Sunday, November 27, 2022

Review: 5 Stars for Flirting With The Beast (Modern Love #2) by Jane Porter

 


A woman expecting to spend the holidays alone finds warmth in the iciest man she knows in this steamy and charming later-in-life romance by New York Times bestselling author Jane Porter.

It’s been five years since Andi McDermott lost her husband, and she’s finally starting to feel like herself again, ready to live fully—she’s even started dating again. But when her holiday plans with her stepson and his fiancée fall through, she refuses to spend another Christmas alone while everyone is celebrating with their families. Impulsively, she decides to go up to her cabin in Lake Arrowhead, a place she used to love to visit but hadn’t gone to in years, not since the feud started between her husband and their nearest neighbor.

Andi starts to rethink her decision when being alone at the cabin proves to be more challenging than she expected—a heavy snowstorm hits the area, and Andi finds herself trapped there with no one to help except for her neighbor, Wolf Enders. A military vet who lives full-time on Lake Arrowhead, Wolf is as grumpy and intimidating as Andi remembers. But he’s also unexpectedly kind and uncomfortably sexy—his presence reminds Andi that she may be older, but her body still works perfectly fine, thank you very much. But can this good girl tame this sexy beast of a man, and will this snowy fling turn into a love of a lifetime?

 

 
 
 
What I thought about Flirting With The Beast
 
I've been waiting for a romance to really grab me and it's been a while. I wanted the kind of romance that keeps you reading until the final pages, the one you can't put down because you've just become so engaged with the characters and their journey.

Flirting with the Beast satisfied that for me.  I read this in less than 24 hours, and loved Andi and Wolf. This was an interesting and fresh romance for me.

Andi is a widow, having lost her husband 5 years ago. In her late fifties, she's coming out of her grief and wants to embrace life again.  She's excited to enjoy the holidays until someone she cares about acts in an inconsiderate manner, forcing her to find alternate arrangements.  She ends up going to the family cabin.

There's a bit of a history to the cabin -- her husband had feuded with their neighbor Wolf, who'd always made Andi feel just a bit anxious.  Their
re-acquaintance is cute and uncomfortable, and a snow storm changes everything.  I loved Andi here as she examines her feelings about Wolf.  It's really cute.  They both are.  But Wolf is not a relationship kind of guy.

He's also got some family issues to deal with in the form of his daughter-in-law and her hyper three year old.  Wolf's sense of responsibility puts him back in Andi's orbit, and things get sweet again... for a while.

I adored the uncertainties in this relationship as I thought it mirrored real life, and just when things are getting into a nice groove for them -- BAM! it's painful and messy and wrong on so many levels that I wondered how they could ever make it back from that point, but the author does a great job of putting them back together in a very believable way with a message about love and forgiveness.

I love a romance that draws me right in and knows how to pull on my emotional strings as a reader.  Flirting with the Beast did just that.  I couldn't put it down, and I really loved Andi and Wolf's romance.  It was a story that shows that "lightning-bolt" kind of love can  happen at any age, but there might be a cost to pay too.  I was blown away by this story and loved it all. Will definitely be on my favorites of 2022 list.
 

 About the Author
 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jane Porter holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and has written 75 novels since getting her first sale to Harlequin Presents in 2000. A six time RITA finalist, and RITA winner in July 2014 for Take Me, Cowboy, Jane is known for her passionate, powerful stories and relatable heroines. An advocate for writers, Jane founded Tule Publishing in 2013 to give romance and women’s fiction authors support and opportunities. Jane and Tule Publishing are both based in sunny San Clemente, CA.
 

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