How to Liv by Megan Keith is FABULOUS!!! Plain and simple. Joel is hot, Liv is gorgeous and the story of them meeting and falling in love is simply gorgeous. For all of you that don't know what a Tim Tam is, you are really, really missing out - if you have an Aussie contact somewhere get them to send you a packet, it would be the perfect accompaniment as you read How to Liv.
Title: How to Liv
Author: Megan Keith
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Cover to Cover Designs
Olivia Moore is your average hard working, down to earth, Aussie chick.
Taking each day as it comes, working in a factory, Olivia is just plodding along through life. She’s resigned herself to the fact she’s not going to get her happily ever after, a husband… kids… because she has given up on men - they lie and cheat, leaving a world of pain in their wake.
Then Olivia meets Joel.
Joel Turner is hard working, down to earth, sexy, kind, fun… in fact, he’s damn near perfect. Joel is exactly the type of man Olivia has always wanted. He stirs emotions in her that have laid dormant for years. He breaks down her walls, forcing Olivia to fall in love and to finally believe fairy tales really can come true.
Until she discovers something that could change it all.
“Fuck!” Could
this day get any worse?
“So we meet again,” a now familiar
voice spoke softly.
I jumped, still cursing the broken
tub of ice cream and turned to watch Tim Tam guy pushing his trolley to a stop
at the back of the silver ute parked beside mine. What
are the chances?
“Well, I feel like I have to
introduce myself now.” He chuckled.
Introduce myself! Why didn’t I
think of that?
He stepped a little closer and held
out his hand.
“I’m Joel and I promise I’m not
stalking you.”
“Olivia,” I said laughing, taking his
hand. It was warm and slightly
rough. It was strong and inviting and very,
very hard to let go of. I blinked a
couple of times and then dropped my hand to my side before I made even more of
a fool of myself. I hope he can’t see the sweat on my brow.
“Nice to meet you,” he said with a
genuinely heart pounding smile. “So Olivia,
have you eaten?”
I picked up my packet of Tim Tams and
saluted him with them.
“Dinner?”
he asked disbelievingly.
“Yep,” I replied.
“You can’t be serious.” He chuckled.
“Deadly,” I said with a smile.
“Could I take you to a real dinner? Something with a little more nutrition,
maybe?” He had a cheeky look on his
face.
“Um…”
I’m a sweaty mess, why is he even
asking me?
Oh god, he’s single! And hot! And asking me out!
I was
lucky enough to get an advance release copy of How to Liv and also to have the
time to start reading it immediately.
Apart from a brief break at the 51% mark (girl’s gotta eat!) I devoured
How to Liv in one sitting and loved every word of it!
Being
Australian, I loved that this was a book written by an Australian, about
Australians, set in Australia. So many
things were so familiar and relatable, which made it that much easier for me to
lose myself in the story.
Liv has
been burnt in the game of love (badly and more than once) so is not interested
in the prospect of a relationship. Her
self-confidence has been shattered and with her more glamorous, confident and
outgoing sister to compete with, really what’s the point?? Liv is a caring and loyal friend, not a total
recluse, but her time is spent mostly at work and she doesn’t believe she’ll
ever get her happily ever after.
Liv
encounters Joel at the supermarket and “ermahgerd” (to quote Liv’s sister Ally)
he is perfect. P-E-R-F-E-C-T!! Hot, considerate, funny, sexy, talented and
just a little controlling in the bedroom ... perfect!! Liv can’t believe he’s single, or that he
would be interested in her. Despite her
doubts, she finds herself falling for him and falling hard.
I loved
watching the relationship between Liv and Joel unfold. They were nervous, they were funny and as
they slowly started to relax a little they were gorgeous together. Liv’s past experiences are a significant challenge
for her. She has trust issues and
struggles with her fear of being hurt again, continually waiting for the “other
shoe to drop” because surely what is going on is too good to be true? Joel has baggage of his own and despite his
insistence on no secrets with Liv, he keeps one, never quite able to find the
right time or the right way to disclose.
This has dire consequences for the two and it was painful to read this
unfold.
Megan Keith
has an engaging writing style. I got
lost in her characters and story very quickly.
She establishes an environment that is detailed, without being overly
so, but enough that I could visualise people and places easily. There are many fabulous characters in this
story. I’ll confess I was not a fan of
Liv’s sister Ally - suffice to say she treated her sister badly and yet Liv
continued to allow her to live in her home and came to her defence
regularly. Liv’s workmates were
relatable, reminding me of my own co-workers and the fun we have. Adam and Raelene, Joel’s brother and sister
in law were your typical, down to earth Aussie’s - and some of the
conversations with Raelene were hilarious.
I would be remiss in not mentioning Chelsea, Joel’s super gorgeous niece
- she’s such a cutey!!
How to
Liv sucked me in and kept me reading. I
laughed, I had moments where my heart was breaking for the characters and let
me tell you, Megan Keith can write some steamy bedroom scenes *fans face*
;) Go grab yourself a copy, a packet of
Tim Tams and curl up for a thoroughly enjoyable read - oh and I dare you not to
fall in love with Joel!
5 out of 5 stars
Megan Keith is a married, mother of three, living in a small country town in New South Wales, Australia. She has loved reading books for as long as she can remember, but it wasn’t until she got given a kindle that she became a full-blown reading addict. Her introduction to the world of indie authors re-ignited her passion for writing. Megan has published the first two books in a new adult romance trilogy, Finding My Way and Crossroads, with the third still a work in process. She also has written an erotic novella called Eraser. How to Liv is her fourth published book.
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