To Each His Own

This is the first book I read by this author. I will definitely read more of her books The characters are believable. I highly recommend this book.

This is my first book by River Ames and I really enjoyed it. Even though it is not a long novel, she had my attention from the beginning. Matthew and Grace are well developed and the plot kept me reading way too late. It was hard to put down. I love sweet and clean romances and this one fit the bill. I highly recommend it!

I received a free copy of this book, thank you to both the publisher and the author. All opinions are my own.

I stopped reading romance novels a long time ago. Somehow, as I got older, the sex scenes became superfluous, something that simply took away from the story and my enjoyment. I believed clean romances were boring compared to steamy, sexy reads, having read both Barbara Cartland and Johanna Lindsey as I was growing up (Harlequin (before they split into different subgenres), Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Lynn Kurland, Julia Garwood, Janet Daily, and Nora Roberts were also part of my romance tutelage). To Each His Own is my first clean romance to see if I still enjoy the genre, and if I might like sweet, clean reads.

I have to say, I’m glad I chose it. River Ames knocked it out of the park, convincing me that a clean read can be just as steamy and fulfilling as any other romance novel. Her characters and situations were believable, understandable, and identifiable. We’ve all said or done the wrong thing, causing the other person to withdraw, and missed their presence in our lives terribly. It was easy to be sympathetic with Grace’s concerns and subsequent depression, because we’ve all been there at least once. It was easy to imagine Matthew’s turmoil and, later, anger. I wanted to smack them both a few times, and I rolled my eyes, and I was sad. I felt along with them, something for which the dual perspective was fantastic. It was intriguing and fascinating to see the thought process of both sides. I really enjoyed that.

I felt Jason and Brian could have been involved more as proper secondary characters. It was almost as if they were relegated to tertiary, so the focus was only on Grace and Matthew’s relationship. However, their relationships with each boy was hinted at in passing to be just as important to them. A few more scenes showing the growth of those relationships, and of the boys’ relationship would only have enriched the story. It was as if they were afterthoughts, when the writing pointed to them being extremely important to their parent.

The lack of any other substantial characters made perfect sense, showcasing the loneliness both Grace and Matthew felt since the death of their spouses. Their situations mirrored each other’s quite a bit, moving closer to the grandparents after the death, their close, caring relationship with their child, having a strong work ethic but putting their child first, so as not to work too much, and their willingness to do what benefited their sons, especially in regards to the feud between their families that should have been put to bed 10 years ago.

Thanks to this book, I will be returning to a genre I enjoyed, and reading more clean romances, including further books by Ms. Ames.

4.5/5 stars

This is my 2nd River Ames book and I thought it wasn’t bad but at the same time, thought it could’ve been better. Both Grace and Matthew are good characters – to a point. Both come with a lot of baggage, some shared history and both suffered the loss of loving spouses leaving them single parents. Of the two, I thought Matthew was the more well-developed and mature while Grace came off as a very silly woman way too many times. In my opinion, adding a little more “heat” to their relationship would have added so much to the story. I kept waiting for the author to really explore the depth of their physical attraction and the difficulty widowed parents face with dating and finding love and passion the second time around – especially with kids old enough to know what’s going on. The misunderstandings and miscommunication between Grace and Matthew dragged on a little too much for such a short book and I would definitely have liked less of that … it was slightly annoying and I found myself thinking that someone should give Grace a good shake and tell her to stop being an idiot. Other than their two sons, none of the supporting characters added much to the story. A best girlfriend/confidante for Grace and a brother or good buddy for Matthew would both present excellent opportunities to write both of these main characters more fully. This story has “good bones” but needs just a little more to make it truly outstanding.

A cute entertaining story. Years before, Matthew and Blake were rivals and competed against each other at just about every level. Fast forward to a decade or more and now Matthew is a widow and Blake has passed away. Matthew has returned to his home town to raise his 10 year old son in a better environment. Coincidentally, Blake’s widow is the school principal – and her 10 year old son is not getting along with Matthew’s son. During the course of events, the tables are turned and it’s the boys that do their best to get Matthew and Blake’s widow to get along.