Review: Rough Around the Edges Meets Refined by Rachael Anderson

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

For Noah Mackie, life is finally back on track. He has a great support system, a promised promotion is on its way, and he's finally getting the hang of this single father thing. But when the job falls through and his neighbor's matchmaking efforts become more aggressive, Noah is in for yet another unwanted detour. With his career and two spirited daughters to worry about, he doesn't have time for dating—especially not someone like Cassie Ellis, his girls' beautiful and sophisticated dance instructor, who is about as open and approachable as a brick wall.

Rough around the Edges Meets Refined is about two people who think they know exactly what they want but who have no idea what they really need. It's about learning that people aren't always what they seem and that sometimes life’s detours take you exactly where you need to go.

My Review

This is a great contemporary romance! Cassie is finding herself again after a dysfunctional marriage ends, Noah has been grieving his wife for four years. Their first impressions of each other aren't favorable, but as Noah renovates Cassie's basement for a dance studio, they are given the opportunity to see the true person behind the walls they put up... which slowly come down. This author is skilled at giving her characters great scenes and dialogue- it's like watching a movie in my head! My favorite is when Noah catches Cassie lip-synching in her kitchen and she sees a whole other side of him as he joins in and encourages her to just have fun, while he sees the side of her that is yearning to let go and live passionately.

This is the second book in Rachael Anderson's Meet Your Match series, and Noah and his daughters are minor characters in the first book, Prejudice Meets Pride which features his sister as the lead (read my review here). I recommend reading them in order to fully understand the backgrounds of all characters in the books, but they are also written to be read as stand-alone novels.

(Thank you to Ebooks For Review for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review)