A Fine Romance

A Fine Romance is book two in the Aisle Bound Series from author Christi Barth. The publisher is Carina Press and the release date was March 11, 2013. From the Carina website.~

Book Two in the Aisle Bound Series

They say you form your first impression of someone within thirty seconds of meeting them. Or, in Mira Parrish's case, within thirty minutes of not meeting them, when said person is supposed to pick you up from the airport and never shows. This is not a perfect start to her new life. Her friend Ivy is depending on her to run a new romance store, and Mira can't afford to let her down. 

Sam Lyons should probably apologize. But every time he sees Mira--which is often, since his family owns the bakery next to her shop--he can't resist antagonizing her. There's something about the sexy, straight-laced woman that drives him crazy. He can't get involved, though. He has too much baggage to be any good in a serious relationship.  

Despite his teasing attitude, Mira finds Sam too sweet to resist. (His hot body may be a factor.) But if there's going to be anything permanent between them, they'll need to let go of their pasts and look to the future...

I was lucky enough to be approved for an early copy of A Fine Romance thanks to the publisher through NetGalley. I didn’t realize when I requested it that it was the second book in a series, but will say this book stands alone well without reading the first book (already bought for my kindle, BTW).

Let me just say I loved Mira from the moment she appeared on the page. The fact that she dumps a drink on Sam’s head when they first meet to get back at him for not picking her up from the airport only made me love her more. I also loved Sam, even when I thought his excuses for always helping with his mom were a little much.

I loved the chemistry between Sam and Mira. Even when they wanted to throttle one another, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. I also loved how Sam only really seemed to share his real self with Mira. Both Mira and Sam have major baggage because of their families, and while they could talk it out together, it is up to each of them to figure out how to work around that baggage to have a successful relationship. I know I’ve said how much I loved both Sam and Mira, but I really did love them as a couple. They really did fit perfectly together and completed each other.

While I think A Fine Romance really does read well as a stand-alone book, to know more about Ivy, Mira’s best friend and all her friends, I’d read Planning for Love first. This was the first full length book I’ve read from Christi Barth, and I look forward to reading many more books from her in the future. For more information about the Aisle Bound Series and other books from Christi Barth, check out her website.