Sunday, January 26, 2014

Revell Blog Tour: Dare to Love Again

Dare to Love Again (The Heart of San Francisco, #2)Author: Julie Lessman
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Revell
Series: The Heart of San Francisco # 2

Spunky Allison McClare is determined to be a fearless, independent woman, resorting to a mammoth hat pin for protection on her way to and from the school where she teaches. But when she takes a notion to explore the wild Barbary Coast she quickly discovers she is no match for rum-soaked brute strength.

Detective Nick Barone would rather do almost anything than teach this petite socialite jiu-jitsu, but it seems he has little choice in the matter. Sparks fly every time the two meet until a grudging friendship develops into something deeper. But when Nick suddenly leaves town, Allison realizes he’s a fraud just like all the rest of the men she’s cared for. Does she dare love again?



Merciful Providence…I smell a rat! Nose in the air, Allison McClare sniffed, the unmistakable scent of Bay Rum drifting into her empty classroom of the Hand of Hope School. Although not uncommon for an antiquated Victorian house a stone’s throw from the sewers of the Barbary Coast, this smell of “rat” was altogether different and far more frightening. She wrinkled her nose. The man kind.

“Go – pester somebody who’s actually breaking the law, you oversized bully, or I’ll give you something to arrest me for.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” he said with a grunt. “Another rich dame appeasing her guilt by dabbling in charity between high tea and tennis on the lawn.” He started down, knuckles clenched on the jacket in his hand. “She’d have to be blood related to hire a sassy mouth like you.”

Julie Lessman never disappoints and allows readers to feel the passion that she puts into her books. In the second book in The Heart of San Francisco series, Lessman takes readers again to the vibrant, bustling city of San Fran and another wild, but heartwarming, adventure ensues. And of course I am drawn to this book and it will forever sit atop my beautiful shelves because our heroine, Allison McClare, has a passion for teaching, and teaching underprivileged girls at that! Allison has recently suffered from a broken heart, and we know how painful those can be, but she has decided to put all that behind her and build a new life at her mother’s new school! That is until a handsome detective shows up in her classroom!

I take my bouts as far as when I want to get absorbed in a romance novel because let’s face it, sometimes I am just not in the mood for it. However, Julie Lessman always wins me over because her books are written not in a insta-love manner, but in a realistic and tasteful way. Nick Barone and Allison McClare could not be more different, but the things that we find out about them allow us to see where the chemistry comes from. The relationship they develop is so sweet and heart-warming. This was a perfect book to read close to Valentine’s Day!

I loved seeing some of the characters from the first book in this series resurface in this book. Julie Lessman has a way of surprising readers and making them feel so cozy and comfortable. And what a better way to do that than bring back Cassie and Jamie?! I highly suggest that you pick up the first book in this series, not because you need it to read the second but just because it was a wonderful read as well. This will be a great series to own even in years to come!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Revell in exchange for my honest review***





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