Almost Like Being in Love by Beth K. Vogt

 

Almost Like Being in Love by Beth K. Vogt

Let’s begin with the summary:

Winning an all-expenses paid Colorado destination wedding might seem like a dream come true for some people—but Caron Hollister and her boyfriend Alex Madison aren’t even engaged. How is she supposed to tell him she’s won their wedding and honeymoon when he hasn’t asked her to marry him? Being “perfect for one another” seems like the absolute best reason to get married. But what if their supposedly faultless relationship is merely a safe place to protect his secrets and a way to keep their families happy? After quitting her job, Caron accepts her best friend’s offer to visit Colorado. She needs to catch her breath. Who knows, maybe visiting the destination wedding site will make a future with Alex seem like a reality.

Kade Webster just landed the biggest deal of his life with his company, Webster Select Realty, participating in the Colorado Springs Tour of Homes. He never imagined he would run into the woman who broke his heart—Caron Hollister—right when his career is taking off. Seeing her again, Kade can’t help but wonder why Caron walked away from him years ago, leaving him with no explanation. When Kade learns his home stager won’t be able to help with the Tour of Homes, he vaults past all the reasons he should stay away from Caron, and offers her a temporary job helping him on the project. This time, their relationship is purely business.

Spending time with Kade has Caron questioning everything. The man intrigues her—at times infuriates her—and reminds her of what she lost. Has she been settling for what everyone expects of her? Just because others believe she and Alex are an ideal couple, does that mean they should get married? And how can Caron say “I do” to one man when she’s wondering “what if?” about another?

And now, my review:

At first I wasn’t sure what to think of this story’s heroine. She’s an adult who comes across in the beginning of the story more like a teen who is coming of age in a way. She has a very complicated relationship with her father, and I couldn’t blame her for having mixed feelings about him. As a reader, I found him very unlikable. But he’s not a main character, so I was happy to follow the other characters through the story. 

The heroine struggles with needing her father’s approval, but doesn’t realize that as a fallible human, he can’t give her what she needs.  She’s trying to find her identity, which again, struck me as coming of age, not a full-grown adult’s tale. And she seems very weak where her father is concerned. This wore on me as a reader, but I was so hooked on the story, I kept reading.  

I liked the author’s sense of humor and the way she weaved her strong subplots in with the main plot. Her main characters were well-developed, and I cared about what happened to them.

I felt the story question resolution ended the story long before the novel wrapped up, so I skimmed a bit near the end.  I wish the author well, but I would have preferred to see the romance wrap up after the subplots did. Then, I feel readers could rejoice in the heroine’s success in resolving her personal issues and her finding her HEA. As is, I kept thinking the story should already be wrapped up and for some reason the HEA wasn’t as satisfying. (Perhaps for reasons named above.) 

All that said, I will definitely read this author’s next book. I enjoy her writing as a whole, and she’s one of the authors I follow in regards to next releases.