Aya M. Productions

Note: I received an eARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not paid to write this.

I don’t know what it is about Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series, but thus far I’ve loved every one I’ve read. Kiss Me is probably even my favorite thus far. In Kiss Me, Phoebe, a woman with a heart of gold and the need to continuously help those in need, finds herself in a predicament, which may cost her her job. Her helping out her boss put her real-estate license at risk, and despite a vow to never help someone again, her best friend convinces her to head out to the great out doors and protect Chase from his supposedly mean older brother. At the Nicholson Ranch in Fool’s Gold, she meets Zane, the not so helpless Chase, and even befriends a few animals. While Kiss Meis a romance between Phoebe and Zane, it also brings up the issue of what defines a family, forgiveness, and what it means to belong.

My favorite part of Kiss Me was definitely Phoebe. She was such an endearing character. She truly had a heart of gold, and I don’t think I could have disliked her even if I tried. Despite all of the misgivings she’s heard about Zane from her best friend Maya, she made her own decisions about him and the situation. She befriended animals and had full on conversations with them. I also loved her sense of humor when things weren’t exactly going well for her. Phoebe was pure joy, and I loved her. I totally wish she was my bff.

I adored Zane as well. I truly think he was one of those misunderstood characters. His younger half-brother, Chase, seemed to hate him, and his ex-step-sister Maya (Yes, ex-step-sister. This is a non-traditional family for sure.) seemed to never take his side. Truly though, all he was trying to do was make sure Chase didn’t live with regrets like Zane did. And although Chase thought of Zane as a perfect guy, he truly wasn’t. He had his issues just like everyone else but tended to keep to himself. Unfortunately, keeping to himself alienated him, and made him seem like the bad guy to everyone in his family.

There was an added side story to Kiss Me that I didn’t fully understand. I truly loved the story of the couple that couldn’t conceive their own child and the two foster kids that ended up on the cattle drive. It was a touching side story. It just didn’t flow well for me in the beginning. It was in a different POV, and I was just very confused at first as to who this character was and how it was going to be incorporated in the story.

Furthermore, while I did enjoy the ending. Somehow I still get the sense that everything wrapped up too quickly. I’m not sure what it is, but I definitely feel like the ending was good but not fully satisfying. Perhaps, I need to read Thrill Me first, which is the next book. It does feature Maya. So I’m pretty sure we’ll see more of Phoebe, Zane, and Chase.

Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series is such a great contemporary romance series. Kiss Me really knocks it out of the park though, bringing endearing characters and a touching story all about family. Kiss Me  was definitely my favorite thus far. I simply fell in love with Phoebe, Zane, and all of the animals. It’ll be a tough one to beat.