Cover Image: The Whole Package

The Whole Package

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Member Reviews

An enjoyable first book in this new series, I liked the business Reid and Cash started (being a veteran myself), but I have to say with this being the first book, there's a LOT of information and secondary characters we meet. It almost felt like too much all at once. While it's a lot of info, it's still an overall entertaining book and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

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Reid is former military and started his own business to help his brother adjust to civilian life. Naomi is a very strong heroine who has a need to prove herself. Much of the book focuses on their relationship as colleagues and could possibly have done with of them as a couple because they were so cute together when they were just them.

Reid's relationship with his brother was just as compelling as his relationship with Naomi, showing how they cared and protected each other. The main couple are important but my overall enjoyment of a book increases so much when the side characters in the form of friends and family add to the love story for me.

The Whole Package had a great cast of side characters in Reid's brother and their employees within Vets on the Go. I can definitely see more storyline coming with other members of the team.

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Another good book that’s been sitting in my kindle for a while. The best thing about being quarantined is that I get to read all the book I haven’t yet! I believe that this is my first book from the author and a pretty good one for introductions!
The story is really enjoyable. There were times that I laughed and others where I felt the tension between them. These two are both so wrong and right for each other. The ending may be predictable, however the overall plot until then is very good!

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Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

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Naomi Starr is a PR expert and she is determined to bring Vets on the Go! into the spotlight, but meeting Reid, might just mean breaking her rule to never mix business with pleasure. Determined to help his brother and other former servicemen, former Marine Reid Griffith finds himself caught up in trying to get a moving company off the ground, but he certainly doesn’t plan on falling in the spotlight of the brilliant – and beautiful – PR whiz.

The series starts off with a sweet, moving romance that gets readers motors running and pulses pounding. The characters are strong, endearing and easily captures readers’ hearts and attentions. The chemistry between Naomi and Reid sizzles with lots of electrical current but Naomi is determined to keep to her rule about not mixing business with pleasure which keeps the relationship interesting to say the least. Lots of emotions flow from the pages of this story from the intensely emotional feelings that comes from falling in love and interfering past issued to fun and laughter in the interactions of this delightful and eccentric moving crew that most readers will agree, can move anything they want, anytime they want.

The plot is steady paced and has a bit of suspense and intrigue that comes from building up businesses, hiring and firing, siblings and general friction between coworkers and ex-coworkers, in other words a realistic feeling, sweet, cute and fun read that readers can sink their teeth into.

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I like Marie Harte and she has some wonderful stories under her belt. But "The Whole Package" just did not do justice to the whole package that is Marie Harte. It did drag a bit and somehow I could not connect to the characters and to me that is a huge part of making a story success.

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I went on a journey with this book. Marie Harte wrote some of my favorite contemporary romance novels so when I first picked up this book I was excited to be back in her world. The dialogue was snappy, the characters were ambitious and complex, Harte’s knowledge from her own time in the Marines shone but then….this book turned into a giant clunker.

There were just all these weird side storylines that bloated the story and never get fully resolved. We have the poorly executed mentally ill mom plotline, family drama, ex-boyfriend drama, work drama, abusive pasts, oddly aggressive middle-aged man bullies and then they foil a robbery? There are also just so many characters. I’m not sure why we have to meet every mover they hire and get the tedious intricacies of how they work with another mover. I looked it up, none of these movers get their own book and most don’t even have much dialogue.

I was also really irked at just how poorly the inclusivity in the book is executed. It felt like every minority character had a point where they turn to this cishet white man and verbally tell him that they are black or gay or a lesbian. We then get Reid saying he doesn't care they are a minority (which I think is supposed to make him look like a good guy but saying you "don't care" someone is a minority is literally the least you can do ) and then we never hear from that person again. I also think it was extremely tone deaf make your one explicitly Latinx character end up being a criminal.

I wanted to like The Whole Package but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

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The story has two Brothers Reid and Cash who have started a moving business with only hiring veterans. Seems good, but when the story opens Cash is shown on TV fighting with two would be robbers and swearing up a storm. The TV personality though is calling him and Hector heroes for stopping a robbery and saving a young man. Cash is bleep, bleep, bleep, thanks now we got to get back to bleeped work. Reid is waiting to be sued, or any other negative thing and instead is barraged with new clients the next day. One person that also comes in is PR person Naomi who is running her own business and is letting Reid know that with the right help PR and marketing her company could make things easier for him. The problem becomes that he falls for the women and she falls for the guy. He at least thinks she does because he finds out about her ex named Tanner who wears a suit and also is in the same business as her. Reid just doesn’t think Naomi wants to be with a guy like him who don’t wear suits. She must somehow prove to him that is not the case. The characters around the main characters are all good, I liked Jordan, and the rest of the crew and it was nice to see Cash being addicted to reality shows, it added to the story. I wish the story about their mother would have been cleared up. Other than that a good story. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

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Strong start to a new series by one of my favorite romance authors. I love a hero with a chip on his shoulder. The way Naomi comes into his life is hilarious and fun. I adored these two characters together. The side characters really add to the story and can't wait to read more of them.

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This was just okay. The writing didn't move like I would have liked, I felt like this story drug on forever. I had high hopes when I started, because I've loved the previous books I've read from this author. Reid was a good guy, and I liked Naomi for the most part. I thought they had great chemistry, but there was a lot of other stuff going on in this book, and I felt like their story suffered because of it. In my opinion, Tanner had WAY too much story line for this to be about Reid and Naomi. There are a lot of characters introduced, which I get because this is a start to a new series, but it distracts from the main romance. Although this wasn't my favorite story, I will read this author again.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

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I’m so excited about this new series from Marie Harte because I’m such a big fan of her Contemporary Romance. THE WHOLE PACKAGE is the first in the Movin’ On series. You can expect a lot of the fun teasing and banter that Harte has in a lot of her other series, and as expected, a sizzling hot romance.

It took me a little bit to get into this book because it’s a whole new set of characters. The beginning has a lot of that banter that displays the bond and camaraderie of the heroes. I think this is really important to establish early on. However, I do sometimes feel that the banter can be a little too much in some cases. It’s funny because this is one of the best things I love about Harte’s book. But obviously, there is a line. Sometimes, there’s too much of the humor and fun when I would have loved to see a more serious or more focused tone.

Nevertheless, I am thrilled to have another series by Harte. I have some pretty high expectations for this author because she is one of my favorites and I’ll definitely be waiting on the edge of my seat for the rest of the books in this series.

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Truly enjoyed this book. entertaining plot, characters I actually liked, and a satisfying ending. looking forward to reading any future books in this series.

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I'm beginning to have a different standard for series or trilogy kickoffs. The Whole Package seems to be typical, in that it read as a little unbalanced between setting the overall series, introducing a cast of characters and trying to fit in the core romance. The core romance was a little weak. The characters are engaging, I needed more time with their leadup to happily ever after. Ms Harte writes with passion, so the heat factor is always high, the chemistry was a bit off. The premise of the series is good, I trust Marie Harte to bring the two remaining books home. I will read the trilogy.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

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The story has two Brothers Reid and Cash who have started a moving business with only hiring veterans. Seems good, but when the story opens Cash is shown on TV fighting with two would be robbers and swearing up a storm. The TV personality though is calling him and Hector heroes for stopping a robbery and saving a young man. Cash is bleep, bleep, bleep, thanks now we got to get back to bleeped work. Reid is waiting to be sued, or any other negative thing and instead is barraged with new clients the next day. One person that also comes in is PR person Naomi who is running her own business and is letting Reid know that with the right help PR and marketing her company could make things easier for him. The problem becomes that he falls for the women and she falls for the guy. He at least thinks she does because he finds out about her ex named Tanner who wears a suit and also is in the same business like her. Reid just doesn’t think Naomi wants to be with a guy like him who don’t wear suits. She must somehow prove to him that is not the case. The characters around the main characters are all good, I liked Jordan, and the rest of the crew and it was nice to see Cash being addicted to reality shows, it added to the story. I wish the story about their mother would have been cleared up. Other than that a good story.

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The Whole Package is both the first novel I've read by Marie Harte, and the first book in her new Movin' On series, and while it was an entertaining and certainly steamy read, I liked it but didn't love it for several reasons, and it gets 3-stars from this reader.

I liked the Negalley blurb which mentioned that this novel was about a moving company owned by two brothers who are both former Marine's (although they still consider themselves Marines), which hired only veterans--offering them a way to earn a living, as well as a chance to get back into civilian life. The main characters are Reid, who loved the Marines, but left when his older brother, Cash, who was discharged from the Marines, couldn't seem to find a way to both earn a living, control his temper, or stay out of trouble. So Reid started Vets on the Go!, and when Cash was on the job, he and a co-worker saw a robbery in progress, stepped in, saved the merchant whose business was being robbed, and subdued the criminals until the police could arrive. That move got them a ton of media attention and their business picked up as a result.

Reid, the business end of Vets of the Go! soon realizes that they need to expand, and so does Naomi Starr, a public relations and marketing professional, who made the mistake of getting involved with her boss, Tanner, at a major PR firm, and when her work outshone the work of her boss, she left the company before they could fire her, and started her own company, Starr PR. When she sees the news broadcast about the foiled robbery, she immediately realizes the marketing potential of the moving company, and the next day finds her talking to Reid about her representing and marketing his company to take advantage of the good press. Reid is immediately drawn to the tall, beautiful, intelligent redhead, and she to him, although she promised to never again get involved with a co-worker or client. As romance readers, we already know that's going to change, and it does--into some of the steamiest scenes I've read in some time.

What I did like was the amount of character development in this novel. Reid and Cash have serious issues with their upbringing in a dysfunctional family. Cash was always mistreated, beaten, demeaned, and yelled at by his father, for no reason he or Reid can fathom, while Reid was treated as the golden child, and while their mother was present, she lived in her own dream world. Naomi also has issues with her family of over-achievers, who've always, although inadvertently, given her an inferiority complex and low self-esteem. Even though these issues helped draw this slowly moving relationship between both brothers, as well as the on-again, off-again slowly moving relationship between Naomi and Reid, forward, for each step forward, they seemed to take two steps back, and the plot stagnated quite a bit.

Additionally, as new people are interviewed and hired at Vets on the Go!, there were too many characters added all at once, and keeping them straight practically required a scorecard. I liked that Reid and Cash included darn near every race, nationality, sex or sexual preference among their new hires, but I would have preferred that some of them be introduced in later installments of this series. Toss in the death of Reid and Cash's mother, a unresolved mystery surrounding why their father seemed to loathe Cash, a question about his parentage, and, oh yes, a foiled robbery attempt by one of the employees they fired, which was quickly dealt with near the end of the novel, and the final resolution to the romance between Naomi and her former boss, Tanner, as well as her ongoing but strained relationship with Reid, and it all seemed like both too much going on and not enough time to fully deal with each issue separately.

If you're looking for a steamy and entertaining romance series and want to get in at the start of a new series, I think you'll enjoy this one. Ms. Harte writes well, and has a way with dialogue and heat, but I'm hoping that later installments in this series include a more fully fleshed out story with more action and actual drama than was evidenced in this novel.

As stated, I voluntarily requested an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

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This was my first book my Marie Harte and liked it a lot.

The premise of brothers who are ex-military who start a company to help employ Vets was great. Being the first book in the series, there was A LOT going on - with a ton of secondary characters thrown in, so at times our main characters Reid and Naomi got a little lost in the action. But I like their flirty banter and sexy vibes they put out.

It was a cute story and I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

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Just finished this book and it was The Whole Package. Loved the characters and loved the story, and hoping for more books, the men from Vets on the Go are hot! Marie Harte you did it again, another great read!!!!

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Fans of Marie Harte will rejoice with the newly minted “Movin’ On” series. Its initial offering, “The Whole Package” has all the elements of why we love Marie Harte – a contemporary romance with lots of laugh out loud funny situations interspersed with steamy scenes that can get you hot and bothered.

Meet former Marine Reid Griffith and PR expert Naomi Starr. They were not looking for love, but found it anyway. They met the old fashion way – on the job. Reid’s moving company is Naomi’s newest client. As they traversed their professional relationship, they also had to acknowledge their mutual attraction.

With the chemistry between them off the charts, it was a forgone conclusion that they will be together, that is until Naomi’s past came back and whatever they have can be derailed unless Reid does something about it.

Laugh out loud funny with steamy scenes interspersed, The Whole Package is Rated M for Mature due to sexual content.

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I was so disappointed with this book. I am a fan of this author, but I couldn't get into this new series. I couldn't figure out who the book was supposed to be focused on, but from the synopsis, I guess it was Reid and Naomi. There were too many characters and I honestly have no desire to read more about them. I didn't feel the connection between Reid and Naomi. I'll be skipping this series.

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The hero, Reid, is a former Marine who’s started a moving company staffed with military veterans. Among the staff is his brother, Cash, who’s a bit of a hot head but brave and noble too. Cash saves a family and puts the business front and center in the public eye. In walks Naomi, a PR specialist who sees Vets To Go’s media situation as a win-win opportunity.

What follows is attraction, conflict, insecurities revealed and past hurts uncovered. Reid and Naomi experience a host of feels, before finally getting themselves a HEA.

This read includes quite a large ensemble of characters so I’m sure there will be many, many romances to follow.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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