Review: Falling for Her Bachelor by Robin Bielman (Bachelor Auction Returns #2)

Note: This ARC was provided by Author's Pal in exchange for an honest review.

"Really?" Was her love for him not written all over her face? "You're not the least bit aware of my feelings for you? I left last night because I had to. I can't keep doing what we're doing knowing you're off to one place, I'm off to another, and you're fine with that."

"Sid--"

"Can you offer me more?" Her body shook with the words she'd been afraid to say. She knew the answer, but hearing it would cut the slivers of hope in the back of her mind. It was more than just the distance coming between them. His heart was closed off.

He threaded his fingers through his hair. "No."

I've read a few of bestselling author Robin Bielman's Entangled Publishing titles in the past and there's a reason why she's a favorite of many a reader. She has the ability to weave touching, lighthearted stories with characters that you wouldn't mind getting to know even more in real life. In her latest endeavor, she joins three other authors in the Bachelor Auction Returns series from her Tule Publishing. This is her first ever published work with Tule and I certainly hope it won't be her last! Once again, she's given us this wonderful story about overcoming the challenges that have held back the two main characters for years and finding love with the one person they never thought possible. Falling-for-your-sibling's-best-friend is a reader favorite and well-loved trope, and Robin Bielman has added her own dash of magic to make it one of the best books--whether novella or full-length novel--I've had the pleasure of reading this year. Thirty-year-old Nick Palotay and twenty-eight-year-old Cassidy Ware's love story had me sighing in contentment.

Nick, a recently honorably discharged member of fire rescue with the Navy, desperately needs someone to bid on him when he learns that a girl who's had a thing for him for years plans on outbidding everyone else. His sister decides to ask her best friend Cass to help out, but when Nick learns that it's the girl he's always called "Sid", he's immediately wary, thinking that her teenage crush on him continues to burn bright. When Cass puts him in his place and informs him that she only agreed to bid on him because she needs a favor in return, it's clear that this is nothing more than a business transaction for both of them. But as they begin their extended date and Nick gets to know this older, sexier version of Cass, he can't help his reaction to her. However, he knows that at the end of their agreement, they'll be off in different states. Cass deserves much more than what Nick is willing to give her, and my heart broke for these two because they've already suffered loss and trauma in the past, but this heartbreak could be most devastating of all. 

I love how, in less than a hundred pages, we have ourselves a beautiful love story that allows us to experience the blossoming of a love that neither of the main characters was expecting. Insta-love is a go-to mechanism in novellas but there was none of that here. Yes, Cass had a crush on Nick growing up and she still saw him as the fantasy guy she wished would see her as more than an annoying kid, but there were no delusions of him being "the one" for her. Nick's lost several of the people closest to him in the most devastating of circumstances, so it's understandable why he chooses to not engage in relationships that require an actual commitment and emotional investment from him. Then there's Cass who went through her own traumatic event and the manner in which she overcomes it had me teary-eyed. Who would have thought that 89 pages (at least based on my advanced reading copy) would put my emotions through the wringer? Kudos to you, Robin Bielman. Be prepared to fall for the five-plus-star Falling for Her Bachelor. ♥

Date Read: 13 April 2016

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