Publisher: Forever
Where did you get the book: e-ARC from publisher
Release date: Out now
Sometimes when perfect falls apart, a little trouble fixes everything . . .
Twenty-one-year-old Kayla Turner has lost everything. After spending most of her life taking care of her ailing mother, she just wants to spot a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. So when her late father-a man she barely knew-leaves her an inheritance, she finally breathes a sigh of relief . . . until she learns the inheritance comes with strings. Strings in the form of handsome playboy Daren Ackwood, her father’s protégé. To see any of her inheritance, she’s forced to team up with him. From his expensive car to those sexy dimples, Kayla’s seen his type before. But Daren isn’t who he seems to be . . .
Struggling to make amends for his family’s mistakes, Daren has a life more Oliver Twist than Richie Rich these days. He’s beyond grateful that James Turner included him in his will, but working with Turner’s princess of a daughter to fulfill his cryptic last wish is making Daren wonder if being broke is really so bad. Still, she’s just as beautiful as she is stubborn, and the more time he spends with Kayla, the less it feels right being without her. Soon Daren and Kayla begin to wonder if maybe the best gift Kayla’s dad could have left them . . . was each other.
*blurb taken from Goodreads*
I really love Fine’s authorial voice and humour in her writing. Fine has such a way with her characters, especially their interactions and banter that makes reading her books so much fun. Perfect Kind of Trouble is the second book in the Finding Fate series. Daren made an appearance in the first book, Best Kind of Broken, as the town’s bad boy, who made an incredibly stupid mistake when he tried to force Pixie (heroine from BKoB) into a car when he was drunk.
Kayla also has a troubled life; she arrives back home for her father’s will and comes face to face with Daren. Kayla is hurt, angry and bitter over her father’s death. She’s been left struggling for years, along with her mother, thinking that her father had cut all ties with her. She arrives back home homeless with scant possessions and a beat-up car. Daren and Kayla both think the worst of the other. Daren adored James Turner and thought Kayla was a stuck-up rich girl. Kayla was jealous of Daren’s relationship he had with her father, and believed was nothing but a spoilt rich boy. The two are forced (literally) together to find the inheritance left by Kayla’s father, and both had plans of scamming each other out of their money.
I enjoyed Perfect Kind of Trouble and that’s down to Chelsea Fine’s talent of creating engaging characters that you can’t help but like. Daren at times was hilarious and really could be the charmer. Kayla I also liked but I did have some issues regarding one aspect, and that was her looks. I wasn’t sure what to think of the girls in the town automatically being a bitch to Kayla because she was super pretty. They think she’ll steal their boyfriends, which is what Kayla alludes to in her narration. One of the messages in the book was that there are a lot of misconceptions people think towards beautiful women. I don’t know if that was done to make the heroine more sympathetic but it doesn’t exactly promote positive female interaction. If you have the genes and luck to be a stunning person, acts of kindness is not a special occurrence. Kayla is shown doing acts of kindness to showcase that she’s pretty and nice, unlike some of those jealous girls who can’t stand her becausec of her looks alone. I can believe there are some girls in life who will act like that but I wanted that particular message to be more organic in the story, and not forced, where a lot of young female characters in the town had this issue with Kayla’s looks.
There’s lots of empathy for Kayla without wanting to make everyone feel sorry for her because she’s beautiful. And I couldn’t help but feel heart-heavy for Kayla when throughout this scavenger hunt her father left them, she learned some horrible truths about her mother and knows she can never make amends with her father for the past which was not her fault at all. It was really bittersweet, and I adored how Daren supported Kayla. Throughout their assignments, both Daren and Kayla both learn about each others pasts and realise they have so much more in common. Daren was also a very sympathetic character where his family abandoned him and he was living a life with false pretenses. He wasn’t rich; he didn’t have tons of money. There were times where he went hungry, and is forced to work for his food when things became really tight. There was a scene where Kayla and Daren are able to eat free food, and they took as much as they could, and that really got to me emotionally. But I did wonder if Daren struggled with food, how did he not become thinner. Where did he work out for his abs and muscles?
On the romance and sexy side, Fine does great sexy scenes full of heat. I think think Daren and Kayla’s first kiss scene was a little abrupt, considering there wasn’t that much tension between them, especially on Kayla’s side. One of the critiques I have is that the timeline was way too short. For Kayla and Daren to fall deeply in love, three days is not believable.
There was a scene in which Daren’s father was cruel to him when he and Kayla visited him in prison. Why did Darren believe the cruel words his father told him, that he’ll never be good enough for Kayla, considering his own mother left him? Darren’s visit with his Dad in prison becomes a catalyst for the black moment between him and Kayla. From learning one another and understanding one another, all of a sudden the both of them are calling each other horrible names and hurting each other. The things Darren says are horrible insulting of a sexual nature, and it felt out of character for him. Kayla and Daren soon make up and make things better, especially when Kayla learns more about her father and mother. When the reason for Kayla’s mother’s illness is revealed, I did wonder why her father allowed her to stay there and never told Kayla the truth, and why he never fought for custody when she was younger?
All in all despite some of the issues I mentioned, I enjoyed Perfect Kind of Trouble. The romance is sexy and Kayla and Daren are very likeable characters and there’s some great banter between them full of Fine’s humour.
I give Perfect Kind of Trouble a B-
Thanks to the publisher, we have an excerpt to share and a rafflecopter link. BUT! We have something extra after the excerpt so keep on reading!
“So this is where you work?” She gestures at the closed kitchen door behind me as she approaches.
I step back so she can enter the courtyard then glance over my shoulder. “It’s more like the place where I help out in the kitchen, occasionally,” I say. “I like to cook so sometimes the owner, Jake, let’s me jump on the line.”
She tilts her head. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as the cooking type.”
“No?” I arch a brow. “What type am I?”
“Well the professional lover type, obviously.”
I grin. “That too.”
The teasing in her eyes along with the lightness of her smile does something soft to my insides. This is a different Kayla than the one I was sitting next to at the bar. That girl was stressed and burdened, but this girl… this girl is hopeful and happy.
The only reason I can think of for the change in her tone is the inheritance. Does the idea of getting money please her so much that she’s suddenly this cheerful person? Does it please me that much?
I remember Jake’s comment earlier, about my being happy, and realize with a sinking feeling that yes, the idea of an inheritance has made me happy. Money would alleviate some of my problems and, therefore, it gives me a security in my future that pleases me.
I’m not sure how I feel about money having so much control over my contentment. It makes me sound an awful lot like my dad.
“So what is this place?” she asks, nodding to the courtyard around us.
I look up at the small twinkle lights strung above the area. “Right now it’s just storage space. But Jake wants to make it into a dining patio. You know, so people can rent it out for private parties or whatever.”
“It’s cute.” She walks around, checking out the rose bushes that line the fence and the Tuscany-inspired mural painted against the back wall.
“So where you off to?” I step closer so we’re both beside the painted wall. “Back to your humble abode at the Quickie Stop?”
She scoffs. “Humble indeed. But yeah.”
I glance at the dark parking lot beyond the fence and the even darker streets that lead to the edge of town, and frown. “By yourself?”
She faces me with a cocked eyebrow. “Yeah. I’ve got my own driver’s license and everything.”
I smile at the ground. “Okay, that’s fair.” I glance at the dark streets again. “I’m just a concerned citizen that wanted to make sure you got home safely. That’s all.”
She nods. “How very kind of you, citizen. Would you rather I be going back to the Quickie Stop with someone?”
The idea of Kayla going home with someone—anyone, other than me—rakes down my spine like nails on a chalkboard. I don’t know when I got so possessive of this girl but holy hell. My veins are on fire.
How very unexpected. And somewhat annoying.
I don’t get possessive of women. Ever. Sure, I care about Amber and Pixie but that’s different. I care about them like sisters. I’m protective of them. I couldn’t really give a damn who they, or any other female in this town, go to bed with.
But Kayla?
Hot jealousy darts through my veins.
How very annoyingly unexpected.
I set my shoulders back in a casual manner. “Not particularly,” I say coolly. “I just wasn’t sure if you had a ride or not.”
“Oh.” She runs a finger over her lips. “And what, you were going to offer me a ride?”
I watch the tip of her finger skim over the pink fullness of her bottom lip and my breath hitches. She can’t say things like “give me a ride” and touch her mouth at the same time. That’s just not fair.
“Well I might have offered you a ride,” I say, inwardly cursing as I remember sweet, precious Monique, “except I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to take rides from strangers. And since that’s what you and I are…” I sigh dramatically. “It would have just been a waste of time to ask you.”
She smiles behind her moving fingers and I start to wonder if she’d let me kiss her. My guess is, yes. Maybe.
I want to kiss Kayla. Badly. But the idea of kissing her, of touching her at all, also makes me a little nervous. And I’m never nervous when it comes to women.
Goddammit. Everything about this girl is unexpected.
“You’re so obsessed with us not being strangers,” she says, and her eyes shine. “That can’t be healthy.”
I probably shouldn’t kiss her. We have an inheritance to claim tomorrow. We have shit to follow through with. Kissing her is a bad idea. A very bad idea.
“No. Probably not.” I step closer so we’re only inches apart. “But I can’t seem to let it go.”
She doesn’t move away. She doesn’t break eye contact.
Yes. She’d definitely let me kiss her. I’m sure of it.
My heart pounds and it’s all I can do to keep my nonchalant demeanor in place.
“Is that what we are, Kayla?” I lower my voice with a crooked grin. “Strangers?”
She meets my crooked grin and raises me a tipped chin. Her eyes are steel and sure, not giving anything away, and I suddenly feel unsure.
I lean in.
She doesn’t react. But she also doesn’t back away.
Kissing her is a bad idea.
Her lips part, ever so slightly, a thin seam of wet flesh forming between the soft skin of her pretty lips, and all my reservations vanish.
Thanks to the publisher, we have one digital copy of Perfect Kind of Trouble to giveaway here at The Bookpushers. To enter, simply comment below in the comments.