Caught Up In You

by Kim Boykin
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 104 pages
Series: The Lowcountry Lovers (Book #5)
Format: E-Arc
Source: Publisher (NetGalley)
Heat Level: Sweet & Mild
Release Date: 4/21/2015

After attending her baby sister’s destination wedding, Shelby Worthington decides she’s ready to do some husband hunting of her own. The only problem? She’s still insanely attracted to Declan Enright, her high school and college crush. He’s now a wildly successful painter who’s temporarily back in Magnolia Bay, but Declan should be Shelby’s last choice for possible husband material. He didn’t earn the reputation of runaway groom for nothing…

Declan has worked hard to make his mark on the New York art scene and has succeeded at everything he’s ever done…except love. But Declan has come back to the Bay to change that and care for his dying father, even if he’s still never forgiven Declan for leaving the family business. Shelby is determined to steer clear, but while her lips keep saying no, her heart is pounding out yes each time she and Declan are together. While she can’t deny her attraction, Shelby’s convinced that Declan’s track record means he will break her heart. Or has Declan changed for good, and made love worth the risk?

* Read on for my thoughts, rating, and author/book series information *

* Arc provided by the Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review *

At first, I wasn’t sure what I thought about this book. It was a nice read, but parts of it, flashback memories, took me out of the story. I enjoyed the story and the characters, though I have to admit I found myself connecting to the hero more than the heroine. Of course, the further into the story I read, the more I enjoyed both characters, which makes this a somewhat surprising yet confusing read.

I do feel as if this book could’ve benefited from a bit more fleshing out and deepening of the characters’ personalities, as well as a lessening of backstory drops that takes readers out of the story. Some parts of the book were also more tell than show and almost happened out of nowhere, but I didn’t mind that as much as I did the backstory flashbacks and coincidental plot devices that just kind of confused me.

My favorite part of this read was the hero, Declan, and his thoughts and interactions with his father. There was a lot of great insights into his character and his history in those scenes and I did enjoy those quite a lot. I also enjoyed parts of Shelby with Declan’s father since those seemed the most honest scenes, but the rest of the scenes and characters were just too contrived and felt a bit forced  so the entire book became a kind of paradox really.

Overall, this is an okay read and if you’re looking for a short, quick romance to spend a couple of hours on, this one would be an okay one to try. If you do read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it because mine are still a bit scattered about it.

Publisher | Amazon | Goodreads

Want to read the first chapter? You can by clicking here

The Lowcountry Lovers series
Book 1: Sweet Home Carolina  (Links to Amazon)
Book 2: Flirting with Forever (Links to Amazon)
Book 3: She’s the One (Links to Amazon)
Book 4: Just in Time for Christmas (Links to Amazon)
Book 5: Caught Up in You (Links to Amazon)

Kim Boykin is a women’s fiction author with a sassy Southern streak. She is the author of The Wisdom of Hair, Steal Me and Palmetto Moon. While her heart is always in South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, three dogs, and 126 rose bushes.

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