REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: MEANT TO BE by JENNA HARTE

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Meant to Be
Southern Heat #2

By: Jenna Harte

Releasing September 27, 2016 
Penner Publishing

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In Meant to Be (Southern Heat #2) by Jenna Harte, after an incident that landed her in the hospital, Sydney Preston couldn't stand being in New York any longer. So, once she was released, she decided there would nothing stopping her from reuniting with her ex-fiancé, Mitch McKenna. However, there is just one problem -- he's not happy to see her.

 

It's taken Mitch McKenna a long time to get over Sydney. The only way he coped with the fact that she chose what her parents wanted for her life over marrying him is by having casual affairs and making certain no woman ever again captured his attention like Sydney did. However, the woman he once loved is hard to ignore now that she's living in the same town he does. Can he get over his resentment of the past to convince her that they deserve a second chance at happy ever after?

What a wonderful second chance romance Ms. Harte has penned with this second book of her Southern Heat series. The way this book started sets the fast-pace of this story, as Mitch is completely blindsided by Sydney's re-appearance in his life. How is he supposed to act when he's still so resentful about their break-up? Should he acknowledge that he knew her very well in front of his friends, which were trying to set him up with Sydney? 

As for the dialogue, it was intense due this couple's past history, what happened to Sydney to land her in the hospital and what the heroine goes through in this book, as the person that once hurt her seems to still be after her. Then there's the fact that Mitch and Sydney still haven't gotten over each other, and the hero needing to find a way to forgive the heroine, if they're to ever be together. Can Sydney convince Mitch to let go of his bitterness towards her? However, I liked that there were some light-hearted moments as well when they were reminiscing about the past. It went to show that neither could forget how good it was between them.

I really enjoyed the main characters as well as the secondary ones. Mitch has a really tight bond with his cop partner and the man's wife. They want him to find the sort of happiness that they have, and I found it a little funny that his partner's wife was trying to set Mitch up with Sydney. Moreover, what his partner's wife says when she first introduced Sydney and Mitch to each other, not knowing their history made me laugh. Clearly, it was a moment of foot in mouth syndrome.

Sydney is hard-working, strong, brave and I liked how determined she was to get Mitch to -- at least -- give their relationship a second chance because it was palpable how much these two loved each other. It was an uphill battle whether Mitch could find it in his heart to forgive her. Yet, since her life changed dramatically after she was targeted by a knife-wielding maniac, there's one thing it made her realize. Which was that life is too short and that reuniting with Mitch is the best plan she's ever had. No way would she allow someone to come between them this time around. Not her parents or her friends. While Mitch, he's hard-working, confident, and I loved how protective he was of Sydney once he learned of the incident that sent her packing from New York and landed her in the town where he lives. Also, the way he handles the case in finding Sydney's attacker proved how much he cared. No way was he going to quit until he had answers.

Overall, this was a really good book encompassing a strong romance that had me cheering for this couple's happy ever after. It wasn't easy when Mitch blamed Sydney for their break-up in the past and they have some big obstacles to overcome, but conquering them was worth it as Mitch and Sydney were a couple meant to be. The way this story ended came as a little bit of shock, especially with what happens to one of the main characters. Yet, I wasn't surprised by the person that was out to hurt the heroine. I would recommend Meant to be by Jenna Harte, if you enjoy second chance romances.

OVERALL RATING:

 

 

BLURB:
Charming and sexy, detective Mitch McKenna lets women into his bed—not into his heart. When his first love left him in a lurch, crushing his soul, Mitch swore off relationships and love. After all, any woman who chooses what her parents want over what she wants is not worth fighting for.

Or is she?

Successful New York doctor, Sydney Preston left the only man she ever loved to follow the path that her parents paved for her. When a tragic incident at the hospital threatens her life, Sydney moves to Virginia to rekindle the spark with her ex-fiancé.

But Mitch isn’t interested in reigniting the flame that fizzled out long ago. Will they both allow resentments and misunderstanding spoil their chance of discovering what was meant to be?

 

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            “You need to get laid.”

Mitch McKenna cast a suspicious glance at his partner and best friend, Kevin Taggard. “You get laid too much.”

Kevin grinned. “I’m married. It goes with the territory. Besides, is that even possible?”

Mitch laughed. “God, I hope not.” He pulled the unmarked police car into a parking space outside Charlotte Tavern General Hospital. “But it’s a little sappy that every day we have to stop by and see the missus.”

“I know it and I don’t care. Someday you’ll be in love, and you’ll see.”

God, I hope not. Mitch shuddered.

“Besides, there are plenty of hot nurses who would love to find out if the Mitch McKenna reputation for stamina and prowess is true.”

Mitch stepped out of the car, grinning at his friend. “Oh, it’s true.”  His smile faded, as he realized Kevin might be right—maybe he did need to get laid. It had been a while. If he’d cared at all about his playboy reputation, he would have remedied the situation. Except he didn’t care. In fact, it bothered him. It suggested that he engaged in one-night stands with women he didn’t know or was cavalier with their feelings. Granted, he kept his relationships with women short, but he was always upfront with them about his position and most accepted it. A couple cried when they hadn’t been able to change his mind. One had keyed “Bastard” into the side of truck.

“Hey Mitch.”

Mitch’s gaze swung to the feminine coo of Becky Lancer. She might be willing to help him with his sexual dry-spell. He smiled and waved but kept moving. He’d once gone out with her sister, and he knew better than to date siblings. 

He and Kevin walked into the hospital and took the elevator to the maternity department on the fourth floor.

“I guess it won’t be long until Jenny is a client here instead of a nurse.” Mitch patted Kevin on the back. He enjoyed razzing his friend about his wife, but deep down he was happy for him.

“A year maybe. Right now we’re just practicing.” Kevin waggled his brows.

Mitch rolled his eyes as the doors opened, and they stepped out into the hall.

“There’s my gal now.” Kevin snuck up behind a dark-haired woman in pink scrubs with rainbows on the shirt and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. She let out a squeal. When he set her on her feet, she laughed.

“Great day, baby cakes. You scared the life out of me.”

He gave her a kiss. All in all, it was sappy. It was the same type of stuff he had to endure when he visited his sister, Lexie. Even after nearly two years of marriage, she and her husband, Drake, were sappier than Kevin and Jenny, which was saying something. It was a wonder they didn’t already have a whole brood of kids.

“I’m nearly ready for my break.” She turned her smile toward Mitch. “If you’re tired of feeling like a third wheel, I can snag you a date. There’s a new doctor I’ve been meaning to introduce you to. You can see if the McKenna charm will work on her.”

“I like being a third wheel.”

“No, you don’t, but you’re nice to put up with Kevin and me. She’s really, really nice. She’s been giving me articles and tips and encouraging me to get my midwife certification.”

“You’d be good at that.” Mitch meant it too. She was one of the sweetest, most generous hearts he’d ever met. There’d been only one other person he’d known who he’d thought was as good. He shook his head to rid his thoughts of another sweet, generous woman, who, in the end, turned out to be neither.

“Thank you. I wonder how much longer before Lexie and Drake will need a midwife.” She raised her eyebrows, hoping for gossip.

“I imagine once they start, they’ll need one fairly often.” His sister wanted a whole passel of kids, and Drake would give her whatever she wanted. Mitch thought he’d be a good father, but since having a family was out, he’d settle for being the coolest uncle ever.

All of a sudden, the air around Mitch changed, causing the hair on his arms to stand. It wasn’t the type of sensation that triggered danger, but it was definitely a warning.

“Oh, look, there’s Doctor Preston. She’s the one I want you to meet, Mitch.”

“I don’t need you to set me up—”

“I know that. The whole county knows how easy it is for Mitch to get a lady.” Jenny laughed. “But I still want you to meet her. Doctor Preston?” Jenny looked behind him and waved.

The warning grew more intense until Mitch couldn’t help but turn around and stare right into the beautiful hazel eyes of Sydney Preston.

His heart stuttered in his chest as a wave of conflicting emotions; anger, love, bitterness, joy crashed through him. His first instinct was to leave, which only pissed him off. He’d stared down insurgents in the Middle East. He could survive seeing Sydney Preston. Another, equally strong, part of him wanted to touch her, to hold her close and see if she felt as soft, smelled just as sweet as he remembered. But he wouldn’t succumb to her charm again. Like a steel gate, everything inside Mitch closed.
 

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Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic writing about characters who are passionate about and committed to each other, and frequently getting into trouble. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries, the first of which, “Deadly Valentine,” reached the quarter-finals in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She is also the author of the contemporary romance series, Southern Heat, with includes Drawn to Her, and upcoming September 2016 release of Meant to Be. She has a bundle of stories filled with romance, mystery and even time travel rattling around in her head and is eager for the day when a device is invented allowing her to download what’s in her brain onto her computer. When she’s not telling stories, she works by day as a freelance writer, author, blogger and online entrepreneur. She lives in central Virginia with her husband, two college-bound children and a two fat cats.
 

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Jenna

1) Writing always terrified me, so I’m baffled to how I got here.

2) My favorite fiction involves mystery and romance, but I prefer a mystery with romance as opposed to a romance with mystery, if that makes any sense. In either case, there should be at least one hot love scene!

3) My favorite authors are J.D. Robb, Janet Evanovich, Sandra Brown and Carl Hiaasen. I also love Jane Austen, but tend to stay away from literature unless I know it will end well.

4) Like my character Tess, I love good chocolate and old R&B tunes. I’m still working on getting Carine Gilson lingerie to see if I’d love them as much as Tess does. A set can cost several hundred dollars, so I have to wait until more books sell.

5) I long for the day when Apple or Microsoft invents a doodad that I can plug into my head, preferably when I’m sleeping, that will download my stories to my computer. My stories come to me when I sleep (and when I drive), but I can’t remember the details when I sit down to write.