Cute, sweet, and book-ish romance? What isn't there to like about this one. The female relationships in this story were moving and so important.

This was my first read from Jenn McKinlay and it also looks like it was her first western romance. I hope this doesn’t come off a bit overcritical, but this needed some work.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible. I’ve read WAY worse cowboy romances. The characters were likable, the plot was good, and the romance was fine. I felt like the writing and the way the author told the story together could have been better.

I liked the idea and premise of the story. However, I couldn’t find myself getting invested in it or the characters. Maybe it was the execution? The writing seemed to be very telling instead of written in a way to make a reader feel if that makes sense. I knew Maisy and Ryder liked each other because it was written that way, but I didn’t feel the chemistry between them really.

I didn’t love this one, it was okay for me. I won’t be continuing with this series but I do hope as the series progresses her writing and the storyline will get better with time.

*Review will posted to blog closer to release date.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. *

This is a difficult book to review. The story is adorable, the characters have cute quirks, and the romance wasn't instant, but it couldn't always hold my interest.

This book definitely has some laugh out loud moments and has characters with lots of personality. And there is some good writing here, but sometimes it felt like it was missing something. I have re-written this current sentence 10 times because everything I think of that I would have liked, is sometimes featured, so I don't want to say "Oh, add this and everything will be better", when sometimes it is there. I will say the timing occasionally felt off. It feels like someone has only been gone a second to do something long term and BAM they are back or the job has been completed. Or how Maisy says she hasn't gotten anymore quotes, then Savannah says to get them, and not even hours later Maisy admits to reading e-mails with quotes to do the house... when they didn't come out to see the house like Ryder did. Just... awkward timing and things which felt forced.

The characters though are so charming. This is a cute book that you read for these characters. There are many ups and downs and all the characters have backstory to them, so no one feels flat. This is a journey for Maisy, a turning point for Ryder and his daughter, and potentially even life-changing for Savannah -- but we will see (I think she will get her own book!). The warmth from the characters and their determination to be good people and help others while undergoing changes make this feel like a Hallmark movie at times. I mean this as a compliment-- someone make this book into a movie already!

That romance though. for the most part I enjoyed it. They both keep each other on their toes and Maisy always called Ryder on his BS. Ryder is so adorable and the man starts reading romance novels to have something else to talk to his daughter about. Can I just say now that Ryder is a damn good man? Yes, he has some problems, but what an amazing soul. Maisy is a trooper too and just warms your heart. She is someone I'd honestly want to be friends with. The thing is there are moments where their romance feels forced, like the scene with his ring felt out of left field for me and a few other times things would happen so suddenly or would cool down when I thought they'd be doing something else entirely.

It is a great book, but also feels a bit rough. It is one I'd recommend to people looking for something cute and light, yet at the same time I'm not sure if I want to read the sequel. I don't know if I'll ever decide on my feelings on this book which is why I will read another book by this author-- hopefully it will help me firm up my thoughts and feelings.

The Good Ones by Jen McKinlay is the first book in her new Happily Ever After series. This was a fun sweet romance, with a wonderful couple and outstanding secondary characters.

We meet our heroine Maisy Kelly at the start, as she awaits the arrival of the architect to arrange for improvements to the house she inherited from her great aunt, who recently was deceased. Maisy is coming off having quit her job as a professor, when her ex boyfriend betrayed her by working behind her back to steal the promotion she expected. When her ex tries to convince her to stay on the job working for him, she refuses. Instead, Maisy plans to renovate the mansion to create a romance book store, as the house is full of romance books.

Ryder Copeland, our hero, is an architect, and a single dad, with a teenage daughter. Ryder wants this job to renovate the old sturdy mansion, and then plans to take a job out of town, as he arranges to send his daughter, Perry to an expensive school. Ryder does a double take when he meets Maisy, who was in her sloppy casual work clothes looking extremely young. Ryder will learn later on the Maisy is close to 30 and an accomplished woman. When Maisy meets Ryder, who is wearing a cowboy hat, she can’t take her eyes off him; he looked like a hot handsome cowboy from many of her romance books.

Maisy was a wonderful heroine, who was fun, spunky, and independent. I loved her, and the other savvy great friends of hers that we got to love too. Major kudos to McKinlay for giving us such great women, such as Maisy, Savy, Jeri and Hannah. I also loved Ryder’s daughter, Perry, who quickly became close to all the women. King George, the little kitten who brought them all together was such a sweet plus to the story.

What follows is a fun, amusing story, with Maisy and Ryder slowly falling for each other, despite Ryder’s determination that he is too old, not to mention he is moving away. They were a fun couple, with hot chemistry, that had us rooting hard for them to stay together. Jenn McKinlay also gave us some enjoyment with various mentioning of famous authors or book titles, during the renovation of the home, making it a fabulous book store with a turret and calling it ‘Happily Ever After’.

The Good Ones was a wonderful story, with the backdrop of the creation of the romance bookstore; a wonderful couple in Ryder and Maisy; the daughter and the adorable kitten, and a fantastic group of secondary characters. If you enjoy a sweet fun pure romance, you need to read this book written so very well by Jenn McKinlay.

Fast moving fun little romance, Quirky cast of characters that makes it hard to put down. Another great story by McKinlay.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. The characters were charming and the plot of opening a romance bookstore was cute and fun.

McKinlay writes adorable characters and an incredibly sweet storyline in "The Good Ones". A small town college professor turned wanna-be bookstore owner and a rugged cowboy turned architect make quite the pair. Throw in his cute teenage daughter, a few of her sassy yet well-meaning friends, and a cute little kitty and McKinlay has herself a top-notch contemporary romance. Granted, there are a few too many analogies at times (especially the first third of the book), but besides that I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out!

Ryder and Maisy don't seem to have much in common at first. He is on his way out of town, and Maisy is planning to put down roots and stay. While sparks might fly, they don't want the same things in life, and that is a dangerous game to play if their hearts get involved. It's bad enough that the plan Ryder has had for over a decade seems to be unraveling as his teenage daughter is starting to rebel, and Maisy is starting to question why she always makes the decisions she has. Is there enough faith in them both to make this leap?

I am really enjoying her romance books. I will always prefer the cozy mysteries, but her last romance series was really good and this one is starting off just as good! The characters were lovable and you rooted for them the whole way through. The plot seemed to skip forward a little bit at times, but otherwise moved at a great pace. Looking forward to her next one!

I am so happy that the author decided to write not only amazing cozy mysteries but charming and sweet romances too. Her romance books are a true delight and I always scramble to grab a copy when I see she has written a new one. I loved the Bluff Point series and I know that this one is going to come close or even exceed my love of it. I highly recommend this (and honestly EVERYTHING) the author writes. It's no wonder she's a best seller! And that is where she SHOULD remain!

The characters in this book were very likable, but there was not enough plot to sustain a full novel. Don't let that put you off Jenn McKinlay's writings though. I still love all of her mystery series!

This story from Jenn McKinlay, a new-to-me author, was a warm and feel good romance. It follows a second chance'esque trope with a shut down, single father of a teenage girl and a quirky, full of life woman who's inherited a lot of romance books and chooses to start over in her life at 29. It's a typical story from the genre, not particularly unique in it's telling but oh-so entertaining and engaging thanks to the lovely writing and character building of McKinlay. Said characters, including the secondary's, charm readers instantly and allow the plot of this story to play out in comical, sometimes angsty, and endearing ways. The third person point of view writing of McKinlay absorbs readers in her Carolina world. I liked her perspectives and I absolutely loved how this author not only acknowledged romance books, authors, and readers but validated each of them in a beautiful, fun way through her heroine and the legacy her heroine is so wonderfully creating.
The Good Ones delightfully reminds us to hold out for that special feeling and to accept ourselves and others as exactly who we are not forfeiting anything for anyone else. This is a simple love story that gives romance readers a boost and entertains. I would recommend to all romance readers who like easy reads with appealing characters.

A HEA romance woven with several of life’s challenges...a single father to a teenage daughter, starting over with a whole new career as a sole business owner, overcoming a dysfunctional childhood...though I did enjoy the overall plot of the story, I felt it dragged on at times and found myself skimming over some areas. All in all though it was an enjoyable story with engaging characters who were easy to form an attachment to.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.