In real life, Emily, a first grade teacher, is a good girl, always doing what's expected of her, never straying from the straight and narrow. But her dreams are a different matter and can't be controlled. And her focus is Tanner, aka the bad boy. Who else would it be? And then her grandma buys a Harley, from Tanner, and Emily is about to make her dreams come true. Well, maybe.

Tanner knows what people think of him, and doing two years in prison doesn't help that reputation even if it was six years ago. But Emily, sweetness personified, was the talisman that helped him survive. She's a good girl, and would probably never give someone like him the time of day, but he can dream, can't he?

When Emily confronts Tanner, he knows he should do the smart thing and send her away, but he can't. And soon, they're discovering reality is so much better than dreams. They're making more than memories though as they soon realize.

And though neither regret the time they spent together, or the life they created, Emily's job frowns upon her situation, which means there's only one way to fix it. But are they ready for that step?

Can Tanner and Emily let go of their individual insecurities and baggage and recognize the feelings they have for each other? Will they let the opinions of others impact their decisions? Will they take a chance on forever? Is a HEA possible?

One-click now and follow along as two people, seeming opposites in every way, act on the attraction they've carried for one another for years, though neither knew it.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.**

the o'connor boys drew an unlucky lot at childhood. none more than middle brother tanner, who after two years in prison for manslaughter has returned to saddler cove and set up a respectable business with his brothers selling and customizing motorcycles.

as handle with care opens, emily towson's (meddling) grandmother, mimi, decides to buy a motorcycle for her 70th birthday, she correctly anticipates that this will force emily and tanner into contact with each other.

emily goes to tanner's shop to yell at him. and somehow ends up sleeping with him. and when it turns out that those expiration dates on condoms do actually matter, suddenly emily is faced with dealing with an outdated morality clause in her teaching contract and raising a baby with a guy she isn't sure is all that interested in her.

both emily and tanner have a lot of baggage and insecurities from their childhood. emily is always afraid of being someone's unwelcome responsibility. and tanner feels judged for how he feels always lacking. but underneath all those insecurities and miscommunications, tanner and emily want each other desperately. they want a life together. they just need to figure out their words.

reading that journey is well worth the wait. this is a small-town romance, so you also get to know quite a few of the secondary players, who will likely turn up in future stories. i'm pretty sure that those o'connor boys are all destined for their own happy endings.

**handle with care will publish on july 30, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review.

A small town romance - bad boy, first grade teacher what’s not to love? This book is funny, with lots of steam. I was on an emotional roller-coaster, but loving every minute. All the characters stole my heart and I can’t wait for more Saddler’s Cove!!!

This was just an okay read for me. I found it difficult to connect with the characters in this story. I found I did not like the main characters for a majority of this book. The blurb for the book caught my interest, but I found that my interest waned when I didn’t connect with the story.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I normally like small town romances because although the gossip is a sure thing and privacy is an illusion, the sense of togetherness and friendship overrides the negative. I didn't really get that feeling in HWC. In fact I really couldn't connect the dots as to how all the negativity and judgement in this town could possibly be appealing to anyone. In Tanner's shoes, I probably would have reacted the same way, tbh (or you know, left this town in the dust and never looked back).

The first half of the book had me really liking Emily, she sounded quirky and sweet, Mimi seemed endearing and Tanner was looking to be a slow to warm up to kind of hero. But the second half had every one of my first impressions doing a complete reversal. The more I learned about Tanner, the more I felt for him, Mimi ended up warping into a melancholy stickler who always sided with Emily and who's secondary story bogged down the pacing of the book and Emily became my least favorite character of the bunch with her willingness to conform so easily attitude.

Other's may enjoy this one but I had trouble sympathizing with the heroine and it kind of derailed the overall enjoyment for me.

What happens when someone calls you sensible? Just read Handle with Care to find out. I loved both of the main characters. Emily Towson and Tanner O’Connor are both interesting characters with things in their past that need to be faced. Turns out in spite of surface looks they are a perfect fit. Great story with some interesting side characters who look to be in line to find their HEA in future books.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I loved this book!!! I love the falling for the bad boy type books. Tanner  is the bad boy who works at the motorcycle shop and Emily is the good girl who is a teacher. But you find out Emily has thought about Tanner her whole life. She has a wild side! I seriously love these types of books because you always find out Tanner is not the bad boy everyone thought he is and he has this sweet side. This is my first book by this author and I can´t wait to read more. Her writing style had me engrossed in the story the whole time. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance.

What a delicious small time romance that had flair, sass, sweetness, heart and heat! I am so in love with Handle With Care. The characters are 100% likable and the story just hooked me in right from the cover and synopsis. It was very enjoyable!

This book gave me the feels and made me grin and this is definitely one of the best HEA stories this summer! I got a thrill from these characters and their witty banter. The plot oozes sweetness and perfection and begs a reader to sit on back and enjoy.

I give this romance with flair a FIVE STUNNING STARS!

Emily Towson is the quintessential elementary school teacher, she's the good girl who doesn't rock the boat.
Enter, Tanner O’Connor, the town bad boy who gives zero f$#@& on who he might piss off. He's been dealt a really crappy hand in life, but he's made something for himself and his brothers. Little did he know making his fantasy of Emily a reality would change both their lives.

Just the right amount of drama, do I wish the characters would actually talk to each other? Yes! But where would the story be if everything was fixed easily, we need a little angst. This was a great start to the new series cause you definitely want to see what happens with Aiden and Reese and of course Mimi and Josh.

A small-town romance with the promise of a sweet happily ever after? Count me in. The blurb really got me and I was definitely in the mood for a sweet romance. And Nina Croft more than delivered on her promise.

Tanner O'Connor was one of the towns bad boys. Time spent in prison for a crime he didn't commit only hardened his shell. But beneath it all beat a heart that loved the town of people who judged him cruelly without knowing him. He was a man who portrayed someone who could care less while he was a man who perhaps cared too much. He wasn't good enough for the town's goody-two-shoes, but he couldn't help but crave her all the same.

Emily Towson lived a sensible life as a sensible teacher in a town of people who tried to be sensible. And she was tired of it. For years she yearned for the town bad boy but she knew that he couldn't possibly want her because she was too... sensible. But what happens when the sensible girl chooses to break out of the shackles of society's expectations?

This was a generally enjoyable story. I loved so many elements of it. The characters for the most part were likeable, aside from Tanner's never-ending self-deprecating thoughts and Emily's limited attempts to not come off as judgemental and failing horribly. I especially enjoyed the side story of Emily's grandmother and her burgeoning relationship with Josh. Honestly, I think that was the best part of the story. And I cannot forget to mention Tanner's brothers. Their relationship was so genuine and loving and funny. Handle With Care was a small-town romance full of depth, warmth and feels.

Emily is the town "good girl".  She is a first grade teacher, she dresses conservatively, dates the right guy. She doesn't step a foot out of line until  thrown (by her 70 year old grandma) into  the path  of town "bad boy", Tanner.  Tanner went to jail  for a car accident where his best friend was killed, he has tattoos, he  doesn't play well with others.  When the two come  together, it should be oil and water instead of the chemical combustion that  they create.

Nina Croft's Handle with Care is a classic opposites attract tale set in a small town with it's over abundance of gossip and long held secrets.  Tanner is a well loved type of character; the boy who came from a hard past and turned into a cautious and hard-shelled man who needs the right woman to make him see himself in the right light. Emily, too, is the type that everyone can relate to.  The girl who doesn't take chances, who likes but doesn't love herself.  She is the person who needs a little adventure in their life to unleash the true woman beneath the surface.

The story follows Tanner and Emily as they navigate dating, a not so welcome happening, and the criticism of the town to become the couple that they should be.  Croft nicely wove not only her leads' romance but also Grandma and Josh (!) and past hurts and secrets in a well paced story of redemption, growing, and forgiving.  This is a sweet romance with a good dash heat and a bit of suspense to keep the reader continually turning the pages to a well deserved HEA.   Add this to the top of your TBR.

I LOVED this book! It was one of those books that I had no expectations when I started but before long the awesome characters and the intriguing storyline had me fully invested and unable to put it down. Tanner is known as the town bad boy. He's one of the sons of the town drunk and after a car accident he was sent to prison after being convicted of causing the death of his friend. Emily Towsen is a school teacher and a good girl but she's always had a soft spot for Tanner and never believed he was responsible for the accident. Their worlds collide when Emily's meddling grandmother goes to Tanner's shop and buys a Harley. When Emily confronts Tanner about the motorcycle, things get real crazy real fast. After that nothing in their lives will ever be the same.

I highly recommend this one!

Handle With Care was a sweet and angsty romance. I really enjoyed this book, as it was my first one by this author I was truly impressed with her writing skills. Tanner and Emily were very lovable characters, they each had their own baggage from the past as well as in the present. To watch them try to overcome the problems and make a go at their relationship was just amazing. I loved the secondary characters and I'm hoping we get more from them.

I loved so much about this book! The plot and the story just flows perfectly and I couldn't get enough of this book. I read this one in one sitting and can't wait to read more from this fabulous author.

Everyone in town knows Tanner O' Conner, but not for the reasons he'd hope to be known, when you come from a family like his it's hard not to catch flack from the tight knit community. His father paved the way by being known as the town drunk, then of course his siblings found their fair share of trouble, and he too earned a bad rap by doing a little stint in prison. He's use to the looks, whispers behind his back, and the common displeasure he receives while dealing with the towns folk, heck he is almost immune to it these days, he knows he'll never be able to redeem himself in their eyes, so why even try right?

But when a disgruntled Emily Towson wanders into his shop one night, voicing her distaste in him selling her elderly grandmother a motorcycle, he has a hard time biting his tongue and taking the lashing Miss Prim and Proper is dishing out. She is just like the rest of the town, thinking he's up to no good and taking advantage of her grandmother, when in fact that couldn't be farther from the truth. But, instead of admitting that he already canceled the order for the hog, he decides to mess with her a bit, he's really getting a kick out of her standing in his shop all fired up and struggling the hide the lust in her eyes. It's all fun and games for him until the conversation takes an unexpected heated turn when he calls her sensible, and she literally jumps his bones... now he finds himself with a whole new host of trouble that he never saw coming!!

Handle With Care takes readers to Saddlers Cove, and front and center into the lives of two characters that learn the true meaning of opposites attract, Emily and Tanner couldn't be more different, but love knows no bounds! This sweet little small town romance tale had a lot to offer readers; a wonderful pairing with sizzling chemistry; an engaging plot full of humor and heart; and of course some endearing secondary characters that round out the story; and leave you wanting to return for more! I really enjoyed this one, it captured my attention from the first page and had me hanging on tight until the last; it's sure to be a hit with small town romance readers!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

He's trying to outrun his past. She's trying to run toward her future. Who knew that they'd find what they sought in the most unlikely of places. In a town where image is your calling card, the good girl and the bad boy are a mismatch made in gossip that borders on heartache and strolls through heaven. Handle With Care is a calling card of the power that love has. A courageous tale of second chances, surprise romances and happy endings.

I really, really liked this!

Emily and Tanner have crushed on each other for years, each thinking they didn't stand a chance. Emily was the good girl, Tanner, the town bad boy. Things happen and they end up dating and getting to know one another and I LOVED watching them fall in love. There were interesting side characters and I can't wait to see what happens with them.

My only complaint is that Tanner's woe is me attitude went on WAY too long. Had he shaped up earlier, I think this would have been a five star read for me. But I still loved it ;)

Emily has always been a "good girl" but she is tired of being called sensible. She has a secret crush on the town "bad boy" Tanner. Tanner has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the sons of the town drunk. Tanner has come a long way and now owns his own business but he can't shake his past. He has lusted for Emily for years so when he gets the chance to make his dreams come true he takes it. Red hot sweet romance.

3.5 Stars
This was a strong start to a new series with good characters and excellent world building.
Ms. Croft has created two strong leads in Emily and Tanner along with an entertaining secondary cast. The various subplots were handled well, creating curiosity about where the series will go next, but still feeling complete for this book.
I genuinely liked Emily and Tanner and rooted for them to get out of their own way. I appreciated the emotional growth they both experienced and some of the humor that went along with getting them there.
Saddlers Cove is a character unto itself and the towns people had a great impact on the story.
I haven’t read much by Ms Croft, but after reading this series starter, I definitely want to read more.

I liked this how the author, Nina Croft, wrote this book. I enjoyed the 3 person POV, the twist with Josh included. I liked how smoothly and well she did that!

I enjoyed the story line! I always like the bad-boy/good girl combo. It was fun, and the supportive characters were great! There were some good descriptive sex scenes. The only thing I didn't completely care for was how Tanner throughout the whole story held his grudge, and was not self confident at all...kinda a pussy ;)

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it!