The Avid Book Collector: Book Review & Blog Tour ~ Happily Ever Single by Jessica Frances {Giveaway}

Happily Ever Single

by Jessica Frances

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 7/9/15

Still in my twenties, I have it all. I am young, happy, and healthy, despite my wine and pizza addictions. I am a successful business owner who lives a life I love, free from any romantic commitments. To me, my life is perfect right now, except for just one small problem…

My mother.

She will tell you I am missing something in my life, that I should be married with kids and have a house with a white picket fence, even though I cannot think of anything worse.

Ignoring my constant protests, she manages to set me up on a series of horrendous blind dates. To pacify my mother and avoid being set up with another friend’s son, I am driven to do something I never thought I would.

I begin arranging dates through an agency.

This idea seems to work well, until my arranged date falls sick right before a family event. With no other options, I am forced to attend with the agency owner’s brother-in-law as my stand-in date. At this point, my perfect life suddenly becomes … complicated.

Ollie is sexy, fun, and intense. There is an instant connection between us, but is it strong enough to risk my perfect life plan?

I am single, free, and content. I don’t need a man.

However, Ollie is persistent, despite my reluctance, and now I am left wondering if it is possible that he may be the perfect match for me.

Can Ollie be the one man to finally accept me for me, or does he think he can change who I am and my opinions?

Does my story end with me happily-ever-single or with a happily-ever-after?

Or can there be room for both?

Click HERE to add to Goodreads

Lucy is single and happy. She has set very high standards for herself and she is not going to settle for a man who can't make her happier than she already is. Unfortunately, her mother does not feel the same way and is constantly setting up blind dates that are total fails. It’s not until her brother is going to get married that she needs to find her own date for all the functions that go along with getting married, just so her mom won’t set her up with another loser. When Lucy’s best friend, Jules, casually mentions maybe utilizing an escort service might be an option is when the fun begins. The games she and her ‘dates’ play as payback to make her family uncomfortable were hilarious and I found myself cracking up with each and every one of them. So much fun!

For two years Lucy uses the escort service for her dates involving family and everything always went off without a hitch – until the night of her father’s retirement dinner. The man that was supposed to take her got sick and there were no other men to take his place – except one – Ollie. Ollie is a friend of the owner of the agency and Ollie is quite the fish out of water when it comes to the whole escort business. But one thing he is quite sure of is that Lucy is one lady he would like to continue getting to know better. Too bad Lucy is so hard-headed and bound and determined to stick to her no relationship, no marriage, no children rule.

The chemistry between Lucy and Ollie is undeniable, but with Lucy’s lack of wanting a committed relationship, Ollie comes up with the perfect solution. The two of them can be exclusively single together (how cute is that?!?!). You're probably asking yourself, “What the heck does ‘exclusively single together’ mean and how does that work?” Well, my dear reader, you will need to read this terrific and adorable story to find out!

Lucy and Ollie are super cute together, yet no relationship is perfect and this one does have its ups and downs. Between Lucy’s adorable, meddling mother cheering the couple on and Ollie’s mean and overbearing mother doing her best to alienate the happiness that her son has found, and of course the other hiccups that come and go, this couple will have a lot to deal with in order to make it work. Will there be a happily ever after for Ollie and Lucy or will Lucy remain happily ever single?

Jessica Frances has proven yet again how versatile she can be in her writing skills. Happily Ever Single is quite a bit different than her previous works, but it is every bit as good and I like it – a lot! It's unique and totally different than anything I have read before. It is quite an enjoyable and delightful read and has every ingredient I love in a romance. From wittiness to snarky humor to scorching hot romance, this book will indeed appeal to all lovers of New Adult Romance. There were a couple of times I was wondering how this story was going to end due to some twists I didn’t see coming, but all in all I was really happy with the ending and it left me with a huge smile. This one is another must read from Jessica Frances and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

“Whether we live happily ever after together or happily ever single together, what is important to me is that we’re together.”

5 Stars

“You know, it is so unfair. Why is it so forbidden to be single? Why am I not complete unless I am stupidly in love with someone, even if that someone makes me miserable? Was there a memo that I missed? One the entire population received that I somehow lost? Why is it that my worth is judged on whether or not I’m married? Why do I have to be in love to be whole? I’m perfectly happy and content by myself. However, everyone automatically assumes I only say that because I haven’t found love. What’s so fucking special about love? Sure, it can be great, until it’s not, until your heart is ripped out, and you lose yourself completely. Until your best friend has to break into your apartment and pry the container of melted ice cream out of your hands and throw you in the bathtub because you got more all over your body than in your mouth!”

“Hey, that only happened once … four times,” Jules weakly complains.

“I don’t know why I have to defend the fact that I am single. I hate that I am considered weird or a freak because I am not desperately trying to find love. I don’t want to get married. I don’t want kids, and I don’t want to be trapped in a loveless relationship just because it is considered normal to be paired up.” I take deep breaths, my head swimming from lack of oxygen from my serious ranting.

“Whoa, how long have you been holding that in?” Jules asks.

“My entire life, but overhearing my cousins basically laughing at me earlier and saying I’m going to be a crazy cat lady didn’t help.”

“I’m sorry about that. Your cousins are such bitches.” I don’t need to explain it was my orange cousins; they are the only ones I ever seriously bitch about to Jules.

“I know, and I shouldn’t let their words get to me. I really couldn’t care less what they think. I just hate how society has given us all this expectation of what our lives should look like, and now, if we don’t meet it, we’re hounded over it. I don’t know the last time I had a conversation with a family member that didn’t have the mention of me being single. I’m sick of it.”

Jessica Frances was born and raised in South Australia, quite possibly born with a book in her hand already. An avid reader her whole life, a pen finally appeared in her hand and she began her journey writing her own stories. The voices in her head have not slowed down and hopefully they never will.