Book Review: Not Just Friends

Author: Kate Hoffman
Title: Not Just Friends
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Publish Date: April 17, 2012
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: Come to Camp Winnehawkee!
For new experiences. (With boys!)

For the great outdoors. (Where you can find yourself in nature. With boys!)

For adults-only activities. (Best shared with men!)

For venture capitalist Adam Sutherland, attending Camp Winnehawkee's reopening was a no-brainer. He's even reuniting with former camp counselors to chip in and help revive the camp. What he isn't expecting is to find a girl sleeping in his bunk. Or that the girl is none other than Julia McKee, who went from shy and awkward Good Girl to scorching-hot babe….

But the good girl is all gone…and she's headed off to Paris! But before she goes, Julia intends to show her bad-boy childhood crush just how to put the "wild" back into the wilderness! And this time, he'll be the one left wanting more….

Review: I had a few gripes with this book from the start. One of them is that the pastry chef, heroine, is totally slender.

Yeah right!

I would just like a romance novel to once feature a woman that wasn't "beautiful" in the eyes of the media. I've only encountered that creature once and that was in an Amish romance. Please give us some real women that are sexy! They are out there! They are half of America!

The other thing that annoyed me was that the group of friends working to restart the camp were all from wealthy families and now they want the camp to help underprivileged kids.

Oye vey!

I tried to get around that, because I loved other parts of the book. The journal entries from Julia's childhood at camp, that gave insight on her years old crush on Adam. I also liked Julia's passion for her bakery. Still, lady, I don't trust skinny pastry chefs! Eat some of your morning rolls! Or the Apple Tart!

I liked that Julia and Adam both knew each other, and though they weren't really friends, they still knew each other's history. I also liked how their secrets got revealed by other friends accidentally. Sure it caused problems for them, but it got things out in the open.

As far as heroes are concerned, I really liked Adam. He wasn't arrogant, which is unusual for series romance, and he was willing to give things up to be with Julia. Not to mention that he wanted her to follow her dream!

This wasn't my favorite Blaze, but it was a good sexy read for an afternoon!

Rating: 3 flowers