Thrill Me by Susan Mallery (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Maya Farlow learned the hard way to depend only on herself, so when she fell too deeply for the bad-boy charms of Del Mitchell, she did the only thing she could—she ran. Stunned, Del left Fool's Gold to make his name and fortune in extreme sports.

Now ten years later, Maya's been hired to promote her hometown's new slogan, The Destination for Romance. The celebrity spokesman is none other than Del, the man she dumped but never forgot. Awkward!

Although Del's not the type to hold a grudge, he's determined to avoid falling a second time for the woman who broke his heart. He's a daredevil, not an idiot. Trouble is, in all his adventures, he never found a rush as exhilarating as Maya's kiss. Maybe risking his heart will prove to be the biggest thrill of all…"

My Thoughts:

What a perfect read for the dog days of summer where I just needed something to sweep me away from everything!   Despite being in back to school prep mode for the kiddos, I easily finished this book in two days as I just could not set it down.  This isn't my first foray into this series.  Awhile back I read the first Fool's Gold book and really enjoyed it but then never continued on with the series like I had planned to.  Since there are eighteen books in this series so far, I read this one completely out of order but it didn't effect my reading experience one bit!  In actuality, this was the perfect change up to my reading as of late which has been very heavy on thrillers and mysteries.  This book was exactly what I needed as I just fell into the romance that was developing once again between Del and Maya.  And what a romance it was!

The chemistry between these two characters was instant from the very beginning of the book.  Of course this was to be expected a bit as they had a history with each other.  I really loved though that despite their shared history, this felt like something completely new and unsure of itself.  Neither character had forgotten what had happened to end their original relationship which helped to keep a distance between them for parts of the book.  Basically I was rooting for them from the very beginning which is what you want in a good romance, right?  There are some really great secondary characters in this book as well and I have to admit that I completely adore Eddie and Gladys.  They are two older ladies that host their own television show which includes some pretty funny scenes whenever they are present!  My only complaint with this book was that I found the conflict between Del and Maya a bit predictable.  Did it take away from my reading experience?  No.  It just wasn't a big surprise and really I'm not sure that it was meant to be.  The draw for me here was really the romance between these two and if they would be able to overcome everything to find love.  And I will just say that it was a perfect ending!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am eager to yet again get back to this series!  I have so many books to look forward to which leaves me very excited (and shaking my head at my series addiction).  This was a great summer read and left me craving more books just like this!  I won't be waiting this long again to visit Fool's Gold.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A romance that I couldn't help but adore!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a TLC book tour.  Thoughts are my own!