Saturday, July 6, 2013

Summer Heat Blog Tour: Just Like in the Movies by M.B. Feeney - Review


Ava Jones has settled for a life that she’s not sure she wants anymore, but won’t admit it. Her best friend, Erica Davidson talks her into taking a break on the Isle of Wight. Her days on the island are spent thinking things through, and arguing with Morgan whom she hates on principal.

Is it so wrong for her to want a life that follows the script of a honest to God romance film?
I’d met Marcus Tripp not long after joining Wilson Insurance. Although I’d never really fancied him, he was persistent. Our friendship had grown, and we’d fallen into a routine that suited both of us. I was happy with the attention, and the sex . . . yeah, it was okay. As time passed, the earth rarely moved when we were intimate; more often than not, it was pretty much over before it began. Still, we stayed together, more out of habit and familiarity than anything else. We did love each other. I just wasn’t sure that it was enough.
In the evenings I spent alone, I would daydream about living the life of a lead in a Hollywood chick flick, but then reality would slap some sense into me. My life was as good as it was going to get. I wasn’t about to be swept off my feet any time soon. Marcus and I were comfortable, and that was enough — for me, at least. I was too scared to ask Marcus what he felt.
We tried for a couple of years to have children, but it never happened. After many serious discussions, we decided to give up on the idea altogether. That was when we bought our first fur baby: a beautiful Collie cross called Rhea. She was our little girl, and we both doted on her. We assuaged our guilt over our mutual neglect by caring for Rhea, devoting our attention to another living being rather than to each other. The puppies, Remus and Romulus, soon joined her, and our “family” was complete.
For as long as I’d known him, Marcus had played Sunday League football, which was followed by an afternoon with his teammates at the very pub I was now approaching. Coupled with training one evening a week, his evenings out gave me more than enough time to spend with Erica or at home with the dogs.
“Have you thought any more about that holiday I mentioned?” Erica asked while we claimed our usual table. Our customary bottle of red wine was already ready and waiting for us.
“I have . . .” My words drifted away when I thought back to her idea of a girlie getaway on the Isle of Wight. Just as its name suggested, the top-class Lakeside Hotel with attached spa was located right next to a beautiful lake. Bliss.
“And? Why the hesitation?” Erica pushed like she always did, her blue eyes flashing once more as she looked into my brown ones.
The idea of a real getaway made the blonde hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, but I tried to rein in my excitement. “I don’t know. It sounds amazing, and Lord knows I could do with some time away.”
“Do it, then.”
I knew I had enough holiday time available at work. Screw it.
“Let’s do it.”
Ava's life has becoming boring.  Sure she's got Marcus and she loves him, she has her three dogs after they didn't have any kids, but what she's really missing in her life is love.  The love her and Marcus share is more on a friend level than anything else.  They get along, they live together, and they are together in every way.  But Ava can't help but think that she's missing something more in life.  When Ava's best friend Erica suggests they take a week vacation together, Ava decides it's time to try something new so she agrees to go to Isle of Wight and stay at a beach house.

Ava loves being on the beach. It's so different from her life back home and has her thinking that she is missing something more in life. That is until she meets Morgan in a bookstore and right away she can't stand him. She can't figure out why she dislikes him so much and the same for Morgan since he feels the same way. He wants to give Ava a chance, but every time they get together they snap at one another. Try as she might, Erica can't get them to get along that is until they get together alone at a beach party and get to know one another. When it's time for Ava and Erica to go home and return to their regular lives, Ava can't help but think that something needs to change in her life. She when she finds out from Erica and the guy she met on the beach that the beach house is up for sale, will Ava give up everything in her life to start a new one?

I enjoyed this story and watching Ava figure out what she wanted out of life. It was a great story to curl up and read at night or even out on the beach. 4 stars!
M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, 2 kids and a dog.  She's also a student teacher, a doodler and a chocoholic.  Writing has been her one true love since she could spell, and publishing is the culmination of her hard work and ambition.



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M.B. Feeney’s Tour Schedule:
7/2-Interveiw: Kim
7/3-Promo/excerpt: Jennifer Garcia
7/4-Interview: Tilly Currer
7/5-Interview: Lorenz Font
7/6-Review: Rose Caceres
7/7-Review: Nat Wood
7/8- Promo/Excerpt: Lisa Bilbrey
7/10- Guest Post: Matt Lutz
7/12-Guest Post: R. E. Hargrave

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for your great review. Sorry I'm a bit late, I hadn't had a chance to keep up :)

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