Friday’s child is loving and giving…

Ewan Collins has had the hots for Natalie for years but she continually rebuffs him, supposedly because of their age difference. When Natalie comes to stay with the Collins family for a week, Ewan decides it’s time to make his move in a serious way.

Natalie’s been in a funk since celebrating another birthday alone. When Ewan proposes to help her “get a life”—seven lessons in seven days—she figures what the hell does she have to lose? Ewan’s plans include tequila shots, fishing, karaoke…and other, more erotic hands-on demonstrations.

But loneliness isn’t Ewan’s only obstacle. Tragedy in her past continually takes Natalie to a dark place her mind can’t easily overcome. With support, tenderness and love, Ewan plans to win over Natalie one lesson at a time.

Starting with lessons of the heart.

Trope/themes:
Older woman/younger man, depression

First Line:
“You’re the life of the party.”

Memorable:
-making out on the living room couch > the baseball analogy made me laugh, the rest was hot!
- scene in Ewan's office > get your cooling packs out before you read this scene ;)
- the goodbye scene right before the end > bawled like a baby

Natalie Miller is sarcastic, direct and a loner. She can be a little bitchy but not enough to be unlikeable as she uses her sarcasm and bitchiness as a way to protect herself and not show her vulnerability. At the start of the book she’s in a funk because she's feeling she's getting old. She also suffers from periods of dark moods, sadness and carrying the weight of the world on her shoulder. She’s afraid of falling in love because she thinks she doesn't deserve it. And she is also afraid to let people get close for fear they will discover her dark secret.

Ewan Collins is a homebody who’s serious, responsible, open and kind, but don't let that sweet, laid-back side of him fool you. He's the perfect example of silent waters that run deep. Sexually he's very commanding, passionate and almost ruthless in his pursuit of Nat's pleasure. The alpha in him he’s always hidden is awakened by Nat's fieriness and her attempts to turn him down.
Ewan is also very persistent because once he has his sights on Nat, he doesn't give up, no matter how much she tries to deter him from pursuing her in very clear language

Ewan has had a crush on Natalie, who is his senior by 8 years, from the moment they met. When he has the opportunity to live with her under one roof for a week, he grabs the chance to win her over, under the pretence of teaching her to live a little by giving her life lessons, one for each day she's staying in his parental home. The lessons include how to have fun, how to relax/commune more with nature, how to think before she speaks, how to be romantic, how to stop worrying about what the world thinks of her and along the way he also teaches her how to love again.

The chemistry between Nat and Ewan is palpable from the very start but Nat tries to ignore and deny it. And then the emotions. There hasn't been one book in this series that didn't make me tear up. And two of them, including FRIDAY I LOVE YOU, just made my heart hurt. The pain and struggle Nat had to go through and the way Ewan fought for his love for her broke my heart.

FRIDAY I LOVE YOU is the fifth installment of the Wild Irish series and I loved that this installment took me back to the heart of the Collins family: the parental home, restaurant and bar. I missed that in the previous book.

I just love this series. I read a few installments, including FRIDAY I LOVE YOU, back-to-back and each and every one is different and has a unique, fresh vibe that's inherent to their main characters. Yet there are elements that return in every installment and depending on the book they are mixed and balanced out in their own way to give them all a different feel. These elements are: humor, heat, family dynamics and emotional intensity.

Mari Carr has a lovely and down-to-earth way with words that I really like! Every one of her books draws me in and it's very hard to put them down. Her characters become like people you could know and relate to.

FRIDAY, I LOVE YOU is another wonderful book in this series. It has become a very, very close second to my favorite of the series: WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY. And maybe they're even both my favorites!

As you will notice I have more quotes than I’ve had in the reviews of the previous books and I even cut a few quotes as I had so many! Me marking a lot of quotes in a book is a very good sign. A highly quotable book equals an awesome book in my eyes and this book definitely falls in that category!

Quotes:
She laughed. “You really are going to have to give up this schoolboy crush. I’ve been nothing but a bitch to you since day one.”
He grasped her hand and she looked at him in surprise. “I haven’t been a boy in a long time, babydoll . And I’m more than man enough to deal with you and your so-called bitchiness.”

She was in a sequined tank top and Riley had loaned her a barely there leather skirt that Ewan could barely keep his eyes off. She was f#cking gorgeous and his c#ck had been locked in mortal combat with his jeans since they’d left the apartment via the fire escape. He wasn’t entirely sure the denim was going to be strong enough to cage the monster for much longer.

The loud, thumping music matched the pulsating, relentless pumping of blood through his body. Natalie’s hands as they caressed him seemed to leave a trail of fire wherever they touched, singeing him and driving him to heights he’d never imagined. She turned slowly in his arms and he felt as if her movements were in slow motion as the flashing, colored lights set the scene around them…the other dancers hazy, unreal. It was as if they were the only two people adrift in a sea of sound, touch, heat, light.

“Wait,” she called out. He was nearly to the door. Four more steps and he’d be free. Free to hit the shower—a cold one. Free to jerk himself off—a lonely one.
“You said you’d kiss me.”
He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. “Tomorrow, Nat. I’ll kiss the shit out of you tomorrow. Not tonight. Don’t ask me.”

She opened her eyes and pierced him with a glare that had destroyed stronger men than Ewan Collins. He merely stared her down. “Now, Nat. I don’t want to have to dump a bucket of cold water on you, but I will.”
“I will crush you like a bug if you try it.” She tried to invoke as much threatening menace into her voice as possible, but for some reason her powers of evil didn’t work against the idiot and he laughed.


They didn’t say anything else as the song continued, simply held each other and moved. As the music drifted away into another song, Ewan grasped her head in his hands, smiled as he bent down to steal the perfect kiss. His lips rubbed lightly against hers, enticing her to open her mouth. She sucked in a deep breath of his air, reaching out to taste him as well. Their tongues met, touched, played. If there was ever a moment in her life she’d want to freeze, this was it. She wanted to stop time, wrap up the occasion in tissue paper and tuck it in her pocket, so she could always pull it out and come right back here.

Mari Carr has graciously offered a chance to win copies of the Wild Irish books and the giveaway is simple and easy:
One commenter will be drawn from the commenters on each review (so daily from Monday January 3rd until Sunday January 9th) to win the book reviewed. The seven winners will be announced here on the blog Monday January 10th)