My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle

Five out of Five Stars

One sentence summary:  On the heels of a broken engagement and job loss, Valerie finds herself on vacation in Ireland and fake engaged to one of the country's best rugby players. 

First thought: I loved this one! I knew it was going to get a five star when I was about 20% in.

Why I read it: Well, I skipped a lot of blogging for the past few months, but when I went back to visit my older posts-- I had written that I wanted to go back for more Karina Halle. It was worth it! 

POV: First Person, Alternating M|F

Setting:  Dublin & Shambles Irland.  

Tropes: Athlete, Heroine Rebuilding, Fake Engagement 

Our Heroine: Valerie. I loved her confidence, it wasn't direct, and she certainly addressed her flaws, but Padraig brought the confidence out of Valerie and that was pretty great. Her only down side was that I thought she could have been a bit more career driven, but that's probably just my personality. For the most part, she was just allowing herself to live in the moment and enjoy the world around her. I also appreciated her conscious- she's the type of character that just does the right thing.  

Our Hero: Padraig. OMG, he's my first Irish hero, and you can bet that I'll be on the hunt for more! (If you've got a recommendation for me, leave it in the comments!) Padraig has been dealt a rough hand and it breaks my heart. But, there is nothing I love more than reading a brooding athlete fall in love. My favorite part was when he argued the semantics of the word gentleman. 

Overall thoughts: It's not secret that sports romance and fake-relationships are my favorite tropes, so this one was a shoe in. I loved the little twist on the fake engagement that Karina Halle gives us. And, while creating a fake engagement isn't the most mature answer, I found our MCs to be some of the most mature characters I've read. I mean, they actually talk about things instead of keeping them bottled up! 

Even the eventual moment where our MCs are pulled apart-- it wasn't a lame misunderstanding, it felt real and I knew exactly why it was happening. Most of all, I appreciate when a story isn't insta-love, but it was certainly insta-lust! A good falling in love story always reminds me of the way I felt when I was falling in love with my husband, and that's one of the best reasons to read romance. 

The sexy scenes: A+ Steamy and sweet.  

The best part of the book: Nan! Plus I made my first ever LOL count. I'll add those to posts to rom-com posts, and other books that surprise me with a good laugh. 

LOL Count: 3 (I'm a modest loler, so three is pretty good!)

Worst part of the book: No complaints! 

TLDR: This adorable fake-engagement story is sexy, sweet, and low on angst but high on lust!

How I read it: For free with my Kindle Unlimited Subscription 

Links: My Life in Shambles on GoodReads & My Life in Shambles on Amazon

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