Blog Tour Review: With This Kiss – Bella Riley

With This Kiss by Bella Riley
Series:  Emerald Lake #2
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher:  Forever Romance 
Page Count:  358
Source:  Provided by publisher
Buy the book at: Amazon 

Love can find you when you least expect it . . . Fireworks. That’s what innkeeper Rebecca Campbell wants. And no matter how close their friendship, she and her former fianc never shared that. Now, with a broken engagement behind her and a promise she’s vowed to keep, Rebecca is determined to make a new life for herself in Emerald Lake. She just never expected sparks to fly this quickly . . . Coming home and falling for his little brother’s girl wasn’t Sean Murphy’s plan. Rebecca’s sweet smile and kind heart make Sean feel at home-something he’s never felt before. But a secret lingers between them, and no matter how powerful their attraction, Sean can’t give his heart to a woman he can’t trust. Or can he? As the days pass, Rebecca and Sean find it harder and harder to deny their desire. And they are in beautiful Emerald Lake, the perfect place for falling in love . . .

Rebecca Campbell has always found herself drawn to those tall, dark and broody males who wound up breaking her heart.  So to save herself from further heartbreak, she agrees to marry her best friend Stu.  But when their engagement ends with Rebecca agreeing to keep his secret she wonders if she’ll ever find the man right for her.

Sean Murphy has avoided the small Adirondack town he grew up in because he couldn’t face the lies and broken trust within his family.   But when he returns for his little brother’s wedding, he’s in for a shock to find out that not only has the wedding been called off but that he has an instant attraction to the woman who runs the Inn.

Rebecca and Sean seem like a very unlikely couple when they first meet at the beginning of the story, but that changes as you see what a calming effect Rebecca has with Sean.  While she may lack a filter and blurt out what she’s thinking, she helps Sean learn to deal with the emotions that he’s shut off but is having trouble controlling now that he’s back home.  For Rebecca, Sean helps her confidence and proves to her that she does deserve to be loved and cherished.

It was an interesting twist with the drama revolving around Sean and Stu’s parents and I enjoyed how Belle Riley demonstrated a lie and broken confidence can do to an entire family. 

I enjoyed the quaint little town of Emerald Lake, which brought back fond memories of summers of my youth growing up in Western New York.  The essence of the town and how it can change someone’s life leaped off the page as Rebecca tried to make a decision about where her life should go.  Makes me wish Emerald Lake were real and I could go and visit it’s magic.