Review: A Moment to Love by Jennifer Faye

Posted April 18, 2015 by Lola in Contemporary, Review, Romance / 16 Comments

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A Moment To LoveA Moment to Love (Whistle Stop Romance #1)
by Jennifer Faye

Blurb:
Welcome to Whistle Stop…where anything can and most likely will happen.

The notorious cowboy meets his match…

Cord Lawson instantly distrusted the young woman in a smart suit who’d just arrived in Whistle Stop. She was very pretty and clearly a city girl–but with memories of his failed marriage still darkening his mind, he’s determined to steer clear! But she’s sniffing around his land–land that has been in his family for generations. There was no way he’d let it go–even if the bank was threatening to foreclose, and even if selling could give Whistle Stop a new lease on life.

Alexis Greer had one mission–close the deal on the Lawson ranch; without it, her father’s land development company would go bankrupt. But the word around town is to keep clear of Cord and to stay away from his precious land. What had happened to cause such a handsome cowboy to live such a solitary existence? However, determination was Lexi’s middle name. She just had to keep on trying to breach Cord’s barriers, to appeal somehow to his head and heart–even if it put her in danger of losing both of hers…to him.

My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

I was in the mood for a good contemporary romance, so I decided to read this book. While I had some issues, overall it was a fun and enjoyable book. I had some issues with the main conflict, as it seemed mostly for the sake of conflict. There was a story behind it, but I felt that if the characters just talked about it more, they could find a way out of this. And then in the end it got solved so fast it all seemed pointless, like they lost nothing at all and they fought the whole book for nothing. Although on the other hand I did love the ending and was happy with how things turned out.

The characters are likeable and while the story mostly focusses on the two main characters, I still got the feeling there was some story behind the other characters we met as well, we just don’t get to hear their story yet. The story follows Alexis, a business women who comes to whistle stop to do finalize a business deal, but she gets so much more. I thought it was a bit weird how she could take a few weeks off her work to fly out to whistle town herself. She is a nice character and she is used to working hard and doing what is expected of her, her father got a nasty heart attack a while ago and it’s obvious she cares and worries a lot about him. I would’ve liked to see more interactions between them, but he was mostly absent from the actual story and they mostly had some phone contact about the business only.

Then there is Cord, a cowboy who risks losing the only home and way of life he had ever known. I thought he was a bit too stubborn and set in his ways at times, and refused to really listen or talk with Alexi, but he was a nice guy. He really shows his gently side with Alexi. Alexi and Cord where so good for each other. Alexi isn’t used to taking time for herself and Cord shows her that, he also helps her overcomes an old fear.

I had some mixed feelings about the romance. On the one hand I liked these two together, but I am not a fan of the enemies to lovers trope and while they often said they could separate business and pleasure, it was obvious that it doesn’t work that way. Then there’s the issue that both of them have a past and they clearly let that colour their present. I understand that those events made them both a bit weary to love again, at times they didn’t seem to understand that they where different person now and the one they where falling in love with isn’t their ex. Then there where some miscommunication issues and some instances where I felt like they just needed to talk a bit more. Their romance felt a bit rocky to me and I loved some scenes and I didn’t like others. I was happy with how everything turned out in the end though.

The setting made up for a lot of things I didn’t like, as I just loved the little town of Whistle Stop. I like small town settings and just like the Alexi I fell in love with the town and I am really excited to see more of it and if they can rebuild this town to it’s former glory. There is a lot of gossip and word travels fast, but I liked most of the characters and they just seemed genuinely interested in everything and they cared about their town. Then there is the setting in New Mexico and while I often prefer nature settings in the sense of forest, this book really convinced me of the beauty in this place as well.

To conclude: I enjoyed this book and I loved the setting of Whistle stop. I had an issue with the conflict which was solved a bit too easily in the end, but I did like how the ending wrapped things up neatly. I liked the characters and though they were good for each other, but I had some mixed feelings about their romance. I am not a fan of the enemies to lover trope and it felt a bit off to me, but there where some really nice scenes between them as well. While was a bit on the fence about this book at times, I did enjoy it and am looking forward to future books in this series!

3-star

You can add A Moment to Love to your to-read list on Goodreads

You can buy A Moment to Love here:
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What do you think of enemies-to-lovers romances? And what is the best book with this trope that you read?

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16 responses to “Review: A Moment to Love by Jennifer Faye

  1. I’m okay with the enemies to lovers trope, but truthfully I find the stuff that people make an issue about doesn’t work as a barrier many times or they aren’t really enemies if they’d just take the mature route about things. I don’t like it when a barrier seems to be there just so there is one. I’m reading about a gal right now who got into a messed up relationship when she was young and even though her parents, her friends and in general the world around her shows men that are good and trustworthy she decides that all men should be avoided and has kept up the excuse for nearly two hundred pages.

    Anyway, glad that the setting was good to balance out the blah romance.
    Sophia Rose recently posted…The Muse by Jessica Evans #ReviewMy Profile

    • I am not a fan of the enemies to lovers trope and it just felt like the barrier was there just for the sake of it. I just wished they had thought it all through a bit more. It’s just so frustrating if drama or a barrier like you mentioned as well keep playign a role for so long. The setting made up for a lot and I will continue the series because of that and hope the enxt couple works better for me.

    • If you like the enemies to lovers trope you probably will enjoy this, the whole enemy to lovers thing just doesn’t work for me. or maybe I’ve never read a book where it was done well? The setting was done great, I almost wish it was a real town so I could visit and get some pastries at the local bakery!

  2. I’m the opposite, I love the enemies to lovers trope and sometimes even more than friends to lovers trope! I think it’s Pride and Prejudice rubbing of on me a little. It has to be done well though, constant bickering gets annoying at times and if the romance isn’t believable, it just puts a damper on my enjoyment of the book. I’m glad that this was an overall enjoyable book, even when you had a few issues! Lovely review Lola! πŸ™‚
    Amir @ Not So Literary! recently posted…Series Review: Mistborn 1-3 by Brandon SandersonMy Profile

    • I love friend to lovers books, but don’t like the enemies to lovers trop in general. Maybe because the friend to lovers trop feels more realistic to me. Here there wasn’t so much bickering as more they just didn’t communicate well. Even though I had some issues with the book I still enjoyed it and will read the next book in this series.

    • It just doesn’t work for me for some reason, I’ve read a few of them now and it just isn’t my favourite trope. And most romance tropes have done a lot.

    • The character were done really well, it just felt that there were enemies for the sake of conflict and they wouldn’t have to be if they thought it through a bit more. I guess I am in the minority for not liking this trope ;).
      Lola recently posted…Sunday Post #122My Profile

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