3.5 Wine Glass #Review of Until There Was Us by Samantha Chase

 

Title: Until There Was Us
Series: The Montgomery Brothers #7
Author: Samantha Chase
Format: Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 384 pages
Published: May 1st 2018 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: ASIN B076BWSLP3
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Wine Glasses

Megan Montgomery has always been the careful type. Except...one time at her cousin's wedding when she threw caution to the wind and had the steamiest hook-up of her life. But that was two years ago— why can't she stop thinking about it? So when Megan accepts a job at her cousin's company, she does everything she can to avoid Alex—knowing he'll shake up her carefully crafted world.

Alex Rebat's been living a good life. He loves his career and friends, but like Megan, hasn't been able to stop thinking about their passionate encounter. And once Megan moves to town, Alex makes it his personal goal to show her that maybe it's time to start taking a few more risks...

Linda's Thoughts:
They’d gone walking through the garden that was lit with twinkly lights, and Alex had surprised her with a kiss. And that was the moment she knew she wasn’t going to her hotel alone.

Until There Was Us is the seventh installment in Samantha Chase’s Montgomery Brothers series. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed other books I’ve read by Samantha – and impulsively decided to dive into this one without reading any of the prior books. Sadly, in hindsight, that wasn’t the best decision with this book because, while I enjoyed it, I feel that I would have liked it lots more if I’d had a prior connection to the characters. This is the second-chance-at-love story of workaholic computer whiz Megan Montgomery and sexy physical therapist Alex Rebat.

Megan and Alex met and hooked up - which was totally out-of-character for Megan – at her cousin’s wedding. For three months, the two tried to keep the magic sizzling between them even though they lived on opposite sides of the country. However, when Megan stood Alex up when he’d flown three thousand miles to see her, all appeared to be over between them. As the story opens, in a game-changing move, Megan has accepted a job with her cousin which just happens to be located near Alex. Even though Megan refuses to admit it, the image of Alex and her tangled up together refuses to budge from her mind… and she held out hope of seeing him again. Unbeknownst to Megan, Alex can’t seem to move on either.

I liked Alex from the start but it took me most of the book to warm up to Megan. Thankfully, she redeemed herself in the end as their wonderful and surprising HEA was happily in sight. Supporting characters played big parts in this tale – and there’s lots of cute baby and baby-in-waiting moments.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from Until There Was Us:

Alex whispered her name as he gently pressed his lips to hers.
Oh…
--- 

His name was a whispered plea before she said, “Promise to not let me leave tonight.”
Lifting his head, Alex gave her a wicked smile. “Sweetheart, that was never going to be an option,” he said before he silenced her with a another kiss.”
--- 

Alex stood and stretched. “You know it’s required that when you go on a beach vacation, you have to wear a bikini, right?”
She came to her feet and considered him for a moment. “I did not know that. But I’m not sure that’s the right look on you.”

Until There Was Us is teeming with delicious sexual tension. Unfortunately, it took me a bit to get into the story and the characters. Normally, I love, love, love Samantha’s books. Because of my experience, I’d recommend that this book not be read as a standalone. Even so, Until There was Us is a well-written contemporary romance. I hope to read this series from the first soon as I do want to catch the other characters’ stories.



Suggested Reading Order: 
Wait for Me (Book 1)
Trust in Me (Book 2)
Stay with Me (Book 3)
Return to You (Book 4)
Meant for You (Book 5)
I'll Be There (Book 6)
Until There Was Us (Book 7)