OMG! First of all, this cover is the thing that made me stop in my tracks and take notice of this book. The representation... simply adore it!! I was drawn into this book after the first chapter. I love how the three women initially connected through a shared and negative experience and turned it into something good where they just supported each other -- no questions asked. They gave support when needed and could also give words of tough love. Michael's close circle of friends did the same for him. Ok, onto Vanessa and Michael! The slow build of the relationship between Vanessa and Michael was well-paced and hot! The banter and the electricity between these two was so palpable! This book gave everything and left nothing out. I would highly recommend this book to anyone you loves a good romance story! A review is posted on IG: @Dai2DaiReader.

The literary equivalent of a Hallmark movie in the best way! I read it in a weekend and couldn't put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is another romance I picked because of the cover. It's so exhilarating to finally read some diversity in romance.

This book had tons of heart, I thought. Vanessa is a forty-something divorcee after twenty years of the insidious sort of verbal and emotional abuse that has shredded so very many women of my generation, and the ones above me. Nothing physical--and the culture condones it--but the effect is the same. LaQuette did what I thought an excellent job with the emotional fallout, including the directionlessness afterward.

But the book is not all gloom and doom--a man arrives on her doorstep, a sheriff of Korean descent, who is the sole guardian of a sister. He begs Vanessa to come speak to his sister as an intervention, as her pond scum rat of an ex is courting her--for her money, of course, but the twenty-something sister thinks it's True Love.

The result is the introduction to small town life, among Vanessa's terrific friend circle. The intervention, which I really wanted to see, takes a while to get there, and the result takes what I thought an interesting direction, into the toxic side of highly hierarchical cultural expectations, which some Korean friends have talked about.

A lot of issues, but it's not an issues book, it's a romance. Sometimes the read felt a little jagged as we whipsaw between hard issues and, um, other kinds of hard as the romance accelerates. But I enjoyed the book overall, and am so glad books like these are finally getting out there in traditional publishing romance land--indie romance writers have been writing them for ages.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Vanessa is trying to hi on with her life after getting divorced. She is distrustful of men in general due to her ex husband. I liked this book.

Vanessa, a black woman who lives in a upscale development New Jersey, is an accountant who divorced her emotionally abusive husband 2 years ago. Michael, a Korean American, is the sherif in the small town of Monroe Falls Pennsylvania. When Michael’s kid sister, Cindy, gets taken in by Vanessa’s ex, Michael seeks out Vanessa to come to the small town to tell Cindy the truth about the ex. While waiting for Cindy to get back to town for the intervention Michael and Vanessa finally act on their explosive attraction. But there are several obstacles- Cindy’s feelings, Micheal’s penchant for trying to manage people he loves and the fact that they live so far away from one another.

This is one scorching hot book! The attraction between Michael and Vanessa rocks and the sex scenes are off the charts passionate. Add to this the secondary players, especially Vanessa’s friends, and you get a well rounded delightful cast of characters. The plot flows well-it isn’t just sex scene after sex scene. There is some substance to it as well. It looks like this will be the first in a series and I, for one, will come back to read them all.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such an interesting concept for a book. I loved Vanessa and her girl group. With great POC representation.

2 years after her divorce, a man shows up on Vanessa’s door step asking for her help. Why? because his sister is going to marry the man Vanessa had to endure for 20 years.

My favorite things about the book:
- Vanessa’s story all together. She deserved the happy ending she got.
- The SSS club with her girlfriends
- Unapologetically black!

My least favorite things about the book:
- It was hard to focus on the book because it was written in third person.
- 85% Break up felt unnecessary

Vanessa spent 20 years married to an emotionally abusive man who had no qualms about cheating on her.
This is the story of how she figures out who she is and how to deal with life as a single woman.
The story is well written and funny. It has wonderful characters, lots of love and some great spice.
I loved the diverse characters and the small town feel.

Divorcee Vanessa decide to move on after her ugly divorce. Years later, a sexy sheriff shows up on her doorstep asking her for stop his little sister from marry her ex. She initially refused until she sees her grandma's ring (stolen from her!) on her ex's new fiancee....

It's a sexy comedy and I enjoyed it. The sheriff is a nice swoony guy. I like that Vannessa isn't some idiotic ingenue and is more mature.... The banter in the book was fun between them was fun. I like her friends and they definitely make me laugh. I enjoyed it a lot. It's just a bonus that the main characters are POC... We don't get enough books with POC as main characters honestly.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Vanessa Jared's Got a Man is a romance novel that did something I thought was impossible for the genre-- made tropes feel interesting again. This novel follows Vanessa Jared while she is trying to navigate her life as a divorcee and try to fit the pieces of herself back together as a Savvy, Sexy, Single (her words, not mine). This is until, a stranger comes to her door trying to save his sister from Vanessa's toxic ex-husband. She accepts, and it definitely has nothing to do with the fact that the stranger happened to be a man in a uniform.

LaQuette has a unique and refreshing view on writing for this genre-- everything felt new and exciting to read while still having tropes we all love (we're all a sucker for 'having to stay at the house of the person you have tension with because of a perfectly timed storm'). The plot was a little rushed and I would give this a 3 1/2 overall, but the characters are complex, fun to read and dual POV love stories are always the best love stories. ALSO a romance book focused on an interracial couple!!! A lovely read, overall.

When we first meet Vanessa Jared she is newly single after 20 years and trying to navigate her new normal by attending a divorce support group. Within the first few minutes she realizes this group can't provide what she needs. Fortunately, two other attendees realize the same and they all leave together. The trio quickly hits it off and form The Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club.

On the club's second anniversary the very handsome sheriff of Monroe Hills, PA, Michael Park, shows up on her doorstep with shocking news and a proposition. Michael's baby sister is engaged to Vanessa's no-good ex-husband and he's asking her to come to Monroe Hills and expose her ex for guy he really is before his sister makes the biggest mistake of her life. Initially, Vanessa wants no parts of Michael's plan that is until she sees his sister wearing HER grandmother's ring. She agrees to help Michael on the condition he retrieves her ring.

A series of unfortunate events prevent Vanessa from speaking to Michael's sister, Cindy, right away as planned AND she is stranded in Monroe Hills with no place to stay. While waiting around for the opportunity to talk with Cindy, Vanessa and Michael can't help but notice a growing attraction to each other. Can these two put their fears aside and give love a real chance??

Quick and easy read that's steamy in all the right places.

* Received a copy for review.*
This book was an easy read. Fairly low angst with good steam.
A divorcee is trying to rebound from a bad marriage. A small town sheriff does not trust his sisters fiancée and seeks out his ex well fe for help. They find themselves drawn to each other.

Vanessa is fairly content, trying to put her life back together two years after her marriage ended. She has two great friends by her side, who she met at a divorce support group. Things are going alright for her-- until Michael shows up at her door and asks for her help saving his sister from Vanessa's abusive ex-husband. Michael wants her to come to his town (where Vanessa's two best friends coincidentally live) and tell his sister the truth about her ex, and in exchange, he'll return her grandmother's ring, which her ex-husband stole.

I loved the concept of this book, but I wish the intervention scene had come sooner, since it was such a key point in the beginning of the book. I found myself anxious to get to that point and feeling like the plot was dragging until that point-- I was expecting it to be more of an inciting incident, with more time after that scene to get into the fallout and see some longer-term effects on the characters, but it was very much the climax and came around the 75% mark. I also felt like Vanessa caved a bit too quickly at the end, and her readiness to give up some key aspects of her life to follow Michael and the plans he proposed (and pushed for, after she told him not to) made me think that maybe she hadn't healed and learned to trust in her own worth as much as she thought.
That being said, I liked the characters-- her two best friends, Janae and Cree, were delightful, and their banter was really fun. I really enjoyed all the parts that included them. I also really liked the small town setting of this book, and found myself wanting even more immersion in the town-- it sounded cute, and I loved the little glimpses we got of the town.

This was my first ever LaQuette novel and while I didn't love it, I'll definitely read more. The story is short and tight, which I really loved, but the writing often felt clinical and straightforward. It is an interracial relationship between a Black heroine and an Asian American hero, which we love to see. I found myself rooting for both of the MCs individually, but I wasn't really invested in their chemistry or relationship. The feelings felt too fast and too rote to me.

Also, this is my bad because I didn't read the summary closely enough, but the hero is a cop and I never read cops.

All in all, it just didn't quite work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and SMP for this ARC.

CW: abusive relationship, divorce

Ever since I saw this cover I was completely in love, and the inside was equally great. This is such a powerful book.

In this story you will find a woman getting his confidence and power back after a rat of a man took it from her, and doing it in the most satisfying way: stopping him from doing the same to another woman. You’ll also find an amazing support system: three divorced women teaming up to bring each other up and being each other’s biggest cheerleaders. I loved the savvy, sexy singles club. Cree, Janae and Vanessa are everything together!

There is also a steamy romance! I really enjoyed it since I always love the second chance at love trope. It was also a small town setting and I’m really loving those lately. Forced proximity plus chemistry plus a plan to tear down an abuser… I was sold. I really liked Michael and what he did for his sister by bringing Vanessa to her. It’s true that Cindy is a grown woman, but he did the right thing and I really loved seeing her leaving Karl.

The only “but” I have is that the book was too short, and the romance took up a big time (which is obvious since it’s a romance), and I would have liked to see more of Vanessa and Cindy together.

Rating: 4/5
Steam: 2.5/5

TW: Emotional abuse, toxic relationship, death of parents.

Thank you so much to St Martin’s Press for sending me an early ecopy!

Vanessa is trying to get her life back on track after divorcing her horrible husband of 20 years. When she's approached by Michael, the brother of her ex-husband's new fiancee, she starts to wonder if she's not done with love after all.

I really enjoyed this book! This is a slow burn romance with two people who've been married before, and you don't see too much of that in contemporary romance. Vanessa had a lot of internal work to do, and it was refreshing to see her work through her pain and realizing that the abuse she endured was not her fault. Michael was a great love interest who went through his own growth, both internally and in his relationship with his sister. The both learned how to communicate and were honest with each other, so this is a great example of a healthy relationship.

The writing was great and the spicy scenes were perfect. These main characters were definitely "grown and sexy" and I will definitely be recommending this book through reader's advisory.

Also, this cover? *Chef's kiss*

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for an ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I knew very little going into VANESSA JARED’S GOT A MAN by LaQuette, even after looking for a synopsis in multiple places, so the unique way the main characters—Vanessa, a woman who is trying to find her purpose after divorcing her mentally and verbally abusive husband of twenty years, and Michael, a small-town sheriff—meet was truly a surprise. And while the reason for them meeting is ultimately the catalyst that brings Vanessa to the small town of Monroe Hills where Michael is the sheriff and her two best friends happen to live, it was not a huge part of the plot. Instead, which I found refreshing, the reader gets to see Vanessa experience a way of life that she isn’t familiar and gain back a lot of the confidence and strength her ex-husband had slowly stolen from her.

While I do wish there had been more consequences for her conniving ex, I did like that the story was focused on Vanessa and her growing relationship with Michael, and I’m truly looking forward to getting back to Monroe Hills to see what happens between the remaining two sets of friends.

If you are a fan of Jasmine Gillory's books, you will love Vanessa Jared's Got A Man. The characters were fun and the city girl in a small town aspect was just perfect. A quick read that will entertain.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Vanessa Jared's Got a Man was a charming tale of love, passion and second chance.Vanessa and Michael were so well developed, flaws and all, and I loved them! I loved their scorching chemistry and and the steam level in this one is about as high as it can get, in my opinion. If you’re looking for a steamy, charming, and entertaining read this is the book for you.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I really wanted to like this book but I just didn't. The point of the book is that they are trying to expose her ex-husband but I feel like that takes a back burner. The plot in general is just very rushed and I think the book could benefit from being longer.

I received an arc through netgalley.

If there was ever a category for the most stunning book cover, Vanessa Jared's Got a Man would be in the top 10!
It just screams at me! And it's one that will be going on my bookshelf!

This is my very first time reading a book by LaQuette and I habe to admit she blew me away with her writing.
She completely pulled me in and sucked me deep into the story of Vanessa and Michael.
They feel so real and have true depth.
This second chance love story was everything I was hoping it would be.
A fun, sexy, captivating, gorgeous an utterly charming love story.
The author added so many levels into this book that it just pulls you forward page by page.
The highs and the lows then ultimate healing and finding yourself again made for a terrific story.

I read this beauty in almost two day's. Woke up in the middle of the night to read it.
That's how much I enjoyed this novel!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

St. Martin's Griffin,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.