Down With Love (Love Wars #1) by Kate Meader

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Sparks fly when the hot-shot divorce lawyer meets the high-powered wedding planner. The only question is, what kind?

If you ever get married, remember my name: Max Henderson. In my line of work, you acquire a certain perspective on supposedly everlasting unions. . . .

1. Pre-nups are your friend. 
2. The person you married is not the person you’re divorcing. 
3. And I hope you didn’t spend much on the wedding because that was one helluva waste of hard-earned cash, wasn’t it? 

But some guys are willing to take a chance. Like my brother, who thinks he’s going to ride off into the sunset with the woman of his dreams in a haze of glitter on unicorns. And the wedding planner—the green-eyed beauty who makes a living convincing suckers to shell out thousands of dollars on centerpieces—is raking it in on this matrimonial monstrosity. 

The thing is, Charlie Love is not unlike me. We’re both cogs in the wedding-industrial complex. As the best man, I know her game—and I can play it better than her. But after one scorching, unexpected kiss, I’m thinking I might just want to get played.

Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review

I think enemies-to-lovers might just be one of my favourite tropes as I'm sure is the case for so many romance readers. I enjoy the "showmanship" between the characters as they try to one up each other and try to squash any hope of a truce. On the flip side, I also enjoy that moment when well, the switch flips in the other direction and they don't obsess over hating each other as they have been. It's their reaction to this new knowledge that always gets me -- horror, embarrassment, disbelief -- and then they don't even recognize themselves. That anticipation leading up to when they finally admit that something is there is what I love so much.

Down With Love draws two opposites together thanks to a sudden wedding announcement. I don't think there could be a truer demonstration of opposites than Charlie, the wedding planner who wants nothing more than to create the most magical and memorable of days for her clients, and Max, the divorce lawyer, who sees the downside of marriage where that most magical day becomes the most painful memory for his clients. He sees Charlie's job as the ultimate lie that requires him to eventually swoop in to pick up the pieces at the other end. If only they could avoid each other, but no, the smitten groom happens to be Max's brother. Despite their opposing views on marriage, and Max's conflicted feelings about being both happy and weary for his brother, Charlie still gets under his skin. She may have a romanticized view of wedded bliss but she's also quite grounded in general and there's so much there to fall for. Same goes for her.

I had a blast reading Down With Love. Charlie and Max have that chemistry that made me smile and swoon. I've gotten a bit tired lately of uber alpha male heroes and their testosterones so I've have taken a break from those storylines. I was thrilled that Max is not like that. In fact, Meader does a fun thing with Charlie and Max's personalities when it comes to their views on hooking up and trust. I liked that little touch a lot and it just made them more appealing. The other star of the story is Chicago where you're taken on jaunts to the Peninsula, a Cubs game, and other cool areas around town.

Down With Love is a splendid start to the Love Wars series. Meader's side characters are just as fun which is great because they tend to be hit or miss for me. I know I'd like to get to know that cheeky Brit, Lucas a bit better ... nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Congrats, Kate Meader on another sweet, hot and entertaining romance!

~ Bel

French Kissed by Chanel Cleeton Blog Tour

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On the surface, Fleur Marceaux has it all. If only the facade matched reality. With one year left at the International School in London, Fleur’s struggling to graduate, her love life is a mess, and she can’t stop thinking about Max, her ex-boyfriend’s best friend. But all that pales compared to the blackmailer determined to destroy her.

There’s a social hierarchy at the International School and Max Tucker is outside the velvet ropes. After watching Fleur break his friend’s heart, Max knows to stay away from trouble, despite the crush he’s had on her since freshman year. But when they’re partnered on a project, Max learns there’s more to Fleur than meets the eye, and she just might be worth the wild ride.

The more time they spend together, the further Max falls. And when a kiss awakens a passion Fleur never imagined, she’s unable to resist Max, who she had thought was all wrong for her but might be the only thing that’s right. But will he stand by her when her secrets are revealed?

Don’t miss the final book in the International School series. This New Adult romance is recommended for readers 17 and up.

Oh boy, where do I even start? I fell in love with the International School series recently when I read both I See London and London Falling. I just couldn’t get enough of Samir and Maggie in both those books and was sincerely hoping that Cleeton would write another from Samir’s point of view considering the new direction he was undertaking. I didn’t get my wish. However, Cleeton did gift us with a book that’s all about Fleur.

It never occurred to me that Fleur would have an interesting backstory because I was so engrossed with the other two. Well, joke’s on me because there’s so much more to Fleur and in the process of getting to her, I’ve found her to be funny, confident, generous and loyal. 

Her funny side is brought out by her increasingly growing and perplexing attraction to Max, an American and fellow schoolmate. He’s opposite and unlike anyone she’s ever been attracted to. For his part, Max has the same feelings too. However, he’s baffled as to how to deal with this. As far as he has seen, she’s the Ice Queen (a popular moniker he invented for her years ago), high-maintenance, very French and very much out of his league. He has spent so much time trying to dislike her while fighting his crush on her.  When they’re partnered together for a class project, the snark and insults are secondary to all the sparks that fly all over the place. They get slightly defensive as they find themselves in the ridiculous position of being self-conscious around each other. Seeing these two who supposedly hate each other be so awkward around each other is very comical.

One of the highlights is an incredibly steamy pub scene involving Max in a well-tailored suit and a comprehensive lesson on the various bases, American-style. Holy. Hot. Sexual. Tension. Lucky Fleur! No lie – it made me want to take my husband out to get fitted for a suit!

Sexual tension aside, both Fleur and Max are contending with their own things. Fleur has been silently dealing with a blackmailer who won’t leave her alone and Max has to nail down a job or go back to his parents in Chicago with his tail between his legs. Both are incredibly defiant and want to take care of their business on their own terms. They may come from two different worlds but in the end, both of them are defying their families’ low expectations of what they can achieve for themselves. They have great friends standing by their sides which means yes, Samir, Maggie, Mya and George make appearances, which makes me happy!

French Kissed ends this series on a good note. It makes me slightly sad but having been an international student myself once, I thoroughly enjoyed living vicariously through these characters.  They’ve all grown up, discovered their independence and evolved into people they can be proud of. Along the way, these steadfast friends have become the most loving and supportive of families. If you're looking for something with a bit of international flavour, French Kissed and the entire International School series will do it!

~ Bel

Hey, check Chanel Cleeton's giveaway to celebrate the release of French Kissed!