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| Harlequin |
Susan Mallery
2013
The Summary
"He won't hesitate to put his life on the line...but will he ever risk his heart?
"Falling for Justice Garrett was a high point in Patience McGraw's otherwise awkward adolescence. Even after he disappeared, Patience never forgot the boy who captured her heart. Now, he's back in Fool's Gold, California, and her passion for him is as strong.
"When bodyguard Justice Garrett was a young man, witness protection brought him to this idyllic town and he never forgot its warmth, or the sweet beauty of his childhood friend. He's returned to open a defense academy, and the Patience he once knew is all grown up. He can't resist her smile, or her curves. But Justice's past doesn't make him husband, or father, material.
"Patience and Justice think they'll succumb to just one kiss...then one more...Okay, just one night together. But they might learn that falling in love is beyond anyone's control."
The Good
I've read other books in the Fool's Gold series starting with the second book and bouncing around to different books at different times, not really realizing it all fell into place in one tiny town in California. Like Almost Perfect and Chasing Perfect and Finding Perfect (and approximately 20 other novels), Just One Kiss is a sweet little romance with nicely depicted characters - who are perfectly imperfect, like most in the Fool's Gold series - and adequate amounts of suspense.
I liked falling back into Fool's Gold. It's a quirky little town with a cast of characters that runs a mile long, but I imagine it's not a bad place to live. I liked Justice and Patience, because they seemed like genuinely nice people, and I liked their story. It wasn't the best romance I've ever read, but it was an enjoyable trip into their world.
It wasn't bad; it wasn't great. It falls somewhere in between, becoming a quick escape into a mostly perfect world - and, honestly, it's nice to see good things happen for a change. (Unlike in A Game of Thrones.)
The Bad
Like most romance novels, Just One Kiss follows a familiar plot: boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love, boy and/or girl believe they can't remain in love, boy or girl leaves but then realizes their mistake and quickly returns. Granted, circumstances and names and plot points will change - Justice Garrett, for instance, was in witness protection; his dad was the reason he couldn't stay; and Patience is a single mom - but, at it's core, Mallery's novel has a similar plot.
However, I enjoyed Just One Kiss regardless. It's familiarity was comforting, it's story was interesting enough to hold my attention, and it was easy to finish in a matter of hours. Maybe it fell into the same rut as many romance novels, but I still enjoyed it.
The Ugly
Families aren't perfect: sometimes, parents make mistakes - and, sometimes, Dad is a criminal who plots his revenge against the child who testified against him in court.
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