Cooper's Charm - Contemporary Romance Review + Giveaway

Goodreads:  Cooper's Charm (Love at the Resort #1) by Lori Foster

Rating: Good

Source: Blog Tour

Description: Before the burglary that shattered her confidence, Phoenix Rose had a fiancé, a successful store and a busy, happy existence. After months spent adrift, she takes a job at the lakeside resort of Cooper’s Charm. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, friendly colleagues and a charismatic, widowed boss, Phoenix is slowly inching her way back into the world.

Visiting Cooper’s Charm to check up on her little sister, Ridley Rose impulsively agrees to fill in as housekeeper. Still reeling from an ego-bruising divorce, she finds satisfaction in a job well done—and in the attention of the resort’s handsome scuba instructor.

For Phoenix and Ridley, Cooper’s Charm is supposed to be merely temporary. But this detour may lead to the place they most need to be, where the future is as satisfying as it is surprising…

Genre: Romance - Contemporary

Why I Picked This Book:  I've been wanting to read Lori Foster forever and that cover is beyond adorable!

My Impression:  This was my first Lori Foster but I know she's got a huge following so I was really excited to get started on this one.  I really liked the characters - especially Phoenix and Ridley.  Their relationship is really close but they still drive each other crazy sometimes.  They both have some pretty significant baggage and it was interesting seeing how it affected both.

Cooper and Phoenix's relationship was really sweet.  Cooper is a widower who has resisted really moving on until recently and I enjoyed how he changed in how he related to himself, his late wife and Phoenix.  The honesty between the two of them was really lovely and made the relationship seem very real.  Cooper is very much an Alpha Male character but he isn't bossy.  If he doesn't want Phoenix to do something he's honest about his reasons, and then has an actual conversation that involves talking and listening with her before they make a decision as to what is going to happen.  It was a nice take on the Alpha

They relationship involving Ridley was pretty fun (I'm not naming the guy because he's not mentioned in the blurb).  She's a much more assertive personality but I never really found her too abrasive.   Her relationship was much more banter-y and up and down which cut the sweetness a bit which was nice.  I normally don't love secondary romances because so often I want more of the secondary couple but this worked really well and I liked Cooper and Phoenix's observations.

The dog addition was so sweet and I love how she fit into the world of Cooper's Charm.  For the most part the suspense element was very well done and provided not only some great conflict but also some space for Phoenix to really fight her demons in a way that didn't feel contrived.  I didn't really love the way it wrapped up as it didn't make the most sense to me but that was really a small blip.  The wrap up of the book itself was really sweet and I'm excited to see these characters as background characters in the future.

As the cover suggests this is a perfect summer read.  I really liked the characters and loved the setting.  I'll be on the lookout for the next book!  Maybe Maris?  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I would definitely continue reading in this series.  I really liked the world of Cooper's Charm.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you like contemporary romance this is a solid read.