I feel a little conflicted on this book. This was my first book to read by this author and I won a copy of the book on a Facebook giveaway. She seems like a nice person and I feel bad that I didn't totally love the book. There were some things that I did like and some things that I didn't like as much.

This was the story of Chloe and Derrick. Chloe owns a bakery and is best friends with Harlow, who is married to Nate, who is best friend with Derrick. Chloe has had a crush on Derrick since she met him. They often are in social situations together because of Nate and Harlow. Derrick is a single dad to a little girl, Eliza, and has a bad relationship history due to his crazy ex-wife. He dates a lot but doesn't have relationships and doesn't ever want to get married again. He is not interested in Chloe or even see her as anything but an aquaintance/somewhat friend. But Chloe doesn't know how uninterested in her he is and she asks him out only for him to shoot her way down and tell her he just wants to be friend. She decides to get over him and start internet dating and that is when Derrick starts to notice her. He starts to realize he could be interested in her and when he shows an interest, she jumps at the chance and their relationship develops from there. There is some drama with his ex-wife, but their relationship is fairly smooth sailing once they do get together.

What I did like:

- I really liked Chloe's character. She was sweet, funny and a good friend. She was a catch really. I felt bad for her when Derrick didn't see her as more than a friend. I kind of felt like she deserved better than him. She deserved someone who saw how awesome she was from the minute they met her.

- I liked the small town setting, the bakery, etc.

- I liked Eliza. She was cute and true to life.

- I liked Nate and Harlow's characters. Harlow was a really sweet friend to Chloe.

- Once Derrick decided that he wanted Chloe, he treated her well and was all about her. Towards the end of the book, I did feel their connection and think they were good together.


What didn't quite work for me:

-I didn't like how Derrick acted for the first 40-ish% of the book. I did not understand why he never thought Chloe was cute or was attracted to her for over a year after he met her (yet his nickname for her was Sunshine, so why not?). Until one day out of the blue, he suddenly noticed her. He just struck me as kind of jerk. I didn't get what Chloe liked so much about him or why women threw themselves at him. What made him so special? Then, when they did get together, I didn't feel like I could trust his feelings for her because I wasn't sure he really saw how great she was.

- I didn't like that Chloe was kind of a doormat for him. He turned her down several times and she came back for more. Once he told her he wanted her, she jumped at the chance. I kind of wanted her to move on to someone who appreciated her.

- The pacing of the book was kind of off for me. The first 40% of the book was Chloe liking Derrick and him friend-zoning her. Then, once he decided he wanted her, within a few days they were telling each other they loved each other. I know they had known each other for over a year but it still seemed unrealistic.

-Their sexy scenes were kind of mechanical and bland.

Bottom line:

Overall, I did like parts of the book and the writing was good. I am curious about Harlow and Nate's story so I will read more from this author in the future.