Book Review: Holiday Affair by Annie Seaton

This is a solidly nice contemporary romance.

Holiday Affair 
by Annie Seaton

• File Size: 276 KB
• Print Length: 126 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Indulgence)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0
 

Book Description
Publication Date: March 15, 2012
Staid professor Lissy McIntyre believes that choosing a mate should be based on common sense, not runaway passion. And she would certainly never pick a rolling stone like Nick Richards for long-term love. But a red-hot, tropical romance? Oh, yeah. He’s got a body just made for sinning and his sizzling kisses leave her senseless.

When Nick blows into town, he’s stunned to discover that his no-nonsense new neighbor and co-worker is the same sultry creature he seduced for one night of forbidden island pleasure. He’s unaccustomed to staying in one place for long, but he just can’t seem to keep his hands off the multi-faceted woman. Will Nick break loyal Lissy’s heart or will she be the one woman he simply can’t walk away from?

Review: Lissy has a dual personality! In her home town she is a conservative, quiet history professor working toward a promotion at a University in the New England Tablelands of Australia. She hasn’t really been dating although she has a regular Friday date with a handsome, stable accountant, Tom. But this story opens with a wind blown Lissy on a sailboat in North Queensland, Australia. She is taking a vacation to help recoup from the death of her beloved Gramps.

Nick is a character who I found hard to like at first. He is the type of handsome, charming rogue who bets with the other sailors which lady from the tour he will bed each night. Ugh. His personality does go a little deeper than that so he feels a bit guilty about his bet, but not enough to say good-bye to Lissy or even leave a note after she succumbs to a passionate night after a jag of grief.

Imagine Lissy’s surprise when she is settling in back at home and discovers that the walk away man from her holiday is not only the new history professor in her department, but the new neighbor on the other side of her duplex. Lissy is further dismayed when she learns there is a connection between Tom and Nick. Common sense tells Lizzy she should run the other way but Nick makes it very difficult for her as he keeps getting in her face and interfering with her friendship with Tom.

I was captured early by the warmth of the story and knowing that the characters had a surprise reunion coming when they got back to work. Even though Nick is hard to like at first, I did enjoy the tension in the story. I admit I was annoyed by Lizzy’s weak drinking night and that she kept giving in and then expecting something more. Both Lizzy and Nick had to make some risk assessments and changes in order to move forward. Fortunately Nick realized that he could lose something special.

I enjoyed Nick’s close knit family, especially his warm mother. The romance is hot but not unpleasantly graphic. Miss Seaton uses strong, bright descriptions of settings and shares interesting local customs. This added extra strength to the story.  The writing is easy and the pacing moves well. If you enjoy solid contemporary romance that sizzles but isn't over the edge, this makes a nice choice to read.

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Example of the strong descriptions:

The screeching of the rainbow lorikeets woke her the next morning. Lying in bed, she watched the birds hang upside down in the huge bottlebrush tree outside her window as they ate the honey from the red flowers.  Location 1195.

I received this eBook from the Publisher for an honest review. See Book Feature and Giveaway next post!.

I will add this to my ARC and New Author challenge lists.