New Year, New Guy by Angela Britnell

ABOUT THE BOOK

Out with the old life, in with the new …

When Laura’s bride-to-be sister, Polly, organises a surprise reunion for her fiancé and his long lost American friend, Laura grudgingly agrees to help keep the secret. And when the plain-spoken, larger-than-life Hunter McQueen steps off the bus in her rainy Devon town and only just squeezes into her tiny car, it confirms that Laura has made a big mistake in going along with her sister’s crazy plan. But could the tall, handsome man with the Nashville drawl be just what reserved Laura Williams needs to shake up her life and start something new?

MY REVIEW

I chose this book due to the unknown dynamics of the serious British woman and the bold  American cowboy.  Let’s say it was a bit more complex than that.

Laura Williams isn’t susceptible to flirting and handsome men after her sham of a marriage. Her staff has nicknamed her “The Enforcer” at work. As the nursing ward manager of the A&E department at Derriford hospital, she runs a tight ship. She has no time for an unpredictable tall handsome American who is getting under her skin and not at all what her sister described. In fact, she’s sure he’s hiding a secret and is not who her sister, Polly, thought he was when she invited him as a surprise wedding guest for her fiance, Johnny. Laura will not make a fool of herself for another man.

Hunter McQueen is not sure why he showed up in England again after what happened twenty years ago when he was a teenager at a reform school for wayward kids.  He’s sure Johnny will blow a gasket when he finds his fiancee invited him to the wedding.  But Polly’s sister, Laura, is an unexpected and pleasant surprise. She’s serious and has a no-nonsense attitude to relationships which is fine with him. His New Year’s resolution was to stay single after all. But she’s a hard nut to crack, and he will do anything to make her smile. Something that doesn’t come easy for her.  Can he reconcile with his past so he can have her in his future?

Laura and Hunter are an awkward pair forced together because of a wedding surprise.  There are some comical moments with Hunter’s charming sense of humor and serious moments with Laura’s ex-husband, but it’s the slow and intense attraction between two opposites that make this a good read.  

Overall, this is a fun and light-hearted romance with strong characters and an interesting plot.

Thank you to Ms. Britnell for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Angela was born in St. Stephen, Cornwall, England. After completing her A-Levels she worked as a Naval Secretary. She met her husband, a US Naval Flight Officer while being based at a small NATO Headquarters on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. They lived together in Denmark, Sicily, California, southern Maryland and London before settling in Franklin, Tennessee.

Angela took a creative writing course in 2000 and loved it so much that she has barely put her pen down since. She has had short stories and novels published in the US. Her novel Sugar & Spice, won Choc Lit’s Search for an American Star competition and was her UK debut.

Follow Angela on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.