Bachelor Auction

I absolutely loved this story. The author did a good job developing the characters and their story.

Lexi and Cooper had been friends since the 6th grade when Cooper moved to town. It wasn't until late in high school and college when their relationship moved to more than friends. Their plan had been to be with one another forever. But, Cooper was drafted into the NFL and the the fame and fortune lured him away.

Lexi had a secret that she had only ever shared with one another person. A secret that had changed her life forever. She and her friends, Renee, had started a non-profit organization, Thursday's Child, to help children who were at risk and needed someone to care about them and provide a safe place for them to come after school and during the summer. Lexi was also raising her nephew, Andy, whose mom had checked out on him.

Cooper returned to Knoxville and was back in Lexi's life. Could she allow him to get close once again? Would she risk her heart? Did Cooper still seek for the fame and fortune of the NFL career?

This was a clean romance that was realistic and I enjoyed it very much. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is my first foray into books by Mary Manners, and while it is a really good book, there are some themes that are overdone. Lexi and Cooper used to date, but Cooper goes on to become an NFL football player while Lexi is left holding her heart in her hands and Cooper's baby in her womb. Lexi loses the baby, and when Cooper comes back to town it disrupts her whole life, especially since her heart has not truly gotten over her love for Cooper. I've read that theme more than once. It still works for this book, but it offered nothing new. That is my worst criticism of the book.

Lexi and her friend Renee run an after-school program called Thursday's Child, and the program is hurting for an infusion of money to keep operating. Their lease is up in August, and they either need to come up with money to buy the building, or they need new digs for the program. To get some funding for day to day expenses, they have an auction for mystery dates. Lexi allows Renee to talk her into becoming one of the auctionees. When Cooper sees Lexi on tv in an interview about the program and the auction, he looks up the Thursday's Child website to see that Lexi is, in fact, up for bids. He doesn't dig very deep for his first bid, but when he sees that he's been outbid, he digs a bit deeper to insure that he will win the date with Lexi. One of the ways Cooper worms his way back into Lexi's heart is through her nephew, Andy, who is living with her.

This is a definite four-star book; it's not very long, doesn't take very long to read, and is enjoyable for fluffy read that doesn't require much concentration.

My thanks to White Rose Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.