Why Not Tonight by Susan Mallery Series: Happily Inc. #3
Published by HQN Books on September 18, 2018
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible
Add to Goodreads
Also in this series: Second Chance Girl
Also by this author: Three Little Words, A Fool's Gold Christmas, Christmas on 4th Street, When We Met, Before We Kiss, Until We Touch, Yours for Christmas, Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me, Marry Me at Christmas, Best of My Love, The Ladies' Man, Second Chance Girl
Natalie Kaleta will do anything for the artists at her gallery, including risk life, limb and the effect of humidity on her naturally curly hair. Braving a downpour to check on reclusive Ronan Mitchell, Natalie gets stranded by a mudslide at his mountain home, where the brooding glass artist reveals his playful side, sending her inconvenient crush from under-the-radar to over-the-top.
After a secret tore apart his family and made him question his sense of self, Ronan fled his hometown for Happily Inc, but the sunny small town can’t fix his damaged heart. He won’t give in to his attraction for beautiful, perpetually cheerful Natalie. She’s untouched by darkness—or so he thinks.
Natalie knows that when a heart goes through the flame, it comes out stronger. Life may not be a fairy tale, but sometimes dreams do come true. Why not this one? Why not tonight?
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Review
Why Not Tonight glows with a warmth and a sense of joy that are totally due to the heroine, Natalie. Her openhearted appreciation for life, for art, and for the people around her shines through in everything she says and does, from falling in love with Ronan to her excitement over the broken “treasures” she finds and incorporates into her art. I also love her dedication to her art and her determination to carve out time to create, even when it means scrimping and saving to live on a part-time salary. (Side note: just how much is Atsuko paying her? Because it’s pretty much impossible to live on part-time wages these days, yet Natalie has a two-bedroom apartment to herself.)
Gifted glass artist Ronan, on the other hand, is broody, angry, and for several years has been retreating deeper into isolation—from his brothers, his abusive father, and the woman he’d thought was his mother. On learning in a previous book that he is the result of one of his father’s affairs, Ronan fled Fool’s Gold for Happily Inc…. but he is anything but happy. Worse, he has lost his ability to create.
Opposites attract, and these two are certainly attracted. And Natalie is perfect for Ronan: she lightens his moods, calls him on his stupidity, and inveigles him into spending more time with his brothers. I’m less convinced that he is perfect for her, but Natalie is, and that’s what counts. He is certainly supportive of her. He may be moody and prone to run away, but underneath, there’s a nicer, happier person, who respects women in general and Natalie in particular, who knows how to play, who loves his brothers as much as his art.
Art is as central to the book as it is to Natalie and Ronan’s lives. All three of the brothers living in Happily Inc. are artists: Ronan and Matthias work in glass; Nick works predominantly in wood, though he knows his way around a glass studio. (The other two brothers, Del and Aiden, stayed in Fool’s Gold; their books fall in that series.)
Why Not Tonight may be my favorite book yet in the Happily Inc. series—and that’s despite the charm of Millie the giraffe in Matthias and Carole’s book, Second Chance Girl. If you’re looking for a warmhearted, feel-good story to go with your romance, Why Not Tonight is an excellent choice.
About Susan Mallery
With more than 25 million books sold worldwide, New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery is known for creating characters who feel as real as the folks next door, and for putting them into emotional, often funny situations readers recognize from their own lives. Susan’s books have made Booklist’s Top 10 Romances list in four out of five consecutive years. RT Book Reviews says, “When it comes to heartfelt contemporary romance, Mallery is in a class by herself.” With her popular, ongoing Fool’s Gold series, Susan has reached new heights on the bestsellers lists and has won the hearts of countless new fans.
Susan grew up in southern California, moved so many times that her friends stopped writing her address in pen, and now has settled in Seattle with her husband and the most delightfully spoiled little dog who ever lived.
Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts
That part time wage better be really good – most people can’t even live with full time either. ? But I suppose as an artist if she is commissioned often and has a high rate, she COULD make a living? I’m curious about this as well, especially alone and no help. ? (As in please tell me how you are so lucky because all of us would like to know.)
Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts recently posted…Fandom Friday: Black Mirror + More!
Lark_Bookwyrm
Well, that was actually one of the plot points: that she wasn’t making that much as an artist yet. Maybe Happily Inc. has a low cost of living? But honestly, it wasn’t an issue for me reading the book—I mean, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. 🙂
Lark
Love the whole artists angle…and the stranded at his house plot device, too! 😀
Lark_Bookwyrm
The stranded plot device works pretty well in this book. Sometimes it can seem annoyingly contrived, but I like how the author uses it here.
Northwoman
I’ve read quite a few in the Fool’s Gold series and enjoyed them. I just don’t find contemporary romance to be what I want to read all the time. I want it to be realistic, without too much drama, and yet have a more complex plot than just sex. So I often choose romances with humor, or with small town or big family aspects, or suspense, or genres where the romance is very minimal or secondary to the actual plot. Anne – Books of My Heart
Lark_Bookwyrm
Have you read Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series? It’s the one that really got me started on contemporary (small-town) romance as a genre, and it’s still one of my favorites. I tend to read more historical romance than contemporary, or at least I used to. But as you can tell, I love reading other genres as well: fantasy and a little SF, mystery, some historical fiction, romantic suspense…