“Tara Sivec delivers another amazing book with The Simple Life! This is romcom at its finest!” – FMR Book GrindBrooklyn Manning thought her life was perfect in every way, until it crumbled down around her and turned into a dumpster fire. With her pride wounded and her tail tucked between her legs, she leaves New York and goes back to her tiny hometown of White Timber, Montana. No more …
No more twenty-four-hour taco trucks, no more shopping at the best designer stores within walking distance, no more giving taxi drivers the finger when they angrily honk at her. She didn’t think it could get any worse. But then Clint Hastings walked into the room and insulted her.
Her arch nemesis from high school is no longer a nerdy computer whiz, masturbating to pictures in PC World magazine in his free time (allegedly). He’s grown up to be a hot-as-hell cowboy, and she has no other choice but to be a smart ass right back to him. After all, it’s what they do. It’s what they’ve always done, and twelve years apart hasn’t changed anything.
Only this time, getting under each other’s skin is a hell of a lot more fun than it used to be.
A standalone romantic comedy with a lot of heart
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This is the PERFECT book for fall! If you’ve been wanting to fall in love at a pumpkin farm (and I mean, who hasn’t) this is your story. It has all the Tara Sivec laughs and feels- with one beautiful location that I now want to visit (she told me it’s fake, but I don’t think I believe her). The Simple Life will leave you longing for your own fall farm- and a sexy cowboy to run it. 🙂
After reading Just My Type, I had to go back and read The Simple Life and oh am I glad I did! Brooklyn was an amazing and complex character that made me want to rip my hair out because of some of the stuff she said but she quickly grew on me and won a piece of my heart.
Clint was oh so swoony in his own smart Alec way that made me laugh. There was one part where the book totally made my stomach drop and I couldn’t believe the feels. Such a great ROM COM that made sure there was the perfect placement of laughter, heat, and heart ache.
Tara Sivec is one of my favorite writers of romantic comedy, so I knew that I would love The Simple Lifexad. It’s a wickedly funny and completely swoony enemies-to-lovers romance with a sexy single dad, a sassy journalist, two precious little girls, a thriving pumpkin farm and an abundance of small-town charm. Brooklyn and Clint were teenaged nemeses, who haven’t seen each other in 12 years but are now back in their small hometown of White Timber, Montana. They immediately resume their verbal jabs and constant bickering, but their interactions feel much different as years of ignored sexual tension create a powder keg that is ready to blow at the smallest spark. They’re mesmerizing to watch as they try to ignore their growing attraction and rapidly evolving feelings. I loved every minute of this hugely entertaining and thoroughly heartwarming story. It’s the perfect October treat!
Recommendation appeared @ USA Today’s Happy Ever After on October 23, 2018
ARC provided, but this review was voluntarily and honestly written.
Can I get an amen? Another winner for this author! Another sweet, funny, and romantic book that everyone can enjoy and devour from start to finish.
I love these characters. They are ALL perfect in every way. Their snark, their wit, their compassion. Everything is there. It all adds to the overall chemistry between all of the characters. The writing, as always, is on point. I could totally feel the connection with everyone in every direction.
The angst and wit in this book are my favorite. The laughs and sexual tension made the book. I anticipated that moment where everything would finally click between Clint and Brooklyn. I knew it would be explosive and then the unicorns would just rain down afterwards. Once these two finally exploded together, I could here Audrey Luna hit that high A that’s above the high C. (In case you didn’t know, that A is the highest note ever sang in opera history.) I might have even seen some fireworks in all of their colorful glory. Was there porno music playing too? Maybe.
I loved every last character. Clint’s girls? Awesome. Clint’s sister? Fantastic. Brooklyn’s dad? Perfect. Clint’s nanny/housekeeper? Sublime. They all play an important part in this story. They help make the story the wonder that it is.
Hold on tight. Mrs. Sivec is about to deliver another book full of laughs and love. I hope you are ready for it!
Brooklyn left her tiny Montana home town right after high school. She wanted to make it in New York City. And she did. She’s writing for the world’s biggest fashion magazine. She’s going to the best parties and has a great boyfriend. Or … she kinda HAD all those things.
After a tiny little incident that landed her in the gossip mags, she’s now back home at her dad’s place in Montana.
She’s not staying forever – obviously. But she needs a job. Which she finds at her childhood’s best friend Ember’s family’s pumpkin farm. Which is also the family farm of her childhood’s nemesis Clint. Aka the boy she kinda loved since kindergarten.
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But she won’t be picking any pumpkins … nope… It’s much worse …
Let the fun times begin ….
What will happen with Brooklyn & Clint??
Will we get a happily ever after??
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT!
LOL!
That was hilarious!
And adorable and cute and cowboyish and pumpkinish and … just adorable.
I finished it in one day – I just kept on reading. I couldn’t stop.
Clint and Brooklyn are so cute with all their bickering and insulting – you just see the sparks flying around them. They’ve been flying around them since they met in Kindergarten! They’re just a bit stubborn to see it… But they will!
And those kids are adorable too and Clint’s sister and Brooklyn’s dad and his lady-friend!
All so very adorable and hilarious. But we also have a few very moving and heartbreaking moments.
This was the perfect rom-com for a boring weekend – I just adored everything about it!
And I need this to be on Netflix or Passionflix asap!
THE SIMPLE LIFE was such an adorably hilarious Cowboy-Nanny-RomCom! I loved it! Hurry to your nearest amazon for your own Clint … this one is MINE!
“Tara Sivec knows rom-coms. The Simple Life has it all, the fun family and hilarious laugh out loud moments while making me swoon over Clint and Brooklyn’s fun banter and sexy connection. 5 super fun stars!”
ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review
Woohoo – that is always my reaction when I get a new Tara Sivec story on my kindle.
She is back to her rom-com best with The Simple Life. It is a adorable, and cute and full of all things pumpkin that are not spice!
I love the love/hate things that Clint and Amy have Brooklyn have going. I love that they have history and this snarkiness goes back a lifetime.
Fighting is foreplay with this pair! I loved that beneath all the snarky (and sometimes mean) comments, you can feel all the feels they have for each other.
There are a couple of characters that will delve their way right into you heart – when they don’t have you laughing your butt off. One in particular would be the perfect partner for Gavin from the Chocolate Lovers series – I think Ms Sivec needs to make that happen.
It is not all fun and games though. There are some sad and poignant moments that made my eyes leak a little bit.
A fun, flirty and enjoyable read. I can’t wait to see what Ms Sivec brings us next.
The Simple Life by Tara Sivec
Published: October 19, 2018
Tara Sivec
I purchased this book on Amazon.
Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when all three of them become adults and move out.
“A really, really dirty Hallmark movie.”
Brooklyn was living her dreams as a journalist for the fashion magazine. She was attending fancy events, rubbing elbows with celebrities, and getting serious with her boyfriend of six months. Until she wasn’t, now, she is back in her small hometown, doing a job she is vastly unqualified for and being confronted with a nerd wearing khaki pants.
I love Brooklyn’s narratives, and her inner dialogue is hilarious. Something you can count on with Tara’s work is that there is always a heartfelt lesson hiding among the curse words and peens. This book did not disappoint.
I enjoyed the small-town girl made it big in the biggest city atmosphere, and I enjoyed the coming back home to your roots twist. The aspect of family, not just by blood but by choice, was also a major win for me.
Tara has the most brilliant ability to write such genuine emotions into her characters, and she brings them to life in such a realistic way. Every character, major and minor, will remind you of someone you know. And that is amazing.
This is such a deliciously charming story about overcoming loss and allowing yourself to be happy. Bravo!
This was a fun story to read. Some painful moments, but for the most part, funny and laugh out loud! Fun characters in a quirky community!
There was nothing about this book I didn’t like!
Frenemies to lovers, single dad romance done so well. It was extremely funny, with amazing banter and a slow build up to their relationship. Made all the better with two adorable girls, and other secondary characters with sass.
Clint is Brooklyn’s best friends brother, and they had a unique way of conversing as kids…. slinging insults at each other constantly. It was never taken to a hurtful level and it’s quite clever and witty what they say about the other. Now as adults, they just slip back into that roll once Brooklyn comes home to look after her dad.
The chemistry between them was on fire and I loved all the names they had used to out wit the other. Nothing felt forced or over the top (well Brooklyn is crazy but funny crazy). Highly recommend this one when you’re in need of a good laugh / snort and need new recipes! Each sounded delicious.
A single Dad rom-com written by the hilarious Tara Sivec…… why am I just reading this now, it’s been out since 2018!!!
With stars in her eyes, after graduating high school, Brooklyn departs her small home town for the glitz and glamor of New York City. She loves it there, she’s has an amazing job, amazing friends, and she gets into all the cool places in town rubbing elbows with celebrities. Everything is great, until it’s not. When her life implodes she heads back home to lick her wounds.
Brooklyn gets a job that has her spending at least part of her days with her childhood best friend’s brother. She and Clint have been throwing jabs at each other their whole lives. He now has two little girls of his own and is running his family farm. As they navigate a bumpy path of finding a way to be around each other, and be civil, both drama and sparks fly.
This read is as romantic as it is absolutely hilarious. This is the perfect book to lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face. I loved everything about this one!
A sweet, heartfelt, and witty story. I loved the banter as unbelievably beautiful chemistry between Brooklyn and Clint. I enjoyed this book.
Small-town rom-com, YAS! If you love Hazel and Gray’s long-standing rivalry in Make Me Lose, then you’ve gotta check out this book by Tara Sivec!
The Simple Life is a stand alone romantic comedy by Tara Sivec. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting in to with this. I was afraid it was going to be a super silly, over the top rom-com. But it wasn’t at all. What a got was a sweet, fun romance that is filled with so much heart. The characters are wonderful and flawed and perfect for each other. This book can be classified as a single dad romance, and maybe as an enemies to lovers romance.
Brooklyn Manning left her tiny home town of White Timber, Montana to go to college in New York and never looked back. She got her journalism degree and was working at Glitz, the largest fashion magazine in the world. She had the perfect job, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect life. Until she didn’t. Until everything came tumbling down around her in a very public way and she had nowhere else to go but back home.
Clint Hastings also left White Timber for the life he thought he wanted. But unlike Brooklyn, he missed his life on the ranch where he grew up. So he went back. Now he is a single father to two beautiful little girls. He’s raising them on the very ranch, in the very house where he grew up.
It’s been twelve years since Clint and Brooklyn have seen each other. They grew up together. Clint is the older brother of Brooklyn’s best friend. Brooklyn and Clint have been trading barbs since elementary school. Clint was Brooklyn’s arch nemesis. Now, as adults, they jump right back into their old habits, trading insults at every opportunity. But, there is such a fine line between love and hate. That daily bantering gives them something to look forward to. It puts smiles on faces that haven’t smiled in far too long.
This book pretty much stole my heart. Clint’s girls were both ornery and adorably sweet. I loved the banter between Clint and Brooklyn. It was obvious right away that there was so much more to what was happening between them. I also loved watching Brooklyn’s transformation. Seeing her truly begin to see her home town, her friends, and her relationship with Clint and his daughters, in a different light. At seeing her realize that she might have found something that had been missing in her life for a very long time.
I also loved watching the way Brooklyn affected Clint’s daughters. They needed her as much as she needed them. And then there is Clint himself. He is sexy and bossy and sweet and swoony and just everything. This man!
I enjoyed this so much. It was such a fun book but also filled with so much more. I highly recommend this and if you decide to give it a chance, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Enemies-to-lovers.
Small town romance.
Single dad.
Check, check, and check.
Three of my favorites all in one story!
This was a fun story set on a pumpkin farm in Montana. A perfect fall read!
Brooklyn and Clint lived to give each other a hard time. It started way back when they were in high school. They didn’t miss a chance to take a jab at each other.
This story is full of witty banter, lots of laughs, and plenty of heart-warming moments with Clint’s daughters. I loved watching Brooklyn’s relationship with them grow stronger throughout the story.
The narrators were not my favorite.
IMHO, the male narrator spoke too fast and lacked emotion. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying this cute and sweet romantic comedy.
This is my 2nd Tara Sivec book via Audible. I listened to Just My Life first, which was hysterical.
The Simple Life had a few humorous moments. I liked both Clint and Brooklyn, but I didn’t think Brooklyn was as funny in this book. I don’t think I liked them together much. It was hard to tell sometimes when they see talking to each other and when they were in their thoughts. I wonder if it had more to do with the narration, or the story? I also didn’t realize the narrators were different for this book than they were for the second book.
I even slowed down the speed at which I normally listen for this book. I felt like the male narrator was speaking in such a way throughout the book, that Clint sounded like he was always talking as fast as he could. It was very distracting. I kept waiting for him to take a deep breath after each section of dialogue. I don’t believe the male narrator showed up until somewhere around chapter 12.
The female narrator’s voice just struck me as being child like. For some reason, I couldn’t quite sync her voice with that of a 30 year old woman. The words of the snark and sarcasm were on point, but the delivery left something to be desired. She did the kids parts really well.
The plot was pretty decent. The supporting characters were both interesting and quirky. If I had listened to this book first, I don’t think if would have listened to Just My Type. The rating I give this book will have to do more with the plot than the narration. I actually spent more time focusing on what was being said in order to prevent myself being completely distracted by the narration.
Maybe because they spent more time talking at each other than to each other.
When life gives you lemons…make Lemon Drop Martinis
It’s amazing how much you can learn to appreciate a simple life when at one time it was your worst nightmare. I think maturity plays a big part in the change of mindset. You finish school with high hopes of making a mark in the world. Any opportunity to have your name in lights is something people dream of achieving. Mind you, it’s all seems great…until it’s not. I look at some of the young starlets under constant scrutiny, and it doesn’t appeal to me at all. I’m now at the stage where I want and dream of a simple life. Where the worst thing to happen in my day is running out of milk for my morning coffee.
In The Simple Life, the heroine of the story came from a small town, then moved to New York for bigger and better things. Brooklyn did get to those bigger and better things until a punch in the face brings her back to earth…and back to where she ran from. At first, Brooklyn feels like her world has ended and she will do anything to get back to New York. I loved seeing her mindset adjust, especially with the help of two little girls and their sexy dad.
Clint can’t believe his sister’s childhood friend is back in town. He was once a nerdy computer geek who thought Brooklyn was way out of his league. Clint is still a little nerdy but because of all of the manual labour he does on his farm, he has the hot bod to go with it. Brooklyn is still out of his league, but the hot bod seems to have caught her attention. Maybe, this is their time. With a wee bit of help from his mischevious daughters, he might be able to convince the city girl that the simple life is a good life.
In typical Tara Sivec fashion, there were plenty of belly laugh moments, a wee bit of sexy times and a lot of sigh-worthy moments to leave me satisfied. I admit that at first I was worried that it would be too funny bordering on silly, but once it settled down, I was thoroughly entertained. The characters were delightful, the storyline kept me entertained and the second chance at love was perfectly paced.
If you haven’t tried a Tara Sivec I highly recommend giving The Simple Life a try.
In true Tara fashion, this story had me snort-laughing, swooning, and fanning myself throughout the entire book. I instantly fell in love with Clint and Brooke, and the girls were amazing and hysterical. I loved how Brooke used her pain from her mothers abandonment to become a stronger person and helped her bond with the girls.
if you are looking for something light and sassy – this book is for you. i was worried at first that it would get mired down in all the past history, highschool angst of the main character, however, the writing was a fine balance of backstory and present action. a funny, laugh riot of not taking yourself too seriously. bravo.
If you love reading about small town living that will have you laughing out loud, then this is the perfect book for you. Clint and Brooklyn have always cared about each other, but you wouldn’t know it by what comes out of their mouths. This book had me laughing out loud many times from their bantering, lol. When Brooklyn returns home to Montana, after losing her job, she moves in with her dad. He’s just had heart surgery. He gets her a job on the Hastings farm, but he fudges what her job will be. Imagine Brooklyn’s surprise when she comes face to face with Clint, after all these years. Brooklyn is going to be his daughter’s nanny. I read this book in one sitting because I just had to see who was going to win the money from the town betting on when Brooklyn and Clint would get busy.