Format read: ebook
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Number of pages: 123 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon

Lia McEvil is back in town, and Max is in trouble.

Max Sheraton and Lia McEvers have been rivals since childhood. Not even the kiss that chased Lia away could make them stop fighting. Now, five years later, Lia’s back in her hometown of Grant to open a new branch of her matchmaking business, True Connections–and Max finds himself in the line of fire when their families conspire for Max to make a connection of his own. Under pressure from both their grandmothers, Lia and Max embark on a scheme to find Max a suitable match, but it doesn’t take a compatibility profile to tell the real connection is between Max and Lia. Between sizzlingly hot kisses that turn into tempestuous fights, their attraction turns explosive enough to break down the antagonism between them.

But Lia has a secret that’s chased her home…and that may be the one thing that can stop Lia and Max from making the true connection they so desperately crave.

Going into another relatively short story, I felt confident after the last couple I had read from Entangled Publishing. I hoped I would get the same feeling from Clarissa Yip’s novella, True Connections and for the most part I did. It was a cute, quick read that kept me reading non-stop from beginning to end. If only real life romances were like this 😉

Yip gives us two main characters in a love/hate…more hate, really…relationship that started when they were young. Despite being separated for several years, the moment they are back around each other it’s just like old times. At one point, I was groaning about how immature their conversations felt but then I realized this was probably more believable under their circumstances. When people know each other from a young age, it’s hard to get beyond how things used to be. It became more authentic for me as I saw that Max and Lia were trying to fight their mutual attraction (something that was obvious to everyone but Lia) and they had to adjust to their new ‘adult’ lives and personalities.

In the beginning, the story felt a bit repetitive as the author hinted at what had happened in the past, while trying to maintain a little bit of mystery until the unveiling later in the book. As the tale progressed though, it was easy to better understand Lia in particular. She became, for me, a relatable character in that she had been trying to impress everyone else for so long that she had lost sight of what she really wanted for herself. Lia could have become an annoying element but the way her story developed gave her extra depth, as well as garnering a little sympathy for what she’d had to deal with.

The end of the story brought me to the conclusion I sought but it wasn’t with a huge impact. Overall, it was a sweet tale of childhood emotions turning into something more powerful and real. With a fun scene in a limo (and a few other places) there was enough steam to have the reader fanning themselves. An enjoyable read when you need a quick contemporary romance fix 🙂

I give  True Connections 3 1/2 stars

About Jackie

Jackie is a quirky mom, living in Ontario, Canada. She's a bookkeeper by day and a book lover by night. She also blogs at The Novel Nation and writes occasionally for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

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