One Week with the Marine, by Allison Gatta is an interesting contemporary romance.

Holden Morris and Avery Forrester have been friends with benefits for many years, while she has worked as a travel photographer and he has served in the military. Recently, Holden has decided that he wanted Avery to commit to a relationship, since he wants to marry her and have children. However, Avery believes that commitment will ruin their friendship, despite only wanting one man.

As the story unfolds, Holden and Avery are insecure about their friendship and very lonely without each other. Both have plenty of family drama, especially dealing with Holden's parents making inappropriate comments. Avery's best friend is in a relationship crisis of her own, which seems like enough material for a future book.

One Week with the Marine is geared towards those who enjoy reading contemporary romance books.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I liked this short and sweet read from Allison Gatta. It made a change to see that it was the male MC was the one who had been in love with his best friend for years and wants the whole nine yards; marriage, children... Avery was the one who not wanting to settle down but Holden’s plan for them to marry awakens all her fears... I found it harder to warm to Avery in the beginning, but as the story unfolded, we saw why she was so gun-shy and why she was so fearful and it explained a lot. I liked Holden, to say he was military man, a hardcore marine in fact, but I wished he’d have shown a little more backbone though with his parents and also Avery but I did warm to and like his character. I love a friends with benefits tale that turns into something so much more, especially when they are crazy about each other and the sex scenes are written very well. A nice easy read from Entangled’s Brazen line.

This is a great little read. Avery who is totally gun shy of relationships and the intimacy yet every time her long term friend and lover come home from deployment they spend most of their time buried between the sheets! Holden is about to change all that. Coming from a military family, they expect him to fall inline and they don't like Avery. Holden avoids his family when he's home on leave, much preferring Avery's company. So Holden decides that since he's older and needs to make some life decisions about his career and future with Avery starts to change their game a little bit. Avery picks up on the subtle things Holden does, a little more intimate, soft touches here and there and she panics just a tad. Meanwhile her best friend who is a nervous Nellie grills her for 3 pages about her relationship with Holden early in the book. Avery uses every trick she knows to throw her off, but to no avail. She doesn't understand the just friends thing Avery's trying to explain to her, because that's the way it's been with her and Holden since high school. 
This was a quick and sweet read. I don't use the word sweet often it implies gushy etc and this wasn't, but well written as always from Allison and I liked the plot. I loved Holden and Avery both, but Holden.... yes indeed! 
The book is a great summer read, light enough, low angst and lots of love. What more could you ask for.
Allison writes yet another winner.


**arc from NetGalley and Entangled in exchange for a fair review**

*Copy exchanged by NetGalley for an honest review*

They always say honesty is the best policy. So I will be honest.

I did not like Holden. I did not like Avery.

Would you like to know why?

Because they were flat.

What does that mean?

Well, friends, it means that they didn't have any defined characteristics. They didn't have anything that made them human, or even unique. We were just told what they were like - we never got to see it happen. We were informed that Avery was a messy wild-child without a care in the world and we were informed that Holden was a... 

uh...

soldier? Interested in a relationship? Beyond that I honestly can't say.

It's very hard to fall in love with a book in which the characters don't feel real, which was my main problem with this book. Beyond that, I feel I must compliment Ms. Gatta's writing style as it is very fluid, more so than other books of this genre that I've read.

All in all it was a quick, cute read, but not anything I'd phone home about.

I can't bring myself to give it 3 stars because I'm a harsh grader and for me 3 stars is actually pretty high (an Immortals After Dark novel by Kresley Cole typically gets a 4 star review and I think that series is phenomenal, so there's your proof :P). 

All in all, 2.75 stars. I'd recommend to someone looking for something quick to pass the time, but not someone looking for a huge investment.

Avery Forrester and U.S. Marine Holden Morris have been friends forever.  Towards the end of their senior year in high school, they became friends with benefits, because Holden is destined for the military and Avery, after watching her mother fail over and over again in marriage, is afraid of intimacy.  He is comes form a political/military family and she and her mother lived in a trailer park.
Eventually she left Maryland toward California with her BFF Myla,  became a photographer and watched Myla also go from one sad relationship to the next.  Each time Holden is stateside he comes to her, but now on his way home from his fourth deploy, he has a ten year plan and the first thing on the list is "Marry someone I love". The someone he has always loved is Avery, and this trip home he is determined to get her on board, despite the hostility of his parents towards her.  But what Avery does best is avoidance, as the loving looks he gives her send "panic and fear racing through her bloodstream".  She was terrified of loving him and losing him and herself so has convinced herself that she is not who he needs; that he could do better.  Will Holden be able to convince Avery that she is who he needs or will she push him away?
I read a free ARC from netgalley.com.  It is the first book that I have read from this author, but definitely not the last.

I do love my entangled books and this is another brilliant one by there authors. I've never try this author before so not sure why thow but will be again in the future as they really is a fantastic book and I really enjoyed reading it very much. If you like your entangled brazen books then your going to love this one too. Would recommend

I know that if I’m looking for an easy, sexy read that I can grab a book in Entangled’s Brazen line and get exactly that. One Week With the Marine was exactly what I was expecting. I can’t say it was my favorite of the Brazen books, but it was sexy nonetheless. I can’t say I really liked Avery much in the beginning. I thought she was a bit of whiner and a bit of a downer. Eventually, when she came clean about her lifestyle and really opened up to Holden about her fears, I think we finally got to see the real Avery and that was an Avery I could get behind. I kind of got her motivation, but I still wasn’t sure about her.

I really liked Holden. I thought he was a great guy although I wish he stood up for himself a bit more with his parents and with Avery.  I loved the idea that Avery and Holden were in a friends with benefits relationship for a long time. These two have a ton of chemistry and are super hot together. This was a quick, enjoyable read and I will definitely check out what Allison Gatta writes next.

Arc provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review

Avery and Holden have had a casual 'thing' going for a long time.  But Holden is done with all that and he wants more.  He wants commitment and family.  Avery- not so much.

I liked Holden's character a lot.  Avery was kind of annoying, maybe because I felt like Holden deserved more because he was SUCH a great character.

When friends with benefit is not that is seems! Allison and Avery have a special relationship. Since Avery is in the service, they only see each other when he is home on leave. This works for them. Especially for commitment scared Allison. She is ok with what they have, or so she thinks. In reality these 2 are crazy for each other, but only one is strong enough to put it out there and see where it takes them. After years of friendship, are they willing to loose what they have to take the next step?

I loved the concept and was immediately drawn into the book.   Holden was our American Hero who always went back to Avery.   They had a great friendship that spanned several years.  My issue is that this couple had a little too much deceit in their relationship.  They were never honest with each other.    I thought they played to many mind games.

3.5 

Nice contemporary friends with benefits

This review is based on the ARC provided by the author and/or the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

**I received a copy of One Week With The Marine from Entangled Publishing and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review**

One Week With The Marine by Allison Gates was a quick and enjoyable read not very long but just the right amount.

Avery Forrester is a budding photographer living in San Diego but she's struggling with whether her friends with benefits with her high school friend should be more. She's has more has experienced more careers in the past few years and he's had only one as a U.S. Marine. Holden is flying to visit her after his current deployment. She's has something to do for t.He entire week of his stay except admit that she feels more for him than sex and friendship. When a chance meeting with a art gallery owner to show a few of her photos has her realizing that perhaps she's finally found her career but can she accept what Holden is offering, love, or with she walk away from him forever?

Holden Morris is ready to settle down and start a family and he's determined that it's going to be Avery. Even though his parents don't care for her she's who he wants and he'll have one week to convince her. He knows that he'll have to decide whether he'll stay in and deploy again with more pay and a new rank or will he leave? His family has been military for generations but what he wants us a life with Avery if he can convince her. I loved the spontaneous sand castle contest after dinner but it's when his parents show up and see how beautiful her photos are that has you doing a first pump and saying "Go Avery!"

If you're looking for a quick, steamy romance novel, this book is exactly what you need. It's predictable, but well written. I especially loved that the characters had known each other for a while. It made their connection more real. 

While it was definitely not a bad read, I did get annoyed by Avery's extreme fear of commitment. It was a little over the top, not entirely believable.

My heart broke for Avery. She has a fear of people leaving her. And Holden is guilty of doing just that over and over again. If only she'd tell him of these fears. Then at least he'd know how she truly felt for him. I tell you what though, I was worried about the ending. Phew is all that I'll say.

Read the Entangled Brazen line only if you’re prepared to see the recycling trope after trope with tons of heat. I can’t remember how many lazy afternoons I’ve whiled away this way and for quite a bit of them, I’ve still had a rollicky good time because they’re such easy reads. ‘One Week with the Marine’ slots into one of this particular shelf with ease because it’s just that: absolutely predictable with a woman fearing love and commitment and her friends-with-benefits guy wanting more, but a fun one nonetheless with the road blocks and obstacles that you expect. 

Avery's panicked ways of creating distance got somewhat extreme, along with the repetitive self-recriminating statements of how she didn’t want to commit yet couldn’t find it in herself to hurt her good friends. There’s more than a touch of All McBeal-like neuroticism in Avery though and some of it felt like a person who simply couldn’t (or didn’t want) grow up when needed to, beyond her mummy-issues that she’d been using as excuses for too long. 

I liked the fairly unusual idea that Holden and Avery were long in a deeper than friend-with-benefits type of relationship for years whether they wanted to admit it or not and they’d really belonged to each other before the status-quo changed permanently and on paper. Holden’s aim to get it officially stamped—with Avery squirrelling away every time he wants to bring up this topic—makes the chase frustrating because neither could really get up to speed when it seems as thought they’re in the wrong gear all the time. But the ending and the conflict are practically written in stone. One pushes; the other runs. It comes to a head when Avery finally realises that she needs to start adulting with the help of a friend. 

Thankfully, for Avery, marriage isn’t quite in the cards just yet; the story ends with a doable compromise for both parties and a HEA that is realistically written. But since the Brazen line is a quick ‘pick me up’ so to speak, ‘One Week with the Marine’ is a decent read, just not a stellar one. If this is really is the start of a series, I’m already curious to see what else Allison Gatta has in store for for the sequel.

One thing's for sure with Avery Holden's life is never going to be boring, “I’ll never understand how men just accept that they wake up every morning with their flags at full mast. It makes no sense to me.” She ground into him..." There were times in the book that I was more curious about Myla and Oliver, I'm hoping to find out what goes on with them.  I liked this book, Holden had patience when it came to Avery.