No Stranger to Love by Pamela Aares

I think I’ve read all of the Tavonesi series, with the possible exception of a novella here and there as I tend to miss those. I was super hooked for the first few books, as they were all sports romances, and then my interest wandered as Aares started exploring tangentially connected members of the family. With No Stranger to Love, I’m back in with this family. Some of her other tropes are there – most of the fights boil down to misunderstandings that would be solved with clear and brave communication, for example – but overall, this is a really good example of the particular brand of magic Aares weaves through her books.

Parker is a professional polo player who is starting a new career in winemaking, which is kind of the family business. He’s landed an interview in a super prestigious wine magazine for the launch of his new vineyard, but needs to project an air of stability and maturity his current bachelor lifestyle doesn’t really allow.

Enter Juliet, best friend of Parker’s little sister, who works as the perfect pretend-wife stand-in. In exchange for a hefty donation to her non-profit working to protect sea turtle populations around the world, and a favor to be determined later, Juliet agrees to the charade. Of course, the condition is that there won’t be anything between them, won’t be any sparks or anything. And then the photographer has them kiss and LOL, sparks fly. Sparks which are not acted upon, but sparks nonetheless.

A few months later, we pick our story back up and Juliet is working in Greece. She’s having a lot of trouble with buy-in from the locals on her project to save the turtles and feels that Parker’s infamous party planning and schmoozing skills could come in real handy. So she calls in the favor he owes her from the magazine shoot and asks him to come to Greece. He does. He discovers that she’s been keeping things from him – like threatening notes and some acts of potential harm – and that maybe throwing a party is not really gonna be enough.

The longer they’re together, the more they realize they’re falling for each other. Of course, neither one of them really says anything for a while. Plus, Juliet’s penchant for disguising stubbornness as self-sufficiency got on my nerves after a while. Overall, however, this one is an easy, breezy, read, perfect for summertime as you imagine the crystal clear waters of Greece. Grab a glass of cold white wine and find your way to a patio with this book in hand.

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Further Reading:

• Several of the other Tavonesi family sagas are reviewed on this blog. Start with Love Bats Last, the first of the series, if you’re interested in checking out more.
• If you’re interested in learning more about sea turtles and their plights, check out this rehab facility in North Carolina for more information.
• Interested in learning more about polo? Look no further than the U.S. Polo Association’s very informative website.

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I received a copy of this book from Tasty Book Tours in exchange for an honest review and my participation in the tour. Thanks, TBT!