Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong. The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons. 1) Always set my alarm clock. 2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought. 3) It … previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.
Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven.
Too bad this guy is so far out of my league that I shouldn’t even be allowed to enter the game. Jake doesn’t seem to get that memo though. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…
A family.
The Match is a feel-good romantic comedy! Perfect for readers who enjoy a sizzling romance without explicit content.
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This might be the book I measure all the other romcoms against. Like, ALL the romcoms. We all have our favorite things, and who knew mine would be a quirky character who has epilepsy and a single dad who puts his foot ALLLLL the way in his mouth when they meet? Just an adorable, hilarious, heart-warming read from start to finish.
It’s my first time to read this author and I will be reading more of her books! This delightful story captures all the feels. A sweet girl. A hunky single father. A funny heroine. All these are wrapped into a story with a serious topic – both the sweet girl and heroine have epilepsy. Learning about how a dog can detect seizures and help a person lead an independent life was the cherry on top. I highly recommend!
This is the PERFECT closed door romance!!! It is light and romantic and has a ton of heart! I loved the honesty and grown up conversations, no insinuations or drawn out grudges! This was my first book by Sarah Adams and I’m glad to say it won’t be my last I really enjoyed the lightness while still giving a substantial storyline, it was exactly what I needed.
There’s a natural flow to this rom com. I thought it was cute the way she wrote them both pining after each other and both trying to resist & all scenes around that. This book actually had me laugh out loud throught my reading. Sarah Adams knows how to turn a phrase and use a snappy one liner. This had lots of smiles for me. As it got near the end I really coudn’t put it down. I thought the characters were written well with vunerablity and realism.
Why doesn’t everyone know about this author? Her books are SO delightful and ALWAYS make me LOL. Love the addition of the little girl in this one.
This is the first book in a series, but it’s my second from this author. I read the most recent book which was recommended to me in KU. I loved it so much, I had to go search out more from this author. This book has a different storyline and trope, single dad, but it still has that sweet innocent slow build of a relationship with plenty of banter. It had a very familiar feel to it and I just relished in the words and that world. Evie was an incredible woman who had to adapt to her new life and did it with grace. She was working to place care assist dog with people who had special needs or medical conditions, as she herself has. Jake was a bit of a jerk to begin with, but he also knew it and apologized for his bad behavior. He learnt quickly what a gem Evie was and worked hard to show her. In the mix of it all was Jake’s daughter Sam and two unique dogs, Charlie and Daisy. Even with the adult content, one is dealing with epilepsy, this book has a YA feel to it being a fade to black romance so there is no explicit content. I found this refreshing and for me it had enough intimacy to give me a sense of a great connection between the couple. I’ll definitely be reading the next book in this series.
Clean romcoms are my jam. I can’t get enough of them. And I can never resist a book that includes pets. Sarah Adams hits it out of the park with this sweet love story.
I picked up this book because I had heard so much about it, and everyone seemed to be enjoying it. A few chapters in, and I was wondering what the hype was about. I wasn’t feeling it. I put it down for a few days before I picked it up again.
I’m here to say that my first impression was way off base, and I’m going to chalk it up to a bad day. After reading a few more chapters, I was hooked. By the middle of the book, I was ugly crying because I FELT Evie’s hurt and rejection. Man, did this author suck me into the story. She put me in the character’s heads, and the reading experience was a roller coaster of emotions.
Seriously, my initial dismissal of this book was misplaced. It’s a wonderful book. I loved it. I will read more books by this author, and I’ve learned my lesson about quitting books before I’ve given them a fair chance.
The best romantic comedy I have read this year! I absolutely loved this book. The characters are well written and realistic. The story itself I honestly found realistic, which is refreshing with a modern day story. Evie is this head strong girl, only discovering her “real” freedom in the world a few years ago thanks to her seizure assist dog Charlie and good friend Joanna. Jake is a dreamy architect and very protective father of a ten year old girl named Sam who has epilepsy. From their very first interaction you are going to be left laughing and crying, and that continues on straight through to the end.
Sarah Adams knows how to write dialogue that tugs at every emotion possible. I found myself smiling and giggling on each page. If you want a book that is entertaining, hilarious, true to life, sad at some points and just darn right fun, this is the book for you! I will definitely be adding more of Sarah Adams books to my library and I recommend others to as well!
Okay. This book is just so good. So good. Anyone who likes romance should read this book and do it right away. I promise if you wait, you’ll just wish you had read it sooner because it’s *that* good. I often shy away from a lot of contemporary romance because I do not like detailed intimacy scenes nor do I like over-the-top cheese (don’t get me wrong, I love cheese, just not when the cheese is from a can). This book is neither of those. It falls so perfectly in the middle and made me so, so happy to read. I had a smile on my face just about every page and laughed out loud so many times. There are also a lot of really good one-liners and quotes and so many food references (which, if you know me, you know these things also make me extremely happy).
Evie is the sweetest protagonist. I loved her from the very first moment. I think she and I could be perfectly opposite, complementary friends. I hope. I hope I’m the kind of the person who could be friends with Evie because she’s very cool and I want to be her friend! I love that she was confident, even coming from a difficult home environment (and while we’re on the subject, how can people be so awful as her parents? Just how??), but she also knew how to let people into her heart when it mattered. She’s spontaneous and fun and caring and I loved her.
I did not, however, like Jake. At least not at first. Nor did I like him after the dinner-that-shall-not-be-named (again with her horrible parents!). He was a jerk—but at least he knew it and fixed it. He was good the rest of the time. I loved loved that he did not want to take advantage of Evie. I loved that he was a dad first and how much he showed that he cared about Sam. I loved that he was willing to admit he was wrong. I loved that he was swoony and knew it but also wasn’t full of himself. He’s really a good hero, guys.
Since we were talking about being friends with fictional characters earlier, can Joanna be my friend too? I want to have friends who care about me and my loved ones that much. Heck, I want to be Joanna. I solemnly swear to adopt fabulous young adults into my family one day. Except I don’t know how to be as cute and fun as Joanna. But maybe if my husband and I could have a relationship like she and her husband did, it will make up for it. 😉
This really is a good, fun book. It has depth, development, fabulous characters, and good writing. I look forward to reading the rest of Sarah’s books!
Note: contains romance (a few steamy kisses), talk of butts (non-sexual), manipulative family relations, seizures associated with epilepsy. Really quite clean.
Quotes I loved:
“‘Don’t answer that, Jake. Joanna is a scheming old hen who needs to stick her nose back in her business.’
‘Don’t call me an old hen or I’ll fire you, little missy.’
‘Don’t call me little missy or I won’t come to painting night Wednesday.’”
“He’s trying time sell me adulting, and I’m not buying it.”
“Ladies, I’d you don’t take any other advise from me, listen to these words because they are the most important you will ever hear: if a sexy man is in a pool and smiling at you like Jake is smiling at me, don’t waste a single moment standing on the side.”
“Jake and I both forget we are grown adults and catapult apart on my loveseat so fast you would think we just got caught making out in a closet during a Sunday School class.”
“‘How are you not spitting angry right now?’
“She shrugs and steps away from the door. ‘I stopped letting that woman steal my joy about fifteen counseling sessions ago.’”
“I am the person who loves Sam the most in this world. . .and I forgot to reapply sunscreen to her back. But Evie remembered. What does that mean? It feels significant.”
“‘You’re allowed to eat brownies you know.’
. . .
‘Yeah,’ she says with a final swallow, ‘but am I allowed to have four brownies?’
My eyebrows life. ‘Did you really eat four brownies?’
‘What?? Me? No. I was kidding. I’d never eat that many. That would be soooo unhealthy.’ That means she actually ate five.’”
“Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!”
“‘It’s true. The few guys you’ve dated in the past have all been a few eggs short of a dozen, and waayy below your level. It’s like you’re so desperate to not end up with anyone like your parents that you swing completely the opposite way. Hale is the first man you’ve ever been interested in that even comes close to being on the same tier as you.’
‘Ha! You think Jake and I are on the same level?’
‘No.’ Her eyes slide to mine, and I see a twinkle. ‘I don’t think anyone will ever measure up to you. But I get the feeling that Jake will actually try.’”
“Channel your inner Lorelei Gilmore. I will not be that single dad that sucks.”
“Listen to me, darlin’, and remember this for the rest of your life: it always okay to go home. Anytime you feel uncomfortable or scared, never worry about what anyone else is going to think If you call your daddy and have him come get you. Your house is a safe place, and you love being there, and that’s something to be proud of, not embarrassed about.”
“I don’t think this life of mine can get any better. Except it does when I spot Jake walking [in] . . . with a chocolate-chip muffin.”
Just for fun, here’s the food list:
Coffee
Extra Fudgy Hot Fudge Brownie with chocolate chips, slightly under baked
Chocolate chip muffin
Drumsticks
Salmon
Chicken cutlets
Fruit loops
Ramen noodles
Skittles
Pancakes biscuits
Cookies
Bacon
Bread pudding
Egg salad
Lemonade
Burger and fries
Donut shop: Darlin’ Donuts
Just Peachy (peach)
Slow as Molasses (cinnamon molasses)
Kiss My Grits (savory grits inspired)
I have epilepsy so it’s really nice finding a heroine who has the same condition as I do without her epilepsy being a “pity me ” plot line.
I loved this book by Sarah Adams. The premise of a woman needing a support dog and then meeting the father of a girl who wants a dog for herself is so unique. The story kept me reeled in and made me laugh several times. I loved this book!
Such a fun rom-com! The characters in this book were so loveable and the romance between Evie and Jake is fantastic. This was a totally unique take on the classic “rom-com” idea and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Need a pick-me-up? Want to turn your day around? The Match is the warm & fuzzy contemporary romance that you’ve been looking for! This book is the blanket and hot chocolate (with whipped cream) you snuggle up in when it’s freezing outside and it totally made my week!
Evie is strong, independent, and not at all defined by her disorder. She’s real and down-to-earth and unwilling to conform to what her parents want for her. Jake is sweet, tender, and a great dad. He’s loving and protective and willing to do anything for his daughter.
Sam and Jo were excellent characters but Charlie stole the show for me! A dog who rolls his eyes, and I believe with every fiber of my being that he could, and works to care for his person is perfect in my book! I’m a sucker for a cute, snarky dog.
The parallel between the Evie/Jo relationship and the Evie/Sam relationship was perfection! Sam needed Evie the same was Evie needed Jo and it was beautifully written.
This family was meant to be from the very beginning! Loved it!
4.5 | this book was so fun and adorable. ADORABLE. WITH CAPITAL LETTERS. and the epilogue was just my type, i really needed this to ease my mood
there were only a few comments that left me like ??? but i’m giving it the benefit of the doubt
This author has an awesome sense of humor!! It’s a book full of laughs and oops, thanks mostly to the quirky main character, Evie. A great romance full of stops, starts, drama, and a really mean and snooty mother. Not to mention, a beautiful service dog, who definitely has a personality and communicates, somehow. A creative, fun, exciting story. I couldn’t put it down! I hope there’s a sequel!
This book was so much fun! I loved the light, fun feel of this one. And the characters were fabulous.
Evie was hilarious! She’s a young woman who won’t be defined by her epilepsy. Her service dog, Charlie, was amazing. I’m amazed at the kinds of things animals can be trained to do. I loved the way she goes out of her way to help others who have the same problems she does. That’s where Sam and Jake come in.
Sam is a sweet little girl with epilepsy as well. She emailed Evie, posing as her dad, to meet. The first meeting scene of the book is hilarious! Jake was kind of a jerk in this scene to be honest. But as the book went on, he grew on me. I loved the way he treated Sam and Evie as she came into their lives more and more.
Evie’s family is awful! The left me cringing. As did Jake’s ex-wife. Ugg! But their relationship just worked. I loved that about this book.
I need to read more Sarah Adams books ASAP!
I borrowed The Match using my Kindle Unlimited subscription. All opinions are my own.
I loved everything about this book! Jake & Evie’s story was great, but the cherry on top was the dogs and the kid. Such a cute, clean read. I look forward to the next one in this series.
Have you ever met someone and instantly felt a BFF connection? That’s how I feel about this book. It’s like it was written just for me since I connected to it so well. The dialogue, descriptions, and humor settled right into my heart and soul and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect story.
Life is hard right now and I just want a book to sweep me away and distract me, and while this book did just that, it also had some depth and allowed me to experience intense joy, sadness, fear, and the most exquisite, swoony romance ever. I also laughed soooo much. Jake is coming off a bad divorce and Evie is trying to escape the clutches of her super rich and snooty parents. Their first meeting was quite hilarious and the comedic tone for this book was set.
Alternating points-of-view drew me right into the minds of these wonderful characters and gave me glimpses into their thoughts and feelings. I couldn’t get enough of this story and of Jake and Evie. And everyone needs a Jo in their lives. I wanted to keep basking in the book all summer long. True perfection from start to finish.
Content: mild+ romance (swoony, steamy clean, some innuendo)
Yay!! Sarah writes a good contemporary! Gah contempory is so hard for me and I get so nervous when my favorite authors go there. This was a sweet story with all the feels! I loved that she wrote about someone with a disability but didn’t go into a victum place. Evie was strong, indepediant and working on herself and I loved that she was in a good place, but still had to deal with the epilepsie. I have daughters who are working their way to a good place with their disability and it was so awesome to see her handling it. We are trying to get them to a place they can adult on their own and this was just a hopeful book for me to read right now. Plus! JAKE! Dang! Sarah write me up some more men to Love! Geez girl! I was fanning my face over this beautiful man:} Such a good love story with some real life obsticals and situations keeping these two on their toes. Really enjoyed this fun, sweet romance!!
This has no religion, is chaste but with some longing looks, some inuendo like he is looking her up and down, a long time couple smack each others butts. Not squeaky clean but not crass in anyway. Everyday modern life but clean enough I would totally give this to my teen to read.