Nina Stokes's life is far from picture perfect. For years the small-town artist has waited for the day she'd be able to fulfill her late brother's wishes and hand over his rambling house to its new owner. Yet when a sexy stranger arrives on her doorstep, key in hand, Nina realizes she's not ready to let go of the house and all its memories-not until she gets some answers to what really happened to her brother.

Mick Rivers may be a hard-as-nails soldier, but throwing a woman out of her house isn't his style. Neither is dredging up memories of the past –a past he is struggling to remember. He desperately needs to sell the house, but he finds the brown-eyed beauty with the open heart and warm smile impossible to resist. So instead of moving on, Mick moves in. As sweet summer days lead to sizzling summer nights, Mick must finally face his fears. But can he tell Nina the secrets haunting his heart, without breaking hers?

Title: SWEET KISS OF SUMMER
Author: Sophie Gunn
Series: The Enemy Club, book 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Year of release: 2011, July 26 (says Amazon, however author’s website says August 4)
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received an ARC from the author for review

First line:
Dearest Nina,
You don't recognize this handwriting because a beautiful army nurse named Sally is writing this letter for me.

Memorable Scene:
- the scene in the barn/garage, saving Sylvie the cat > lots of humor in that scene which made me smile incessantly but also felt bad for poor Mick
- All the scenes where the 4 Enemy Club ladies get together > They are all such different personalities and yet they are there for each other in good and bad times, their scenes together are awesome

Nina Stokes is an artist and former yoga instructor. She’s the eternal optimist and may seem a bit naïve but she's also resolute and passionate when she sets her mind to something. She’s warmhearted, accommodating and caring. Her friends think she’s a pushover because she’s not on guard with people and she’s been duped by a con=artist before.

Mick Rivers is an ex-soldier and has a hard time adjusting to non-army life. He also suffers from memory loss and posttraumatic stress-like symptoms after nearly dying on the battlefield. Mick is a straightforward kind of man and having to approach Nina with lies and keeping stuff from her doesn’t sit well with him. But his sense of duty, his loyalty and his honesty are at war because of several reasons. He has a dry sense of humor, is instinctive and loyal to the bone.

Well, chapter 1, a letter from Nina's brother to her, definitely grabbed my attention and I settled in for another lovely and emotional contemporary romance from Sophie Gunn that I was going to enjoy as much as I did HOW SWEET IT IS.

The cast of secondary characters isn’t very big and those who form it also add something to either the plot or the characterization of the main characters so I thought that was neatly done. I like to have secondary characters in the romance novels I read but don’t like to be bombarded with walk-ons so for me Sophie Gunn did a good job here.

I understand that there wouldn't be much of a plot if Mick just told Nina why he needed the money from the house or if he'd just ask her for the item Walt asked him to retrieve in his last letter, but these were 2 little things that kept making me frown throughout the book until they were uncovered. Once these two things were revealed though, I had nothing to frown about and I loved that the plot took a direction I wasn’t expecting at all.

Though both books I've read in this series are very different from each other they have some themes in common. Like HOW SWEET IT IS, this second book also deals with people trying to do the right thing, a member from the Enemy Club keeping something from the heroine and there's money involved. I love how these themes connect the books and yet they are kept fresh and unique in their storylines, romances and characterization.

I really like Sophie Gunn’s writing and how she sets up her characters' back-stories by giving little enticing tidbits at a time that in the end come together to form a full picture of the people they are and their past. The romance in SWEET KISS OF SUMMER is not the main focus of the story and it’s set up slowly and subtly. However there’s no denying that there *is* a romance and a HEA so no complaints from me.

What I love about these books in the Enemy Club series is the combination and contrast of humorous lightness and the heavy emotional stuff that lies just below the surface and give the characters so much depth and likeability at the same time.

SWEET KISS OF SUMMER is contemporary romance that's not only sweet and funny and but also emotionally gripping and unpredictable. If you like small-town set, sweet contemporary romance I’d definitely recommend this series and if you haven’t read book 1 I’d recommend starting there, but to be honest you could also dive into book 2 first as they are excellent standalones.

Favorite Quotes:
The man pulled his T-shirt over his head in a swift, one-armed movement. She ducked low, tried to swallow, pulled the brim of her sun hat low to cover her blush and her ridiculous smile. -The most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on is stripping my driveway. God, I love this town.-

Two thousand six hundred and forty-eight miles in five days in a wasted hunk of metal he had won on a dare, and Mick Rivers felt every one of those miles in his ass.

She was so close, it was all he could do to not sniff her. She smelled like cat treats, M&Ms and wine –a strangely sexy combination.

“(…) But I can’t trust a woman who doesn’t drink coffee. A woman who doesn’t drink coffee is like a woman who doesn’t have sex. It’s not natural.” He lowered his voice seductively. “I make very good coffee.”

(Nina to Bobby) “Back in the day, your idea of romancing a woman was buying a fifth of rotgut whiskey and a few dozen condoms.”

“I will never understand women, “ Mick said.
“That’s our plan, Mick. We have to keep you menfolk on your toes.”

Single mom Lizzie Bea Carpenter learned long ago that no white knight was coming to save her. A hardworking waitress at the local diner, she's raising her daughter to be like the independent women in her "Enemy Club"--high school rivals turned best friends, promising to always tell each other the whole truth and nothing but!

Yet part of Lizzie wishes she did have a man's help, just for small stuff, like fixing up the house. Her fairy godmother must have been listening, because Dante "Tay" Giovanni soon appears. He's sexy, kind, and offering assistance--no strings attached.

Slowly, steadily, Lizzie's heart opens. But the grip of the past is fierce, and nothing in life is ever really free. Tay has his own tragedies to overcome, but if he can, he'll fix more than Lizzie's home. He'll show her just how sweet it is to be loved by him.

Title: HOW SWEET IT IS
Author: Sophie Gunn
Series: Enemy Club Series, book 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Year of release: 2011, January 1
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received an ARC from the author for review

First line:
For over a week the envelope sat on the dining room table unnoticed, buried under a stack of birdseed catalogues and household bills like a bomb waiting to go off.

Memorable Scenes:
- The scene where Tay tells Lizzie about the accident > this scene hit an emotional button while the rest of the book was pretty lighthearted and fun


Lizzie Bea Carpenter is a single mom, trying to wing her way through life, supporting herself and her daughter, working as a waitress. I really liked Lizzie. Her relationship with her daughter Paige was depicted in a realistic way (as far as I can judge that from a daughter’s POV, as I’m not a mother).

Dante ‘Tay’ Giovanni caused a deadly accident by running a red light. He’s ran away from his life and is now trying to redeem himself by helping others, trying to escape his past and his memories. Tay is mysterious and guilt-ridden. He has a complicated past but he also has a big heart, is a fixer and wants to be helpful.

My first encounter with Sophie Gunn’s work was a truly pleasant one. I utterly enjoyed reading HOW SWEET IT IS. I was effortlessly pulled into the lives and problems of Lizzie and those who surround her. The easy, crisp writing style definitely contributed to my enjoyment but I also loved the premise and the depth in the characters, their background stories, the small town setting and the impact it had on the romance and story.

I loved the humor in this book. There was a layer of subtle humor throughout the entire book and sometimes that subtle romance would evolve into straight laugh-out-loud moment or put-a-big-grin-on-my-face moments.

Sophie Gunn had a knack for keeping you hooked and curious to know how certain events are going to turn out and I really liked that. The way she combined the main story with the multiple side-stories, without taking away the focus from the main characters, kept the book fast-paced and moving full steam ahead.

Though Tay’s guilt-ridden and self-punishing attitude started to get on my nerves a little at some point, it didn’t bother me immensely because it was needed to make the resolution believable and give it the power of impact it eventually had. It also contributed to the realistic feel of the book and separated it from the fluffy light contemporaries making it a little darker without losing its humorous tone.

Reading this book left me with a warm fuzzy feeling. HOW SWEET IT IS is a lovely, endearing and sweet contemporary romance that any contemporary romance reader can’t help but warm up to within a few pages. It’s about redemption, forgiveness, and the ability to let go and move on, about looking toward the future instead of back to the past. And when you flip the last page, you’ll emit a satisfied sigh, awaiting the HEA for the next member of The Enemy Club.

Favorite Quotes:
“You don’t know what I want.”
“Neither do you, obviously. But I have a feeling it has something to do with this place.”
“Here? Why?”
“I don’t know, but I think you do. Isn’t it kind of obvious, Liz? You do the opposite of what you want because you think it’s right. But I don’t give a shit about right or wrong. I don’t even believe in right or wrong. Just in the truth and being honest. Come on, talk to me Lizzie.”

Then she leaned down and kissed him ever so gently on the corner of his lips. He didn’t move. His eyes were on hers, intense and unreadable.
So she kissed the middle of his lips, softly, lingering on the warmth. She felt the presence of his body under hers, totally still, as if venom from her kiss had paralyzed him.
She stood up again and went back to her chair. They looked at each other across the room.
“Wow,” he said. “That was a surprise.”
“I did it because I wanted to do it,” she said. “And because I don’t give a crap about what you want. I’m going to fix you, Tay, whatever the hell you say. Because I want you. And I’ve decided to get what I want, no matter what it means to anyone else.”
For once he was speechless. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“I’m not so sure I care what you think.”
And then, to her utter relief, he smiled.