annoyed with Emma near the end and how she was SO stuck on keeping up the 'good girl' persona, especially with her mother. You're 31 girl, time to act like an adult and be honest with yourself and everyone you love.