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Book Review: It Doesn't Have to Be This Hard by Christina Hovland

  • Writer: Kristen Lewendon
    Kristen Lewendon
  • Jun 22, 2023
  • 3 min read

Mile High Heat Book 1

From USA Today bestselling author Christina Hovland comes a single parent, #DateMyCelebrityDad, forced proximity romance. Divorce her Beverly Hills husband: check. Set the neighborhood dumpster on fire with her nightstand buddy… check. Her hunky celebrity chef neighbor rushes to her aid? Sigh. Check mate. Emmaline Eaton is doing her best to avoid the attractive chef, but their daughters just became the bestest of friends. Ethan Greene's culinary show and career are in shambles. He already has too much on his plate trying to figure out the single parent life when his daughter launches a trending hashtag of #DateMyCelebrityDad. Now he’s getting all kinds of unwanted attention, so he calls in a favor from Emmaline. If she could just pretend to be his date until the social media mayhem dies down, that would be fabulous. But when their kids play matchmaker, just how much heat can Ethan and Emmaline handle? * Originally on preorder as Everything's Fine, Emmaline

 

My Review:

I made the mistake of reading this book during my breaks at work. I then had to explain to all my coworkers why I was choking on my laughter: Ethan and Emmaline and their outlandish family and friends. Take my mistake as your warning that this may not be the best choice of story to read in public Unless, you’ll be doing so around people who are already used to you cackling like a hyena for no reason they can see. (My coworkers don’t know me quite that well yet.) But I digress. You may have been waiting for this book under its original title: “Everything's Fine, Emmaline”. Rest assured that it was well worth the wait, and it’s now spinning out from the original Mommy Wars series with a somewhat expanded cast list. But we haven’t said “goodbye” to all the originals, and you may notice one or two trying to keep Em and Ethan on track. Really, I felt like these two needed all the help they could get. Part of what I love most about fake relationship stories is that you know that no matter how hard the couple in question fights it, there’s going to be real feelings for them to deal with before it’s all over. And that’s where all that help was needed for these two. They’re both a little gun shy about relationships, and just about the whole cast has some pretty heavy emotional baggage to unpack. Yet they do it, showing us that even if life isn’t a cakewalk, it can still be fun – and worth it. Now that we’ve had a chance to meet Em’s besties, I can’t wait to see what stories might be in their futures.

I received a complimentary advance copy of this book from the author through WordSmith Publicity.

 

AUTHOR BIO

USA Today Bestselling Author Christina Hovland lives her own version of a fairy tale—an artisan chocolatier by day and romance writer by night. Born in Colorado, Christina received a degree in journalism from Colorado State University. Before opening her chocolate company, Christina’s career spanned from the television newsroom to managing an award-winning public relations firm. She’s a recovering overachiever and perfectionist with a love of cupcakes and dinner she doesn’t have to cook herself. A 2017 Golden Heart® finalist, she lives in Colorado with her first-boyfriend-turned-husband, four children, and the sweetest dogs around.


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