REVIEW: Yours to Keep (Kowalski #3) by Shannon Stacey

Author: Shannon Stacey

Pages: 201

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Carina Press

Yours to Keep was kindly provided to me by Netgalley

AMAZON: Yours To Keep 

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Sean Kowalski no sooner leaves the army than he’s recruited by Emma Shaw to be her fake fiancé. Emma needs to produce a husband-to-be for her grandmother’s upcoming visit, and, though Sean doesn’t like the deception, he could use the landscaping job Emma’s offering while he decides what to do with his civilian life. And, despite his attraction to Emma, there’s no chance he’ll fall for a woman with deep roots in a town he’s not planning to call home.

Emma’s not interested in a real relationship either; not with a man whose idea of home is wherever he drops his duffel bag. No matter how amazing his “pretend” kisses are…

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

I really enjoy Shannon Stacey’s fun and witty romances and ‘Yours to Keep’ was no exception, I loved this installment of the Kowalski family series.

Emma Shaw has told a lie to keep her grandmother from worrying about her, she owns and runs her own landscape gardening business and is maintaining a large home, her grandmother is coming to town and in order to keep her secret; a make believe fiancé, she has to convince said fiancé to lie for her.

Sean Kowalski is fresh out of the army after 12 years of service and is trying to work out what to do with civilian life when Emma lands on his doorstep introducing herself as his fake fiancé, he immediately thinks she is crazy so declines her request. It is not until he has a bit of time to think that he agrees to go along with her plan; although reluctantly and in turn he will work with her for the month, allowing him to think of his future.

I really liked Emma and Sean as a couple, they were both reluctant to pursue a relationship but they worked well together and had great chemistry, his little post-it notes were sweet and endearing. It was a tough charade they had to maintain in order to keep up the act; it wasn’t easy for them but they did it to make grandma happy and to ease her concerns which I thought was nice.

I love the extended Kowalski family, the family dynamics is fantastic; they are so dependable and such fun; the antics of the children (and at times the adults) were enjoyable and kept me entertained.

I enjoyed the plan Grandma Cat & Aunt Mary came up with to really set Emma and Sean up as a real couple, sneaky and smart and definitely clued in to what was going on although none too happy they were being lied to.

There is also a side romance for Cat which was really nice.

All of the characters are well written and developed and the plot enjoyable (although a tad far fetched).

There were a few single family members introduced so I am hoping we get to read of a few more HEA’s in the Kowalski family.

For more information about author Shannon Stacey, visit www.shannonstacey.com