Title: At Arm’s Length (Love in the Suburbs 2)
Author: D.E. Haggerty
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Book Blurb:
Jackson Schmidt is the biggest jerkity jerk ever. They should totally erect a statue to commemorate his jerkityness, jerkdom— Uggh! There are literally not enough words for ‘jerk’ to depict the man.
Unfortunately, Jackson is also the most gorgeous specimen of manhood I’ve ever laid eyes on. One look at him and I want to jump and climb him like a tree. But whenever he opens his mouth, his status as the biggest bastard on the planet is immediately reinstated. It’s impossible for the man to say anything remotely nice – at least not to me. To my best friend, though? To her, he’s Mr. Perfect Gentleman. Did I mention he’s carrying a torch for my engaged best friend?
My libido does not give one flying hoot Jackson is a dick who has a crush on my bestie. Nope. Not at all. No matter how much of a schmuck the man is – and trust me he takes schmuck to the next level – I continue to pant after him like a nerdy freshman crushing on the prom king. If I want to keep my sanity, I’m going to have to keep Jackson at arm’s length.
Sanity is totally overrated.
My Review:
Shelby has a big problem. Her hormones think she’s in love with Jackson. No matter how much she tries to convince them otherwise, they turn her body into goo whenever he’s around. She combats these feelings through snarky comments and eye rolling. He’s a jerkity-jerk whenever he gets the chance. There’s no way he likes her. Right? But men can be sneaky about feelings and when their pent-up feelings make you feel oh-so-satisfied, what’s a woman to do? Can Shelby let down her walls and let Jackson in? More importantly, can Jackson show her how fantastic love can be or will he break her heart into a million pieces?
D.E. Haggerty has hit it out of the park with this one. I am not a big enemies-to-lovers romance reader. Most of the time, authors go overboard with the hatred and there’s not enough love part (i.e. the couple gets together at the very end). But in At Arm’s Length, D.E. Haggerty weaves the ‘enemy’ part of the story with the ‘lovers’ part in plenty of time. The sparring isn’t too spiteful which I thoroughly enjoyed. The inner dialogue of Shelby made me laugh uproariously throughout the book. This book is spicier than I’m used to in Haggerty’s books, but I enjoyed it. Well-written with endearing characters, delicious romantic tension, an overload of snarkiness and heart-pounding love. There’s also Grandma Nancy matchmaking prowess at work and you know I love me some Grandma Nancy. Highly recommend!
Favorite Character/Quote:
Shelby. I loved her in About Face (book 1) and I was thrilled when she got her own book. She’s feisty, snarky but 100% lovable. She had an artificial limb but doesn’t let it stop her from grabbing life by the balls and having a helluva time. Watching her continually try to talk herself out of falling for Jackson was so. much. fun. A role model but not in a Stepford way. Relatable. Honest.
My Rating: 5 stars
Buy it Now:
Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0817WP19K
Amazon CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0817WP19K
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0817WP19K
Author Biography:
I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic before returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where, in between tennis matches and failing to save the world, I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.
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Reviewed by: Mrs. N