This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read

This was an okay book that was written fine. I particularly could not really feel a connection with the characters.

I really adored the hero, Cole in this book. Just such a sweetie. Great read!

Many thanks to the author, the publishers, and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Obviously, I don't hold romances to the same standard, as, say Anna Karenina, but this one could have used more developmental editing.

The good: - although the young lonely billionaire trope is tired, it was a nice change that the heroine is the wealthy one.
- Veronica is Latina, but it doesn't devolve into a bunch of stereotypes. Wish I could say the same for her friend, "that Asian girl," Lucy.
- The reader might learn a few things about lobster fishing.

The bad: - time is handled in a weird way. We get all the play-by-play minutia of the earlier part of the evening, then fast-forward past the sex scene, but then some highlights are told in retrospect the next morning. And later (supposedly still in May or June?) the characters talk about an event in August, and then suddenly they're there.
- The treatment of mental illnesses was off. Veronica's acute stress disorder makes her a fainting damsel in distress, and Cole's late wife's depression is blamed for how the she overdosed late in her pregnancy.
- As a former Bostonian, I don't recognize this world where you can come and go between the city and the Cape whenever you want, and you never get trapped in 3-4 hours of traffic on Routes 3 and 6. But wouldn't a billionaire who owns an airline be flying on a private plane?
- At 92% of the way through the book, the most soap-opera-esque melodramatic scene happens... and then (spoiler alert) everything's fine. I almost quit right there.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

Holding Pattern is the second book in the Landing in Love series. This was the first book I have read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Even though it is part of a series it was perfect as a stand-alone. It was well written and was a fast read. The characters were well developed and believable.
Cole Miller had lost his wife and baby nine years prior and hadn’t had an interest in relationships since. He put all his focus on growing his family’s business, The Miller Lobster Company. Upon meeting Veronica Lang all that changed, he couldn’t stop thinking of her.
Billionaire Veronica Lang had bought property in Cape Cod near her father. She was about to launch her new project for Skyview Airlines. When she started having health issues and was told she needed to relax, she went to Cape Cod. She was instantly drawn to Cole but didn’t have time to commit to a relationship. Can a corporate billionaire and a fisherman have a long-distance relationship?
I really enjoyed reading this book. I like the author’s style of writing and the way she was able to bring the characters to life. I look forward to future books.

Loved Cole and Veronica‘a love story. He’s a fisherman and she’s a CEO. Love this scenario; it’s usually the man is the CEO There’s an instant attraction when they met. As they spend time together feelings evolved but Veronica has secrets that when revealed challenges their relationship. They also have the challenge of their career, status and wor locations and where they meet in the middle. Love conquers all. Engaging sweet read. Recommended read.

A different story than I normally read in that this was just a quick read and just a story about a lobster fisherman who is still dealing with a loss of his wife from years past. When he sees and meets Veronica, he finds her attractive and she finds him as well. They do not interact other than talk in the first meeting. She likes that he does not recognize.
Veronica is a billionaire and though she is working for a new aviation section for her company she is also dealing with issues from her past and with the new house, she built at the town where Cole lives. He still does not know she is the person who owns the home.
When they finally do get together, they become a couple and you think everything will work out until her past comes to light along with how she really is and that she owns the home that everyone is talking about. Now he must decide if he is still willing to look past these for, he still has feelings for her. It turns out to be a good story with good secondary characters as well. Very much worth the read.

Full transparency here: I have become bored with all the billionaire romances out there. I rarely read one anymore. But Holding Pattern is a flip of that usual trope - with the heroine being the one who is rich. So I wanted to give this book a try, because I want to support authors who give us readers something new and fresh! But I wish we would have gotten more that was new and fresh.

Veronica Lang is a self-made billionaire at the age of 30. (I’ll abstain from my usual lengthy rant about how ridiculous the billionaire character is to begin with...why is being a multi-millionaire not enough? It would be far more realistic. But, whatever…moving on!) She’s under a lot of stress and the doctor orders her to get some balance in her life, to relax more. So she escapes from Boston to her recently acquired property in a small coastal town in Massachusetts, where she’d bulldozed the house that’s already there, and built a 6000 square foot mansion (which she refers to as a “cottage” - and to me, a mere normal person, cottage = a small house, so right off the bat she comes off as pretentious). One afternoon on her way back to Boston she pops into the local sandwich shop to order a couple lobster rolls to go, and meets Cole Miller, owner of the Miller Lobster Company - which supplies lobsters for the sandwich shop.

After a couple of chance meetings in the small coastal town, Veronica and Cole start a long-distance relationship. Cole is a widower of nine years, but is ready to move forward with the new woman in town. Veronica likes how she feels when she’s with Cole, but isn’t sure how to fit him in her exceedingly busy life.

Long story short, there’s misunderstandings, partial truths, long-held secrets, and a heroine who changes her mind and mood so quickly and frequently I’m concerned the poor hero needs to be treated for whiplash.

Sadly, there were a great number of things that rubbed me the wrong way.

At the top of the list, is all the clunky, awkward dialogue, using phrases no 30 year old would mutter. Realistic dialogue is important to me, and this book frequently missed the mark on this.

My next issue is something I see occasionally and always confounds me. I don’t get why authors will start a chapter with a character name when the story is told in a third person narrative. The story isn’t being “told” by the characters. Sure, there may be more focus on what’s happening with one of the characters, but it’s not difficult to figure out which one. It’s not a chapter being told from one or the other character’s point of view. So why put the character’s name at the beginning of the chapter like it is???

We also had large jumps in time. Which on its own isn’t an issue - readers don’t need a day by day accounting of what’s going on. But the time spans in this book happened without much acknowledgment. One paragraph the hero and heroine are talking about an event that’s two months away...and the next they are AT the event. It was hard to get some context for just how long Veronica and Cole were apart between being together, and how long their relationship was.

And speaking of context...I have no idea how old Cole is supposed to be. I’m guessing about the same age as Veronica, maybe a little older. But who knows? It was never mentioned. All we know is his wife died nine years ago. We don’t know how long he was married, we don’t know the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s death. Cole lamented frequently that he didn’t know about Veronica’s past, but I feel the reader’s didn’t really know about his.

And finally, Cole and Veronica’s relationship…

I don’t like when a heroine gets walked all over and treated badly by a hero, so I can’t be okay with how the heroine treated the hero here. Several times she said rude or heartless things with little to no reaction from the hero. Veronica would then apologize (good for her, she should), but then Cole would be all “it’s okay, I know you’re under a lot of stress.”

What a wimpy hero. I can appreciate someone who is forgiving and understanding, but geesh dude - stand up for yourself! Push back! Either the hero has no backbone, or our heroine has one magic vagina…

I prefer reading stories about adults who behave like adults, and there wasn’t enough of that in this book. Too much of the conflict was self-inflicted, and I've become as weary of that kind of drama as I am of billionaires.

And the final nail in the coffin for this book? This couple has a serious geographical issue. She owns a business that is based out of Boston, Cole has a business that is two hours away. This is an ACTUAL obstacle to them being together, and it's not dealt with. The story ends with a promise of forever (let's not pretend we're surprised, since this is a romance book after all!), but we don't get to see them figure out HOW they are going to make a marriage work while managing this true logistical issue. It's hardly even mentioned while they're dating...

So, as much as I wanted to like this story, not much about it worked for me. I’m not sure how long this book is, but it took me a week to read - which should tell me a lot because in these days of self-isolation because of COVID-19, I cook dinner and read. That’s it. I have plenty of time to read and this book didn’t compel me to sit down and keep reading. Yet, it wasn’t so bad that I didn’t want to finish. So I guess that’s something???

Heat Factor: closed door
Character Chemistry: Instant tingles → “I haven’t felt this way in forever...or ever.”
Plot: Billionaire entrepreneur needs to chill out, lobsterman can help with that
Overall: Easy breezy

Up front: I’m not sure that the representation of Acute Stress Disorder was accurate in this book. I’m not an expert, but when I looked it up the explanation (from DSM-5) didn’t seem to exactly jive with what was going on with Veronica. I wasn’t bothered by this... but I do know it’s important to represent mental health (and other) issues correctly.

I guess while I’m at it, other content warnings include death of spouse and unborn baby. Cole is a widower when the story begins.

We begin with Veronica visiting her newly completed vacation home on Cape Cod. She just had a 6000 sq. ft. (yeah, that’s right) home built because she’s a billionaire and that’s what billionaires do. On her way back to Boston, she stops for some excellent lobster rolls that she plans to eat on the road. (Which, what? How do you eat lobster rolls on the road?) And what do you know? She meets the lobsterman who provides the lobster for the delicious lobster rolls. And they have instant hots for each other. But Veronica’s a control freak and primarily lives in Boston, so pursuing this rugged guy is out of the question. Or is it?

When Veronica is instructed to rest for a week after being diagnosed with Acute Stress Disorder, she goes back to her house and Mr. Sexy Lobsterman. It turns out that sex with a nice man is relaxing (not that we actually get to know that because this is a very closed-door romance). And so we have a romance novel.

I liked several things about this book:
1. After Veronica doesn’t tell Cole her real surname and it blows up, they agree to be honest with each other and they are. Conflicts come from a couple of other places.

2. Cole is on the water for long hours. Veronica works in Boston. At no point is there a conversation about either of them giving up their lifestyles for the other. This is a commuter relationship that works for these protagonists.

3. I liked the way boundaries were discussed in this book. It’s not necessarily completely resolved, but it felt like the conversational “help me understand you” aspect of a relationship.

4. Veronica’s the self-made billionaire and it totally doesn’t matter in their relationship because Cole’s busy running his lobstering business.

5. There is a sad lack of billionaire heroines, so I can’t make sweeping comments like, “billionaire heroines are usually super alpha and unlikeable just like billionaire heroes,” but I want to. So I appreciated that Veronica was a BOSS in her everyday life, but in her relationship she enjoyed letting go of that a little bit. Or at least in the bedroom. It made me think of this Ali Wong segment about how powerful women enjoy being dominated in bed.

Okay, that said, there are some things to consider:
1. It ends abruptly. Big thing happens, then … wrap up. I’d have liked to see some discussion about how, now that they know this is long term, they’re going to handle their commuter relationship. It doesn’t really matter, because the important thing is they figured out that they want to be together, but I feel it would have been tidier.

2. Veronica says she’s got some patents, like this is a hard thing to do. There is a whole campus full of patent examiners at the US patent office, and all they do, all day every day is examine patent applications. If she’s the billionaire owner of a billion-dollar corporation, she’s got more than some patents. She’s probably got a dedicated IP attorney who manages her company’s portfolio. I’m familiar with this field, so it’s a nitpick on my part. But, like, just search for how many patents Steve Jobs has. It’s not hard.

3. Thinking back, I’m not super clear about why these protagonists were invested in this relationship other than “I haven’t felt this way since…” ever. I’m okay with insta-lust as a reason for being together, but I’m not sure there was enough on-page development to convince me why they’d fight so hard at some points for this relationship.

4. There were several plot points that weren't fully fleshed out or addressed by the time the story wrapped up. It didn't really detract from the reading but it contributed to a niggling something that prevented me from enjoying this book more.

For all these protagonists’ past tragedies and demanding jobs, this is a pretty fluffy read. I did not have particularly high highs or low lows with this one. There was no desire to throw my phone while reading. I will say I’m pretty over the whole: “I’m so dedicated to my job that I really can’t consider any sort of anything with another human right now because DISTRACTIONS.” But I am halfway through my 2020 reading goal and we’re only three months in, so this might be a too-much-smut issue for me that’s not a problem for you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Thanks to netgalley for the book in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars

I thought this was a cute book about two people getting their chance at love, Veronica is a successful business who suffers from an anxiety disorder, She decides to get a beach house in her hometown. While there she meets Cole, a lobster fisherman. Their attraction was undeniable.

Overall, the story was super cute. There were time that it felt the story was flat. It was hard to stay focused on the book.

The characters were well written. Cole is what I imagined a fisherman to be like. Veronica is what I picture for a successful business owner. I loved the other town folks. They may be minor characters but they made the story.

It was a quick read and super cute.

3.5 stars

I thought this was a cute book about a very successful business woman, Veronica Lang, and a widowed lobster fisherman, Cole Miller.

Veronica owns a successful aviation business in Boston, but she soon discovers that even though she is only 30 years old, she already suffers from anxiety - to the point of actually blacking out during her episodes. As part of her relaxation therapy, she spends weekends at her newly acquired beach house near Cape Cod - which happens to be where Cole lives and works. Veronica and Cole seem to run into each other constantly and they cannot hide their attraction to each other. However, Cole is oblivious to Veronica's true identity and she doesn't clue him in on who she is because she honestly likes him to just like her for who she is and not because of her money or fame.

Once Veronica & Cole get past her lie by omission on who she really is, they begin a serious relationship of seeing each other every weekend. But Veronica has a deep secret from her past that has haunted her since she was a child. She is afraid to tell Cole about it for fear of him leaving her - actually she has never told anyone her secret. Once she tells him the truth about her, will he want to remain involved with Veronica or will he leave her once and for all?

An easy to read book. There was enough of a story to keep me interested. There was nothing to dislike in it. The characters were interesting especially the two main ones. It had a happy ending and I did enjoy it

I’ll try not to hold you up here, folks, by getting right to the point. Though the main couple and general aspects of this story line were sweet, there were things here and there that didn’t work in the delivery of it. For example, I did not feel they knew each other well enough to claim to be so enamored/connected to one another so early on, likely because they were spending so very little time together. Him gently caressing her face right after meeting her when she got in his truck for a quick ride home felt creepy to me. Any sane woman would be jumping right out of that pick-up, handsome guy or not. He was still a stranger to her at that point. Speaking of which, jumping in the sack by her bold, self proclaimed, out of character move so soon didn’t resolve that sense of unfamiliarity either. That feeling never really went away, even late in the book. I definitely did not like her toddler temper tantrum rant when he tried to protect her from an overbearing reporter either.

The writing itself just wasn’t scripted that well or overly interesting. I found myself bored and not wanting to finish it. I made it to 86% until I finally threw in the towel. I felt like I was in a holding pattern waiting for somewhere interesting to happen, but it just wasn't going anywhere significant.

Here’s to hoping others enjoy it. I wish this author continued writing success. I was just hoping and holding my breath it would be something more than it was.

Title: Holding Pattern, Series: Landing in Love (Book 2), Author: Jennifer W. Smith, Pages: NL, novella, widow/good guy lobster hero, rich kind of well known corporate heroine, small town, new to me author, wasn’t overly interesting or engaging, a tad bit steamy, relationship angst. Rating: 2.5 stars

Book 1 - Defying Gravity
Book 2 - Holding Pattern

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no relationship between this reviewer and the author, publisher, or NetGalley.)

I wish to thank net galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions below are mine alone.

A lovely romantic quick read book. It is a perfect spring break or beach time read.

When billionaire Veronica meets hunky lobster fisherman Cole the Sparks fly. Can there ever be a relationship between two people with such different backgrounds?

The only negative thing I can say is I wish the book was longer. Read and enjoy!

A wonderfully light and heartwarming read, full of romance, swoon and melts moments. This is a fast paced addictive read, the kind that leaves you smiling.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't know at first when I started if I would, but I ended up really enjoying it.

I liked the characters, and I thought the plot was captivating enough to hold anyone's interest throughout.

A well written and entertaining romance. Great plot, characters and setting. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Cole is a widower who lost his wife 9 years ago. Veronica is a rich woman, who is trying to overcome panic attacks. She buys a property in Maine, and he is a lobster fisherman who has no clue who she is. Cute story and a quick read. Easy to pick up and put down. Would recommend.

Disclaimer - I was given a free digital download of the book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderfully easy and light hearted read with just the right amount of drama and swoon to keep any romance reader happy.