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He won't stay put for a woman, and she won't chase after any man...
Mitch Kowalski lives out of a suitcase—and he likes it that way. Traveling for work has the added bonus of scaring off women who would otherwise try to tie him down. But when he's called home to help with the family lodge, he's intrigued by the new girl in town and her insistence that she doesn't need a man. If there's one thing Mitch can't resist, it's a challenge.
After a nomadic childhood, Paige Sullivan is finally putting down roots. Determined to stand on her own two feet, she lives by the motto "Men are a luxury, not a necessity." But when Mr. Tall, Dark and Hot pulls up a stool in her diner and offers her six weeks of naughty fun with a built-in expiration date, she's tempted to indulge.
They're the perfect match for a no-strings fling. Until they realize their sexy affair has become anything but casual...
70,000 words
"Shannon Stacey's books deliver exactly what we need in contemporary romances.... I feel safe that every time I pick up a Stacey book I'm going to read something funny, sexy and loving." –Jane Litte of Dear Author on All He Ever Needed
"Books like this are why I read romance."
- Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on Exclusively Yours
"This contemporary romance is filled with charm, wit, sophistication, and is anything but predictable"– Heart to Heart, BN.com, on Yours to Keep
Mitch Kowalski was doing sixty when he blew past the Welcome to Whitford, Maine sign, and he would have grinned if grinning on a Harley at dusk in a shorty helmet wasn't an invitation to eat his weight in bugs.
He was home again. Or he would be after he passed straight through town and nursed the bike down the long dirt drive that led to the Northern Star Lodge. As eager as he was to get there, though, he eased up on the throttle as the first lights of Main Street came into view.
It had been three years since he'd visited his hometown, but he could have navigated the road with his eyes closed. Past the post office where he'd landed his first real job, then lost it because old man Farr's Playboy subscription was a hell of a lot more interesting than sorting electric bills. Then the Whitford General Store & Service Station, owned by Fran and Butch Benoit. Junior year, he'd taken their daughter to the prom and then taken her up against the chalkboard in an empty classroom.
Mitch downshifted and executed a lazy rolling stop at the four-way that passed for the town's major intersection. To the left were two rows of ancient brick buildings that housed the bank and town offices and an assortment of small businesses. To the right, the police department—which had had its fill of the Kowalski boys in their youth—and the library, which had been fertile hunting grounds for a teenage boy looking to charm the smart girls out of their algebra homework.
Yeah, it was good to be home, even if everything was closed up tight for the night. The people of Whitford knew if they had business in town, they'd best get it done before the evening news.
He went straight through the intersection, but he didn't go far before the old diner caught his eye. Or the sign did, rather, being all lit up. Last time he'd passed through, the place had been closed up tight—driven out of business by a bad economy and an owner who didn't care enough to try to save it. But now there was a new name on the sign, a couple of cars in the parking lot and flashing red neon in the window declaring it open.
His stomach rumbled, though he felt it rather than heard it due to the loud pipes on his bike, and he pulled into the parking lot. Josh, his youngest brother, wasn't expecting him—unless the boxes of clothes and other stuff he'd shipped ahead had arrived—and he would have already eaten anyway. Rather than go rummaging for leftovers, Mitch decided to grab a quick bite before heading on to the lodge.
The first thing he noticed when he walked through the door was the remodeled fifties decor, with a lot of red vinyl and black-and-white marble. The second thing he noticed was the woman standing behind the counter—a woman he'd never seen before, which was rare in Whitford.
Mitch put her at maybe thirty, seven years younger than him, and it looked good on her. She had a mass of brown hair twisted and clipped up into one of those messy knots that begged to be let loose. Jeans and a Trailside Diner T-shirt hugged sweet curves, and her ring finger was bare of either a gold band or a fresh tan line.
A little plastic rectangle was pinned above the very nice mound of her left breast. Name tags were a rare thing in a town where relationships were formed in playpens and cemented in the kindergarten sandbox, so it caught his attention. By the time he took a seat on a red padded stool at the counter, he could read it. Paige.
My Review:
And my love affair with the Kowalski's continues. OMG, I loved this book!! Such an amazing start to the trilogy from the "other" branch of the Kowalski family. These are Sean's siblings from Book #3, Yours To Keep.
This book is about Mitch Kowalski. This branch of the family has five siblings: Liz, Sean, Mitch, Ryan, and Josh. Josh is the youngest and has been left to run the family inn, but he managed to break his leg trying to trim a tree and needs help. Mitch and Ryan both have their own companies and their own reasons for why they never come home, but Josh needs help, so Mitch takes six weeks away to come home. It's been 3 years and he's appalled at how run down the inn and Josh have become, so he quickly calls in Ryan to help too.
Mitch is the Kowalski with the reputation in this tiny town....and it is an incredibly reputation. He has left a string (a very long one) of satisfied women in his wake...he's become somewhat of a legend. Even more amazing about it though is the fact that he's managed to bed all these women and they are still happy with him and about their time together. There are no broken hearts. He's always VERY upfront about what he does and does not want from his girls and they are all very satisfied with what they get. Ahem... He leads an incredibly nomadic lifestyle and he has NO plans to change that or to ever have a bit more in a relationship.
On the flip side of that is Paige. She grew up with a mother who would follow a guy anywhere and sacrifice everything for that. She has decided that no man is worth that. She simply wants a place to live and a town to call home...forever. Her motto is that "guys are a luxury, not a necessity." (I'm paraphrasing that because I don't know if I'll ever find the actual motto in the e-book without reading it all again.) She's abstaining from guys and very happy with that fact, until Mitch.
This story is so much fun, like all of Stacey's stories. In this one, we have the fabulous Kowalski's, but we also have this great little town where everyone is in everyone else's business. There's Katie, the tom-boy barber with a thing for Josh. There's Hailey who's the town librarian and the one who shared the first infamous story with Mitch and has no qualms about pushing Paige into his arms. There's Mallory and Drew who still love each other, but can't find a way past their problems....their story broke my heart and I'm hoping they find a happier resolution in one of the later books. There's Ryan and Lauren and a mystery as to what has happened there and why it's left Ryan where he hates to come home. Then there's Rosie, the Kowalski family surrogate mother and housekeeper, and her issues with Andy...I really liked that story line.
It's just another fun and fabulous installment to this already great series. The e-book comes out September 10th, but I am THRILLED to see that the paperback is coming out December 18th so I can add a copy of it to my "keeper" shelf.
I received a complementary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 22, 2012
## I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would've liked. It's not that the book isn't well written. Sometimes Shannon's characters are just so unlikeable. Like Beth in Kevin's story. God she was awful. This time it was the hero Mitch. Why does every hero have to be a man-slut? SPOILER ALERT: He's bedded every woman in town, then leaves. Finally, he gets the heroine into bed. He shows up at her place anytime he wants for his booty call, but when she pulls up to his cabin he's mad because she crossed the line, coming over without an invitation. Ugh. Have some pride woman and kick this guy to the curb. Between this one and Kevin's story I think I'm done with the Kowalskys.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.laura24
Posted September 12, 2012
I Also Recommend:
This was one of the better books I have read. All he ever needed is a good addition to the kowalski family series. We have Mitch, a free spirited person, who has no intention to settle down, but a great heart for his family, helping his brother. He isn't perfect, but very likeable. a very well written story.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.acade
Posted January 2, 2013
As much as I love the Kowalski's this one really just didn't work for me. From the lack of character
development to the "romance", depressing secondary storylines to the glaring absence of the slightly
insane family dynamic you can't help but love and wish you were a part of. It all lacked Stacey's usual
humor and sweetness and what makes reading one of her books such an emotionally wonderful and
satisfying experience.
Paige and Mitch were decent enough characters and their start had a lot of potential. He avoids
putting down roots at all costs and is home just for a couple weeks to help with an injured brother
when he meets Paige who is off men, fiercely independent and firmly planted in the small town he
tries to avoid. There are some funny moments and smoldering looks there at the start but it just fizzles
into a book that focuses more and more on sex for the sake of sex instead of the characters falling in
love and growing as individuals.
There was a lot of telling in this book and not nearly enough showing. We constantly hear about Mitch's
many, many conquests and how magnificent the man is in bed. And let me just say...EEWWWW.
Who wants a hero that's spent time between nearly every pair of thighs in sight? Gleck! I mean, I know
a lot of heroes have pasts and have gotten around but we're damn near beat over the head with how
much Mitch got around and how it's Paige's turn to get her some good loving and then send him on
his way. Very romantic, right? And for all that talk of his godlike sexual talents the intimate scenes are
really lackluster and honestly not all that sexy or emotional.
Mitch and Paige felt just like what they were...friends with benefits and nothing more. I never felt them
falling in love. There's a lot of inner thought's about how much they like the other. How sweet, caring
and wonderful they are but you never actually SEE any of it or what makes them special to each other.
As for the secondary storylines neither really brought out the emotional response I'd imagine they were
going for. There's a depressingly sad marriage breaking up because of a decade worth of lies. And a
decades long feud that really had no merit since the woman blamed and hated the man for something
he really wasn't responsible for.
What I found most disheartening was that after 280ish pages (yeah it's a short book) I really don't feel
like I know Mitch or Paige. At all. I never got to the point where I felt invested in them and their future
together. It was just a story to read and move on from. A complete opposite of the previous 3 books
which are still near and dear to my heart after nearly 10 months. For a huge fan of the series this was
a very big let down and aside from Stacey's name being scrawled across the cover I wouldn't believe
it was written by the same author I've come to adore. I've got my fingers crossed the next book will
bring us back to the feel and heart of the Kowalski family I've loved so much.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 16, 2012
Shannon never disappoints - keeps the story interesting and laughs along the way......I recommend all of her books.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 5, 2013
Request me as a nook friend please
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 2, 2013
Id like to join, but cant post in first result.
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Posted April 1, 2013
Couldn't put it down, loved Mitch and Paige's chemistry! Steamy love scenes and great character development!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 1, 2013
I posted my bio.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 2, 2013
*Nods her head and sits*
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 22, 2013
Great read very touching how the push and pull and they finally figured everything out. Disappointed in the ending it was good but short could have gone a few more pages or chapter!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Robsessed
Posted March 20, 2013
Loved It!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 19, 2013
I loved all three of this series. Shannon Stacey never disappoints. Each story stood alone and stood strong. I hated to run out of brothers !
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Wonderful book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 18, 2013
Hi im soooooooo bored
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Posted February 23, 2013
Anyone want chat
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 18, 2013
Hi. Wanna chat im bored....lol
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 18, 2013
loved this series of books.
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Posted February 8, 2013
I could not stop readying this book. I had to find out what happens next. I don't know what I'll do when she finishes writing about the kowalski men!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 18, 2013
I love this series and this book is a great addition to the series. Shannon stacey does a great job and i love her writing
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Overview
He won't stay put for a woman, and she won't chase after any man...
Mitch Kowalski lives out of a suitcase—and he likes it that way. Traveling for work has the added bonus of scaring off women who would otherwise try to tie him down. But when he's called home to help with the family lodge, he's intrigued by the new girl in town and her insistence that she doesn't need a man. If there's one thing Mitch can't resist, it's a challenge.
After a ...