Kate Sweden Hooked by You

 

Wilder Horizons Book 3

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243018011

Emme (FMC) works with her sisters for Wilder Horizons a company that provides luxury trips to the wealthy.  When she gets Voluntold by her sister that she needs to secure a partnership with some vendors in Patagonia she is less than thrilled… she’s going from the sunshine state to snow… she better pack extra layers… only when she gets where she’s going her luggage took a detour and the owner of the lodge is less than friendly.

 Luc (MMC) likes his lodge in the middle of nowhere with minimal contact to the outside world… it’s part of the charm so when Emme bursts into his world with big plans for some more modern elements (like Wifi) he is less than thrilled.

But the longer she’s with him the more he can see how she takes charge but is willing to help, she’s a force and she has started to find her way through his cool outer shell. 

The closer she gets to leaving the more he finds that he wants her to stay and when a few disasters strike during their time together will they be able to weather these storms together or will Emme be taking the first flight home.  

This was another enjoyable read in this series I liked the banter and loved how both our characters were drawn to each other but were holding back for various reasons:  she's there for work not a whirlwind relationship with an expiration date,  he's had a big loss in his past and his lodge is his safety/comfort zone Emme disrupts his world in the best possible ways maybe he's been set in stone for too long focusing on the past, while it's 100% ok to take all the time you need to work through your feelings you also still have a life to live it was great to see Emme bring some joy back to his life that maybe had been missing for awhile.

It did take me a bit longer to get into this story maybe it was the long descriptions of the day to day tasks and landscapes. Using different languages scattered in also took me out of the story a bit at times because I was scanning for the English translation of what was said.  I also wasn't completely sure how much time had passed since she had been at his cabin but it was thrown into the story occasionally and I thought she had been there for a lot longer than she was, I guess I might be a bit cynical but I didn't see them completely falling for each other in the week (plus a few days) she had been there (even though they were together for some bigger events) making this more of an insta love story.

I have been truly enjoying this series and I look forward to the next book!    

*Travel romance *Rom- Com *Strangers à more *work trip *French MMC *forced proximity *Grumpy/sunshine *insta lust/love *meddling sisters

*Some spice *ARC Read *mentions of loss of loved ones (in the past)

Annabelle McCormack: One Time in Paris

Wanderlust book 3:  2025 ARC read

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230233510-one-time-in-paris

This is the third book in this series and I haven't read the first two while it is a stand alone I think it would be helpful to start with the first book and read the series in order as the other characters play a big part throughout the book and I was just meeting them for the first time when they came into this book.

To start with Isla (FMC) is currently on vacation in Las Vegas at her friends Bachelorette party she has been running a Villa in Costa Rica (with her mother) that her brother purchased after their mother was struggling financially to keep it going and while she has enjoyed fixing up the place and managing it over the past few years she feels not truly settled and misses home (England).  

While in Vegas she runs into her older brother's best friend Aiden Camden who is there for business he is the CEO and is usually no nonsense all business all the time.  Isla grew up with him and his brothers and never thought of him as more than a friend but when she wakes up in his hotel room in bed with no memory of the night before she worries how she will ever explain this to her brother... maybe he doesn't have to know it was just a one time thing after all.

Aiden struggles throughout the book with trying to seal the deal of an important business transaction the main problem being that the person he was supposed to be dealing with has left the deal to his daughter Lola (who happens to be his toxic on again off again ex girlfriend)... always managing to say the wrong thing with her how is he ever going to close this deal at all?... then to top things off what happened with Isla?  he can't stop thinking about her, he can't remember what happened but something huge apparently happened and now it has followed him back to London on top of which he apparently agreed to finance Isla's friend Davy's travel show project... how much did he even drink?

Isla also having a lot to drink had agreed to be the host of this travel show and not wanting to let her friend down she decides to make this work she does miss being an actress it could be fun... only Aiden thinks the show would be better if she had a "boyfriend" co-host she enlists her sister-in-law's brother only to have her plans over ruled when her brother of all people shows up on set with an old ex-boyfriend... how did he even find out about this?

Aiden finds himself flying back and forth between home and the US for business and while in the US he can't help but stop by to check out how the TV show is going it is his investment after all... and if he gets closer to Isla in the process that's just fine... or is it?... and why is Isla's ex looking so cozy with her?  This is supposed to be acting.  

This was a cute and sometimes funny travel romance, it had likeable characters and side characters the main thing I struggled with was the lies piling up on lies.  I felt that Isla shouldn't have put Aiden in the position to not be able to tell his friend/family about them when he wanted to, I get she didn't feel it was her brother's business but the more people who found out led to it more likely to come out to the brother at a bad time and everyone getting upset that the news was kept hidden in the first place... Isla here got in her own way and caused a lot of her own problems by wanting to hide such a big secret and then having Aiden also hide it so she could figure out "the right time" to tell her brother.  Aiden is also hiding a big secret... gah!  So much drama.

The book spends a lot of time with the miscommunication/no communication trope and again I found myself getting upset with our leads for not just telling everyone already they are all adults if their friends/family are truly supportive they will support their choice to be together as well.  

I enjoyed the travel show aspect and it was a fun way for the characters to interact in different cities called Paris across the US which caused problems for production since most of the cities were small with not much going on... then finally Paris France for the big fabulous ending of the show.  

*miscommunication/no communication  *Brother's best friend  *Billionaire romance

*Travel romance *childhood friends --> More  *what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas  

*forced proximity *lying throughout the book  *spice  *slower burn  *ARC read  

*Drama/family drama/ex drama