He’s always wanted her. Now’s his chance to claim what’s his.
School teacher Marceline Bellini gave up everything—men, sex, anything resembling a social life—to raise her young daughter. To be the perfect parent. But when she attends an engagement party in her standard stick-in-the-mud mode, her friends begin plying Marcy with shots. Just enough to convince her that a little fun doesn’t sound like a bad idea… and having some naughty fun is an even better one.
Like finding herself deliciously pressed against a dark alley wall by the very familiar and very hot body of her best friend’s older brother.
After years of waiting in painful silence, police officer Aaron Robinson finally has Marcy’s attention. And man, does he have it. But nothing could have prepared either of them for the rush of fiery lust between them. So he’ll just have to convince Marcy he’s for real. And that a rainy, lust-fuelled romp is the first step to a lifetime of completely imperfecthappiness…
ABOUT KATEE 
Katee Robert learned to tell stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her favorites then were the rather epic adventures of The Three Bears, but at age twelve she discovered romance novels and never looked back.
Though she dabbled in writing, life got in the way—as it often does—and she spent a few years traveling, living in both Philadelphia and Germany. In between traveling and raising her two wee ones, she had the crazy idea that she’d like to write a book and try to get published.
Her first novel was an epic fantasy that, God willing, will never see the light of day. From there, she dabbled in YA and horror, before finally finding speculative romance. Because, really, who wouldn’t want to write entire books about the smoking-hot relationships between two people?
She now spends her time—when not lost in Far Reach worlds—playing imaginary games with her wee ones, writing, ogling men, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
Jaime’s Thoughts
His to Keep by Katee Robert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed Chasing Mrs. Right by Katee so I jumped at the chance to give her new novella a read, and while I liked it… I just didn’t love it.
Marceline has spent the last few years indulging in nothing, her focus solely on raising her daughter. When she attends her best friends engagement party they convince her to let loose for an evening and after a few drinks she likes the idea even more.
Aaron Robinson has spent years waiting for Marceline to see him and when she finally pays a bit of attention to someone that isn’t him he finally makes a move. Aaron hopes that a hot encounter in a dark alley is just the beginning, but Marceline has other ideas and runs off… Now Aaron has to make his move and convince her he’s in for the long haul, but can he do it without scaring her off?
First Robert creates some really believable, heated moments between these two. I liked their chemistry and thought their history really helped with that. On the flip side… I completely understand why Marceline didn’t think he was really interested in a real relationship… I mean, if you are, you don’t screw her for the first time in an alley against a wall…. Or maybe you do, I don’t know. But that one detail kind of stuck in my craw if I’m to be honest.
One thing that stuck out and I thought was incredibly weird was that Aaron’s sister’s name was Erin. I actually thought it was a typo with the name for a second and found myself going back to double check. It was just weird and I thought added a bit of unnecessary confusion, because what parent’s would do that to their kids anyway?
Aside from that, I thought for a novella this was good – Again, I’m a fan of Katee Robert’s writing. Her stories are well done and easy to read and that means no squicky words or uncomfortable situations lol. Definitely grab this one when it’s out!
Thank you to Entangled for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!
His to Keep by Katee Robert was a solid 3 stars for me. There were some good parts and some things that bothered me. First, the things I liked – the characters were solid. It is always tough to develop characters enough in a novella but I thought Robert did a solid job of getting me interested in these characters and their stories.
Marcy and Aaron have been dancing around each other since she was seventeen and he consciously made the decision to leave before things went anywhere. When Aaron came back, Marcy was already dealing with a guy who treated her poorly and eventually leaves her when she is pregnant. Now Marcy is a single mother and rarely does anything that isn’t for her daughter. As Aaron watches her from across the bar they are at in celebration of their friend’s engagement, he decides he doesn’t want to avoid her anymore and makes a move.
This is where the relationship takes a few steps forward…although it isn’t really a relationship. They end up having sex in the alley behind the bar and then Marcy runs away. As Aaron gets her to realize he isn’t going to just give up on her, Marcy decides to take a chance which leads to the HEA ending.
There was one major thing that bothered me in this story and that was the author’s decision to make Aaron’s sister’s name Erin. It seemed a bit ridiculous and I can’t imagine any parents ever doing that to their kids. Minor detail as Erin doesn’t play a huge role in this story but still, weird.
Overall, this was a good story with some solid characters. If you are looking for a quick romance to read, definitely check this one out.
Thank you to Netgalley & Entangled Publishing for the review copy.
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