Review – Perfect Fling by Carly Phillips

Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: July 30th
How I got this book: NetGalley

Erin … The Good Girl
Assistant District Attorney, Erin Marsden, is Serendipity’s quintessential good girl. The only daughter of the ex-police chief, she has never made a misstep, content with her quiet, predictable life … or so she thinks. Until Cole Sanders returns to town with heated interest in his eyes and shadows in his past.

Cole … The Bad Boy
After seven years of deep undercover work in New York City, Cole returns to Serendipity to help his aging father and to find his moral compass once more. Not to get involved with wholesome Erin Marsden. Even as a rebellious teen, he knew a girl like Erin was off limits and that hasn’t changed. But neither one of them can resist their off-the-charts chemistry and a one night stand brings complications neither Erin nor Cole expected.

The Attraction … Off the Charts!
Then Erin’s current case plunges her into a killer’s crosshairs. With more at stake than anyone knows, Erin succumbs to Cole’s take-charge attitude. As a bodyguard, he’s the best. As a lover, he’s even better. But there’s more than the matter of Erin’s safety at stake. And Cole must forgive the sins of his past and prove to himself – and to Erin – that he’s capable of the love and the forever she – and their baby – desperately need.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I have been anxiously waiting to hear Erin’s story, so I was so excited at the chance to gobble this story up! Loved it, Phillips did an amazing job with this one.

Erin has always been a good-girl, but one night of loneliness caused her to make a rash decision that was so out of character. When that decision ends up with her pregnant, Erin knows that her life has been forever changed. Although she doesn’t know much about Cole, Erin knows that deep down he’s a good guy. When he demands to protect her after she’s shot, Erin finds herself falling more and more for the father of her baby.

Cole is used to his undercover work. Going in and getting out while completing the mission and keeping people at bay. Erin is the only woman who has ever gotten under his skin, and while Cole would like to keep her there, he isn’t sure that is the best thing for her or their baby. But with Erin’s safety in question, Cole will do anything to keep her and his unborn child safe. Too bad he is finding that his heart might be the only thing crushed.

I love marriage of convenience stories, and I also have a soft spot for secret baby stories, so this book had a little bit of both, and had me falling head over heels. The romance between these two was so refreshing, and I loved every minute of it. Erin tried to keep her heart intact, and yet when she realized that she lost herself to Cole, she was willing to fight tooth and nail to win him over. And poor Cole, he was so beaten down by his father that he had zero faith in himself. He wanted the perfect life he knew he could have with Erin, but was so scared of what a relationship with him would mean for her.

I thought the mini suspense plot was so well done, too. Although I easily guessed who the stalker was, I liked the way it played out in both the overall story and the romance. Plus, I always like when the hero is forced to spend day in and day out protecting the heroine. It really gave Cole and Erin the chance to become friends, and fall in love.

I’m super excited for the next Serendipity book as well, as I’ve come to love all the secondary characters in this series. I can’t wait to see how things work out for Sam, especially since his love interest will have a lot to contend with in Serendipity. The secondary characters are some of my favorites, and I love the fact that Phillips makes them play such a strong and integral role in the books and series overall.

All in all I adored this installment of the Serendipity series. Erin and Cole had one of the best romances I’ve read so far this year. I loved the baby aspect, the forced togetherness and the way that Erin and Cole were able to really pull each other out of their stereotypes and have the kind of relationship they both dreamed of and desired.
I give Perfect Fling a B+

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