Fashionably Date (Do-Over Date Series: Second Chance Clean Romances Book 5)

Susan Hatler’s characters are always so fun to get to know and I love the banter that passes between them. Her latest release does not disappoint!

An amazing well written second chance romance read. This engaging storyline kept glued page after oage with a fun romantic story of two workaholics and their adventures to a HEA. The characters are interesting, and have great chemistry. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC.

This is book five of the Do-Over Date series and the main characters are former supermodel Missy Peters and gym owner Nick Zambini, who meet up at a coffee stall when she takes a tumble, then saves her from harm again, when she rushes into traffic to save a puppy. Missy has opened a upscale fashion clothing boutique, after moving to the city following the betrayal of her fiancé just before their wedding, leaving her bereft and wishing to be as far from him and her former life as possible. She persuaded her best friend and hopeful author, Michelle, to come and share her new penthouse apartment, but is being pushed to date again. Nick owns a few businesses and had recently taken over the running of the gym, Totally Fit and is releasing a new line of fitness apparel. When he meets Missy, he believes they would be able to work well together and should bring together her wish for everyone to look good and feel good, with his wish to help everyone feel and become their best.
They agree to a business date, an outing to the opera, with business to be discussed at the intermission! She finds Nick to be handsome and very intelligent, with very similar business working ethics and desires for growth, but also begins to feel so much more for him and she isn’t sure that it is reciprocated when all he seems to mention is business. She can’t get him out of her mind and Michelle even begins to think Nick is a figment of her imagination, until she brings her along to the coffee stand, at the same time of day when she had previously first met him, hoping to see him again. He had the same idea and she gets slightly embarrassed, having asked out loud of the stands owner, whether she had seen Nick. He takes her out to the opera, but they don’t talk business at all. Missy is still finding it difficult to trust another man after her past experience, whilst Nick has the complete opposite problem in that his former love refused to believe he was faithful and he couldn’t do anything to prove it to her! A couple of lovely and original dates follow, but her lack of trust raises it head again, when she glimpses a text on his phone. He won’t explain what it means, only saying she should trust him and she will find out what it was about eventually, but she doesn’t accept that!
It looks like their relationship is over as she walks out, but she is haunted by what could have been and how her emotions are in such turmoil with her decision. They are still linked through a new line of sports apparel, an improvement on his previous apparel made by Missy’s wedding dress designer, linking all three businesses in a new business opportunity, that Missy still needs to advertise in a huge promotion event a week or so later, in her shop. The wise words of her best friend, but more sage words from the coffee stand business owner herself, makes her rethink her actions and lack of trust. Does she want to throw away what seems to be a perfect relationship, both in her business and personal life, all for her previous bad experience, or should she have given him a better chance to explain and trust in his actions? She has a lot to think about and process, but so has Nick. Two like-minded workaholics have finally have met their match in life and love and it is only themselves they can trust in to make a decision about their futures. Barriers need to be broken and a HEA ending can be achieved. A nice short story of similar people, with opposite issues from the past, falling for each other and having to overcome their problems if they want the future they are meant to have together. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

Boutique owner Missy finds it hard to trust after her ex-fiancé cheated with her maid of honor. When gym owner Nick proposes a professional arrangement between them, Missy hopes they can mix business with pleasure. Things heat up, yet she’s afraid to give her heart. Is he keeping secrets, or is she being paranoid?

This cute chick lit novella features a swoon-worthy hero, and a heroine who doesn’t quite have her life all figured out yet (despite appearances to the contrary). Hatler does a great job of creating this kind of a heroine: one who has a major blind spot she needs to confront before she can find true happiness. The author also has a flair for creating a warm small-town feel (even in books that are set in a city, like this one) and for developing strong female friendships that run throughout the series.

I wish that Hatler’s books had a more diverse cast. Her characters are blindingly white. When she describes her Italian hero as the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, it just calls attention to the fact that men come in shades much darker than olive-skinned.

Overall, this is a fun beach read—sweet escapism mixed with heartfelt emotion.

Thanks, Booksprout, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Missy has just opened her new upscale boutique. Working from sun up to sun down to get her business off the ground this past month required that her to start her day with a positive attitude, a sense of adventure, and a certain something called coffee.”
Nick owns the fitness gym. On their first meeting he rescues Missy twice before their coffee is ready. He wants to partner up to help grow each of their businesses.
Missy is looking for a few fun dates but Nick only seems to want to get together for business. Sigh!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I loved this book. Susan Hatler is a wonderful romance author and I love all of her series. Missy was hurt when she caught her fiancée with her maid of honor. She quit modeling and opened her own clothing boutique. Nick owned a gym and saved Missy from falling then getting run over by a bicyclist. Nick asked her to go into business together. Missy tried not to fall for Nick but ended up falling for him. She had to decide to trust him when she saw a text from another woman who had been at his house. I could not put this book down.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fashionably Date is another amazingly written sweet romance that is a delight to get lost in from the first line. Missy and Nick meet when a puppy runs out into the street and Nick saves them both. Fate plays a hand in this fun and enjoyable story as they mix business with pleasure.

A great story that is hard to put down.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fresh, Clean, and Fashionable Romantic Comedy
This is a fun and short romantic comedy. It is clean with a fresh back story. In this tale, the female is financially set for life and has a successful business. The male also has a successful background, but that is not unusual in romance stories. The story is sweet and gets the reader rooting for the couple to work out. This is truly a fun story. This author always writes a good story. I received this ARC book for free from Booksprout and this is my honest review.

Rating:

I loved this novel a lot. The characters were complete and realistic. The heroine had flaws and insecurities but was able to overcome throughout the novel. I enjoyed the plot. The story developed and progressed well. All the events were connected and felt in sync. All in all, I loved this story. It is now one of my favourites from Susan!

The story follows Missy Peters, ex-supermodel turned boutique owner. She believes in the motto “Look good, feel good.” She’s been burnt by a cheating rascal who destroyed their relationship by cheating on her with the maid of honour. She runs into Nick at Courtney Carmichael’s coffee cart, the best coffee place in SF. He saves her when she is about to fall. He also saves her when she runs into oncoming traffic to save a puppy. After those two instances, they decide to walk and talk. There is an undeniable spark. That is until Nick proposes that they work together and cross-promote.

I wrote this voluntary review in exchange for an ARC copy.

This book has loads of laughs, a few awkward moments and a few communication issues as we see Missy and Nick navigate their budding business relationship or is it romantic relationship? These 2 flip flop between what they think they want vs what they think the other wants vs what their heart wants. I loved both of them as they are successful, she has sass and he is delicious and both of them have flaws they need to work through if we want to see a happy ever after, fortunately they also have Courtney who makes the best coffee in the city and more and the Michelle the best friend to Missy and writer looking for a muse!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.