REVIEW: SEARCHING FOR SOMEDAY by JENNIFER PROBST

Series: Searching For #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: 11/24/13
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars

Kate has given up on love—at least for herself. She is both blessed and cursed with the ability to sense a romantic connection between two people—a gift that her family passed down for generations. When Kate launches her own matchmaking company, Kinnection, with her two best friends in a cozy New York town, she has to put aside her own romantic disasters to make her business a success.

But when a furious man stalks into her office and accuses her business of being a scam, Kate is given the ultimate challenge to prove herself. Slade puts himself in her hands and asks Kate to find him love. Enraged at his arrogance but stubbornly eager to prove herself, Kate agrees, dedicating herself to the journey of finding him love...only to find herself falling for him along the way.

 

First Impression .... Gorgeous cover. I'm curious about the heroine's "magic touch". Will she use it for good or for evil. Hmmmm....

The Story... Searching for Someday is a spin-off of the Marriage to a Billionaire series. I've only read one book from that series, and was hoping I could easily read this without the backstory, and I did. 

Kate Seymour has the magic touch, one that determines true love. She uses that touch at her matchmaking company, Kinnections. When Slade Montgomery learns his once fragile sister is seeking Kinnections help to find a love connection, he is livid. A divorce lawyer, he is determined to prove Kate, and her partners, as fraud. But...turns out that Kate's touch indicates these two are soul mates. Spade doesn't believe in enduring love. Kate wants it all. Will she convince him? Does she even want to try? And what happens when you try to deny magic?

The Characters ... The two main characters, Kate and Slade, were so well-written. It was a really fine line Probst walked with these two.Spade was a very sexy man, but he was also grumpy and condescending. But, he never truly veered into jerk territory. I was happy Probst managed to always keep me in mind that Slade was misguided, very much so, but not an awful person who didn't deserve Kate.

Kate, on the other hand, was a charming and lovely heroine. With a lifelong stuttering problem that led to self-esteem issues, Kate has worked hard to become the success she is. She has dedicated her life to helping others find true love, with the help of her gift. I love how Probst developed this part of the storyline, and here's why: Kate's gift, a gift all the women in her family shares, reminded me of an all-time favorite, Practical Magic. This story was more magical realism and less fantasy, but with its strong  sisterhood and belief in the power of love, it shared a similar vibe.

The Writing .... Searching for Someday had a quick pace with a great flow that had me flying through the nearly four hundred pages. With it being quite long, I expected it to be overly long or with too much dragging or subplots. Wrong on all counts. The story did justice to Kate and Slade and the issues they face. The story never seemed to drag or frustrated  with indecision or hesitation. The various subplots all worked to enhance the story and promise more to come. What really excited me was the inclusion of Wolfe from The Marriage Merger. That man is going to have a DELICIOUS story to tell. Yay!

The Heat ... Was nice and steamy. I knew that Probst could bring the sexy, and boy did she! I love a man with a dirty mouth, and Slade seemed more than willing to fulfill. The story wasn't all sex, though. They had a nice build-up, with plenty of anticipation. The physical aspects of the relationship didn't override the emotional, but fit within the natural progression.

Could I Put Searching for Someday Down? .... Searching for Someday isn't a book that grabbed my lady bits and refuse to be let go, but it was a story that I didn't want to put down. I did find myself thinking about it when I couldn't read and I will definitely be recommending it to friends.

In the End... With its charm and Practical Magic-esque vibe, I'm very happy Searching for Someday came my way. If it hadn't shown up unexpectedly on my doorstep, I probably wouldn't have picked it up for ages. And now, having enjoyed this book and knowing I have Kennedy's book, Searching for Perfect, to look forward to, I have a new series to anxiously await. Best Reader Feeling Ever. 

Favorite Quotes:

  A violent rush of possessiveness claimed him, making him want to give this woman excruciating pleasure, to give her a memory she'd never forget, to demand her complete surrender of everything she was, good and bad, light and dark, inside and outside until there was nothing left he didn't own.   ~pg. 249


  Her scent still haunted him, and Slade swore he'd never be able to go to a carnival again without remembering her heady sugary scent, like spun cotton candy in his mouth when he tasted her. Instead, he did the right thing. Tucked the blanket carefully around her legs, smoothed back her tumbled hair, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She smiled in her sleep, and if he had a heart left to give, it would've broken right there.  ~pg. 299

The Searching For Series
 

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About the author
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Bargain. She is published both erotic and sexy contemporary romance with Entangled, Decadent, Red Sage and TWRP. She has also written a children's book, Buffy and the Carrot, co-written with her twelve year old niece, along with a short story, "A Life Worth Living." Visit her website for more info!

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