Monday Book Review: For the Love of You, by Claire Marti

For the Love of You, Pacific Vista Ranch Book Three
by Claire Marti
Published March 18, 2020

About the Book:

For a French soccer icon, and a gifted artist, a fake engagement is the perfect solution for their current dilemmas. But when last summer’s fling slips from lust to love, their pretend relationship becomes too hot to handle.

Gabriel DuVernay is heir to one of the oldest wineries in France, but his passion is playing soccer, not tending vines. When he signs a multi-million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy, he’s able to postpone his unwelcome duties and help his younger sister convince their old-fashioned father she should be their family’s first female winemaker. Another bonus of moving to California is reuniting with the striking redhead who snuck out of his apartment after the hottest night of his life.

Last summer, artist Dylan McNeill’s life on her family’s Southern California horse-breeding ranch was thrown into chaos and she escaped to Paris. One electrifying night with a gorgeous playboy athlete helped her forget her problems. She’s never forgotten Gabriel, but aspiring artists trying to break into the elite art world don’t have time for romance. She’s determined to get discovered without trading on her family’s famous name.

When Gabriel suffers a career-shattering injury, he needs to buy some time to figure out how to remain in America and choose his own future. His influential mother can open important doors in the art world and help Dylan fulfill her dreams ––for a price. A fictitious engagement seems like the simple answer until living at Pacific Vista Ranch and pretending to be in love starts to feel real.

Can last year’s one night stand and this year’s fake engagement turn into true love forever?

My Take:

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Claire Marti's latest romance which goes on sale later this week and would totally recommend you grab a pre-order copy now on Amazon.

I've been a fan of Claire Marti's work since her debut novel, Second Chance in Laguna, the first of a trilogy set in Laguna Beach, California. This current work is her sixth romance and her writing gets stronger and more fun to read with each novel. This current series is also set in Southern California, a setting the author is familiar with and describes with depth and emotion so the reader practically feels like we're right there with the characters (quite the feat for me, since I live in New England!) Like her other books, this one is part of a series where each book can definitely be read as a standalone, and has a complete and unique storyline. But like with her Laguna series, the reader enjoys more depth of character if you read each of the McNeill sister stories.

This third novel focuses on Dylan McNeill, the most sensitive of the three McNeill sisters, and twins with Samantha who runs the breeding operation on the family horse farm. Unlike both of her sisters, Dylan doesn't work with the horses at all. Her passion is art, and her dream is to have her impressionist-style paintings shown in galleries around the world. Her brief, passionate affair with a French soccer star was pretty far outside of her usual comfort zone, but the chemistry between them was too hot to be ignored. Does she want more from him? Sure - more dates, more kisses, maybe another tumble... and when he moves to the U.S. she's excited to see where it might go...

When his career abruptly ends, Gabriel DuVernay needs time... both to physically heal and to make a new plan for the future. Soccer is his life, but not the life his father wants for him. Dylan agrees to an arrangement that will give him the time he needs, but will spending time with her change what he ultimately wants out of life?

And that's the ultimate question - can the white hot spark that flares between Dylan and Gabriel be coaxed into something sustainable? Claire Marti turns this simple query into an interesting premise and a fun to read novel! I loved every minute of the pair's uber-hot chemistry (ooh, the sexy French athlete!) The descriptions of the settings, the characters and the overflowing emotions were all spot on and had me turning pages as fast as my Kindle could go, burning through this enjoyable story in record time.

If you've never read a novel by this author, what are you waiting for? And if you're already a Marti fan, grab this new novel as fast as you can! Available on AMAZON this week - preorder yours today.