Accept no substitute…for love.

THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH
Jessica Martin is determined to earn a permanent teaching position at Summit High School. That means hard work, dedication, and even volunteering extra time to direct the school’s Shakespeare play. Which leaves no room for romance—especially with a co-worker. She didn’t factor in the school’s sexy security officer and the delicious fantasies he inspires.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD
Former cop Tom Cameron likes his job. Or he did, until the new substitute busted his orderly life right open. Now, he can’t seem to avoid her—deserted hallways, empty theaters, classrooms after dark—but he’s got too many skeletons in his closet to risk his heart again. Asking her out to distract her from the play’s, well, drama is a friendly gesture. Nothing more.

THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH
Their chemistry could melt down the science lab, and before long they’re burning up the sheets off-campus. And uncovering raw emotions—a stark reminder that love isn’t in their curricula. When a troubled student goes over the edge, though, the need to stop a tragedy brings them right back where they started—face to face with fate.

Warning: This book contains sexy encounters in classrooms, inappropriate use of school facilities, backstage shenanigans, and illicit activities on a ferryboat.

Title: TAKE A CHANCE ON ME
Author: Kate Davies
Series: standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year of release: 2011, February 22
Format: eBook
Source: Bought via Samhain eBookstore

First line:
Jessica was late.

Memorable Scenes:
- the scene at the pizza place > Very funny and cute, Jessica's friend Ana is a hoot!
- the school dance scene > the beginning of this scene reminded me of the movie GREASE complete with it's own Cha Cha DiGregorio (the annoying Gabrielle) LOL and the end was a great HEA + conclusion to the plot


QuickScore-Verdict:
This is a contemporary romance with a capital R! I loved the romance between Jessica and Tom. The built-up was very well done, going from small sparks of attraction, to smoldering sexual tension and sizzling chemistry to a sweet and lovely HEA.

The plot was good though a bit predictable but I really liked the high school setting and co-workers to lovers trope of this cute novella. Lately I've been reading books heavy on either the eroticism or the emotional intensity and to me the sweetness and normal guy/girl-next-door vibe of TAKE A CHANCE ON ME felt like a breath of fresh air!

TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is a perfectly balanced, well-paced and sweet contemporary that I really enjoyed a lot and loved it for bringing me back to my high school days...

Favorite Quotes:
He hadn’t consciously decided to live a solitary lifestyle, but that’s what had happened. It wasn’t a bad life, he supposed. He had a nice apartment in a quiet part of town. He could eat cold canned spaghetti over the sink and not worry about getting hell for it. He never had to share the remote control. He could sprawl across the bed without someone complaining how he was on her side.
Of course, there was also the silence. The half-empty closets. The embarrassing moments when he turned to comment on an article in the morning paper and no one was there. The times he woke in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and reached blindly across the king-size bed, only to find empty space.

It had only been for the briefest of moments, but he had a feeling that the inadvertent glimpse of creamy smooth skin and lace-trimmed bra would be on a playback loop in his mind for the rest of the evening. Perfect.

All she’d done was place her hand on his. A brief physical contact. Nothing more. So why was his hand still—tingly, for want of a better word? And he didn’t even want to think about the tingles still echoing in other more personal parts of his body.

“ Some discontent? She would have ripped my toenails out if given the chance.”
“So don’t wear open-toed shoes.”

Not that he was willing to concede that he was in love. It was too soon, too new, too overwhelming to consider that possibility. But the fact remained that Jessica had pulled him out of his self-imposed shell, and he was no longer interested in crawling back inside.