Harlequin Blaze was never a favorite line of mine, but a few still ended up finding their way into my TBR, usually because the back cover blurb tickled my fancy in some way. Make Mine a Marine by Candace Havens was published in 2016 (yikes on bikes Wendy) and is, from what I can gather, part of a series featuring hunky Marines.
Chelly Richardson is marking time in Nashville when an obsessive ex who won't take the hint that they broke up has her making the drastic decision to get out of dodge. She heads to Texas only to discover the friend she was planning to crash with took off to elope (and said "friend" knew Chelly was on her way). She's near broke, her car is on it's last gasp, so Chelly decides to do the one thing that always gives her some comfort - she comes across an estate sale and stops. That's where she meets said hunky Marine, Matt Ryan. His parents have died and he's left with their house full of "stuff" (Mom was a bit of a collector with plans to remodel the house) and instead of hiring an expert to liquidate the holdings, he's doing it himself - and a terrible job of it. Chelly tells him he's underselling stuff and before you know it - bingo bango she's staying in his pool house, takes on liquidating his parents' stuff, and will help him remodel the house to put on the market. He gets the help he obviously needs and Chelly gets a leg up in starting her own business.

On the surface this story is fine. Unfortunately it takes enough wrong turns that ultimately sink any hope I might have had for a solid category romance. Look, I get that the police do not have the best track record with domestic situations but Chelly doesn't even take a whiff near the cops about the obsessive ex. She just runs. In fact that's her solution to every problem life throws her way - she runs. Yeah, she's one of those heroines. Then there's the fact that she's a hot mess and our frickin' Lieutenant Colonel hero just offers her the keys to the kingdom even though he acknowledges she's a hot mess. She's flighty and artistic, he's so uptight he probably starches his underwear. The conflict in the story centers entirely around their inability to communicate with each other and assuming the worst.

Is this the worst category romance I've ever read? Absolutely not. Is it pretty ho-hum? Yes.

A marine looking to make a fresh start since his parents death and a woman who is on the run. If you love romance stories with sexy Marines, settings on the beach and characters looking to break free of the past then you will love this story.

Can't get away to a romantic beachy town? Download this story and escape immediately. No sunscreen required.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was funny, heartwarming, frustrating- and sometimes all three at once. Chelly and Matt are both such down-to-earth charactrs, each in search of something. Chelly, in search of roots and safety; Matt in search of someone to take care of and to lay down roots with. Both have had a traumatic year behind them, but with the help of the other they both manage to grow passed it.

I especially liked the home decoration/furniture revamping/ antique aspect. It made Chelly both quirky and intelligent. She was definately the strongest part of the novel for me.