3 Wine Glass #Review for One More Kiss by Samantha Chase

Title: One More Kiss
Series: Shaughnessy Brothers: Band on the Run Book 1
Author: Samantha Chase
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
Published: 7 February 2017 (Sourcebooks Casablanca)
ISBN: ASIN: B01LZWF0ZH
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Matt Reed was living the dream until a bad career move sends him back to his hometown for much-needed privacy. Instead, he finds someone he never expected: the woman whose steamy kiss he remembers like it was yesterday.

Vivienne Forrester finally has her life in order... until Matt moves back to town. She doesn't want to think about the time she threw caution to the wind with him, but running into him everywhere, it's impossible not to... 

Linda's Thoughts:
Getting involved with him wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t in the cards. It wasn’t part of anyone’s plan…. Now was the time to focus on her career and getting settled, not on sexy rock stars.

One More Kiss by Samantha Chase is the opening installment in Samantha’s new Band on the Run adult contemporary romance series, which features familiar characters from her Shaughnessy Brothers series.  It was a must-read for me as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every one of her Shaughnessy books. The hero was first introduced in This is our Song (Shaughnessy Brothers #4), but you don’t not need to have read that book to fully enjoy this one.

One More Kiss is the slow-building second chance at love story of sexy superstar guitarist Matt Reed and food blogger Vivienne Forrester. The story is told from the main characters’ dual third person perspectives. Vivienne is the little sister of Aaron, Matt’s best friend. She is also an accomplished and independent woman who has had a crush on Matt for a long while. Two years ago, Vivienne had finally gathered the nerve to do something about her crush. She managed to finagle getting backstage after one of Matt’s concerts and the two of them had shared an unexpected but totally amazing kiss.  Then, Matt was immediately and unceremoniously whisked from her life without a word or backwards’ glance. Fast forward two years to where Vivienne has her life in order. She is moving into a cottage on her brother’s property which has been perfectly designed for her.  With all her plans clicking into place, Vivienne is shocked to find Matt, the man she had shared that unforgettable kiss with, suddenly and without warning, residing in her brother’s home.

After taking an ill-advised shot at Broadway which flat-out flopped, Matt is burned-out, disillusioned and tormented by self-doubt. With the press relentlessly hounding him, Matt desperately needs to disappear for a while to work through his issues. When his best friend offers Matt the use of his secluded home while Matt takes a break from the Shaughnessy rock group he cofounded, Matt jumps at the opportunity. But, he finds that he’s not completely alone as he expected, as his brother’s sister is his close neighbor.  Their interactions are rocky – for reasons that Matt doesn’t understand - until Matt offers to be her guinea pig and taste test her recipes.

 These two are complete opposites but, when they finally came together, their chemistry was a spectacular fireworks display! I just wish there hadn’t been as many internal conflicts for each of them to work through burdening their romantic tale.

Riley and Savannah Shaughnessy (This is our Song) play supporting roles as well as several members of the band who are also struggling with their own problems. As a fan of Samantha’s books, I enjoyed the chance to catch up with them all.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from One More Kiss:

“Trust me. I know what I want, and it’s right in front of me.”
Her eyes went wide as she softly gasped.
And then he pressed against her fully and kissed her.
---

“Matt?”
“Hmm?”
“Kiss me.”
He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “Sweetheart, I thought you’d never ask.”
---

“Surround yourself with things that make you smile.”
He reached up and caressed her cheek. “You make me smile”

After all was said and done, I enjoyed One More Kiss. That said, I found it to be a disappointingly sluggish read until the romance kicked into gear about three-fourths through. Up until then, the main characters were mostly tackling and working through each of their own rather large and looming personal issues. Thankfully, Chase finally broke the stalemate and, from there, their story was great featuring a heartwarming look at falling in love.