Review – No Flowers Required by Cari Quinn

Publisher: Entangled
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: eARC from publisher

He’ll give her everything she desires…except his identity.

Flower shop owner Alexa Conroy had it all before the recession hit and her customers fled to cheaper shopping grounds. Desperate to make ends meet, she sells her dream home and moves into the rundown apartments above her shop. When she spots six feet of sexy distraction—complete with muscles, piercings, and tattoos—ripping up flooring, Alexa knows the karmic windfall she’s due just landed on her doorstep.
And the attraction’s definitely not one-sided.

Dillon James, reluctant heir to the corporation about to foreclose on Alexa’s shop, is not about to jeopardize their scorching chemistry by admitting he’s not the building’s handyman. But with only weeks until her business goes under and his identity is revealed, Dillon must find a way to convince Alexa cooperation isn’t a dirty word, help her save the shop from his brother’s greed, and persuade her that he’s not the enemy…or risk losing the only woman who’s seen the real him.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I’ve long been a fan of Cari Quinn, so any chance I get to read one of her books, is a good day for me.

Alexa is struggling to make ends meet at her floral shop, her one pride and joy. She sold her dream home, moved into a crappy apartment, and is drowning in debt. The last thing she needs to worry about is to fall for the sexy building handyman, who just so happens to crave her as much as she craves him. As she gets to know Dillon, she realizes he is so much more than just a handyman. He is business savvy, sexy as hell, and someone she could fall for, easily.

Dillon wanted to tell Alexa that he is the son of the family she considers her mortal enemy, but he just can’t bring himself to tell her. She is smart and beautiful and passionate and sexy as all hell, and Dillon isn’t ready to give up what they have. But as they get closer, and the stress from her business begins to wane on her, Dillon will do anything he can to earn her trust, even if it means revealing his secret, and possibly the woman of his dreams.

One of these days I’m going to demand that Quinn write an epic romance, one that has at least 300 pages and never ends. I am always so bummed when I flip to the last page and the story ends. With Dillon and Alexa, I was especially bummed because I desperately wanted the chance to see them spend more time with one another, living out each of their dreams. I can only hope that as Quinn continues the series, we get to see more and more of Dillon and Alexa.

Even though Dillon hid his identity from Alexa, I adored him. It was obvious throughout the story that he struggled with his decision not to tell her, and for me, that just made me love him even more. He saw the potential in Alexa falling for the man he really was, and in fighting for the chance to win her over before revealing the truth. While I wouldn’t be able to handle that in real life, I thought it worked so well in this book, especially given the way Alexa dealt with and handled the situation, once the truth was revealed.

And for all of Alexa’s crazy thoughts about Dillon’s family, she was an awesome heroine. She was so desperate to fight, and although she prickled at the idea of help, she eventually saw the value in what Dillon was trying to offer with his suggestions, and took them and ran – making little success stories everywhere she turned. She was neurotic and crazy and yet she loved those close to her to an extreme, was willing to do anything to help them, and save her dream.

Their romance was great as well. In true Quinn fashion, the sexy times were spectacular. The rain, the smut, the tension… it was all jammed packed into the story and made their courtship that much more intense and amazing. Like I mentioned before, once Alexa found out the truth, I loved the way she handled it. She didn’t back down, or forgive easily. Instead she marched up to Dillon and demanded answers from him, without taking any crap either. It was a great way for them to air their dirty laundry and move forward to the next chapter.

All in all I continue to be impressed with Quinn’s writing. I think she does such an incredible job mixing the right about of sex, tension and emotions into her stories, creating wonderful stories to fall in love with. I sincerely hope that the Love Required series doesn’t end anytime soon, and that we get to see much much more of Alexa and Dillon in the future.
I give No Flowers Required a B

Kindle