Betting on Julia by Nina Croft

The Basics:
Betting on Julia by Nina Croft
Entangled: Covet
Book Two in the Melville Sisters series
Paranormal Romance
Published August 25, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

Werewolf/warlock love story, where they're keeping their supernatural status a secret from each other, trying to feel normal by dating someone normal? I'm in!


Blurb:

Small, blonde, bubbly, and with a penchant for all things pink, Julia Melville has always considered herself a nice girl – until she was attacked by a werewolf. Months later, and still in total denial, Julia spends the time between full moons fantasizing that her life is normal. And who could be better to help her with that than her new neighbor, handsome accountant, Sebastian Crane.

For two hundred years, Sebastian, a powerful warlock, has been possessed by a demon. Each day, his soul grows darker, and he knows that soon he will be beyond salvation. But the demon loves to gamble, and he’s made Bastian one final bet—get a good woman to say the words “I love you” and he’ll be free.

Julia wants a normal guy. Bastian needs a good woman. Maybe together they can find something far more valuable…redemption.

My thoughts:

Betting on Julia was an okay read. I know, lukewarm praise, right? It's solidly written, and I found the romance believable, I just wasn't... I don't know, engaged, I guess.

I think I just couldn't get a fix on Julia. She presented this facade of being a real girly girl with fuzzy pink sweaters and manicures and shopping trips. But she was also a journalist who interviewed politicians and who was very independent. If she was entirely fluffy, I would have been really put off. As it was... I don't know.  I just didn't connect with her and that made it hard to really get into this love story.

Bastian was a bit easier to read. Tormented for hundreds of years by the demon that he housed, Bastian wanted freedom, solitude, and to prevent Dante (the demon) from causing too much mayhem. He basically had that dark and brooding thing down, with a double dose of charisma, fighting skills and a dollop of Dom in the bedroom. He really had all the control in this story, despite there being a fair amount of time given to Julia trying to cope with being a werewolf. Reading about Bastian wrestling with how to handle Julia was entertaining at times, but I really wanted to see *him* throw down at some point, and let Julia call the shots for a bit.

The whole business with Dante left me a little confused - mostly because there seemed to be a lot happening off page that Dante was involved with, and I didn't really get a clear picture of what was happening there. Perhaps there'll be additional details in future books in the series? 

Bottom line:

This wasn't a bad paranormal romance, it just didn't make a huge impression on me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and, for me, that connection is really important when I'm reading romance.

Note: at the time of this posting, the book is on sale for 99 cents - I'd say that if you're at all interested, grab it for that price!

3 stars
For fans of werewolves, warlocks and demons, paranormal romance.