As this is my first over 40 romance, I was a little skeptical that I would find the same joy in writing as I would with my typical romance novels, but I really did feel this was a good fit for me. The writing was wonderful, the story was great, except at the end when I found Wolf to be a little unsufferable. And there was just the right amount of steam.

The only thing negative I can say about this book, was the naming of the characters. I'm into odd names. Have a few kids with odd names myself, but I found the character naming to be overdone and hard to remember who was who after a while.

This was a good read with a wonderful story. Can't wait to see what this author comes out with next.

Andi and Wolf have had neighboring cabins in Lake Arrowhead for years but they've never gotten to know each other because Andi's husband and Wolf were too busy clashing with one another. Now, though. Andi's a widow and Wolf, as it turns out, is a better guy than she thought. And hotter, They're both at their cabins for Christmas but a blizzard takes out the power and so they huddle (yeah,, that' s one word for it) together at Wolf's. Both of them have sad backstories which have inhibited their love lives but now they're healing. Except..... Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I liked this because these two are in their 50s and early 60s respectively. That doesn't mean they act maturely but it does make for a good read.

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Flirting with the Beast by Jane Porter is the second book in her popular modern love series, and can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. This series features older characters who fall in love and I found Flirting with the Beast an excellent addition to this series.

Story Recap:
Andi McDermott has been a widow for over five years and is finally feeling like herself again. When her stepson and his fiancée change plans and tell her they can’t spend Christmas with her, Andi decides to spend the holiday in her cabin up in the mountains in Lake Arrowhead. She hasn’t spent any time in the cabin since her husband passed, but she knows she needs a change of scenery to help her get over the disappointment of spending Christmas alone.

When Andi gets snowed in, she needs to ask her neighbor, Wolf Enders, for help. Wolf and Andi’s husband have been feuding for years until Andi’s husband’s death. Wolf is a military vet and is grumpy and intimidating, but Andi is surprised that she sees a kinder, gentler side when he helps her at the cabin.

My Thoughts:
One thing I love about this series is the older characters. Andi is ready to move on, and she has been dating a little bit, but no one has intrigued her enough to keep around.

The romance between Andi and Wolf was the main theme of the book, but I liked all the family issues that had to be resolved as well. With older characters, there are usually adult children in the mix, and they can affect relationships, and this is certainly the case in this book. But, they added so much to the overall story and gave me more insight into the main characters and their motivations and issues.

The attraction between Andi and Wolf is very strong and the book is a bit steamy. But, there is so much story between the steamy scenes that made this such a well-rounded book.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend Flirting With the Beast to anyone who enjoys romance books. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was quite a mature and entertaining romance read. I loved to witness the transformation of air between the main characters from hate to love. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it

I really really love a good beauty and the beast story. It's one of my favorite tropes, and so I was excited to try this new book from a new-to-me author.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. I am not typically drawn to older couples. Even as I age myself, I'm not *quite* there in connecting with this age range. It started in a way that depressed me, and I struggled to stay connected after that. I put this book down three times before deciding that this one is just not for me.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review.

There is such a dearth of romance books portraying couples over 40 years old that I hastily jumped on Flirting With the Beast as soon as I spotted it on Netgalley. If 40+ characters are relatively scarce in romance, what is to say about 50+ lovers? They are unicorns of this genre, let me tell you.
I've read over 3000 romance books and I can barely name a handful, despite the fact that I tend to naturally gravitate toward mature and older characters in my romance and have been actively looking for them these past few years.

I loved the main romance arc, two archenemies surprisingly finding themselves gravitating toward each other a few years after the heroine's husband passing.
Flirting With the Beast hooked me in quite easily. I mean :

❄Remote mountain cabin
❄Mountain blizzard
❄Next door neighbors
❄Hate to love trope
❄Grumpy marine vet (60)
❄Widowed sunshine heroine (late 50? 57?)

Now, this is mostly romance centric and not without family dynamics. That being said this part of the story dealt with heavy topics so I believe CW are appropriate here (death of spouse, death of a child, grief, mental health, depression, suicide, child neglect, infertility). Yeah, it sure sounds heavy but it didn't suffocate the romance arc too much. There's a good balance between the family drama, the romance and the female friendship dynamics.
At the very beginning I was afraid it would be a fade to black romance book but with each new encounter between Andi and Wolf the steam increased and so did the sex on page.

With all that being said, I could have done without the unnecessary drama at the end especially since it lacked a proper grovel in my opinion and felt so out of character for Wolf to treat And this way BUT I find it so difficult to find romance books with romance leads over 50 years old that I'm willing to allow some leniency and put my annoyance away.

I ended really enjoying Flirting With the Beast and will assuredly check others books by this author if she has more older characters in her backlist.

Porter pours so much emotion and depth into this one. Family issues, learning how to move forward after major life changes. Learning to trust and crack open closed hearts. And definitely realizing that family means more than just blood.

She takes the time to craft a perfect balance in her characters. Gruff and tough, smoking hot Wolf and sweet, but strong and resilient Andi are just right for each other. Delicately balancing those new feelings and emotions is a different matter. Porter showers us with sexy steam, intensity, humor, and passion in this awesome read.

Emotional and intense in many ways. I love the mature couple focus in Flirting with the Beast. So many feelings ring so true in this one!

I like Jane Porter's books and find them to be "deeper" in thought than many of the general romance books, but this one dragged on a little too much for me in the thinking. There was so much angst, with a side story that made me want to beat my head against the wall a little that in the end, with 85% of the book read, I simply lost interest and did not finish.

I enjoyed that the characters were older but still enjoyed life and had healthy sex lives, (a refreshing change from the 23 year old being enamored of the 32 year old bachelor) but the story itself remained sluggish.

This is my first book by Ms. Porter and definitely would not be my l last. Andi McDermott lost her husband a few years ago and is still adjusting to life without him. We first meet Andi as she is preparing Christmas meal for her stepson and his fiancee only to be devastated that he cancels at the last minute. So Andi decides to go her cabin and spend some time there in solace only to run into her neighbor Wolf who has had run in with her husband in the past. With her husband presence no longer there Andi begins to see another side of her neighbor and tries hard secretly not to be attracted to him. One night while a storm was raging and she goes to his cabin because a power outage has happened a chemistry both didn't realize ignite amongst them and they fall into bed with each other. We find out that Wolf was a Marine who is divorced and retired and other than his boys do not do attachment/entanglements especially of the female type. This book is told with such a brutal honesty of how things that happen in our life shape us that it gave me reflection of my life as well. There are other sub-stories going on but Andi and Wolf navigating this thing called relationship while dealing with other things going on in their life is heartfelt, and also encouragement that leaves hope for us all. Wonderful storytelling of the human mind and life and condition. Review on goodreads will be also on amazon.

Flirting with the Beast by Jane Porter is the second novel in the Modern Love series. In this novel, Andi McDermott finds herself alone for Christmas after losing her husband and decides to spend the holidays at their family cabin. The problem with the cabin is the longstanding feud between her deceased husband and their neighbor, Wolf Enders. With each encounter between Andi and Wolf, distrust and animosity make way for interest and appreciation—but all love stories have their own unique hardships. Flirting with the Beast by Jane Porter takes readers on a journey of love between two people that are still trying to figure it all out and find love later in life. For readers looking for a mature love story with found family and emotional themes—Flirting with the Beast by Jane Porter is a book to check out.

Jane Porter writes love stories with older adults and I love that so much! I feel like this was little more racy than Flirting with Fifty but I still enjoyed the story between hardened military vet Wolf and Andi McDermott who had been his neighbor when her husband was alive. I love that family was important to both of them and how they worked through their struggles from their pasts to overcome things that had held them back for years. It was also fun to see a bit of Paige from Flirting with Fifty.

I will definitely look for more books by Jane Porter.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publishes 29 November 2022.

After having high hopes for this one (because there truly is a shortage of books about older couples) I can only hope to express the depths of my disappointment in the kindest way possible.

This book had a lot of potential. Both the hero and heroine had a significant amount of baggage to wade through - as one has after living for six decades. Between the two of them there’s divorce, death of an adult child, a depressed daughter-in-law (who is borderline neglecting her toddler son), death of a spouse, a strained adult step-child relationship, uncertainty about the future…

But really, the uninspired title should have been a clue. The writing contained an overwhelming amount of repetitive, internal-lamenting monologues that sounded more like young adult characters than people who were supposed to be late 50s (heroine) and early 60s (hero). The best word I could use to describe the heroine is milquetoast; for the hero I choose jackass. And if a “hero” treats the woman he's supposed to love so poorly he damn well better grovel while begging forgiveness. Did we get that? No. We get a wimpy “I’m sorry” and a half-hearted attempt at a grand gesture more than a month after he was horrible to the heroine for an absolutely irrational reason. I was finally rooting for the heroine because she stood her ground and sent the hero packing. But then SHE CHANGED HER MIND AND WENT AND APOLOGIZED TO HIM.

I enjoy books about older couples because they are wiser and more mature. They’ve learned from past mistakes and aren’t prone to over-the-top outbursts and silly melodrama. They act like…adults. That is not what you get here. This book had the bones for a compelling, heartfelt story. But the execution failed to live up to the potential. It took me over a week to finish this one, which is always a telling sign for someone who can plow through a great book in an afternoon - or a couple evenings at the most. Sadly, there was very little I enjoyed about this book and quite frankly, I’m surprised I even finished it.

* thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Can I just say HOT? Wow. So rarely do we see mature characters and mature love and yes, people over 25 have incredibly hot sex. This was a great read and I loved watching the characters develop and change. Compromise is the name of the game. Wolf is just too hot for words and Andi coming into her own and learning to love again AND set boundaries was inspiring to see. I loved this title and will look for more like it!

This book has stayed with me long after I finished it. I have to be careful about angst books - and this one definitely has a lot of angst - but it was so well written and so emotionally packed that I couldn't put it down. It definitely ripped my heart out - but Jane Porter did put it back together for a happy ending.

Andi and Wolf are older characters - both in their late fifties (I think Wolf turns 60 during the book) and I was 100% here for it. Andi's husband died a few years ago after a long and mostly happy marriage. She is just starting to find herself as an individual again - when she encounters Wolf again at her husband's family cabin. Wolf and Andi's late husband did not get along. They were actually involved in a lawsuit for defamation

This book deals pretty extensively with loss (both of a child and a spouse) and grief. It also touches on suicide, acrimonious divorce, and infertility. At times it feels heavy - and the drama between Andi and Wolf towards the end is tough. I loved their romance - and the strength both of them had as characters.

I received this via NetGalley as an ARC, but these opinion are all my own.

I LOVE how publishing has finally come around to mature characters in the romance genre. Maybe it's because I'm middle-aged, maybe it's because older characters have already lived through dating, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, raising kids stories, but I am here for all of the seasoned character love.

I read Jane's FLIRTING WITH FIFTY and while that book is really good, FLIRTING WITH THE BEAST is even better. Andi and Wolf had a lot of obstacles to go through in their own story plots and then add to that the obstacles of becoming a couple, ah, yes, this is what we want.

Widowed Andi is trying her best to come to terms with her husband's death while also realizing maybe her marriage actually wasn't all that great. Her stepson has her on ignore and she is lonely. She loves her job, but something is missing.

Wolf, that crazy son of a beast, is a loner. He enjoys his alone time. He loves living in the woods. He is okay with the space he forces himself from his kids. While also grieving, Wolf has insulated himself from the outside world.

But when he gets to know Andi, whose dead husband was his neighbor nemesis, the rules change. On top of that he has to rearrange his life for his daughter-in-law and her son who need his help.

FLIRTING WITH THE BEAST did not let the family side plot take away from the romance of Andi and Wolf. I think this book is a great read for anybody over the age of 45 and for those who maybe haven't read a lot of romance but want to get into the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an e-copy of FLIRTING WITH THE BEAST, by Jane Porter, to review.

I rate FLIRTING WITH THE BEAST five out of five stars.