Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Book Review: Sweet Love and Country Roads



By Sara Steven

Samantha Baker is a high-flying movie producer living in New York City. She loves her shoes, drinking cosmopolitans, and wouldn’t trade the comforts of city life for anything in the world. But when her job is put on the line, Samantha has no other choice than to move to the middle of nowhere to straighten out the filming of her latest romantic comedy blockbuster.

Her new country home has no Starbucks, no Pilates, and the one pub in town has never heard of appletinis—only serves beer and whiskey neat. On the plus side, the views are scenic. And not just for the aerial shots, as the local eye-candy provides a welcome distraction.

At least until Samantha discovers a native cowboy, Travis Hunt, is the source of all her troubles...

And the battle begins.

Each has something the other wants, but as Samantha and Travis go head to head, they might discover the endgame has changed. When hate turns to heat, all becomes fair in love and war for these two sworn enemies who’ve been playing a game of hearts.

But will a roll in the hay be enough to make Samantha decide there’s no sex in the city and convert to country living? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

Sweet Love and Country Roads is my favorite Camilla Isley novel so far, hands down! I really enjoyed the stark contrasts between the life Samantha is used to living while she’s in New York City, to the down home country life in small-town Indiana–there’s a great moment when she’s reflecting on how she can’t get any sleep with how quiet it is there, and there’s no app available on her phone that will play screeching tires and honking cars. The city backdrop is what she’s used to and she doesn’t want it any other way. 

But, little by little, it grows on her. The shift starts out small–the animals that she swears she’s never liked before, yet now she feels a bit of an attachment to. The gorgeous sunrises and sunsets she’s never appreciated or really noticed before. And then there’s Travis, a man who in equal parts infuriates her, yet sets her soul on fire. She’s only in Indiana short-term to fulfill her employment obligations before she’s due to head back to NYC, and Travis has made it perfectly clear that he isn’t into flings. But that doesn’t stop either of them from feeling a strong attraction towards one another, to the point where it begins to feel like torture. 

I could understand the situation from both perspectives, well defined and described within the pages of this book. Samantha has worked her entire adult life on creating a name for herself, with a job she could never sustain in Indiana. Travis has been hurt before. He doesn’t want to get put into that position again, no matter his feelings. Of course, the old adage, “you want what you can’t have” strongly comes into play, which only adds to the heated tension between them. Neither wants to change their minds, or compromise on what they firmly believe is the right thing to do.

I loved the banter between Samantha and Travis. The heat. Travis reminded me of Justin from the movie, Hope Floats, all sinewy and cowboy-like. With such opposing personalities, it was bound to be an exciting read, and it really was. Sweet Love and Country Roads was a five-star experience!

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Apple  

Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to enter the whimsical realm of romantic fiction.

She writes contemporary rom-coms. Her characters have big hearts, might be a little stubborn at times, and love to banter with each other. Every story she pens has a guaranteed HEA that will make your heart beat faster. Unless you're a vampire, of course.

Camilla is a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading—duh!—cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies—popcorn, please. She's a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn't want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.

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1 comment:

Camilla Isley said...

Thanks so much for this amazing review and for joining the tour :) Glad you enjoyed this story!