Take My Breath Away

April 7, 2014
Ridgway’s latest contemporary has its moments of poignancy interwoven with a commonplace plot. Poppy Walker is determined to create a special retreat in the mountains, despite skepticism from her brother and sisters. When handsome stranger Ryan offers her five times the regular rate for a ramshackle cabin with a leaking roof, she knows it’s best not to pry. Unbeknownst to Poppy, Ryan Hamilton is a movie star seeking escape from the press. When a sudden storm leaves Poppy’s home unlivable and the mountain road blocked, Ryan invites Poppy into his cabin. After several heated nights, the paparazzi’s discovery of couple forces them to retreat—with her five-year-old son in tow—to Ryan’s mansion. Ryan and Poppy try to stay aloof, but neither can resist indulging in phone sex over the intercom or long, occasionally tiresome, talks about their past. Ryan’s unexpected revelation of the source of his grief undercuts the feeling of emotional growth and connection between the two, even as the unconvincing attempted abduction of Poppy’s son brings about some real sentimental moments.

June 15, 2014

Single mom Poppy Walker is determined to restore her family's dilapidated Southern California mountain resort no matter what her siblings think. But money is tight, so when a gorgeous stranger with piercing blue eyes shows up and offers five times the rent for a cabin still needing work, Poppy can't say no. All Hollywood mogul Ryan Hamilton wants is a place to be left alone to heal and rethink his life. But Poppy, who has no idea of his former teenage idol celebrity status, is far too enticing to be ignored. Then a storm strands them in the cabin, and Ryan's opinions of March as a dismal month take a definite turn to the right. VERDICT Nonstop humor, whimsical charm, and a distinct rustic setting that promises to become a retreat destination for fans make this sexy page-turner a stellar kick-off to Ridgway's latest humor-drenched series. Ridgway (The Love Shack) lives in Southern California.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
The mountain resort town of Blue Arrow Lake has two kinds of residents, those eking out a living in the town settled by their families a century and a half ago, and the Hollywood glitterati with their extravagant mansions who like to party. Poppy Walker, a single mom trying to make a go of rehabbing her family's dilapidated and almost abandoned resort, rents out a leaky cabin to Ryan Hamilton, a famous bad-boy celebrity she has never heard of who somehow has issues with the entire month of March. A late-season storm isolates them alone together for a time, and when they emerge, a mob of paparazzi forces them to flee to Ryan's palatial mansion. While Ridgway's sensual depictions of Poppy and Ryan's steamy sexual encounters illuminate their relationship and move their story forward in a realistic and believable manner, Ryan's hidden tragedy and Poppy's youthful mistakes make them vulnerable and sympathetic. Their relationships with their siblings and Poppy's five-year-old son, Mason, add depth and texture to this entertainingly romantic tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)