4 Stars
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept
Date of publication: November 7th, 2017
Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Number of pages: 256
POV: 3rd person
Series: Whisper Creek
Accidental Cowgirl – Book 1
A Cowboy’s Christmas Promise – Book 2
Once Upon a Cowboy – Book 3
Unlucky in Love – Book 4 (review here)
Meant to Be – Book 5 (review here)
Taking a Chance – Book 6
Where you can find Taking a Chance: Barnes and Noble | Amazon
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
A fun-loving troublemaker gives a workaholic Southern gal a real taste of Montana magic at the one and only Whisper Creek Ranch.
A rising star in the corporate world, Emma Winthrop enjoys the view from her cubicle in sunny Florida. But when she’s dispatched to a nursing home in Whisper Creek for three months of field experience, she discovers a slice of heaven made of mountains and mayhem—mostly in the form of rugged, drop-dead gorgeous Jasper Stone, who grinds his specialty beans at the town’s best coffee shop in between organizing dodge-ball games and wheelchair races in Emma’s hallways.
When Jasper walks in on this beautiful angel in silky purple underwear trying to rinse out her blouse, it’s a breathtaking view—even for a Montana native. Wreaking havoc here at Shady Acres keeps his dad in good spirits, but getting under Emma’s skin is proving to be even more fun. Jasper knows that he’s falling faster than a man with his past has any right to, but his body and his heart have a mind of their own. And Emma appears to be claiming both.
Trigger Warning: None
My review:
If you have followed my blog, then you know how much I dislike starting a series off in the middle/end of the series. I always feel that I am missing something by doing that. But, there is the rare series where the books can be read as stand alone. The Whisper Creek series is such a series. I started the series on book 4 and I am now at book 6. Each book that I have read I could do and not worry about the issues/characters from the other books showing up. So when Taking a Chance showed up on my NetGalley queue from Loveswept, I had to request it. I am glad I did because I enjoyed reading this book.
I can say that I have read only one other book that had some scenes in a nursing home. Taking a Chance was the first book that I read where the romance started and stayed in a nursing home setting. I loved it. I was a dietary aide in a nursing home many years ago. The residents at Shady Acres reminded me of the ones that I met at my nursing home. I loved them and was sad when I ended up leaving.
I thought Emma was a bit uptight. She was also so salty about her older sister, it wasn’t even funny. But the more the author revealed about her background, the more I understood why she was so uptight. I also understood why she was so jealous of her sister. Her meeting Jasper was a good thing. Jasper made her let her hair down. She had fun with him. Also, hello, kittens!!! Emma did have a secret that made me sob when she told Jasper. Instead of a scene where she was telling him, the author actually brought us there. I was a mess after it was done and my SO was looking at me with an “Ok, what sad thing happened in the book now” look on his face. It also made what happened later in the book more special.
Where do I start with Jasper? I mean, he was the total package. He ran a coffee shop that made the best coffee in the world (according to the book). He was friends with the studs at the Whisper Creek Ranch, which did give him points with Emma. He was a foster-father to a litter of kittens, which made my heart melt. He also visited his father almost every day and he made friends with the residents. On top of all that, he was fun. But, Jasper was broken and held hostage to a very painful past. Like Emma’s secret, the author chose to go back to that awful memory so we could get the full force of what happened. I was a sobbing mess, runny nose and all. Like with Emma, his past made what happened later on more special.
I loved their romance. I called it the anti-romance. They slept together once and then Jasper friend zoned Emma. He did it so fast that my head started to spin. But he lusted after her from afar. I will say that I did like that the sex wasn’t super explicit. You went from Emma telling Jasper that she wanted him to Jasper waking up late the next morning. Your imagination did the work. I loved it!!
I did like the end of the book. I liked the whole “where is Emma” theme. I got a mental image of one of those “Where’s Waldo” books expect it was Emma and Jasper had to find her. I did feel bad for Jasper because he went everywhere looking for her. And she ended up being in the last place he checked. I loved the epilogue. I thought it was the sweetest thing ever. I do hope that there is a book 7 because, well, I need to know things. Sorry about being super vague but read the book if you want to find out what I mean.
Taking a Chance was a well-written romance that is the 6th book in the Whisper Creek series. This book can be read as a stand-alone, so don’t let that it is the 6th book scare you off. The plot was great. The characters were funny and well written. I will be reading this book again.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Sex (not graphic), mild language
I would like to thank Maggie McGinnis, Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Taking a Chance.
All opinions stated in this review of Taking a Chance are mine and mine alone.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
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