Exclusively Yours (Kowalski Family #1)

I loved reading this book! It\’s been sitting on my ebook shelves forever and I never really got around to it. I believe I downloaded it when it was free, so I figured I\’d get to it at some point. I actually downloaded it because it not only sounded good, but one of my friends has a few Shannon Stacey books and really likes them. I figured if she did, then I probably would too! I thought this was a fun book to read. Joe and Keri were high school sweethearts until Keri left and moved across the country. Joe becomes a famous author and he\’s journalist Keri\’s newest assignment. I really loved reading about Joe and Keri\’s high school relationship and seeing how they interact with each other after so many years. There\’s definitely some tension and the relationship is complicated. But watching them work out all of their problems is what makes this a great book. Keri also has a broken relationship with Joe\’s sister, Terry. They were best friends growing up, but Keri then got into the \”popular\” crowd and Terry felt left behind. Not only did I enjoy watching Keri and Joe repair their relationship, but Terry and Keri\’s needed definite repairing as well.There\’s also a really great side story between Terry and her husband, who she\’s currently separated from. We watch Terry struggle begin on her own and coping with without her husband. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who love romances. I read that the next book is about Joe\’s brother Kevin, which I cannot wait to read! He seems like a great character and I\’m really excited for his story. Pagesofcomfort.blogspot.com

This has always been one of my favorite novels by Shannon Stacy. The chemistry between all of the characters is spot on and their ulti storylines are realistic. The reader is not outside the novel, but drawn in from page one. Relating to the characters , feeling like a part of the Kowalski family snd being able to understand and be a part of each different character and their different issues is a great skill the author has. The novel is well written and never slows down. Having read it several times, it is always one on my favorite go to novels. Rating: 4.8

Tried hard with this one, it was listed as a romantic comedy when I down loaded it, today when I am writing this review its listed as humor … there is little to no humor/comedy in it to have it in that category and it\’s more like smut over romance. I tried hard to finish this one but gave up because I was done with wasting my time waiting for it to get better, its boring, bland, childish, and annoying.

I picked up Exclusively Yours after a recommendation on SBTB awhile back. I think there was a fairly enthusiastic review and a promise of humor. However, my experience just proves all those adages about people having different tastes. Exclusively Yours is well written, seems free of typos and editorial fubars, includes a mildly entertaining cast of supporting characters, and features a pleasant hero and heroine who have pleasant but not excessively prurient sex. The premise is that two nice people, Keri and Joe, high school sweethearts whose youthful romance was sacrificed to her career ambitions, reunite in adulthood when her career demands that she interview Joe who is now a bestselling author. Joe challenges her to spend two weeks at his annual family reunion in the New Hampshire woods in exchange for an exclusive but limited interview. The two week getaway has a not terribly surprising result. The upside is that the author doesn\’t find it necessary to humiliate her main characters in the process of getting them together. The downside is that, for some of us, knowing nice people is a lot more interesting than reading about them. My only real objection to this book is the sense that Keri\’s choice of a career over twu wuv in her youth is somehow wrong. The author gives short shrift to the rewards of a successful career in popular journalism and makes that hard won success seem amazingly unappetizing. In contrast, Joe\’s lively extended family seem way too good to be true. Even the family\’s marital \”problems\” seem solvable with with the application of 1950s ladies magazine advice columns. Family as band-aid is a concept that will never fly with me, but I recognize that it\’s due to the settings on my personal BS meter rather than an a flaw intrinsic to this book. I like my family dynamics a little more complex, though I\’m no fan of \”blame the mom\” explanations for some adult\’s bad or sad behavior. In the end, I give Exclusively Yours 3 stars because, though it\’s a waste of space on my Kindle, for readers with different tastes, it may be just the ticket. Hopefully, I\’ve made this clear enough that the reader who would love it will not be put off by the rating or my review.

LOVE!! This is such a cute book! Exclusively Yours is a companion novel with Yours to Keep that I reviewed the other day. About another member of the Kowalski family. I think I liked this even better. I have a soft spot for high school sweethearts and first loves. I also believe in second chances. This fits the bill. Not to mention it made me want to go camping. I liked how even thought Joe and Keri hadn\’t seen each other in years, they practically picked up where they left off. That has always been my sign of a great friend. I also liked the whole family dynamic. What a wonderful American family. Close yet dysfunctional in so many ways. Aren\’t we all like that?! I didn\’t care for Terry and her story. I thought she was petty to bring up stuff from decades before. Still playing the victim after all those years. She seemed petty in all things to me. I could have done without that story and just focused on Joe and Keri. I loved this book and read it last night in bed. It\’s fast and romantic. What\’s not to love?! Quote: \”People sometimes hurt the ones they love trying to protect themselves from being hurt. Love means second chances sometimes.\”

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