THREE LITTLE WORDS BLOG TOUR: SUSAN MALLERY'S FOOL PROOF BRIDAL KIT GIVEAWAY

Welcome to my stop on the Fool Proof Bridal Kit Giveaway and Blog Tour to celebrate the release of Susan Mallery's new book, Three Little Words, the latest in the Fool’s Gold Trilogy. The tour is being hosted by BookTrib; go to the tour homepage to follow the month-long tour. My stop includes a review and giveaway.

Series: Fool's Gold #12
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Publication Date: 7/30/13
Format: ARC
Source: Received from publicist for review
Rating: 4 stars

Can first love turn into the real deal in a sizzling new Fool's Gold story from New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery? Isabel Carlisle thinks she's cursed in the romance department. Her teenage crush, Ford Hendrix, ignored all her letters. Her husband left her for another...man. So Isabel has come home to dust off her passion for fashion and run the family bridal shop until her parents are ready to sell it. Then she'll pursue her real dreams. At least, that's the plan, until sexy, charming Ford returns and leaves her feeling fourteen all over again....

Seeing Isabel all grown up hits bodyguard trainer Ford like a sucker punch. Back when heartbreak made him join the military, her sweet letters kept him sane. Now he can't take his eyes-or his lips-off her. The man who gave up on love has a reason to stay in Fool's Gold forever-if three little words can convince Isabel to do the same....

 

Three Little Words hit several romance "sweet spots" with me: Small town setting, a large and interesting cast of characters, and best of all, the long ago, unrequited crush that quickly becomes so much more.

Susan Mallery is an author I've noticed for years, hadn't yet read, but had plans to do so at some point. So when I got the offer to review Three Little Words, my decision was easy. And I know it might seem odd that my first Mallery book is also the twelfth in a series, but the books are companions and the author did such a nice job of subtly filling in details on the characters and their ties to one another, that I did not have a hard time keeping up.

Fool's Good was such a charming town, full of sweet, quirky, nosy, genuinely nice people. It's the type of town that makes you think of the saying "All roads lead to home."

Three Little Words centers around Isabel and Ford, but the story has a large secondary cast. Because this is a series of companion novels, long-time fans of the series will be happy to see former leading characters mentioned, or better yet, have a lot of scenes like several did in this installment. The story even features a secondary romance that actually played a large part in the story, between Ford's brother Kent and his co-worker Consuelo. I really enjoyed their romance. Kent, a teacher and single father, was such a good guy. Consuelo, a former special ops agent, has so much baggage from her former life. These two definitely had enough going on for their own book, so I'm a little curious why their story was sandwiched into this one.

At the heart of Three Little Words is Ford and Isabel. Their history is sad, but sweet. Ford went into the Navy after a bad breakup with Isabel's sister. Isabel, only fourteen at the time, had a huge crush on Ford, and and faithfully wrote him letters over the years. Because she wrote over a time span of ten years, Ford basically experienced Isabel growing up. She stopped writing when she and her boyfriend became serious. Now, four years later, she's divorced and back home, and Ford is back in Fool's Gold as well. After reconnecting, the two begin a fake relationship, meant to last temporarily.

I'm betting most can guess just how well that fake relationship works out and happens next with Ford and Isabel. Ford is very reluctant to become seriously involved, almost to the point of frustration. He was very cocky, but in a fun way. Isabel was a sweetheart, and so easy to love. Together, these two had really great chemistry, and I loved the progression of their relationship. The story is nothing new for those who read romance, but for me, the relationship was so genuinely sweet and fun that I was simply happy to be along for the ride. I'll likely even make a u-turn at some point and start the Fool's Gold series from the very beginning.

Favorite Quote:

  She managed to swallow. "You're saying women want you?"
  "All the time."
  "How that must annoy you."
  "I'm used to it. Mostly I consider taking care of them my patriotic duty."
  She felt her mouth drop open. "Your duty?"
  "Patriotic duty. It would be un-American to leave a woman in need."  ~ARC, pg25
 

  "You okay?" Ford asked with a grin.
  She nodded. "Confused."
  "I do that to women. You're overwhelmed by desire. I should have warned you."  ~ARC, pg187

Purchase Three Little Words
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository 

 

GIVEAWAY

Book Trib is giving away a fabulous prize pack! Prizes include:

The Susan Mallery Foolproof Bridal Kit includes:

 

• A wedding-themed bottle of OPI nail polish
• Not Your Mother’s® Rise & Shine™ Silky Smooth Shine Mist
• Manicure set (includes emery board, small and large nail clippers, tweezers, cuticle stick and nail polish remover pad)
• Heart-shaped compact mirror
• 12-piece E.L.F. eye shadow kit                 
• Travel makeup brush set                                                             
• Makeup remover wipes                               
• Lip gloss
• Travel sewing kit
• Kleenex®
• Secret® deodorant
• Razor and Gillette® Shave Gel
• Nivea Creme
• Wisps toothbrushes
• TRESemmé® hairspray 

Must be 18 years of age to enter. US Only.

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About the author:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author SUSAN MALLERY is known for emotionally complex stories told with charm and wit. With a keen eye for human nature, she breathes life into characters on the page and was recently honored with a prestigious National Readers’ Choice Award. Susan has lived all over the United States, including a childhood in the suburbs of Los Angeles, graduate school in the hills of Pennsylvania and several years in Texas. These days, she makes her home in Seattle, Washington. She’s there for the coffee, not the weather.

Find Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com  She’s also very active on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads, and has been known to invite her fans to help her name characters and brainstorm aspects of her books.