Pub Date: June 1, 2013
Publisher: HQN (Harlequin)
FTC: purchased by me
You'd think this month's theme would be conducive to me actually getting my review up early, but nope. As usual, I'm squeaking in under the wire. I bought this last year intending to read it because Maisey was nominated for a RITA. I didn't. I suck.
Imagine Me and You was part of an anthology headlined by Lori Foster called Animal Attraction, but I'm honestly (don't hate me) not a huge Lori Foster fan. But since I am really fond of Maisey's voice AND this is another friends to lovers story (I seriously can never get enough of those) I decided to dig this out of the digital TBR.
Samantha and Jace have been friends ever since high school. So it's not that surprising that Sam would turn to Jace when her lease runs out and she needs a place to stay. Even if it means bringing her giant, messy dog into Jace's immaculate house. Things take an unexpected turn, however, when the close quarters makes them both confront the blazing hot attraction they've been ignoring for years.
Jace is an interesting character: his mother was a hoarder, which means he likes things neat, tidy, and sterile. Letting Samantha move in with her dog is a huge concession from him, given his intense dislike of disorder. Sam is a bit of a free spirit, with her only constant in life being her best friend, Jace.
This is one of those stories where I wish it were a longer, full-length book. I wanted more of everything. My only gripe was that Jace seems to "get over" his love of order awfully quickly. Even with love-goggles, that's a bit of a stretch for me. The best part of the book, as always, is the humor. Maisey Yates writes fantastic dialogue. The story is just intrinsically funny without being obvious about it. Definitely worth a read.
My Grade: B+
You're not alone on Lori Foster. We can sit in that corner together.
ReplyDeleteLast year's RITA nominees were the first time I saw books I'd never even heard of on the list - and this anthology was one of them. Digital hasn't changed my reading habits all that much, except when it comes to anthologies. Pre-digital I read them because I liked trying out new authors in the short format - but now I'm more apt to just by a digital novella to scratch that itch. I guess box sets are the "new" anthology format for the digital world - but I've yet to really get behind those.
Anyway! I like Yates, I've liked Betts in the past (she's hit or miss for me) and Bennett is an author I've been meaning to try. I may have to pick this one up!
I'm not really a fan of the box set thing either. I want a la carte. I'd pay *more* for that, percentage-wise. But I'll pick an antho over a box set any day. I'm contrary.
DeleteI am trying to remember if I've ever read the other authors (besides Foster). I'm so awful at keeping track of that. I was pleased with last year's list of RITA noms (except for the weird number of finalists in certain categories). I liked that it wasn't so obviously the popularity contest it normally is. We'll see how this year shakes out...
There will be three at the corner--and oh man, "love goggles" for the win!
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