Series: The O'Learys (stand alone)
Author: Shannyn Schroeder
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Romance
Release Date: January 16, 2014
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Format: eBook and Paperback
Pages: Approx. 178
Review Tour Sponsored by:
Book Blurb:
Two ambitious people team up to prove themselves to their families—and find there may be more to their partnership than just business…
Elizabeth Brannigan is determined to show her father she’s capable of running the family business. Saving his struggling Chicago bar seems like the perfect project. But she’ll need a little help dealing with the rough crowd. Who better to assist her than the handsome co-owner of a thriving Irish pub? Of course, with so much work to do, there are bound to be a few late nights…
Colin O’Leary’s father passed away before he could prove to him that he wasn’t a screw-up. Now he wants to show his brother he’s responsible enough to own a bar of his own—and Elizabeth may be able to help him. But when their professional aspirations clash, tempers—and passions—flare. Are they mature enough to mix business with pleasure—or will they have to choose between the two?
Reviewers Note: Something To Prove is book three in The O’Leary’s series and is an Adult, Contemporary Romance written by Shannyn Schroeder. I received this eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review through Tasty Book Tours.
4 Sweet, Romantic Stars!
Incredibly Sweet With A Bit Of Mystery and Intrigue! A Perfect Afternoon Read.
The Review:
Elizabeth Brannigan is out to prove to her father that she’s the better choice to take over as ECO of her father's company instead of her brother. After Elizabeth goes through her fathers assets and finds a neglected business, she gets the idea to turn the Irish Pub from a run down, failing business into a newly polished, profitable bar without the help of her family and prove her worth to her father and brother.
The only thing is, she knows nothing about running an Irish pub so she decides to enlist the help of local talent in exchange for a percentage of profits and sales. However, after accepting the help of the hot, tempting Colin O’Leary, she quickly decides mixing business and pleasure may have gotten her in way over her head.
Colin O’Leary wants to branch out on his own after spending the last year working under his younger brother in their families pub. He made the huge mistake of running after his father died, leaving their close knit family to pick up the pieces alone. Now that he’s back and ready to prove himself, he’s finding it hard to gain the trust of the brother he so desperately wants it from.
Succeeding on his own will prove once and for all he can be trusted so he accepts Elizabeth's offer to partner together and in the process, make enough money to afford his own place.
When Elizabeth and Colin meet, sparks ignite and these two can’t seem to keep their hands off each other no matter how hard they try to resist. They finally give up and just go for it, which was thrilling to read. They are instantly attracted to each other and meet in a fun and unique way. But Elizabeth has some major trust issues and Colin getting her to come around takes it toll on both of them. I really enjoyed Elizabeth. She was strong and independent but she also needed help and someone to lean on. Colin was wonderful, trustworthy and dependable and I loved how he took care of Elizabeth even before he realized he loved her.
These two have huge hurdles to overcome before they find their HEA’s and add on top great family dynamics, fun and interesting characters, a saboteur who’s trying to ruin all their hard work and two opposing, strong willed people who find something better inside themselves when they work together and you have the perfect recipe for an outstanding romance.
The Wrap Up:
This read was sexy, sweet , fun and definitely entertaining. I loved the great cast of supporting character and the mains were complex and well written. I’m definitely a fan and look forward to reading more from this author.
Buy the Book!
EXCERPT
This bar was doing something right.
The bartender came over as she was reading the menu. “Hi. What can I get you tonight?”
She looked up and swallowed hard. The man in front of her was mouthwateringly gorgeous. His mussed black hair framed a face dominated by a happy-go-lucky smile. She lost her ability to form coherent sentences. “Uh…”
He tilted his head and studied her face. “You look beat. Tough day?”
She nodded. What was wrong with her? She didn’t do this around men. She’d had no fewer than eight different men try to pick her up tonight. This one was just doing his job, and she had to fight for focus.
“How about an Irish coffee?” Dark brows arched over navy eyes.
She cleared her throat. “Sounds good.”
He walked away. She studied the menu. It wasn’t fancy. Like the rest of the bars, it offered burgers and hot wings, but they had more traditional pub fare, like fish and chips and shepherd’s pie. Her mouth watered at the thought of real food. The drink menu was plain as well, but at least displayed a list of drinks with the basic ingredients. Pictures and descriptions would’ve been better, but this bar had already exceeded the competition from the other Chicago neighborhood pubs she’d visited.
The bartender returned with her Irish coffee. She sipped and found it perfect. The whipped cream puffed and floated on top and she used her straw to scoop some up. She ran her tongue over the cream-laden straw and heard a groan.
She looked up to find the bartender looking at her. Replacing the straw, she waited for an explanation.
His mouth quirked up at the corner. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it. That was downright sinful.”
Her cheeks flamed. She was blushing? No. The alcohol from earlier in the evening was catching up with her and colliding with her exhaustion. He broke eye contact and mumbled, “Give me a holler if you need anything else.”
He walked away and picked up a conversation with other customers. She tried not to be obvious in studying him and the way he interacted with people. This was something the other bars had been missing as well. A personal touch.
She finished her drink, tossed cash on the bar, and took a few moments to wander toward the back of the bar. There was a small stage, a jukebox, and dartboards. Down a dimly lit hallway were the bathrooms. Too tired to think, she opted to leave. Part of her wanted to talk to some of the patrons, get their perspective as to why they came here, but it would have to wait.
By morning, hopefully Meg would have information about The Irish Pub and, with any luck, the books wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined. As she wound her way back toward the front, raucous laughter exploded at the bar. The sexy bartender was enjoying something.
He caught her eye as she passed. His laughter made his eyes twinkle with mischief, his smile lighting his face, like he had the best life in the world. She wondered what it would be like to feel that even for a night. It wasn’t that she was unhappy; she liked her life very much, in fact, but it had been too long since she’d experienced a laugh that shook her whole body.
About the Author...
Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.
After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”
So she did.
That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to where she is today—agented with a debut ebook coming out with Kensington in late 2012.
She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.
Contact the Author...
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Thank you so much for hosting me today and for the wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome Shannyn! Loved this book and can't wait to read more from the O'Learys :) Good luck on your tour. Thanks for having me...
DeleteThanks for having me and for stopping by Lisa!
ReplyDelete