ARC REVIEW Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

A slow burn romance and a witty story. It starts off a little rocky for both Cara and Reid, a year ago he was a client there to get handwritten everything from Cara but the engagement fell through and so here they are a secret message in the program and an admittance that he hates New York. Cara has a big opportunity but she is drawing a blank and her best friend, Sibby, has been pulling away from her slowly over the months and Cara is at a loss of what to do. Cara and Sibby use to walk the streets of NYC and point out all the hand drawn signs it is what inspired Cara to do what she does. Cara would prefer someone walk with her, for safety and just because she's lonely; she thinks of Reid and his passing comment about not seeing the right signs and although she knows that he meant metaphorically she wants to show him the city through her eyes. The first outing didn't go well but Reid apologized in the best way possible that showed he really was listening to her. From then on they had a easy friendship that turned into something more.   


Overall, it was a fulfilling story from start to finish. Cara imagines certain words in certain fonts and I can just imagine in my head floating around the person as they spoke. I have to say they have a great first kiss, swoon. It is a slow burn a bunch of little things happen before the big things and it's just Cara and Reid getting to know each other and us getting to know them. I liked the bit at the end it was unexpected and really cemented their relationship. It was wonderfully written the description and imagery with the letters was beautifully done. It's a great way to either start your year or end it.

ARC REVIEW Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn

Chance of a Lifetime #3, I have been impatiently waiting for this book since the characters were introduced to each other in the first book. This can be read as a stand alone but I really recommend reading the first two books to get the whole picture. This is written in third person with alternating perspectives of Greer and Alex. I loved this book the story and the characters so emotional.

Greer, Kit and Zoe buy a lottery ticket never expecting to actually win, so far Kit followed her dream and bought a house and fell in love, Zoe quit her job and went on an amazing path of self discovery and fell in love too. Now it's Greer's turn who was finally able to follow her dream and go back to school. She's almost got her degree when they tell her she short credits for art.

Alex Alverin, Kit's older brother, is a world renowned photojournalist his plan to come to his sister's wedding and then take off again has to be revised when his debilitating panic attacks get worse. With the urging of his agent and Greer, who caught him in the middle of one during the wedding, he takes some time off. But he won't be idle on his time off Greer recruits his help with her art credit. Greer's only hope to get the art credit she needs is to take a photography class subtly using Alex to get the teacher to agree was aggravating but easy. Greer also gets Alex to agree to go see a therapist while he's here. Alex was always attracted to Greer but the more time he spends with her the more the attraction builds into something more, and vise versa, and the more he learns about her the more he's tempted to try and stay. Greer may have fallen in love with Alex but she knows him to well and is just waiting for him to leave again. Alex's fears are so deep rooted he doesn't know if his love for Greer is stronger than his wonderlust. 

Overall, this is my favorite of the three. Both of the character's histories play a part in why they act they way they do and how their budding relationship gives them a new perspective and allows them to look at their lives differently and finally be willing to change for the better. There is such deep emotion and fear that Kate Clayborn really puts you through the ringer with this one.   

ARC REVIEW Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn

A Chance of a Lifetime #2, It was on a whim that Zoe, Kit, and Greer bought a lottery ticket and even more surprising that they actually won. Kit bought her dream house and was renovating it, Greer went back to school, and Zoe quit her as a corporate lawyer and was going to travel but she kept procrastinating when it came to planning the trip. One lonely night Zoe realized just how much guilt she carries around, guilt about so much from her past so she decides she's going to do something about it. In a jar on little slips of paper she wrote the names of people, people she thinks she has wronged in some way and she is somehow going to right the wrongs. First up the O'Leary family. The O'Leary's lost their son to a medication that was supposed to help him get rid of his opioid addiction instead it killed him. Zoe was one of the corporate lawyers who worked on behalf of the pharmaceutical company. Zoe feels guilty because they didn't get the justice they deserved, just a settlement check. 

Aidan O'Leary feels a certain amount of guilt too. He feels guilty he wasn't there for his brother, that he didn't life closer and couldn't take care of him better. But he wants to do something in memory of his brother, he wants to buy the childhood summer camp they use to attend and turn it into a rehab place for addicts. The only catch is that the current owners are only willing to sell it to a family. Aidan first wants nothing to do with Zoe but than he realizes she could be useful and proposes, proposes a fake marriage. Zoe agrees but to something a little bit more believable a fake engagement. For six weekends they are to pretend to be engaged while the owners hear the plans each couple has in store for the camp. After the first disastrous weekend Aidan realizes he's making this harder than it needs to be, he's partially aggravated because he realized Zoe was trying so hard and he wasn't cutting her any slack and also because as much as he doesn't want to like her he does. 

The relationship between them is slow burning they agreed that they needed to get  to know eachother better in order for the plan to work, they never meant to fall in love. In this fake relationship they both learn alot about each other and themselves they come to a few realizations about themselves. Overall, this was a nice read. The characters are flawed and you really get to see them grow and learn. It is a bit of an emotional read especially at the big reveal moment. Aidan and Zoe are good for each other they really do help each other relieve the guilt they are feeling and come to certain realizations about doing what you want to do and not living for someone else. I'm picky about my first person POV, but Clayborn does an excellent job with it I got completely absorbed in the story. It's not necessary to read the first book of the series but with how close Kit, Greer, and Zoe are it's nice to have the back story, well Kit's at this point. I was hoping this was Greer's book but we only have until November for her book, so I'm excited. 

        

ARC REVIEW Beginner's Luck by Kate Clayborn

This is Kate Clayborn's debut novel, really? Damn girl you are good! The feel and the flow of the book makes it feel like she's done this for a long time. It was entertaining and emotional and Kit and Ben are so cute together. The secondary characters are just as good. Kit's best friends Zoe and Greer, at the best friends a girl can have. Ben's Dad, Henry, and Sharon even the kid River they add so much to the story it wouldn't be the same without them. At one point the story did seem to slow just a little but that could have just been my impatience to find out what was going to happen next.

They never really knew whose idea it was, or even why but Kit, Zoe, and Greer nonetheless still bought that lottery ticket and won. They all had dreams of what they wanted, Kit's dream was to have a real home, some place she could settle and put roots down. After her hectic childhood and constant moving she wanted a place she could finally call her own. Six months later she finally takes the plunge and buys the house of her dreams, it's a fixer upper but she doesn't care just more ways to make it her own.

Ben Tucker was suppose to be taking time off work to help take care of his dad who he fell and injured himself but Ben's best friend and business partner asks him to do one job while he is there. The company they work for is looking to recruit this metallurgy scientist who also just happens to live in his home town. Ben is so good at his job he thinks it will be easy. He realizes just how ill prepared he is for this when he walks in and realizes Kit is the scientist he's looking for and then blows it even more when she realizes he's never even read her work.

Not off to a good start but when Ben gifts replacement handles for her cabinets at work he found his in, well at least a way to spent more time with her since his Dad owns a salvage yard and has plenty of antiques and original pieces she needs to fit her house. Ben and Kit are both hesitant to start anything because they both know it would be temporary since she's not going to take the job and Ben still plans to go back to Texas. In spite of that they can't stop spending time together, pretty soon Ben admits his love. Kit's life starts to fall apart, first an argument with her brother then she finds out the company Ben works for still wants her and is willing to extort her boss to get her to work for them and she thinks Ben was behind it all and used her, top it all off with a medical emergency with her Dad and Kit pretty much mentally and physically exhausted and heart broken. It takes two to mend a broken heart but who will give in first?

Overall, so good, it had me bawling at the end. The characters were all so real and I loved the nerdy side of Kit and how she wanted to do work on her own. But one question, Did Ben ever go back and finish the chandelier or did he seriously just abandon it?