I could have sworn that I read this years ago, and I probably did and requested it again and let me tell you that it did not bother me in the slightest that I probably read it because it was nice and hawt!! It was just what I needed, a lot of smexy. I wanted something that I didn't have to think a lot of about but just enjoyed and this was it. We had Ginny who was running for Mayor but whose day job was also a hair dresser (yeah) only in small towns, and she so happens to give a sexy navy seals a hair cut as they have a whole lot of chemistry just practically melting everything around them come to find out that he is the father of her enemy, but will it stop the forest fire that they are setting around them, nope.

DNF at 33%. Rather than be engaged with this supposedly sexy romance, I'm finding myself too annoyed by the characters to give a shit. He's a former SEAL and son of the town's mayor. She's a salon owner and running against his father in the upcoming election. He's infatuated with her but every time he speaks he ends up putting his foot in his mouth and ticking her off. She's constantly swinging back and forth between wanting him and choosing celibacy to protect her image. Needless to say, they have some steamy sex.

I was already growing tired of their schtick by the 20% mark but wanted to see what might happen and gave it until 30% to improve. When the second sex scene rolled around - in a gas station bathroom, which the author paints as being clean and pine scented, I just couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to roll with it. I'm guessing Beck has never been in a gas station men's room before and it shows. To add to the ludicrousness of it all, their sex gets interrupted by a trucker demanding to use the men's room, hears their grunting it out, and suggests the guy see a doctor before high-tailing it out of there. It's supposed to be cute and funny, at least as cute and funny as implied scatalogical humor during a furious fuck romp in a wholly fictitiously clean gas station's men room can be, but all I could do was roll my eyes and wonder just how many infections these two were going to coming out of that bathroom with.

A totally hot and interesting romance. Virginia and Shaun's romance is off the charts hot. The writing and characters helped move the story along quite well.

Just what I would have expected from the lovely Samantha Beck. A nicely paced, sweet, sexy, romance with great characters. A quick read that you can get lost in.

This was a fun, sexy contemporary. I figured the author must be ramping up for a new release, since the publication date on this was 2014, and I'm glad I read it. Good characterization, easy pace, fun story.

I received a copy of this book for my honest review.

A fun fast read, this is the third book in the series, but is easily a stand alone read. I loved the steam between Ginny and Shaun throughout the book. I enjoyed how Shaun looked out for Ginny, but she still stayed a strong female character. Not a spoiler, but the twist at the end was a good one that I really didn't see coming. I enjoyed being surprised by what happened, it wasn't something that I normally would have guessed. If you are looking for a fun beach/ vacation read this one is a winner.

4.5 stars. Falling for the Enemy, by Stephanie Beck, is a lovely blend of hot, sexy romance and screwball comedy. Salon owner and mayorial candidate Ginny embarks on a spontaneous affair with Shaun, not realizing at first that he's the current mayor's son, recently returned to town after six years as a Navy SEAL. Once that fact come to light, she insists on keeping their relationship a secret as she didn't want anything smutty to screw up her chances to win the election. Of course, they fall for each other, but they keep that fact a secret as well... from each other as well as the town. Add in corrupt officials, a jerk teen, some great friends (presumably with their own books in the series), and a smattering of nosy small town residents (natch), and the result is a charming yet surprisingly rich story.

I liked both Ginny and Shaun a lot. They're both sexy and strong, as well as kind and funny. In retrospect, their interactions were kind of one dimensional; almost every one ended with them in a steamy clutch. It was mostly how they behaved away from each other (to the other characters in the book) that have me the impression that they rubbed along well and were suited to each other. I'm okay with that though, as the story as a whole was really fun.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks!

This series is one sexy book after another. Nothing is exactly taboo, and the characters are adventurous, so it’s always full of surprises.

But here, there was also a non romantic main plot: the mayor’s election. Ginny is a candidate because she doesn’t agree with some policies decided by mayor Buchanan regarding the town’s law enforcement. That doesn’t please Buchanan, and it happens he has some secrets to hide. But Shaun is Buchanan’s son, so it becomes complicated.

Though I kind of understood Ginny’s logic for keeping her relationship secret, I wasn’t sure the consequences would be as bad as she thought. Nothing a good explanation couldn’t resolve. Talk about making a mountain of a molehill. And it was kind of sad seeing Shaun struggling with his status as a dirty secret. Of course, it also added to the romantic part of the story.

Ginny and Shaun’s relationship was volcanic–right from their first encounter. I would have enjoyed to see more non sexual scenes between them, to feel the love. But since it’s a secret relationship, it was understandable. Of lust, there was plenty.

There was also some girl talk between the various female characters of the series, and I enjoyed it. I’ll definitely dig into this author’s backlist.

Quickie

- Series: Private pleasures #3 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #small town romance #no strings attached #strangers to lovers #political intrigue
- Triggers: multiple cheating by a side character
- Main couple: Virginia Boca & Shaun Buchanan
- Hotness: 5/5
- Romance: 4/5
- + I loved the political intrigue–even though it’s very limited
- – I’d have loved to see the real connection between them, as it is it’s mostly lust