This was a fun and fast read. Draws you right into the lives of the lake and twin folk of Kissel Lake.

Lively and compassionate characters. A couple of fun storylines. Some romance, some conflict, and an unresolved mystery.

I liked that there were so many characters but it was not at all written in a confusing way where you have to go back and try to figure out who that person was, yet again.

Highly recommend for a light read.

I had a hard time connecting with this book. The characters relationship developed so swiftly that it was unbelievable. The character development was good and the setting fun but I could not get into this. I finished it but found it to be lackluster. This is a fluffy beach read with very little depth. Unfortunately not for me, but if you are looking for an easy romance set on the lake, then this is for you! Thank you @harlequinbooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Met Her Match is a win for the underdogs. Terri Rayborn is a girl from the wrong side of town, technically Lake Kissel. She has spent her whole life living down her mother's reputation of running off with a man. Every bad situation Terri fell victim to, she always took the blame for. She spends her days running her father's business at he the Lake seeing to the renters and any emergency that pops up until she comes home to find a hot man that seems to be sent just for her. Nate Taggert is in town to marry the mayor's daughter and start a new business. A man of adventure and action, Nate and Terri fall into a routine like an old married couple. A man torn between two women and who he really is, Nate wins over hearts and Terri feels like your new best friend. The love story between the two is a long, complicated road that ends in an interesting mystery that needs solved to allow for a very satisfying HEA. Laced with humor and entertaining, the book is a fast paced, heart tugging read that leaves you with a smile. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Terri has lived in the small town all of her life & knows all to well how hurtful small town gossip can be. The town has been spreading rumors about her for years. In order to survive in the place she loves, she keeps her head down & runs lakeside resort. Now, her father & his friend are trying to set her up with Nate. Nate who already had a fiancé.

Nate was supposed to be spending these three weeks with his fiancé, Stacy. However, she won an internship with an Italian designer so he’s in his own. He thought he was renting the house and Terri might be there. He assumed she was the elderly sister if his uncle’s friend but boy was he wrong. As they spent time together, he became torn between his feelings for the two women.

I really liked the plot of this story. In any typical small town, you have the small minded gossips that rarely base anything in total fact. They take one tidbit & it gathers it’s own life with every retelling. The background of this story is the lake & it’s residents - the weekend visitors, the visitors for the entire summer & the year long residents. There’s also the mystery of where Terri’s mother disappeared to years ago. This all makes for a compelling story.

Book Title: Met her Match
Author: Jude Deveraux
Publishing Date:

***ARC provided to me by the publisher for a fair and honest review***

Overview: 3/5 What is a woman to do when a very attractive yet unavailable male is living in your house?

Heroine (Terri Rayburn): 4/5 She is a very athletic young woman who essentially runs the lakeside properties with the help of her dad. Her mother’s misdeeds hang over her head so she has trouble finding a man will be her match.

Hero (Nate Taggert): 3/5 Nate is a military aid to a high ranking official. He thought he wanted wine and fancy dinners, but he’s finding he’s more of a beer and pizza kind of guy.

Plot: 3/5 Nate who is engaged to the mayors daughter finds himself accidentally staying in the very available Terri’s house while waiting for his fiancé to get to town. He helps Terri run the lake side properties and rescue people out of the water. When his fancy, prim and proper fiancé does show up does he still want the life that she represents?

Personal Review: if you like Hallmark channel movies then you’ll like this book. But just like with those movies I can’t get past the cheating aspect of them. Nothing happens between Terri and Nate while he’s still with his fiancé but it still feels wrong.

Exciting romance story between two people attracted to one another but a relationship is taboo.

Terri is a smart, witty woman with the body of an angel and a devil of a reputation, even though it may not be deserved. She discovers a big, hulking male in her house and learns that Nate has rented a room in her home for three weeks. Nate is engaged to the mayor’s daughter and is awaiting her return from Paris so they can move to Summer Hill to live. Soon, Nate and Terri are inseparable. They work together in sync as they save, supervise, support and even separate the local lake residents. They are inseparable and the Lake Kissel residents begin calling them nateandterri. But all that changes with Nate’s fiancé, the genuinely nice, Stacy, returns to claim her man.

Terri is sexy without realizing it and strong from the work she does at the lake. She and Nate have an easy-going relationship full of inside jokes. They fight the attraction between them which jumps off the page. Their contact is steamy without even touching. The appeal of forbidden love is clearly evident in the author’s writing. A mystery enfolds which makes the story richer.

I truly enjoyed this book by Jude Deveraux. She has been a favorite author for many years and based upon this book will be at the top of the best seller list for years to come.

I received an ARC from Harlequin – MIRA through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.

It's a good summer read and an interesting look at small town dynamics.
I liked this book, it's engrossing and entertaining.
I rooted for the characters and found them fleshed and likeable. The background is well described and lovely.
It took a bit to be involved in the story but it kept my attention till the end.
Even if it's part of a series I had no issues with the characters or the plot.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I was close to "DNF" this book. I didn't like the style of writing. Often there wasn't any clear line between the different point of views. I found it difficult to keep track on who it was "leading" the story, the story jumped from one pov to another and back agian.

As I said I was on the verge to "DNF" this book, but there was something in this story luring me in, made me need to know how it all would end.
I love a good romance, I love second chances, I love forbidden romance and then some crime is thrown in - then I just have to continue reading.


Terri has been judged all her life because of the rumors about her mother.
Her mom disappeared when Terri was a little girl. The towns gosips said she had runaway with another man.
Then Nate arrives and everything gets turn upside-down. But is it for the better or for the worse?
Things are changing, and well hidden truths will be revealed.

In my point of view this story could go from good to great with some more editing.
I really liked this story, but the writing style didn't quite match up.



*This arc was provided by NetGalley*

Terri has definitely met her match when she stumbles out of bed to find Nate on her property. A diplomat at heart, Nate is an uninvited guest of her father's best friend. He was given permission to stay at HER house for three weeks and no one told her!

Nate is an all around nice guy. He is able to handle anything that is broken or not working properly. As Terri begins to realize Nate and her are soulmates, she begins to realize she is in trouble. After all Nate is engaged to the perfect daughter of Summer Hill's uptight mayor. Complications!

I loved this story! There is a mystery to solve, a killer to apprehend, and a marriage decision to make. What could be more thrilling?

I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy with me.

Of course I can't turn down an offer to read and review a Jude Deveraux romance. Because with Jude you never end up with 'just' a romance. There is always something more.
And in Met Her Match there is so much more. Terri has lived all her life near the lake at her father's resort Lake Kissel. All her life Terri has been the girl from the wrong side of town, the gossip always mean and tortuous. Therefore, even at thirty-one she doesn't like to go into the town of Summer Hill. She prefers to help her father run the resort.
When suddenly a handsome stranger moves into her house during her absence, it appears her father's friend Kit tries to set her up with his handsome nephew Nate. However, Nate is engaged to the mayor's daughter Stacy! So Nate is definitely off limits if Terri wants the feud between Montagues and Capulets to be ended somewhere in the near future.
But since Nate needs a place to stay, she offers him a room until his fiancee returns home in three weeks. While Nate enjoys the life at the lake, he can't help but admire Terri's strength and courage. She practically runs the resort all by herself. But why aren't people talking to her? And what happened to her mother all those years ago? Gossip and stories all don't add up and Nate is determined to find the truth, in order to help his new friend Terry. Not because he is attracted to her of course... but because he cares...
Only maybe not everyone is happy with Nate digging in the past. Suspense and drama with a wonderful background of summer holidays and fun. Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

I enjoyed this light, fun read! Terri and Nate has great chemistry. The tension and build up was perfect. I love that this turned into a murder mystery. The loads of secondary characters added to the overall appeal of the book. I feel it ended rather abruptly though. An epilogue would have wrapped things up nicely.

Met Her Match took me some time to get hooked. I felt like I was missing something or like this was a sequel and I should know back stories. Once I untangled all the characters, I really enjoyed adventures of Terri and Nate. Great beach read!

Met Her Match was a read I really enjoyed. It has lots going for it.

The heroine Terri is just delightful, she pretty much runs the show and the lakeside area her Dad is responsible for. She sorts problems, rescues people and generally has a heart of gold. She is very competent, and can swim wonderfully well.
 Terri isn't popular in the town area. Supposedly as a teen she's beaten up boys and ruined relationships. Well that's according to the town gossip. Believe what you will.
There is a feud going on between the town and lake areas, and the town people tend to look down on the lake people.
Terri has a great Dad, and a sheriff friend who stands in as an uncle and they both value Terri highly. (As they should)
There is the mystery of Terri's mother who left town when Terri was two years old, abandoning Terri and her husband. (Or ... did she?)
And then there is Nate. Big, handsome Nate - engaged to Stacy the mayor's daughter, who happens to be overseas, so Nate due to someones trickery ends up staying with Terri. Together they are a team, and Nate it turns out "can fix anything".
I loved my visit to Summer Hill - Virginia, its well written and humorous. I'd be very happy to visit again.

Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux 5 stars

This is a new title in the Summer Hill, Virginia series which features characters from Ms. Deveraux's long running Montgomery / Taggert series. As a long time reader of Jude Deveraux since "The Black Lyon", I have enjoyed her books, some more that others but I would never have given any of them less that 3 stars.

In this book we meet Terri Rayburn, a manager/handywoman at the Lake. Her father is the caretaker/trustee for the Lake Kissel community located near the town of Summer Hill. She is the general go to person to take care of all the problems at the Lake. Nate Taggert, is a visitor to Summer Hill and trying get use to living in the area since his fiancee Stacey comes from Summer Hill. After going on a three day errand Terri is surprised by Nate living in her home. Apparently this situation is arranged by her father Brady and his friend Kit Montgomery who is Nate's uncle. What follows is attraction, denial and other stuff that is fun to read.

There are several past scandals to explain and a horrible crime to discover. One of the best things about this book is the appearance of several characters from past novels. I loved this book and hope that Ms. Deveraux writes more in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin-Mira for this ARC.

Oh good grief! Why on earth do people think that children bear some sort of responsibility for what their parents do? Especially children like Terri, whose mom left when she was a toddler. Yes, Terri was a tough teen but seriously...She's got a great dad, among other things, and she runs the resort at Lake Kissel in Summer Hill, Virginia. There's a townie versus summer person thing going on here too. And the arrogance of Nate's father, who thinks he can put Nate in Terri's house while she's away. Turns out ok though. The two of them bond quickly and then they have to deal with their feelings. Nate's fiancé in in Europe but she'll be back soon so they have to make some decisions. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC - it's a good read for Deveraux fans and anyone else looking to relax. Oh- and while it's the second in the series, it's perfectly fine as a standalone.

Met Her Match was a quick, fun romance. It definitely kept my interest even though I didn't particularly like that the hero was engaged to someone else through most of the book. The ending was kind of abrupt but I still liked it!

Ever since her mother supposedly left town with a lover, Terri Rayburn has been painted with the same brush. It doesn't help that she's "from the lake" which is definitely not the same as being from "in town." You know who's from town? Stacy, the mayor's daughter. She's also the one engaged to Nate Taggert. Of course, she doesn't know that Nate Taggert is living in Terri's house... and so is Terri.
Of course, like all Deveraux novels, Terri and Nate are perfectly matched. They may not realize it yet but they are. Both tall and muscular and incredibly handy -- perfect. This is unusual for a Deveraux novel in that the hero is engaged to another woman for 3/4 of the book. And there's sort of a mystery but it's in the background and then quickly wrapped up. Regular Deveraux readers and people looking for a fluffy beach read with no character development will enjoy this book.

Three stars
This book comes out September 17th
ARC kindly provided by HARLEQUIN - MIRA and NeGalley
Opinions are my own

Met Her Match is an easy charming read. Terri, like so many, has been the victim of unwarranted small town gossip. She chose to ignore the ridiculous nature of this, and live her life as she pleases running a resort. Through circumstances, she returns home from a brief trip to find a guy, Nate, in her house. The two come to an agreement about living arrangements and soon, become friends. Or maybe something more? It's a good story with a bit of mystery, romance and intrigue, plus likeable characters who are dynamic together and warm hearted. Overall, I enjoyed this story for something light and easy. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Terri has had to work hard all her life. She has a reputation that she doesn't deserve and is determined not to give anyone a reason to gossip. When a gorgeous man shows up at her door step things begin to look up. He was offered a room in her house thinking the owner is out of town. As they being to talk, they realize that maybe their family is setting them up. Terri agrees to allow Nate to stay for three weeks. When she finds out that he is engaged to the town princess she knows this could be a disaster. Nate proves himself capable of helping her with her job at the summer resort she and her father run. There is a mystery that Nate can't help but try to get tot he bottom of despite Terri's strong objections. What will the truth mean for Terri and the rest of the town? Loved the chemistry between Terri and Nate. A page-turner that I couldn't put down.

Terri Rayburn grew up on the outskirts of Summer Hill, Virginia, where she was the object of unwarranted, vicious gossip and pain. She chose to ignore the gossip and kept to herself and runs the summer resort on Lake Kissel.

When she returns home from a short trip she finds handsome stranger Nate Taggert living in her house. She believes someone is trying to fix her up with Nate. However, after she agrees to allow Nate to continue to stay in her cabin she soon learns that he is engaged to the daughter of the mayor and is strictly off-limits.

Nate and Terri form an unlikely friendship while he helps her with all her duties at the lake. As Nate starts to hear rumors about Terri he won’t stop until he discovers the truth even if the truth might be more than anyone expected..