Wine Country King: A Brother's Best Friend Contemporary Romance

Ooooh this book! Second installment in Hotel Kings series. I loved the first one, so was excited to read this one. And I MIGHT just like it better than the first. Career-driven Campbell is working towards her Master Sommelier and has no time for romance. Jack is known as a playboy and a drifter, but finally feels ready to set them down for this Hotel. Campbell has crushed on Jack (her big bro's bff) since she was a young teen, but now this could be real... BUT she has dreams of being a Master Somm at a Michelin Star restaurant in Paris and Jack wants to finally put down roots in wine country. Does she give up on her dreams? Does Jack leave the one place he's finally decided to put down roots? Is this Romeo and Juliet, love destined to end tragically? Ok there was the small part of my black black heart that wanted them to NOT have the happy ending, to have the romantic downfall of a thousand broken hearts, but ALSO this is not that kind of book. And the reason I read these romances is because my black black lump of coal heart needs to be warmed by passion, true love, and happy endings. *spoiler alert* there is no double suicide at the end of this book. (see? absolute chunk of tar where my heart should be) Bottom line: Great easy read, lots of steamy passion, witty banter, true love, and happy endings.

Ms. Marti's latest book Wine Country King is the second in the California Suits series and is a must-read. Unless you haven’t read Hotel King (the first in the California Suits series) and then – you need to get on that. Seriously. It's so good. Read that book and then come back here. I’ll wait. What did you think? Great, right? Good. Now that we’ve all read the first book let me tell you why you want to read the second. The chemistry between Campbell, Master Sommelier extraordinaire, and Jack is smoking hot. You see, Campbell has had a secret crush on Jack for a long time. (Don’t you love secret crush stories?) This author is great at building the simmering tension between our hero and heroine to a point where I have to put the book down and turn on a fan. Obviously, Jack isn’t blind to his attraction to Campbell, but given their long history of friendship, it only dawns on him – for real – when they’re somewhat forced to live together. And if that doesn’t ring your bell, wine lovers will adore the total immersion into, um, wine-ness. (a word I just made up.) I can't recommend this book enough. It is a great escape and so much fun!

The opening of another hotel under the care of Jack- an attorney and Campbell-a sommelier in training is interesting considering their long standing history. I liked aspects of this couple figuring out their relationship although at times it felt like conflicts in scheduling career vs relationship. Challenges plus family influence and perception all blend together to make an interesting story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.