I liked the story a lot.
It was all the things a good book is supposed to be and I felt like I could truly connect with the characters as well as the book.

The problem was it was forgetful as much as I liked it as I was reading it I honestly could not tell you what in the world the book was about because it failed to leave that lasting touch on me.

When I read I want to fall in love with the book and I love when it leaves something on my heart this just did not do it for me. It was a good book though.
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Opposites attract, right? In Julie Ortolon's contemporary romance, this couldn't be more true. Oliver Chancellor and Aurora St. Claire are both from old Galveston families but this is where the similarities end. Chance is a staid and proper banker whose father once owned the major bank in town. He has been a part of Galveston high society for his entire life. He's cautious, studied, detail-oriented, and content to live the life that everyone expects him to lead, including getting engaged to the very proper debutante his mother has chosen for him even if he's never once been tempted to kiss Paige. Rory, on the other hand, is the descendant of the scandalous Marguerite Bouchard, who was never herself accepted by Galveston society. Rory is a tour guide with big dreams for the future. She's passionate and impetuous and not afraid to reach for what she wants.

What Rory wants is to buy the wonderful old Pearl Island mansion where Marguerite once lived and her ghost is said to reside still and turn it into a bed and breakfast. Rory and her siblings don't have the money to turn this dream into a reality without a large business loan. But Rory ran into Chance out at Pearl Island, having known him when they were younger and he was her brother's friend, and so she turns to him to help the St. Claires get the loan they need. Chance had a crush on Rory when she was younger and he still finds himself wildly attracted to her. Agreeing to help her with securing the loan and then with starting the business, he gives himself the opportunity to be around her again and again. And the two of them do spark off of each other constantly. But Chance is still determined to marry Paige, as is expected of him.

How can Rory and Chance work to reconcile their differences, in outlook on life and in social class, turning them into complimentary assets? There is never any doubt that the novel will end up as expected but the ways in which the secondary characters take on bigger roles is unusual. Rory actually likes Paige and although it is awkward when Paige befriends Rory's sister and gets deeply involved in the opening of the bed and breakfast, it adds a new spin to Rory and Chance's struggles to find the right path. As characters, Rory is definitely more appealing than Chance, who is so focused on appearances that he comes across as a right snob. The fact that the two of them plummet immediately into clothes tearing lust and that Chance is never bothered by the fact that he's enjoying the heck out of steamy sex with Rory while planning to marry Paige is just a bit dirt-baggish too. On the whole though, the novel is a fun romp of a romance and a quick and easy read. ( )

Liked this book -- first in a series about the St. Claire family in Galveston. Quickly ordered the other two in the trilogy. Fun read. ( )

This had a premise and idea to be a very good contemporary romance, sadly it failed on execution. The most of the book felt boring and unemotional to me. It's sad because I was looking forward to reading it. I expected:
- beautiful descriptions of environment (after all heroine is working as a tour guide)
- fun and interesting renovation process of the old house (I usually love this kind of plots/events)
- starchy proper hero getting unraveled by the heroine
- forbidden romance full of emotion
But as I said, I didn't get any of this. The idea was there but... it was boring, I was not interested. I yawned and thought 'No wonder it was a Kindle freebie'...
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Two people from very different backgrounds come together with a mutual attraction and a common business interest. The characters are attractive enough but the plot is insubstantial and the barriers in front of their relationship too unrealistic to be true. An unremarkable read. ( )