Title: Craft
Series: The Gibson Boys #2
Author: Adriana Locke
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 14, 2018
Blurb
They’re not quite enemies. Not really friends. More like frustrated balls of sexual tension and neither will give in.
Lance Gibson drives Mariah Malarkey absolutely crazy. He uses her office like a phone booth, takes cupcakes from the corner of her desk like she baked them just for him. She didn’t. Maybe she knew the history teacher happened to love peanut butter icing, but that was purely a coincidence. All sixteen times.
Mariah has a way of getting under Lance’s skin too. She calls him out on his crap, spoils him even if inadvertently, and seeing the librarian in skirts drives him wild. She won’t give in. It’s for the best, really, considering there’s no way he could lie to a woman like that and he’s not about to tell her the truth about himself. Not in a million years.
These two don’t hate each other. They don’t really like each other. But for this to be a friends-to-lovers story, they have to start somewhere, right?
Note: This can be read as a standalone novel.
I've been anticipating this book since finishing Crank. This is part of a series for this author-but it can absolutely be enjoyed as a standalone. This book had me chuckling, made me misty-eyed and had me falling in love. I enjoyed each step of Lance and Mariah's journey.
I love the way these two came together. I thought it was fun and very well done. Is there more to this story than just a hot history teacher falling for the sexy librarian? Yes, yes there is. Lance and Mariah have something special and I loved seeing them figure each other, and themselves, out.
Mariah had me smiling. She is absolutely the type of person I would hang out with in real life. Smart, kind and a sassy side under it all? I love it! She has some issues she's dealing with and while some had me shaking my head, I applauded how she dealt with them.
Lance. Oh, my Lance. This man is a great book boyfriend. Funny, sweet, and a killer sexy mouth. I liked seeing Lance discover more about himself on this journey. I loved his character growth.
The chemistry between these two snaps and sizzles, even when they don't initially realize it. There's just that something extra between them. This might be one of my favorite first kiss scenes, ever. I loved seeing them figure out what they had in each other, it was a fun and emotional journey all in one.
The supporting characters mostly had me smiling. I love the Gibson family and I adore Mariah's friend, Whitney. There were times I didn't love some other people in Mariah's life but watching her come to terms with them was immensely satisfying.
The writing was great, the pacing really worked. I loved the give and take between Mariah and Lance and adored every moment we got to spend with Nana and the Gibson family. This book had quite a few lines that made me pause and really think about what the author was saying through the character. Those moments really resonated with me personally and I loved it.
As I mentioned, this is book two of the Gibson Boys series but it can absolutely be read as a standalone. I loved this book and would absolutely recommend it.
The librarian and the playboy. The serious and the frivolous. The focused and the scattered. Is this a match or are they 2 people with an attraction that they are not able to work? They flirt, but both know (or do they) that it's just flirting, and baked goods, and that this relationship isn't going anywhere.
Or is it? Are they possibly more compatible than they thought?
I liked the story of the relationship between Lance and Mariah, overall. There were a few moments that I didn't completely believe the actions of the characters and I was not sure I thought that real people would behave this way, but at the same time, it worked for the lighter feel of the story.
There were some more serious moments, and chances for them to each see the other as more than the playboy and the librarian, and there were times where they were allowed to be lighter and happier.
I thought the writing in this book was fairly strong. The dialogue flowed well, and the pacing was good. As I mentioned, there were a couple of things that I didn't totally believe (being too specific is a spoiler) but it didn't stop me from enjoying the title overall.
I recommend this title and I am looking forward to the next Gibson boys novel.
Purchase Links
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Also Available
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Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket.
For sneak peeks, giveaways, and more, please join Adriana's Facebook Group, Books by Adriana Locke, or her Goodreads group, All Locked Up.
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