📚 Series: Yes. Can be read as a standalone
📚 Genre: Romance
📚 POV: Multiple third person
📚 Cliffhanger: No.

⚠ Content Warnings: Murder. Stalking. Family Drama.
⚠ Read if: you are looking for a small town romance with a hint of finding justice long deserved.

Count on Me is a revamped and relaunched novel from new-to-me author, Lauren Dane. This book is part of a series, and though this can be read as a standalone, sometime it can feel like I'm the person not in on a joke. There are so many characters, you can get dizzy on trying to keep track of the names. I guess, the best way would be to read the series in its right order.

Anyway, the story is promising because of the trope small town's prodigal daughter returns to give justice to her father's wrongful inprisonment. Insert a romance with her high school crush who turned out to be handsome, well-mannered organic goods farmer, then poof, we get a good read.

In its totality, I liked the story. My only concern is that some parts of it seem unnecessary and just feel like chapter fillers to meet a word count. The length was unnecessary and the story could have been told better.

The main characters also repeatedly do sappy love declarations, which could have been cute a few times, but nauseating if they happen in every other chapter.

Still interested with reading the author's other works. But I hope she does learn smoothing her book plots.

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁

🌻 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐✩
🌻 Hero:⭐⭐⭐⭐✩
🌻 Heroine:⭐⭐⭐⭐✩
🌻 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐✩
🌻 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐✩✩
🌻 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐✩✩
🌻 Romance:⭐⭐⭐✩✩
🌻 Pacing:⭐⭐⭐✩✩
🌻 Ending:⭐⭐⭐⭐✩
🌻 Unputdownability:⭐⭐⭐✩✩
🌻 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐✩✩

☁FINAL VERDICT: 3.45/5 ☁
Review also appears on my blog.
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Lawyer Caroline Mendoza has returned to Petal, Georgia with one goal in mind uncovering the truth and proving her father’s innocence. No one with stand in her way, not her family, not the town and definitely not the indecently and undeniably hot, Royal Watson.

This Petal, Georgia romance is emotionally gripping and very suspenseful. The characters are strong, bold and have an inner core of strength that really draws readers to them. Royal and Caroline have some super sizzlin’ chemistry and rock readers’ world with their sweet and extremely passionate romance, although the story is also chock full of emotional angst that tugs at readers hot, this couple proves that love has no bounds which makes readers sign in heartfelt envy.

The story takes place at a steady pace that keeps reader thoroughly engaged from the very beginning with suspense and the drama of a divided town, divided family and some downright ugly people that should really mind their own business. The author has a gift for getting real and own to the nitty gritty of a situation that readers can easily identify and relate to. So, once again, Petal, Georgia has it going on and the Chases are front and center as they adopt Royal and Caroline into their ever growing family and the hero and heroine overcome adversity and reach for their happily ever after in this heartwarming emotionally gripping romance.

Lauren Dane lights it up with a new Petal, Georgia Book! The storyline and familiar characters will keep you turning page after page.
Caroline Mendoza came back to Petal for several reasons, one to reconnect with her sister and brother and the second reason is to clear her fathers' name posthumously.
Royal Watson wasn't expecting this "fun size" woman to barrel through his life and give him so many feelings that he was done for. But that's exactly what Caro did and he fell head over heels for her.
Now if he can protect her from her fathers' actual killer and get through to Anne Murphy his ex that they are finished. Life would be perfect.
#TeamRoyal - I want this guy in my corner every time.

4 sweet stars!

Drama, humor and emotion make up this wonderful story about Caroline and Royal’s journey.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

OMG, it's a new story in Petal. I just loved all the Chases brothers and their mother Polly of course! And now, there is another story about an old murder in town. Years ago, Enrique Mendoza was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Bianca Mendoza. And now, fourteen years later, their daughter Caroline is back in town as a lawyer. And she is determined to find out who really killed her mother. Because she knows for sure, that it was not her father, because he loved his wife very much.
Having lived with her father's family, but without her little brother and sister, Caroline wants to try to reconnect with her mother's family and her siblings. She expected there would be some hurdles to take, since a part of town is still convinced that Enrique really killed their beauty queen and beloved Bianca. She didn't expect the total hostility that some of the people in town show her. Fortunately, not all people are against her. Polly is convinced of her father's innocence and she is not afraid to show everyone that she's on Caroline's side. Furthermore there is Royal Watson, the ex-boyfriend of Anne Murphy, who is trying to help Caroline land on her feet in Petal. Royal has been pining after Anne Murphy for years. But when he realizes, she doesn't do relationships, he decides it is time to take a break from their relationship. When he meets Caroline, he is attracted to her. He didn't expect to ever fall in love again, but the feisty Caroline makes him realize that his love for Anne was more of a brotherly love than the fireworks he is feeling now. Certainly things are never boring with Caroline: because her car gets molested, she gets threatened, shot at and people are bad mouthing her. But for once, Caroline doesn't feel alone: she has Royal to count on. And that makes this the best read in the whole series: the deep connection between Royal and Caroline. Her background and her spine of steel. And her sharky remarks: I loved it. Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Count on Me is the first book in the Petal Georgia series (a spin off of the Chase Brothers series) by Lauren Dane. Each of the books by Dane seems to stand up fine on its own, but fans of the earlier series will enjoy seeing some favorites make an appearance. This book is currently scheduled for release on July 8 2019.

Caroline Mendoza left home to become a lawyer with one goal in mind: prove her father’s innocence. Now she’s back, and nothing will stop her from uncovering the truth—not the folks of Petal, who have their own ideas about the case, not her siblings and definitely not Royal Watson, who should probably stand trial for being indecently and undeniably hot.

Count on Me is a contemporary romance that hits many tough topics, has a solid dose of danger, but also lots of heart and sweet moments. Caroline has been struggling to exonerate her father for all of her adult life, and the small town attitudes and stubbornness of family make everything more emotional and challenging than it really should be. Family issue abound, as do problems in finding her place in her hometown. Royal is such a good guy, almost too perfect. He is open minded and protective while still respecting the indepence and abilities of those around him. I liked the honesty and banter between the pair, and how straight forward Caroline is with just about everyone and every issue that comes her way. While the pair came together more quickly than I expected- I really enjoyed how they came together and grew closer throughout the story. The only issue I had with the read is that every now and then there were time or scene transitions that just felt a little rough to me. Or moments that just made me wonder why they were even included. For instance, in one moment Royal's phone rings as he was driving- but no mention of the phone call was made again, so why was it even included. No missed call or message to be followed up. Little petty things like that stick with me, I think only because I love the author so much that I expect better but others might not even notice.

Count on Me is a good return to Petal, and I enjoyed the read. Not my favorite book by Dane, but that is a high threshold to match. Fans of Dane will definitely want to add this to their to be read pile.

Original romantic suspense

Lauren Dane’s Count on Me is an intriguing story and part of her Petal, Georgia series.
Caroline and Royal were absolutely wonderful as a couple with serious chemistry. I loved watching as their relationship strengthens as Caroline searches to prove the truth behind her family’s tragedy. I loved Caroline’s brother Shep and enjoyed seeing the Chases and Murphys again, characters from this and the Chase Brothers series.
I highly recommend the whole series though this book which reads well as a stand alone.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

There's a bit of suspense, romance, and family drama all wrapped up in a great story. Although listed as book 3in a series, I felt it could be read as a standalone book. I don't know what the first two stories were about and this book was a good one.

Small towns are unique, where everyone knows your name but they also rally around the downtrodden. The Chase family and friends are perfect examples of how support can control how others view the situation. It would be fun to read books following Mindy and Shep.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher for my honest opinions.

I've loved Petal, Georgia, the Chase Brothers and especially Ms. Polly. But I think Caroline Mendoza is my favorite in the entire series and spin-off. She is strong, sophisticated, smart, sassy, and sexy. Her confidence in knowing the truth about her father and his wrongful conviction alienates her from so many, but Caroline is fierce is her knowledge-all of which is completely sexy to Royal Watson. When Caroline comes back to Petal, he's familiar with her reputation and being ostracized by her grandparents, but Royal is ready to familiarize himself with Caroline on a whole other level.

These two were just IT! I loved them together and how they were just simply perfect together. Laura Layne does an amazing job writing a story that was both sexy and entertaining. The premise of the book, Caroline coming back to town to find justice for her father, was in depth, interesting and mysterious. A very entertaining read with family and friend drama with lots of danger and suspense.

This story was a great mystery as well. I loved it!

This is Caroline and royals book, Caroline leaves home to become a lawyer with one goal in mind to prove her father’s innocence! Now she’s back in petal Georgia and the city folks have their own ideas about the case, her siblings and her grandparents, and all of them think he’s guilty! Royal knows there’s just something about Caroline that catches his eye! He’s determined to help her out! This book was really good I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it! I definitely recommend reading this one it’s well worth the read! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

This is one of my favorites in the Petal, Georgia series. What an awesome-make me never want to put down- kind of story! This is a nicely revitalized story by Ms. Dane.
Caroline is a great character and a strong heroine and I really liked her. Royal is the perfect yin to her yang. They have crazy hot chemistry and I love them as a couple. I really felt everything they were feeling! This story had me very emotional at times.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this book.

Caroline Mendoza left home to become a lawyer with one goal in mind: prove her father’s innocence. Now she’s back, and nothing will stop her from uncovering the truth—not the folks of Petal.When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Lauren Dane is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

The author takes us back to Petal, GA. This time the story belongs to Carolina Mendoza and Royal Watson.
Carolina is back in town after having left town to become a lawyer. Her aim, prove her father, who was accused of killing her mother, was innocent.
That enough let’s us know she is a strong determined woman.
Royale is perfect fo her and the chemistry is felt through the pages. Anne was not my favorite person.
Will the murder be resolved? Will Carolina end up with Royale and find her HEA?
An engaging story, and a good addition to this series.
I was entrusted this copy by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

3.5* A good book that was a bit too long, a lot filler-y and a bit bogged down in sex that took me out of the book whilst I took time to skip...

I've not read LD books since her Ellora's Cave days, so this was a nice catch up. I think she's improved as an author, but tbh, I found myself skipping parts of this book because there was just too much sex in it. OK, it was a natural part of the tale as the leads had the hots from each other pretty much immediately they met, but then the baby-talking/sex-talking each other got a bit silly and boring. And, it's a given that people in their 30s will have had several lovers and lots of sex, but I don't need to be told about the number of partners the female lead has had oral sex with before this guy, and to have her rate them and compare them. It's a bit crass and it's not needed. Sheesh. And if you're thinking about other lovers whilst with your current lover, then you can't be into them that much.

Back to the tale: it's a good sort-of-mystery and I liked how dogged and persistent Caroline was. I liked Royal, too, who had her back from day one, and I liked how bold he was with coming up to her and asking her out. I did like the story and a lot of the side characters, but OMG what a horrible, small-minded place Petal, Georgia sounds like! Gossips, racists, liars, thugs and a grandmother who's possibly the worst of the lot, with added physical violence? And Caroline agrees to try to rebuild a relationship with her? Not in my book, sorry. The old bat did and said some horribly racist and disgusting things about her son-in-law, who married a beautiful blonde princess. No, the half Mexican, half Cuban wasn't good enough for the old bat, and she treated Caroline, who looked Hispanic, badly, and favoured the grandchildren who looked Caucasian. I was pretty disgusted with the old bat; sorry to be repetitive in calling her that, but how on earth could someone like this exist in this day and age? I certainly wouldn't want to visit Petal, especially with some of the young men in town who would have quite happily punched out a woman, and who gossiped and spread rumours. Some of it didn't fit in with the tale and tbh, there were a few too many characters in it; this book could have done with a good, hard edit to weed stuff out.

And I cannot believe that the female lead and her boyfriend's ex, whom the guy had wanted to marry, could end up besties. Nope. Not buying that. Caroline was a little too strong, too driven, too everything to be perfect, and at times, she came across a bit like Eve Dallas from the JD Robb books, almost hoping that someone would take a swing so she could say her piece; it got tiring after a while, tbh.

The tale had a little too much in it that asked me to suspend disbelief, but it had a decent plot and premise and a couple of decent leads who were very well matched. But, it just had too much going on in it, including the kitchen sink.

ARC courtesy of Carina Press and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

This was a complimentary copy from netgalley - many thanks

I have read some of Lauren Dane's work previously so was thrilled to be able to read an advanced copy

This is part of a series and I will certainly be looking out for the others having really enjoyed this

Would highly recommend as a holiday read

I have read teh Chase brothers and I LOVED them so much. I did not know the author had written a series related to that series. This is book 3 but I had not read the 1st two books though I did read the Chase Brothers.

This story stars Royal, an ex of Anne Murphy who never loved him enough. Anne is a SIL of the Chases as her sister married Matt Chase. This book introducess a new character to town, Carolyn, who is a laywer hired at Edward Chases law firm. Years before her father was found guilty of murdering her mother and she is in town to reconnect with her siblings and find out who really did it.

This is her and Royal's story and I kinda hated Anne in this story. Loved R and C but Anne was the person I really hated and cringed when she had scenes.

Royal is no dummy, “there’s no such thing as fine with a woman. It’s fine means I’ll kill you in your sleep.” Caroline likes to keep her man on his toes, “you really should have *** with me.” She blurted this in one of their quiet moments. He paused a moment and then put his beer down" Royal can compromise, sort of, “no to your place. Yes to letting you kiss all my boo-boos at my house. My bed is also bigger,” I liked this book, I loved Royal.