Series: Happily Inc. (Book 3)
Natalie Kaleta will do anything for the artists at her gallery, including risk life, limb and the effect of humidity on her naturally curly hair. Braving a downpour to check on reclusive Ronan Mitchell, Natalie gets stranded by a mudslide at his mountain home, where the brooding glass artist reveals his playful side, sending her inconvenient crush from under-the-radar to over-the-top.
After a secret tore apart his family and made him question his sense of self, Ronan fled his hometown for Happily Inc, but the sunny small town can’t fix his damaged heart. He won’t give in to his attraction for beautiful, perpetually cheerful Natalie. She’s untouched by darkness -- or so he thinks.
Natalie knows that when a heart goes through the flame, it comes out stronger. Life may not be a fairy tale, but sometimes dreams do come true. Why not this one? Why not tonight?
I have been waiting for Ronan's story since he first appeared in the Fool's Gold books, and I was not disappointed. Ronan is a brilliant glass artist. He is also brooding, angry, and terribly confused. In a previous book, Ronan discovered that he is not his brother Mathias's twin. He is the product of one of his father's affairs, which has made him question everything about himself. He has pulled away from everyone - his brothers, his father (I don't blame him there), and the woman he thought was his mother (that does bother me). He's so angry that he's been lied to all his life that he has allowed that anger to affect every part of his life. He's finally reached a point where he realizes that he misses the relationship he had with his brothers, but he doesn't know how to fix it. They miss him too, and it's that worry for him that sends Natalie up the mountain to check on him.
Natalie is a fellow artist as well as the gallery owner's assistant. She is one of those people who can find the good in almost anything. I loved the description of her as curvy, feisty, and that she wears glasses, which added to the realism of her character. She is also a wee bit stubborn, which is what sent her up the mountain in bad weather in a car that was inadequate for the conditions. It was no wonder that she ended up on his doorstep muddy, wet, and spitting mad.
I loved the development of Natalie and Ronan's relationship. Natalie has had a crush on Ronan but has kept it under control. An engagement gone bad has left her unwilling to risk her heart again, even though she wants a family of her own. Her conversations with her friends over the "baby app" are funny and heartbreaking at the same time. When she gets stuck on the mountain with Ronan, she discovers a whole new side of the brooding artist. I ached a little for Ronan because he was so surprised that anyone was worried enough about him to check on him. I loved how easy he found it to bring her into his house and his life. It turned out that he'd been crushing on her a bit, too. I loved those couple of days that they had together. Natalie's cheerfulness threw some light into the dark corners of Ronan's life, and I loved seeing a lighter side of Ronan emerge. I especially enjoyed the paper airplane scene. There are also some pretty strong sparks flying between them. Though it was frustrating for Natalie, I quite liked Ronan's refusal to take advantage of those sparks while she was "trapped" in his house. He certainly made up for it later.
When they agreed to have a fling, with the understanding that emotions would not be involved, I had to laugh. It was clear to me that Natalie was already well down the road to loving Ronan. I loved watching them together. With Natalie in his life, Ronan lost a lot of his broodiness, and his creative side began to re-emerge. With both of them being artists, there was no feeling of neglect when one or the other was caught up in their creative process. There were some very sweet scenes showing Ronan's support and encouragement of Natalie. When they were together, Natalie seemed to be consistently tuned into Ronan's moods. Because of her lack of family, Natalie really wants Ronan to reconcile with his. She takes every opportunity to point out to him how lucky he is to have the family that he does. I loved seeing how she brought Ronan and his brothers back together, using an art project as the reason. The more time they spent together, the deeper their feelings grew, though each one tried desperately to deny it. I ached for Natalie when she got up the courage to tell Ronan how she felt, only to have him run. Ronan is terrified that his problems would suck the life out of her, just as his father tended to do to others, so he'd rather push her away than see that happen. But when Ronan faced a crisis, Natalie was the one he turned to. The ending was intensely emotional, as Ronan was finally able to lay his fears to rest. I loved his big moment at the end. It was sweet, romantic, and beautiful.
The big issue in the book was Ronan's reaction to finding out the truth of his birth. I could completely understand the initial shock and the need to get away and process the information. However, I couldn't understand him pushing his brothers away. Even if they are "only" half-brothers, the love, respect, and memories are still there. I liked that they didn't give up on him. I ached for him and his feelings of betrayal from his mom. That was the hardest thing for him to deal with. Once Ronan was involved with Natalie, things began to change because of her. I loved her determination to help him reconcile with his family. She also knew that it couldn't be forced. I loved her creativity in bringing him together with Nick and Mathias. But try as she might, she didn't seem to be able to get through to him when it came to his mom. I found it immensely satisfying when she finally laid into him with her opinion of his attitude. In the end, it was Nick who took the logical course of action to resolve the issue. I loved Ronan's stunned reaction and how it made him reevaluate his own actions. The resolution was intense and emotional.
I also loved the friendships among the women of the story. It's always wonderful to see how the author brings together such diverse personalities in a way that works. They are always there to support each other, professionally or personally, and can be depended on to be brutally honest if required. There were a couple of those moments between Natalie and Silver when Natalie had a decision to make. There were a few hints dropped that make me think that Silver's story is going to be another fantastic installment in the series.
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