A strong contemporary romance. I enjoyed the main characters as well as the secondary. The close-knit group really brought the story together. ( )

Published By: Carina Press
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Book Blog For: GMTA
Series: Aisle Bound #2
Review:

"A Fine Romance" by Christi Barth was a good contemporary romance read was the second in this series... Aisle Bound. You may need to read the first book, Planning For Love to get the full understand of the characters. We find that Mira has moved into a new town with a new job. Sam and Mira will have an explosive first meeting due to their first meeting however, it seems like there may be a 'undeniable attraction' to each other. What will come of this because each will have issues to get past and this is where I will stay you must pick up this good romance to see where this author will take the reader. If you are looking for a sweet romance you have come to the right novel...for "A Fine Romance" would be recommended to you. ( )

Reviewed for Read Your Writes Book Reviews
www.readyourwrites.blogspot.com

A Fine Romance is the second book in the Aisle Bound Series from Christi Barth. The book can be read without reading the first book, Planning For Love. However, you might not get the full extent of character relationships without reading the first book.

Mira Parrish is one of Ivy Rhodes’ best friends. Ivy is the heroine in Planning for Love and the owner of Aisle Bound, a wedding consulting company. Ivy is a hopeless romantic. She came up with the idea of a romance store (a place where you can get picnic baskets, little romantic meals, etc.) Since the wedding business is so hectic, Ivy doesn’t have the time to devote to A Fine Romance like she wants. Ivy convinces Mira to move to Chicago to put the store together for her and also to be it’s manager.

Mira is from a wealthy family that made it’s money in concrete. She grew up in a life of privilege, where she was only expected to marry well and carry on the family name. She’s an only child who seems to have been pretty much only brought around for show. For Mira, that wasn’t a life she wanted to lead so she turned her back on the money. For the last few years, Mira has been living on her own. Which pretty much means living paycheck to paycheck. Of course she wants more, but she also wants to be able to say that she got her money by working for it. She has a huge chip on her shoulder and is very quick-tempered.

Sam Lyons is the co-owner of Lyons Bakery. The bakery is well known for it’s pastries and fabulous wedding cakes. Lyons Bakery was first ran by Sam’s mother and father and then primarily Sam, after his father’s death. Since his father passed away, Sam hasn’t lived his own life. His life has been all about working in the bakery, trying to make sure the bills got paid, and taking care of his mother. His wants and needs have been put on the back burner, hoping his sister will decide to join the family business.

A Fine Romance has tons of laughable moments. It also has a serious romance between a couple who is real and sometimes irritating. Mira and Sam both have family issues they need to deal with but refuse to face. They each have hopes, dreams, and fears that they only feel comfortable sharing with one another. The secondary characters are all people you would want to know and love, well maybe not Mira’s parents.

If you’re looking for a romance book where the action between the couple heats up to a boiling point immediately, this isn’t the book for you. A Fine Romance builds on the relationship that Sam and Mira are trying to establish, before they get to the good stuff. And oh, the wait is worth it. I mean a special blend of chocolate with extra vanilla and a kick of cinnamon worth it.

While I didn’t love this book as much as I did the first, looking at it independently it’s good. A Fine Romance is about friendship and knowing that your friends are going to be there for you, no matter what happens. It’s a story of people learning that if they just speak up for themselves and what they want, they just might get it.

While I’m not sure who the next book is going to feature, I am looking forward to it.

Source: Author ( )

I wanted to like this book; I really, really did. I had enjoyed the banter in the first book, and really liked Ivy's--and Ben's, eventually--group of quirky friends. Sam, the news-junkie/baker sounded like such a great guy.

The characters in this one--the aforementioned Sam and Ivy's graduate school friend Mira--just didn't do it for me this time, though. I spent more of the book aggravated with them than enjoying their story. Sam's insistence that he had to silently follow his dead father's wishes--not telling a single soul about them or what he's doing--and at the same time not give his mother or his sister a 'heads-up, I could really use some help here so I can attempt to do something I want to with my life' was just ridiculous. Talk about a contrived conflict; it drove me bonkers.

Mira's "poor rich girl" hangups didn't get her any sympathy from me either. I pretty much lost all respect that I had had for her when she disparaged Sam to her brand new cook--in front of Sam, though she didn't know it at first. She essentially said he had an unsophisticated palate and was "just" a baker of cookies and doughnuts. I get her reasons for why she responded in that way (though they were totally silly; come on, a grown woman can't handle watching a hot guy sample food without throwing herself at him? Really?)--she didn't know he was there, and was trying to keep their relationship during the day on a professional level, but when he was understandably hurt by her words she didn't understand what she'd said to make him so upset. Really??? That wasn't the only example of her being completely oblivious to her tendency to be unfeelingly snobbish, but that's the one that did it for me. (And really. I don't care how long it's been since you've had chocolate sauce. NO ONE who has ever had some in their lifetime needs to ask "What is that?" when tasting chocolate sauce again, no one!)

There's just too much conflict of the "I'm going to completely internalize everything and not tell those nearest and dearest to me a thing, because this is all my problem and not theirs" variety. It made the characters seem more like contrived caricatures and less like real people. Mira's parents were a perfect example of this--they were cookie-cutter examples of snobby rich people who have no time for their kid(s), with nothing at all humanizing about them. I kept pushing through just for the sake of finishing, not because I really felt invested in them by the end. Still, I have hopes for book three--Gib and Daphne, maybe? I hope they--or whomever the protagonists are--can bring back some of the magic from book one in the series. ( )

A Fine Romance is the second book in Christi Barth's series and it was just as enjoyable as the first. I love that I was able to connect to the characters and it is enjoyable that this series keeps you connected to past characters (not just glimpses). Looking forward to the next book. ( )