Loving You Is Easy by Wendy S. Marcus
Loveswept
Romance
Published December 9, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Why I picked up this book:
I really liked the blurb and the premise of a quiet, respectable, good girl type going for it with the soldier she's met by being pen pals.
Blurb:
She’s a survivor of the front lines of politics. He’s a wounded soldier returning home from the battlefield. Can they place their trust in the power of love?
Nobody plays the role of perfect politician’s daughter better than quiet, respectable math teacher Brooke Ellstein. But she won’t be caught swimming with the sharks again, not after the son of a wealthy donor sinks his teeth into her and gets away with it. Still, political connections have their perks, such as heading up the governor’s “Support Our Troops” pen-pal initiative—and getting first dibs on the smoking-hot sergeant whose picture shakes her right down to her goody-two-shoes.
When corresponding with sweet, classy Brooke, Shane Develen instinctively hides his commando tattoos and blue-collar roots—and he can tell that she’s hiding something, too. But Shane knows he’s gained her trust when Brooke gives him a blisteringly sexy photo. Then he’s injured in an ambush and a fellow soldier posts the snapshot online. Overnight, Brooke’s reputation turns to ashes. Even though he’s totally wrong for her, Shane shows up on Brooke’s doorstep, determined to set things right—and discovers that right or wrong has nothing on the chemistry they share.
My thoughts:Nobody plays the role of perfect politician’s daughter better than quiet, respectable math teacher Brooke Ellstein. But she won’t be caught swimming with the sharks again, not after the son of a wealthy donor sinks his teeth into her and gets away with it. Still, political connections have their perks, such as heading up the governor’s “Support Our Troops” pen-pal initiative—and getting first dibs on the smoking-hot sergeant whose picture shakes her right down to her goody-two-shoes.
When corresponding with sweet, classy Brooke, Shane Develen instinctively hides his commando tattoos and blue-collar roots—and he can tell that she’s hiding something, too. But Shane knows he’s gained her trust when Brooke gives him a blisteringly sexy photo. Then he’s injured in an ambush and a fellow soldier posts the snapshot online. Overnight, Brooke’s reputation turns to ashes. Even though he’s totally wrong for her, Shane shows up on Brooke’s doorstep, determined to set things right—and discovers that right or wrong has nothing on the chemistry they share.
Loving you Is Easy was not at all what I was expecting. This contemporary romance about a pair of twenty-somethings felt like it *could* actually happen in the twenty-first century. Instead of being a glossy, romanticized version of reality, this book looked at how politics, religion, social media, family, social class and distance can impact love.
The biggest strength of the book was in the consistency and commitment of the characters. Both Shane and Brooke had traits that made you want to shake them. Shane can be both entirely sweet and endearing, vulnerable and sexy, but he can also be an angry, insulting jerk. Brooke was a sweetheart - but to the point of being a pushover. She avoided conflict, put herself last and made you want to give her a kick in the butt. While they both have a lot of growth across the book, I think that they remain constant to these core traits. This was a huge, huge plus for me. It gave the book emotional depth and an element of realism.
There is some heat in this book - sex is one of the conflict points between Shane and Brooke - and all the sex scenes were a pleasure to read (ha ha). I thought they were, like the rest of the story, realistic and appropriate for twenty-somethings in love in today's society. That sounds a lot more formal than I really mean for it to sound, but the point stands.
The escalation of the scandal Brooke finds herself involved in when her snapshot ends up online was terrifying and undoubtedly is happening to some poor woman somewhere in the world right now. I don't want to spoil the twists and turns of the book, but suffice to say that the plot read as pretty plausible to me. Brooke's family background is a little wealthier and more powerful than the average family, of course, but the heart of it - a career-focused father and a mother who wants to control the course of her daughter's life - isn't limited to only the upper-upper class.
It seems to me that there's room for a sequel focused on Brooke's best friend, and I'd absolutely be on board for that.
Bottom line:
Absolutely grab this one if you're at all intrigued by the blurb. I think it's a lot more emotional than I expected, more realistic, and somehow more hopeful for it, if that makes any sense. Please, check it out and let me know what you think in the comments!
4.5 stars
For fans of contemporary romance, soldier stories, scandals
But don't just take my word for it! I grabbed a few links to other blog reviews of Loving You Is Easy:
Crystal Blogs Books
Reading Bliss
Ramblings From This Chick
Thank you so much for this great review! I'm so glad you enjoyed Loving You Is Easy. And yes! Neve is getting a book. I'm working on it now. The title is Loving You Is Everything and it will release in October 2015.
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