By: Jennifer Shirk
Publisher: Entangled
Published: Jan. 13, 2013
Genre: Romance
Rating:
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Finding love should be easy, but wedding photographer Phoebe Ward knows better. When Cupid shows up on a crazy mission to help her —and save the world in the process—Phoebe realizes love might be even more complicated than she thought. Even with Cupid showing her Mr. Right , she can’t stop thinking about his best friend, Mr. Wrong.
Cal Crawford has never had time for love, but now he’s falling for Phoebe. Which means it’s got to be just plain wrong to set her up with his best friend, right? But even though seeing Phoebe with someone else will break his heart, he can’t walk away from her.
Phoebe can’t afford to choose the wrong guy with the fate of the world at stake. But maybe Cupid has it wrong. Maybe she has to rely just a little bit on Cupid, and a whole lot more on her heart.
My thought...
Pheobe is Cupid's last shot... literally. If Pheobe can't manage to have a toe curling kiss with her soul-mate by the end of Valentine's Day, than Cupid will cease to exist. The only problem is the man that Cupid has chosen for her is great and all but his roommate is the one that she clearly has chemistry with.
I thought this was a cute romance and liked the characters in the story. I'm not a huge fan of novellas but I do like to give them a try every once in a while. The problem with novellas for me is that I normally have difficulty connecting with the characters but the author wrote her characters in a way that you felt for them in the short span of time that you know them. I liked the way Jennifer mixed the mythological Cupid in with a modern romance without skipping a beat. At first I wondered how the whole Cupid thing would work out but I really did find myself enjoying her take on Cupid, or rather, Cosmo.
My only problem with the story was the insta-love. At first Cosmo (Cupid's son) says that he will give her a little help in the love department when it came to making this all happen with Adam (her soul-mate). So, Pheobe spends all her time trying to get close to Adam, and even Cal (the roommate) offers to help her get Adam's attention. (Even though Cal is immediately attracted to Pheobe and visa verse.) I could understand if Cupid's giving you a little push causing you to instantly fall in love but Phoebe and Cal's insta-love for each other trumped Cupid's arrow in this case. The story just felt a little rushed to me and I would've liked a little bit more time for the "love" to blossom naturally. I know it's a short story so in theory there is supposed to be a lot of story in a short amount of time but I personally didn't have enough time to get my bearings from her chasing down and kissing one guy and then going to the next. I just needed maybe a few hours in between the two kisses to be comfortable with the sudden change.
If you enjoy reading short stories and want something perfect for Valentine's day than this is a perfect read. You get a little love, a couple of hot hunks and Cupid. What more could you ask for?
Favorite quote...
"Special. Cute. Friends. He wished she'd just cut his testicles off and be done with it already. Depending on the next adjective she chose for him, he would either qualify as a card-carrying member of Emasculated Men's Club or a Muppet. No wonder he avoided love for as long as he had. When it went unrequited, it truly sucked." -Cal
Jennifer Shirk has a bachelor degree in pharmacy--which has in NO WAY at all helped her with her writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.
She writes sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain Publishing, Avalon Books/Montlake Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the RWA 2006 NYC's Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, The Role of a Lifetime.
Lately she's been on a serious exercise kick. But don't hold that against her.
Thanks so much, Kristin!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day!