ARC #Review: That Thing You Do by Maria Geraci - 3 Wine Glasses

Title: That Thing You Do
Series:  Whispering Bay Romance #1
Author: Maria Geraci
Format:  eBook, 338 pages
Published: April 28, 2015 by TKA Distribution
ASIN: B00T58GVBA
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: Netgalley
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 3 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Allie Grant doesn’t believe in second chances. She does, however, believe in the power of a permanent paycheck. So when a tipster reports that the soon-to-be demolished senior center in her hometown is haunted, Allie hightails it to Whispering Bay to get the scoop that could secure her dream job at Florida! magazine. What she finds, though, is far scarier than any ghost. Cue her ex-boyfriend, sexy construction foreman Tom Donalan.

When Tom catches Allie poking around his construction site, he quickly realizes his former high school flame is just as feisty as ever. And, heaven help him, her irresistible, mile-high legs still take his breath away. But Tom isn’t about to delay the building’s demolition because of a silly ghost story.

With neither of the stubborn exes backing down from their opposing positions, sparks fly. And, underneath the surface, the fire of their old attraction burns as hot as ever. When strange things start happening with increasing frequency around town, even a tough skeptic like Tom is tested. The question is, can Allie and Tom stop fighting long enough to get to the bottom of Whispering Bay’s ghost problem—and the more important matter of mending their broken hearts?

Kimberly’s Thoughts:
Allie is going back to her hometown to, hopefully, get the story that will give her a big promotion at work; all she has to do is rely on a ghost and an ex-boyfriend. Tom is surprised when Allie the girl he briefly dated in highschool and had to suddenly cut ties with shows up at a building demolition site of his and begs him to hold off on destroying the building. There's talk of a ghost but all Tom can hear is Allie saying he owes her and his guilt has him giving her 48hrs to investigate her ghost. With help and hindrance from family and town members, Allie and Tom might just discover a spark still burning.

With a fun and flirty cover, That Thing You Do, definitely followed suit with some cute and adorable moments in the actual story. Overall, I'd have to say this read a little more like women's fiction than a straight contemporary romance, though. The bulk of the book focuses on Allie's interaction with the array of townspeople characters while her and Tom's romance gets pushed to the side a bit until towards the end. The ghost story plot seemed weak (Allie has one night to investigate the ghost and she goes to sleep for the majority of the night when her job depends on it?) as there just wasn't enough to hold on to, while the relationships and interactions Allie formed because of investigating were more solid; characters were this story's strong point. The middle and towards the end sagged for me as we spent too much time with the seniors and other offshoot groups of the town, it all seemed like a lot of filler.

Allie was a great lead character to follow around; the directionless she exhibits in the middle I think can be tied to how the story was stretched out and the various filler (Allie’s roommate that seems like she is scamming her but nothing comes of it?) I mentioned. She was extremely likable and had some funny inner monologue moments that will endear her to many readers. Tom didn't quite show up as strongly, he disappeared too much as Allie got lost to the townspeople. He also had such a nice guy persona that it had him coming off as one dimensional. In the beginning, Tom and Allie had a sweetly shy and anticipatory air about them that never quite caught fire. They have their smile inducing moments but there just wasn't enough one on one interaction between the two to make them a truly memorable couple.

As I mentioned, the strength of this novel is the townspeople as a whole, the author created a wonderful cohesive and interesting group. From the small town feel, to how fast the gossip mill can run, to the real feeling of how families and friends interact, secondary characters here are topnotch. The drama between Allie's brother Zeke and his wife Mimi sucked me in, I in fact found myself way more interested in their story than Tom and Allie. Their relationship issues felt raw, real, painful, and passionate. Their story will be third in this series and I am definitely marking my calendar for when that book comes out.

If looking for a story that is more benign, the central focus is not a romantic relationship, and wanting to read about a larger group of characters, then this would be a worthy pick up. I would have liked more focus on Tom and Allie's building relationship and feelings but I and I know others, will appreciate the overall cast of characters.