Show Time

Show Time is book 1 in the Juniper Ridge series by Tawna Fenske. 4.5 stars Building a sustainable town and part of a TV show, starts with Dean, CEO and his siblings are looking for a CFO and they hire Vanessa but there’s an instant attraction between Dean and Vanessa which they try to ignore. When trouble starts and it’s threatening Vanessa, Dean will do whatever to keep her safe… I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my

3.75 stars--SHOW TIME is the first instalment in Tawna Fenske’s contemporary, adult SHOW TIME romance series. This is CEO Dean Judson, and financial advisor Vanessa Vincent’s story line. Juniper Ridge is a spin off from the author’s Ponderosa Resort series. Told from dual first person perspectives (Dean and Vanessa) SHOW TIME follows the building romance and relationship between CEO Dean Judson, and financial advisor Vanessa Vincent. Dean Judson, and his siblings bought land in Juniper Ridge, Oregon once owned by the controversial cult BONK (Benevolent Order of the New Kingdom) and with it they have plans to film a reality show focusing on a community of single men and women looking for love. Hiring a treasurer and CFO finds Dean Judson considering one-time childhood TV star turned financial consultant Vanessa Vincent, a woman who stirs something deep within our story line hero but not all is well at Juniper Ridge when a series of threatening emails, gifts and bloody photos take aim at our storyline heroine. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Vanessa and Dean, and the potential fall-out when issues of trust threaten to tear the couple apart, and the intimidation turns personal and deadly. The relationship between Dean and Vanessa is one of immediate attraction but neither one is looking for a permanent relationship having loved and failed in the past. Vanessa believes an affair with Dean could threaten her job at Juniper Ridge but Dean sees an opportunity to enjoy one another for as long as they can. Secret rendezvous lead to intimate nights that soon become fodder for someone hoping to destroy our storyline heroine. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. We are introduced to Dean’s wacky and wonderful family including sisters Lana, Lauren and Mari, brothers Gabe, and Cooper; café managers/computer hackers Colleen and Patti, police lieutenant Amy Lovelin; Vanessa’s twin sister Valerie, and Roughneck the dog. SHOW TIME is a story of family, betrayal, obsession and love. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the characters are colorful and dynamic; the romance is sexy and hot…but I failed to ‘see’ the comedic aspect of a story where issues of trust, and threats of a personal and dangerous nature set the tone for the premise. I guess one person’s comedy, is another person’s tragedy.

"You can definitely have pets in your cabin. As many as you like, dogs or cats or zebras or pterodactyls." ⁣ Show Time is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed listening to it and will be reading more from her. ⁣ Dean and his family have purchased a property and are running with a concept to turn the property into a community and making it a reality show. Vanessa joins the community as the CFO and right from the beginning there is chemistry between Dean and Vanessa. They try to ignore their attraction to each other but it is just too strong. ⁣ This was an interesting combination of romantic comedy and suspense with a forbidden element. The chemistry between Dean and Vanessa was undeniable from the beginning and the tension became thick leading up to them giving in. I can not wait to see how this series plays out. ⁣ Sebastian York and Emma Wilder did a great job of bringing the story and characters to life and making it feel like you are part of the story.