KISS ME is the best Fool’s Gold book yet, in my opinion. And it’s definitely an atypical Fool’s Gold book.
Phoebe has been suspended from her Los Angeles job because she took the fall for her boss. Her tender heart is always getting her into trouble. Her friend Maya urges Phoebe to go back to Maya’s home town and accompany her on a cattle drive her step-brother is organizing. Phoebe is unprepared for how much she loves the country and, unexpectedly, how much she’s attracted to the rugged cowboy leading the group across the Fool’s Gold hills with a bunch of cattle.
Zane Nicholson is conducting a cattle drive for greenhorns against his better judgement, but he needs to teach his kid brother a lesson. So here he is, keeping track of kids, senior citizens, steers, horses, and Phoebe. Why the city girl caught his attention when they’re so obviously wrong for each other is beyond him.
The chemistry between Phoebe and Zane is palpable. The story is engaging and quick. Many elements of the usual Fool’s Gold story are missing. No gabfests at Jo’s Bar. No break-up scene when the hero decides the heroine is better off without him. No night of margarita’s as the heroine’s girlfriends surround her with comfort and tequila. The sex didn’t show up in the first hundred pages. Maybe not even the second hundred. The graphic sex is the one element of Fool’s Gold that I don’t love, so it would have worked for me if Mallery had left it off the page completely. But still, I’ll take what I can get. I think the delay in having sex works for Phoebe and Zane. They are so different, they need the time to get to know each other before acting on their attraction.
And it totally works. I didn’t even miss Jo’s Bar or the margaritas. I loved this one! And now I can’t wait for THRILL ME, coming next month.
**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
Writer of Sweet Small Town Stories of Love and Family 