Review: Six Month Rule by A.J. Pine (Kingston Ale House #2)
Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
He was in love with a woman who didn’t do relationships, who put work first, and who lived thousands of miles away from him. And she didn’t seem to be banging down his door to sign up for moving overseas and becoming a stepmother.
Yes, Will Evans. You are a right handful.
Oh, A.J. Pine, you went with the rarely used trifecta of gorgeous Brit, genuinely good guy, and devoted single father and I couldn't resist falling for William Evans. Of course, I loved Holly Chandler as well, heroine of Six Month Rule and love interest of aforementioned hot British dad to six-year-old Sophie. These two together had a love story that had me swooning and smiling and it so reminded me of those 90s films starring Hugh Grant (my age is showing, isn't it?). I loved The One That Got Away, the Kingston Ale House series starter, and this sequel met every single one of my high expectations. We're only halfway through this contemporary romance but I'm going to go ahead and declare this my favorite A.J. Pine series. The writing is witty and the author has struck a fine balance between lighthearted romance and the heavier story line concerning Will being pulled in too many directions: that of being the best PR specialist to his clients, that of forging an unexpected relationship with Holly, and that of being a father to Sophie.
Twenty-six-year-old Holly Chandler loves her job as a special events director and is aiming to get a much-coveted promotion. She's worked with Trousseau for five years and she knows she's good at what she does. When she's paired with thirty-two-year-old public relations specialist Will Evans to work on a campaign for one of Will's clients, she wonders how she and the moody and closed-off, but really quite delish, British import will perform, considering their first interaction on the elevator was less than stellar. Will has a habit of dismissing her, something Holly doesn't appreciate, but the more she gets to know the man behind the suit, the more she sees, not only how great he is at his job, but also how great an all-around guy he is. They're clearly attracted to one another but Will is only going to be in Chicago for six months, which Holly decides works to their advantage. She's got a six-month rule when it comes to dating and by the time Will flies back to London, they'll both be ready to move on...that is, until they fall in love.
Will and Holly's love affair is sectioned off into the six months they're together, both as colleagues and as lovers, and I found myself liking how A.J. Pine decided to present their story. Too many books are littered with what I like to call "fillers" or unnecessary things thrown in to pad a book in order to make it longer than it really should be. I'm after what makes a story work--the romance, the banter, the tension, the complications--and how they develop as you go from one page to the next. The author has given readers a story that we can fall in love with and main characters that we get to know and become attached to, to the point that we get frustrated when they fumble and cheer them on when they get it right. Will and Holly are workaholics who don't have much time for romantic entanglements, but for very different reasons: Will wants his free time with Sophie and Holly is all about her career. But dreams, like rules, change; it's merely a matter of deciding if you're brave enough to make changes for love. Five-plus stars for Six Month Rule. ♥
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Read my reviews for the Kingston Ale House series:
The One That Got Away (book one) - five-plus stars - My Review
Six Month Rule (book two) - five-plus stars - My Review (posted above)
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Release Date: 18 July 2016
Date Read: 16 July 2016
Learn more about A.J. Pine.
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