Review: Suddenly Dating by Julia London (Lake Haven #2)

Note: This ARC was provided by Montlake Romance in exchange for an honest review.

What Lola did understand were the rules—she didn’t have the right to feel strange that he had feelings for another woman. That’s not how friends-with-benefits worked. She had the right to have fun, and nothing else. She wasn’t allowed to care. Unfortunately, she did care. She cared a lot. Maybe too much.

The jury was in—Lola did casual sex about as well as she bowled: terribly.

One of my most anticipated reads for 2016 has been the second novel in the Lake Haven series from bestselling author Julia London and when I finally got to reading, I was one satisfied bookaholic. Suddenly Dating is my second Julia London read and she's maintained that level of storytelling that made me fall in love with the series starter, Suddenly in Love. This tickled my funny bone while making my heart pitter-patter with its unexpected romantic moments between the main characters, civil engineer Harry Westbrook and aspiring author Lola Dunne. There's also just enough drama to make this a well-rounded tale without overdoing the angst. From strangers to instant adversaries to friends with benefits much later on, this second in a series more than sated my demand that it be, at the very least, at par with its predecessor. This stands apart--just as extraordinary but with its own distinctions.

It's been more than a year since her divorce was finalized, and now Lola Dunne is finally taking a chance on pursuing her dreams. Taking up a friend's offer to use a cabin that happens to be part of a divorce proceeding could be exactly what Lola needs to finish up her first novel. But it looks as if her friend's estranged spouse made an offer to his own friend, and now, Lola finds herself having to share space with Harry Westbrook. He likes things neat and orderly while she's okay with a bit of havoc strewn about. As exasperating as Harry finds Lola, he can't help but envy the fact that she knows how to cook and from the smell of her dishes, her cooking skills seem more than okay. Soon enough, the two become friends, and when they're given a chance to meet people who could help them with their respective careers, they agree to pretend to date...and then it suddenly becomes too complicated.

I adored Harry and Lola and so appreciated the fact that these two weren't spending most of their time pining away for the other. We really get to see the progress and evolution of their relationship: from two people who didn't know each other at all to reluctant roommates to feisty friends and then...to more. She was his little lunatic and he was her Handsome Hardhat Harry and their interactions were often snarky but the humor was always there. We get to know more about them at the same time that they get to know each other, and I felt as if I were more than an observer to their love story, which made it so damn easy to become emotionally invested in them. These two also happened to have their respective quirky families, so that was additional entertainment right there. I'm not sure who's up next in the series, but it's already on my to-be-read list. Five-plus stars for Suddenly Dating. ♥

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Read my reviews for the Lake Haven series:

Suddenly in Love (book one) - five-plus stars - My Review

Suddenly Dating (book two) - five-plus stars - My Review (posted above)

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Date Read: 09 November 2016

Learn more about Julia London.

Purchase Suddenly Dating on Amazon.