Title: Jersey Daze
Series: No, but it totally should be!
Author: GD Steel
Published: 2011, but it is being re-released for the holidays!
Tour: No
Format: Ebook provided by author for review
Julianna Hastings had to put her grief for her father and stepmother on hold when she had to assume custody of her younger siblings. When she loses them in a custody hearing, her grief is too much with which to cope.
Jeremy Davies runs a successful business. While looking for his next Executive Secretary, he is pulled into the fun and loving Hastings family circle. When Julianna falls apart, Jeremy wants to be the one to help her put her and her family back together.
Another watches and wants Julianna and all that Jeremy has, will he break their new family apart?
Before I started this book I wasn’t really sure what journey it would take me on. It sounded really good, and it got a lot of really good ratings on Goodreads. The author, Gwen Steel, was super nice during our emails and I was excited to finally get to read this story. And as it turns out, it was with good reason. This book is terrific!
Julianna was a bit more than down on her luck. Her father and stepmother have just died and she is left to care for her younger siblings. It would be a lot to absorb for anyone. She is barely able to make ends meet, and she relies heavily on neighbors and such to be her support system. She has a job at Davies corporation, but it just isn’t enough.
Then one day she bumps into a man, Jeremy. Like she literally bumps into him. Only she doesn’t realize exactly who he is. He is Jeremy Davies, CEO of Davies Corp. Jeremy instantly feels a pull toward this woman on the street, and he sets out to find out more. I just love these types of meetings! Sometimes you just have to step out of the way for fate!
*Sigh* I really loved these two. I mean it, seriously, I loved them. Apart they are individually wonderful, but together they are so terrific. I smiled through a good portion of this book. Julianna is selfless and loving to her family and friends. She is kind to neighbors and coworkers, and she just has a good heart. Jeremy is a bit of a workaholic who is about to learn there is so much more to life than work. He also has such a good heart and his affection for Julianna and her family is enough to crack any Grinch’s heart.
Gwen's storytelling is terrific. You are right there as Julianna struggles with keeping her family in tact, while she is also falling in love with Jeremy. Jeremy is struggling to help the woman he loves without her getting scared and running away. Then something truly heartbreaking happens to Julianna, and when she is in bed for a week crying you can't help but be there with her. And on top of that, there is a truly despicable man who.... well, who is pretty much evil.
Gwen's storytelling is terrific. You are right there as Julianna struggles with keeping her family in tact, while she is also falling in love with Jeremy. Jeremy is struggling to help the woman he loves without her getting scared and running away. Then something truly heartbreaking happens to Julianna, and when she is in bed for a week crying you can't help but be there with her. And on top of that, there is a truly despicable man who.... well, who is pretty much evil.
This story takes place around the holidays, and I stronglyurge you to buy your copy. This book will make you fall in love and realize how important family and friends are. It will make you want to hug everyone! Yes, there are some scary points in this book. It takes a bit for this journey to complete. And yes, there were even parts of this book that made me cry actual wet salty tears. I don’t normally read books with a lot of children, but I fell in love with Julianna’s siblings. Those kids are just darling and they have had their world torn apart, you can't help but feel for them.
So I am going to keep this a bit short. I want to tell you that it takes place in Jersey, which we all know was recently hit by Hurricane Sandy. The author, Gwen, is also from the area. She lives right in the middle of the devastated areas. And she is donating 10% of all sales to Super Storm Sandy Causes, through Feb 2014. So if you love a good contemporary romance, or a holiday romance – I definitely think you will love this story! And I am doing a giveaway for an ebook from either B&N or Amazon to help add to the cause. Happy Reading!
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