Justine Chambers is adjusting to life after a divorce. To pay the bills, she is opening a side business. Meanwhile, her friend Natasha badgers her to join an online dating site or worse, let her set Justine up with a man. Justine will not deal with another Alpha male in her life like her ex-husband. Her next man will be an easy-going “Beta” male. James Randall does not believe in long term … relationships. Short term romance is his jam. After he meets Justine for drinks, he’s certain bachelorhood is it for him. Justine screams high maintenance and James is as low-frills as a man can be. What you see is what you get with James…most of the time. When co-worker calls in sick, James finds himself at Justine’s home and their chemistry ignites.
Will James take a chance on a relationship with this feisty female?
Can Justine endure another Alpha male, even if he’s disguised as a Beta?
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Justine Chambers is starting over, she is divorced and considering her ex had dumped her faster then a hot potato once he could get the girl he really wanted he made the divorce as difficult as their marriage. Justine knows one thing she does not want to date another alpha man. However when Justine is setup with James Randall she quickly realizes she may not be ready to date at all.
James is a man who let the girl he wanted get away. When he is setup with Justine he knows within seconds it wont work, she is too prissy. However when he sees her again he sees a little more to the interesting red head. It doesn’t take long before he realizes Justine might just be the girl for him but after a rocky start will the others who are involved in their lives be willing to do the same.
James is a character from the Riot series so there is quite a bit of crossover in characters. I liked this one, the rocky start had you pause a bit to see if the chemistry was there and it definitely was. Great story, curious to see who the next book revolves around.
5 Cranky Stars
Justine is freshly single after a bitter divorce. Her two friends Natasha and Mallory are trying to get her back in the swing of dating. So, after much haranguing she agrees to go out with a guy of their choosing. When she meets James, sparks don’t exactly fly. She’s a Mac computer, and he is a Dell computer. They don’t sync at first, but when they do get together, the gigabytes fly. (sorry for the computer puns, read the book and you will understand).
I really liked the nuances of each character. Justine was flawed as well as James, and while they didn’t exactly have an endearing first meeting, it was realistic and perfectly done. There was drama, romance, misunderstandings, and miscommunication. That is what I liked the most about this book. It wasn’t love at first sight, it was real.
I liked how we got Justine and James’ take on what happened. This is so you don’t automatically assume that one is at fault. They are flawed but together they are flawsome. I really like that the story didn’t rush, the author took her time with the characters and the storyline. I will definitely recommend this to others.
First I have to say that I love Karen Renee’s writing. She has an MC series that totally blew me away and that is where I was first introduced to James. I loved him right from the start. He loved his friends and he loved his life of computers. He never wanted a serious relationship because the one girl he wanted it with did not feel the same and they remained friends. So James just decided that short term relationships would be his thing.
Justine is all set with relationships and bossy alpha men. She is divorced from an alpha man and she is not looking for any romance in her life right now. She has decided she is going to get a beta man. A Man who is relaxed and not so easily wound up. A man who will fit perfectly into her crafted life.
Then Justine and James meet and things don’t go so good at first but then the two of them start to fell the chemistry until one day they give in and the fire works are popping like no ones business and the two of them decide to give each other a try and do the relationship thing.
This is a must read romantic comedy that had me laughing like a crazy lady cheering these two on!
3.5 Stars
This is the first book in a new series from this author, and to be totally honest, I had high expectations for this novel as I thoroughly enjoyed this authors’ previous work; however, I struggled and was very disappointed that I could not engage with either character. Justine is newly divorced and is certainly not looking for another alpha male like her ex. James is not interested in a long term relationship. I would like to read more in this series as long as the author can up the ante more.
As much as I loved the Riot MC men, I think James and Justine may have an even better story to tell. James appears to be more laid back to everyone, until he meets Justine and finds that his thoughts are full of her and how to get under her skin. Justine has no use for another alpha(hole) after the misery she lived with her ex, but she just can’t get James out of her mind, even if he doesn’t totally seem like what she wants in a man now. While they have a rough start, complete with lackluster first impressions and incorrect assumptions about each other, James convinces Justine to give him a chance. Together, they manage to find their way to happy…once they both learn to truly trust each other. Justine and James both overcome deep-seated trust issues (thanks to exes on both parts) and finally get their HEA.
This story has humor, romance, sibling drama, and some angst that misunderstandings bring. Overall, this series has the potential to be even better than Karen’s Riot MC men. They aren’t OTT alphas, but they sure let their women know that they aren’t to be trifled with and that they’re all about taking charge when necessary!