United States of Love by Sue Fortin

Since splitting from her husband, single mum Anna Barnes is enjoying her new found freedom and independence. However, she didn't bank on working for Tex Garcia – or the sparks that fly between them. The gorgeous American chef is getting the locals hot under the collar and not just because of his culinary prowess! One problem: Tex can't commit and women pass through his life like dishes going out to service! Will it be the same with Anna? One thing’s for sure, this All American man is determined to break her self-imposed rule of never mixing business with pleasure – and add some spice into the mix…

United States of Love is the first book I have read by Sue Fortin so I didn’t know what to expect and I have to say the cover didn’t appeal to me, after looking at her more recent covers they definitely have a softer more appealing look to them.

Anna is a single mum who is juggling three jobs to support her son and the last thing she needs is her ex turning up out of the blue after a year and making things difficult.

Tex is new to the town of Arundel and has plans to open a restaurant. He is a real charmer but doesn’t like commitment and after he saves Anna on their first meeting both of them feel sparks but can he change his ways.

This was a gently paced romantic read that had more ups and downs than Thorpe parks rollercoasters! The storyline grabbed my attention from the start and held my attention all the way through. At times I was frustrated with Tex and Anna and I would have loved to have banged their heads together.

I loved Tex ( apart from his name!) he had a suave way about him but without being arrogant and so he seemed like a perfect match for our lovable, hardworking Anna who has had a tough time on the romance side so she could really do with someone to show her adoration and treat her well. What shone through for me in this book alongside the romance was the relationship between Anna and her son Luke. No matter how hurt and angry Anna was with her ex Mark she still managed to put her son and his feelings first which was a very hard thing to do.

Mark was such a vile manipulative character who I despised and the author created a monster in this character and I actually thought him and evil Christine would make a perfect pair. I loved each of the supporting characters from Anna’s brother and sister in-law to Tex’s friend Jaime and Yvonne they brought a nice touch to the book and support to Anna and Tex.

The storyline was predictable but this didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the book. There was a light hearted witty tone to the book and yet it does briefly touch on a serious issue. I found this a light hearted romantic read with engaging main characters. I look forward to reading another book by this author as she has such an easy flowing writing style so I will definitely be picking up another book by this author. 

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