Stolen Kisses: A Blushing Bay Novel

This is book 2 of Ms Rains series, Blushing Bay, but if like me , you haven’t read book one, rest assured this is definitely a stand alone and you will be fine. The book centers around Noah Sawyer and Kristal Nelson. They have been best friends since childhood . Kristal has had a crush on him for years, but did not want to lose her friendship if things went further than that. Well, destiny interferes and a night when Kristal had one too many glasses of wine, Noah takes her home and they end up kissing. That was an awakening for Noah, and this leads to a fragile “friends with benefits”. Neither wants to lose the friendship. Besides, Noah has commitment issues due to past experiences he has never divulged. It was fun and touching to see these two interact. The secondary characters, like Adam, one of Kristal’s pediatric patients, Joey, Kristal’s brother and Noah’s brothers were all interesting characters. If you are looking for a sweet ,heartwarming story filled with family and friends, this one is for you. I was gifted this copy by Netgalley and Loveswept. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Noah and Krista have been best friends for their whole lives. He views her as one of the guys and she's been in love with him for as long as she can remember. Her love for him makes sure none of her relationships work and his fear of commitment makes sure he never crosses the line of friendship between them. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes because of the slow burn that usually comes along with it. There is no insta-love. There careful thought and consideration that goes into whether or not a relationship is worth it. Noah has been told by a lot of people that he either won't succeed or isn't the best man for the job which has shaped how he views himself in relationships. The consummate screw up shouldn't risk his life long friendship for something that surely will not work out. Krista is the complete package: smart, loving, successful, and beautiful. Her decision to stop waiting around is what pushes their relationship from strictly friends to so much more. I love every visit to Blushing Bay. This series is sweet, romantic, and engaging. I read this story in one sitting because I wanted to know everything that was going to happen. I was curious about Noah and Krista's relationship from Forbidden Kisses and already pulling for them before their story even started. I can't wait to see what's up next for the Sawyer family!! *This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

First, THANK YOU Random House Publishing - Loveswept for the gifted ARC copy of Stolen Kisses by Annie Rains. I loved every word! This was phenomenal heavy but lighthearted, emotional read. LOTS of romance, and hot in the steam department. I fell in love with the characters Krista and Noah from the very beginning, and kept falling until the very last page. Then, I was upset!! Why? Because the book was over and I had no more of this fabulous book to read. I love a book when the strong, capable hero is unsure of those qualities in himself. The Noah and Krista had to work for the relationship to build. The feelings where Krista were concerned, were there for many years, however, Noah, he almost needed a skillet to hit him in the head to realize he loved Krista. I may have wanted to be the one to hit him with it. Stolen Kisses is the second book in the Blushing Bay series, however, I have not read the first, Forbidden Kisses yet. I plan to remedy that real soon. Ms. Rains’ writing takes the reader into the book really fast, in my opinion. I did not want it to end, the characters are just that engaging. In my opinion, you cannot go wrong choosing this fabulous book if you like romance novels with a happy ending. Thank you for reading my review.