If you look at the cover of the book and read the plot synopsis, you know basically what is going to happen. The plotline of an accidental baby has been given away by the cover picture. Though one mystery is never cleared up - how a guy who hasn’t had sex in four years and was married before that just happened to have a condom in his boxers.

While I liked both characters, I wish there would have been more showing rather than telling in the book. For example, we’re told that the two main characters go out to dinner and have a great conversation and that the guy is so funny that they’re both laughing throughout the meal. But the author can’t be bothered to give us one example of that great sense of humor from either of them. Really talented authors can provide more in the dialogue to demonstrate who their characters really are instead of a whole lot of internal monologue and not much else. And, of course, there is the insta-lust - this time in their first glance at each other through a rear-view mirror. Really?

The book is a quick read and I generally enjoy the surprise baby stories so it was moderately enjoyable; I just think that it could have been better.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I loved all the angst, emotions, and problems from falling in love with forbidden fruit!
Jack Maclean is a closed off man emotionally due to his long time love & wife’s death. He travels to a remote cottage in Scotland to confront the woman who caused his sister’s fiancé to cheat on her and have an affair. What he finds instead is a woman he cannot resist and doesn’t.
Stella Grant, the wrongly accused woman, is beautiful and open. She gives and honest and truthful portrayal of the deception the fiancé which hurt her, too. Her honesty and innocence hit the fairness button on Jack, who begrudgingly believes her.
They try and fail to resist the magnetic pull between them and spend one night heatedly together. Jack sneaks away the nest morning and weeks later Stella finds herself pregnant. The rest of the story is a thoughtful telling of how two people can untangle knots and find a perfect solution.

Very typical romance novel. I thought it would be good random girl random guy and they both have pasts. But I wanted more. I think if the book was longer and had more meat I would have liked it better.

This was an enjoyable read with an interesting storyline. I enjoyed both characters very much and can't wait to read more about Cora in the next book in the series.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I have to say it was really enjoyable. I loved how Jack goes in all guns blazing and comes up with the most unexpected "homewrecker" he has ever met! Stella comes up on his blind side and these two battle so much because of what has all happened and how they are intertwined in the first place. I love how the get a deeper understanding of each other through this book as well. Very much looking forward to Cora's book now! I would love to see how she progresses after she is the cause of Jack and Stella in the first place!

I think my main issue with this book was that it was just too short. Nothing was really able to feel developed or nuanced. Much of the story is given away in the synopsis and then it is just a rush to get to the happily ever after. It is a shame because I feel that with some care and additional pages these were characters I could have come to care for.

I was give a copy for an honest review.

Yet another tough review to write. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. Plenty of angst, a pleasant strong female and an all bark and barely a bite man who couldn't pull himself together and get out of his own head. Past aside, he was a drama king. A role most often reserved for women. I loved how Stella challenged Jack at every turn. She took no prisoners. She carried this story. Jack was background filler and his sister was a witch on a broom, happy to say her couple of appearances were enough for me.
This is a short and quick read. Fairly predictable and I might have liked it better were Jack a bit stronger in his role and not so self involved. It's just ok.

**arc from NetGalley and Tule in exchange for an honest and fair review. **

Three and a half stars.

Stella Grant discovers on New Year's Eve that her boyfriend Ben of the last few months is actually Brad and engaged to another woman. Devastated and feeling bad about being the other woman she runs off to her cottage in Scotland to lick her wounds and express her feelings through her painting.

Jack Maclean is the brother of Brad's fiancee, Cora. His sister is devastated and a valuable family heirloom has gone missing. Jack and Cora assume that Stella has deliberately seduced Brad and stolen the heirloom. Incensed, Jack hires a private detective to track Stella down and he hares up to Scotland to confront the scarlet woman, not realising that she is just as much a victim as Cora.

An isolated cottage, an unmade road, angry accusations, all lead to heightened passions. Ashamed of their one night stand Stella and Jack part company, until an unexpected consequence of their night together occurs. But what kind of relationship could ever develop between a man and the woman who ruined his sister's life?

This was an enjoyable read. It's a familiar plot but the English/ Scottish setting and the likeable characters made this feel fresh. Although Jack and Stella have issues from their pasts, they deal with them maturely and they are big enough people to recognise when they made a mistake.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I'm a ball of mixed emotions with this story.
3 stars.

I feel like the plot is totally given up by the cover so you know at some point it's going to happen which kind of ruins the surprise. I personally feel like had it been kept under wraps it would have made a great plot twist, especially under the circumstances in which they met.

I really enjoyed Stella as a character. She was strong and fierce which she needed to be to put up with the bull she did. Extremely relatable in her troubles and my heart went out to her for the positions she was put in. She was funny, sweet and grounded. Her thoughts and actions showed her sincerity and honestly she's the glue that held this story together.
I feel a little lost when I comes to jack because for a massive portion of this story I feel like he's an outsider looking in. I understand that he's been through a horrific loss but it doesn't excuse his constant shitty actions. There are times when he's super sweet and caring towards Stella but I just felt like he gave the cold shoulder for most of it so couldn't really connect to his character until the end in which by that point didn't feel enough to love him although I didn't hate him either.

I felt like Cora was an unnecessary headache in this book. She was rude self intitaled and a royal bitch even after she was told the situation. It's not often I instantly dislike a character but she was one of them times. I just hope she can redeem herself in her book next.

This story isn't a bad one and it had so much potential!. I enjoy the authors style of writing and I loved Stella. It's written well and takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. I haven't read anything like this plot before so it was different and I enjoyed that to!.

I feel like if it had more of Jack and Stella happy together I would of loved this. But honestly it was a decent read with some great chemistry and a pretty hot build up.

I kindly received this ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

His Best Mistake by Lucy King

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) , Romance

Sometimes I just want to read a simple easy romance, and this was perfect yesterday when that was my mood. I'd just finished an intense fantasy read and wanted something to relax with.

Stella is lovely, and I felt so sad that she hadn't any decent family, and her childhood left her so reserved she didn't even have any real friends. No wonder she was taken in by the jerk Brad, who neglected to tell her, outright lied when asked, that he was engaged. That's not how his ex-fiancee sees it though, to her Stella is what Brad tells her, someone who came on to him, seduced him, knowing he was engaged, and wouldn't stop harassing him.
Her brother hates to see her so upset, so he determines to find Stella, get answers for his sister, and find the missing heirloom they believe she has stolen. When he sees Stella though he's hid by an immediate bout of lust, an attraction he feels hard to ignore. At first he's all in her face, but when he calms he thinks on what she says and realises it makes sense, it fits the person she is and who Brad is, who he always had doubts over. And that attraction – it just won't go away.

Trouble is what happens in Scotland doesn't stay there, and some weeks later they reconnect.
It isn't easy though, they don't know each other, his sister hates her, both Stella and Jack have reasons for not being in a relationship. Is there any hope for them? Well, it was a great story seeing all the issues and how they affected the story, how both Stella and Ben reacted to them.
I really enjoyed it. Its not a story I'd re-read, a little light for that but one I loved as a one off read.

Stars: Five, a fun, easy read, that pulled at my emotions.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers