Review: The Three-Week Arrangement by Sarah Ballance (Chase Brothers #3)
Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
His world had been turned upside down once before, and there hadn't been anything he could do but mourn. He'd said good-bye to his beloved wife because she couldn't live, and now he was stuck saying good-bye to his wild, beautiful, pretend girlfriend because she could. And there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.
Was there?
Sarah Ballance what the heck are you doing to me?! Stop writing about the Chase brothers, damn it. You're making me all obsessed about, not just one, but four book boyfriends and we haven't even gotten around to Liam yet! Gah! These four brothers are all gorgeous, good-natured, and great sources of teasing and support for each other and their parents, but I admit that there was always something about Ethan Chase that made me want to know more about him. Maybe it was because he was the most reserved one among the four. It was possibly due to his having lost his wife to cancer and he continues to mourn the loss even three years after. Could it be because he easily and readily handed out advice to his two older brothers, Crosby and Sawyer, when they were dealing with their love woes and yet he brushed aside any suggestions that he take that first step into moving forward in his personal life. Then on the anniversary of his wife Amy's passing, he meets Rue Campbell and changes his life with The Three-Week Arrangement.
When Ethan catches Rue abusing the tire of her classic 1966 Mustang--completing the look with its cherry-red paint job--little did he know that in the span of time that they're together, he'll find himself at the cusp of an arrangement meant to benefit both of them, one that'll keep her mother from badgering her about being some spoiled, entitled jerk's date for an annual charity ball and it'll have Ethan getting his family to back off on worrying about him and his lack of interest in going out with anyone. But what they give one another is much more than simply pretending to be in a relationship. She makes him breathe more easily, smile without pain, and see that mourning is very different from remembering memories made. He makes her feel lighter, believes in her and what she's capable of, and doesn't think that her dreams are frivolous or nonsensical. Their feelings develop, but the unavoidable deadline remains, and the last thing Ethan wants is to say goodbye to yet another woman and have her take what's left of his heart when she leaves.
There's a line in the ninth chapter that goes "She'd never belong to anyone, and he only wanted to belong," and it broke my heart. Ethan had already loved and lost once and he never seemed to be ready to let go of Amy. Having Rue in his life was something that he agreed to because of the understanding that it was temporary. However, there's no such thing as a set number of days or weeks in which two people fall in love. No, there's no insta-love here. Attraction, yes, but love was an emotion--a feeling, a state--that they grew into over three weeks. Rue never tried to take Amy's place in Ethan's heart or in his life. Amy would always be his first love, but Rue was his last (le sigh). If that isn't swoony enough to make me all mushy inside, there was Shaggy, the dog who looked like a skinny hippo, who stole my heart. Oh, and bonus points for that epilogue set in my country. As we say, "It's more fun in the Philippines," and that includes epilogues in books I love. Five-plus stars for The Three-Week Arrangement. I'll be waiting for you, Liam! ♥
-------------------------
Read my reviews for the Chase Brothers series:
Five Things I Love About You (book one) - five-plus stars - My Review
For Seven Nights Only (book two) - five-plus stars - My Review
The Three-Week Arrangement (book three) - five-plus stars - My Review (posted above)
-------------------------
Release Date: 04 April 2016
Date Read: 02 April 2016
Learn more about Sarah Ballance.
Comments
Post a Comment