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Four, let's practice for real, Stars!!!!

In the old adage that “practice makes perfect”, we have Practice Husband by Noelle Adams, a story about second chances and another chance to “get it right.” As soon as I was able to get my hands on this second installment in Noelle’s Trophy Husbands Series (this is number 2), I dropped what I was reading to start this book.

We first met Samantha Greyson in Part Time Husband which focused on “Sam’s” oldest sister, Melissa. Melissa definitely had her ups and downs trying to hold on to her job with Pop’s Home Cooking, a restaurant chain founded and owned by Melissa and Sam’s grandfather. Pop is a granddaughter’s worse nightmare. A throw back to when women were best kept barefoot and pregnant. He can’t understand these new-fangled times where women work, educate themselves and definitely do not need a man in their life to “take care of them.” But he wants his granddaughters married and he started with Melissa. Melissa makes a marriage to a man she doesn’t care for to get Pop “off her back”, but when she actually falls in love with her Part Time Husband, it’s Sam that shows her she can have all that she wants. A career, a husband, a family, a life.

Now it’s Sam’s turn. With Melissa married, Pop has turned his focus towards Sam and getting her married. Just like he did with Melissa, he threatens to take something away from Sam unless she complies. So, following in Melissa's footsteps, Sam sets her eyes to Hunter Ness, a friend from her high school days that she has secretly been in love with all this time. Sam is tired of being “the good girl” as Pop describes her. She wants to experience new things, maybe a little walk on the wild side, but she’s not sure how to get there. Possibly a husband can help her??? That's wild in and of itself!

Hunter Ness has fallen on hard times. Despite having it all in high school (super good looks, being on the football team and having good grades with Sam’s tutoring) he made some stupid mistakes that have cost him dearly. Two years in prison to be exact, and now that he’s out, he needs help to look respectable. He needs a place to live. He needs help in getting a job. Okay then. Maybe they can help each other and getting married seems like the perfect solution. Just for a year though. A year is just about the right amount of time for Sam to try new things with Hunter’s help and finish up her schooling to support herself. Hunter needs a year to get himself established and to show people he is a changed man. It seems simple enough……

…..but nothing is that simple.

Somewhere while practicing to be married, Sam and Hunter actually become married. They support one another, help one another, listen to each other, and along the way they discover they have been in love with each other all along.

Spicy, sexy, sizzling in my hands hot……I had trouble putting Practice Husband down. Plenty of banter and heart pounding sex to keep a reader going. I read it to its conclusion late into the night. Also plenty of angst and second guessing while our main characters figure things out and deal with their insecurities. Growing up can be a hard thing to do at times, but all in all, another happy ending for another Greyson sister.

One more sister to go. The youngest. Chelsea Greyson.

Noelle Adams: I hope Book 3 is in the works. Don’t leave us hanging.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough comedy & sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

Hunter is Sam’s Practice Husband early in the story. They both expect to get something out of their marriage in name only. What they didn’t expect, was to actually fall in love. So when they did, neither of them knew what to do about it. Needless to say, they almost bungled it completely. Fortunately, they figured it out in the end. Ms. Adams always does a terrific job of getting her readers to feel her characters’ emotions, and this book was no exception. Well done!

A much anticipated read for me, following Part-Time husband the first book in this series I couldn't wait to dive into this one. I was a little skeptical, because in the first book I wasn't a huge fan of Sam she is one of the sisters who this series is based on,for some reason I didn't think I would like her, but somehow Noelle made me freaking love her in this book!

Then Noelle indroduces us to Hunter holy smokes the man is hot and everything any woman would want! I fell in love with the man immediately.

The love story between the two has some humor and romance and sexual tension and overall is a great smooth read, I can not wait to see what Noelle has in store for me with the next book!

I loved this book - not only the story of Sam and Hunter, but also the references to romance in other novels such as Jane Austen.

Sam is a perpetual student, currently on her third masters, and living off her grandfathers money. Hunter is an old friend from high school, just out of prison and in need of a home and a job - she can help with both if he marries her and becomes her practice husband.

Looking forward to the next book in this series!

Hunter is a really helpful guy, “you said you wanted hot ***. You admitted I was right about that. I’m gonna help you with that.” There are times Hunter's ego takes a dive when he thinks his woman isn't getting what she needs, “am I not satisfying you?” His voice is low and hoarse now." I liked this book, I fell in love with Hunter.

Practice Husband, Trophy Husbands Book 2,  Noelle Adams

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance.

Hurrah, book two has lost that awful women's fiction category ;-)

I really enjoyed book one, light and a bit predictable but a fun read so I was keen to read book two. It didn't work as well for me though, an OK read but not more.

Somehow where I could accept Pop's machinations of Melissa I found it hard to see why Sam accepted it. There's a section where she says “Although I don't really mind living off Pop that much” and it made me so irritated. She's 26 – 28 maybe, is studying for her third masters, has no idea what she's going to do to earn money as she doesn't work and is happy to just live off her grandfather. I wanted to say to her “where's your pride, your independence?”
I find it hard to root for someone who's so happy to sponge off someone else. Yes she's kind, yes she helps Hunter but that help still came via Pop. Somehow that coloured the way I felt about her. At least Melissa was working, growing the business and being independent, but Sam? She's a grown woman acting like a teen, expecting Pop to just pick up her bills, and that grated on me.

Hunter, he was lovely. I was wary of his past, but the explanation for it was reasonable, and things like that do happen. I really felt for him in his family situation, that was sad. I'm not convinced he would have gone for Sam's ideas though, he seemed a little too independent for that but that's the way the story was written so I have to accept it.

I think if there was a bit more independence from Sam, and maybe a little better reasons for the marriage I could have really liked this book. I was cross at a grown woman just accepting money like that, and found it hard to accept that Hunter would agree to marry Sam, even temporarily, for such simple reasons, thought he'd have held pout a bit more, needed more benefit to Sam than just helping her open up, be braver in life. Its kind of a one sided bargain and he didn't feel the sort to take that, he seemed a proud person and I think he'd have wanted more concrete benefit for Sam.
Still, I enjoyed most of the story, its well written, I did like the little side plots, the everyday actions and the heat between Sam and Hunter. I'm hoping the third sister has a book more like the first one, where the reasons for marrying are more realistic and even handed.

Stars: Three, a fun read, but not up to book one for me.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and Publishers.