Charm Me

Charm Me is book 2 in Rom-Com series of Cherry Blossom Lake by Tawna Fenske. Up next is Lucy and Peter’s story of enemies to lovers…and her 12 yr old daughter Harper who sometimes steals the scene! Disgraced and disbarred lawyer Peter becomes a PI and is hired by their Uncle who is suspected of unhanded play against the family. Lucy thinks he is coming on to her to get the low down to clear her uncle…what happens next is a laugh out loud, sexy, mistrustful, messy family, tears and more… I voluntarily read an ebook advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Charm Me is the second book set within the Cherry Blossom Lake Series. The romance reads well alone, but some of the events may be better understood by reading the series in order. Lucy and Peter should be enemies, but neither can resist the pull to one another. As they get to know each other more, they begin to see beyond the facade and walls, but can they trust each other enough to be confident in their love, or will their actions and beliefs continue to land them on opposite sides? Wow, this book was wonderful! I loved reading Lucy and Peter’s romance! There were so many emotions, so many expressions of love and loyalty, and I adored this book from the beginning to the end. I giggled, I cried, and I swooned! Lucy was such a strong character, so sure of herself and her beliefs, ruthless when it came to protecting her family, and I loved her strength and her vulnerability. Peter, though, man oh man, what a character! I loved that he was equally ruthless, felt like he didn’t have a heart and that Lucy just came in like a wrecking ball, ruining his icy facade. He was passionate, he felt undeserving of love, and while he worked for her enemy, he felt conflicted about what he should be fighting for. And we can’t forget to talk about Lucy’s daughter, Harper, because she was a hoot and added a great dynamic to the storyline, too! You guys, there’s a lot that goes on in this book, a lot of tough decisions that the characters need to make, and times when I was thinking “why are you doing this?!” But it’s all worth it in the end, with some surprising twists and turns and serious gestures and self-reflections. The ending was beautiful to read! I loved this book and I am so excited to see what’s going to happen next in this series!

This story was the just the perfect amount of humor, steam, love and spice. The author paints such phenomenal pictures with her words, breathing life into the story as it unfolds. It is so rich and vibrant I felt like I was there with the characters feeling their feelings and experiencing the good and bad parts of the tale. At the center of the story and the series are the core values of family bonds and loyalty and I loved how those core beliefs played out here. Lucy is a single mom to 12 yo Harper and a fraud investigator for a bank. Lucy’s family drama, in addition to a jerk of an ex-husband, relates to her uncle stealing her family land and selling it off piece by piece to the rich. Her uncle has now been accused of arson to cover up the evidence of the actual plan for the family land. Peter is a disbarred attorney who now works as a high priced private investigator. Lucy’s uncle’s attorney has hired Peter to prove the uncle’s innocence which is what brings Peter to town. From the first moment Peter and Lucy meet, sparks fly and every moment that they spend together their connection grows and deepens. They are both wounded souls that really need healing but they both have a lot of protective barriers for each other to break through before they can get to their HEA together. While this is an insta-lust story, it’s not an inst-love story. The author did a phenomenal job allowing this enemies to lovers, forbidden romance to develop organically. And Harper was such a great addition to the story. She may be the most three dimensional child I’ve read in a romance book. Her quips about swearing leading to … made me snort laugh every time. The story was well written with three dimensional characters who grow with sweet moments, steam, laughs, and big ol’ messy families and pasts. I am ready for the next love story in the series.

This was a fantastic book. I seriously don’t think I set it down once I started reading, it was so engaging. I loved how Lucy and Peter met and their banter. They were so entertaining and you could feel the attraction between them from the get go. I loved all the interactions that Peter had with Harper, Lucy’s daughter, and all of Lucy’s brothers. I love the underlying mystery to the story with Lucy’s mother, it adds a little something to the story. I am loving this new series and can not wait for more. I am really looking forward to Zoe’s book next.