Blog Tour - Review: The Look of Love by Bella Andre

Title: The Look of Love

Author: Bella Andre

Publisher: ***

Published: June 13, 2011

Purchase: BookDepository

Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of the rain storm must be too good to be true. Or is he?

As a successful photographer who frequently travels around the world, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women, and whenever he’s home in San Francisco, one of his seven siblings is usually up for causing a little fun trouble. Chase thinks his life is great just as it is—until the night he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley. Not only has he never met anyone so lovely, both inside and out, but he quickly realizes she has much bigger problems than her damaged car. Soon, he is willing to move mountains to love—and protect—her, but will she let him?

Chloe vows never to make the mistake of trusting a man again. Only, with every loving look Chase gives her—and every sinfully sweet caress—as the attraction between them sparks and sizzles, she can’t help but wonder if she’s met the only exception. And although Chase didn’t realize his life was going to change forever in an instant, amazingly, he isn’t the least bit interested in fighting that change. Instead, he’s gearing up for a different fight altogether…for Chloe’s heart.

Series: The Sullivans Book 1

***An e-copy was provided by Novel Publicity in exchange for a honest review.***

The Look of Love is exactly what every girl needs right now. It’s the perfect blend of passion, emotional-angst, sexy romance and strong characters. Bella Andre did a fantastic job with this first book in her series, delivering something light yet very entertaining. It’s the ideal companion on days when you don’t want to think too hard, which is exactly what I adore about it. Yes it’s sappy at times, but definitely not cringe-worthy. It’s cute and simple with just the appropriate amount of depth. It’s easy to say that I am hooked to this series, and a new fan of this fun author.

I’ll be upfront and say that most of the circumstances in this book are very unrealistic and predictable. But, when you’re a hopeless romantic – like me – and can get lost in the detailed writing, it was easy to forgive such trivial things. The plot of this story is heavily focused on the romance that instantly blooms between Chase and Chloe, on the side of a road in the middle of a storm. It’s not elaborate, but engaging enough, with the emotional turmoil of the characters at the forefront. Surprisingly enough, it was easy to get lost in Chase and Chloe’s world, and actually feel what they were feeling and sympathize with what they were going through. Not many romance novels can do that, but Ms. Andre accomplished this feat with exceptional ease. As far as contemporary novels go – this is one of my favourites now.

The characters, both Chloe and Chase (I think it’s so cute how both their names start with a “C”), were so much fun to fall in love with. Chase Sullivan is strong, sexy, sweet, charming and unbelievably caring. He sees Chloe for who she is, and understands her inner battles with trusting someone whom she doesn’t know. His patience to let Chloe adjust to her feelings and his willingness to start off as nothing but friends, is truly what made him distinguishable – I adored him. Chloe was a fantastic main character. I felt sympathy for what she went through – although, I wish the situation of abuse wasn’t so flippantly used, and was further developed with strong emotions – but I admired her courage when she finally let the armor around her heart fall and took a leap of faith with love again. And her past didn’t turn her into a frail woman, in fact the opposite. She dished out plenty of feisty and funny remarks, which is why I found her incredibly likeable. 

The relationship between Chase and Chloe can only be described as sweet and hot. There is no going around that. It’s a romantic book (because Chase knows how to please) and it’s sensual. There may be lots of steamy love scenes but the main focus of the romance was acceptance and trust with friendship building the foundations for their relationship. And readers do get to see that as the attraction between them grows from lust to pure love. The pacing is very fast, over a few days, but it doesn’t feel rushed. The ending is satisfying with the happily-ever-after promised in the start. Ms. Andre is now one of my top authors for contemporary romances that will make me swoon – I loved every minute of this.

Despite all my praise, and ignoring the fact how much I enjoyed this book, I feel as if though there is something missing. I’m not sure what that “thing” is yet, but whatever “it” is, it doesn’t seem to matter in face of all the goodness in this book. The Look of Love enthralled me and I hope this will only get better throughout the series. Having said that, now I am positively anxious to meet the rest of the Sullivan clan and dive into their stories and begin the swoon-journey all over again!

My Rating:

Part of "The Sullivans" Blog Tour