(reviewed from an e-arc provided by NetGalley)
Short, hot contemporary read, bad dates, no-strings fling with a friend… to be honest, this had “not really my thing” written all over it. But I thought this author might make it work for me, and I was right.
It’s not that the story doesn’t fulfill what it promises in the blurb, but it doesn’t feel the need to do it stereotypically. Milla, a travel blogger and youtube personality currently stationed in England, has a refreshing attitude towards her bad dates — she cuts her losses and moves on. They might be funny, but they don’t make her ridiculous. Her absorption in blogging, selfies, etc. isn’t played for laughs, either.
And being with Milla is a genuine risk for Charlie: he’s been badly burned by a (literal) East End Boy and West End girl marriage, and by social media. His trust in her as a friend and lover, nonetheless, is adorable. Of course there’s a conflict, but part of what I most liked about this story is that the characters change, but not through any kind of coercion. It’s always their decision.
If you like blokes with beards, this is the book for you. Many of the sexiest moments in the book involves Milla’s fascination with Charlie’s beard:
“The sharp edge of his scruff scratched deliciously at her lips as she brushed them back and forth across his mouth, tempting him to open them.”
“His beard, she discovered, had reached the soft, curling stage. She stroked it with her palms as his mouth coaxed hers open, savoring the sensation of smooth, hot tongue contrasted with the denser, soft hair around his lips.”
And then there’s a shaving scene…
Charlie’s art is also used for sexy metaphor. He “had learned patience handling sand heated until it became liquid, pliable. He’d learned how to seduce a woman by working with heat.” But it’s not just that, but an integral part of his personality. His commitment to his art, and what it says about him, gives substance to the story.
My only complaint is that the short format leads to a few initial short-cuts of telling rather than showing. I pretty much forgot about that as I read on. This isn’t a heartbreaker like Breath on Embers, but confirms my opinion that Calhoun is one of the authors who really makes short form romance worth reading.
A Willful Woman... 
Sold! I think Anne Calhoun is a talented writer, and I’ve fond myself growing more and more fond of beards over the years (to the point where I would’ve found the Fifty Shades movie a million times sexier if Dornan had kept his normal facial hair). BRING ON THE SEXY SCRUFF, PEOPLE.
I read another book of hers and loved it. Then I went to check out more books only to discover she was an author whose publisher charged MORE for an ebook that a print book. I should see if that’s still the case cause some have changed over time. Cause I really did enjoy the book I read by her. Of course I can’t remember the title. I’m bad at that.
Oh, ugh! I think she has more than one publisher, though. This is Harlequin, and they’re usually reasonable.