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Friday, October 30, 2020

Review: How Much I Feel


Sometimes you just need a fun romance to keep you entertained on a long weekend. Marie Force's How Much I Feel was exactly what I needed back on the Labour Day long weekend in September. I devoured the first book in the new Miami Nights series in just one day and had a lot of fun reading it.

Here's the synopsis:
Carmen
Babysitting a handsome, arrogant neurosurgeon isn’t how I imagined my first day at Miami-Dade General Hospital. This is supposed to be the start of my dream career—something I’ve worked hard to achieve after the tragic loss of my husband. Dr. Jason Northrup isn’t going to mess up my plans, even if he makes my lady parts stand up and say hello. Especially since the surgeon sends up every kind of red flag. However, my heart—and other parts—seem intent on ignoring those signs…

Jason
I have more important things to do than bail out an attractive new colleague, but I need her. Carmen is my only hope in convincing the Miami-Dade board to overlook my tarnished reputation—and she makes me feel optimistic again. Romantic entanglements are the last thing I can afford, but Carmen isn’t an entanglement. She’s a beautiful breath of fresh South Florida air. My feelings for her are quickly becoming the best kind of scandal.
While How Much I Feel is billed as part of a series, I think each book can probably be read as a standalone (but don't quote me since I have yet to read the next books in the series). It is a romance so you know what's going to happen at the end so it shouldn't be surprising if you "run into" another couple when you read the next books.

The story is an interesting (and delightful) mix of light and heavy. Both Carmen and Jason have something in their pasts that has matured them far more than their peers. But they don't allow it to limit their present or future. It will always be a part of them, especially Carmen with the death of her husband, but they understand that they can't allow the past to negatively impact their lives. It was really inspiring, actually, to see how they both dealt with difficult situations in such a positive way. 

It wasn't all about the hard stuff - there were a lot of lighthearted moments as well. Reading as Carmen and Jason got to know each other was so fun and the flirting was such a slow burn! It was good though because you knew they couldn't just hop into bed together. There were so many things they had to work out first but you knew it was coming, and pretty quickly all things considered, because their chemistry was obvious. Although, the more I think of it, maybe it was just obvious because I knew they'd get their Happily Ever After. The two were connecting on a level that was so deep and meaningful, which is a bit different than the connections we read about in a lot of other romance novels where there are electrifying looks and touches and they jump into bed together right away. 

I think I was also really enjoying this read because it kind of allowed for a little bit of armchair traveling. Remember travel? I really liked that a large part of the story involved Carmen showing Jason around her part of Miami. It was like heading to a tourist destination but having a local show you all the best spots. And that is something we're just not able to do right now so I was more than happy to read it (and pretend I was there right along with them).

All in all, How Much I Feel was a delight. I think it was very much a right book at the right time kind of situation but I very much enjoyed the time I spent with Marie Force's novel. It's also making me realize I'm due to read another romance. What romances have you been reading lately?

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Son, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

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