ARC Review: A Love Like That by Jenna Hartley (Alondra Valley #3)

Overall: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Feels: 🥺😏😢😲😰😤💕

~QD STORY DETAILS~
Shelves: Contemporary romance, small town, forced proximity, single dad, love after loss, age gap, taboo light
Location: California, Alondra Valley (wine country)
Female Lead: Ellie (21yo)
Male Lead: Tristan (34 yo)
POV: Dual
Tear jerker: Yes
HEA: Yes

~QD BOOK INFO~
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Paperback page count: 362 pages
Publisher: Self published
Audible: No
Series: Alondra Valley
1. Feels Like Love – released 08/25/21 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
2. Love Like No Other – released 08/24/22 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. A Love Like That – releases 12/02/22
4. Coming soon!

~QD 🔥~
Sex/kink type: manual, oral, penetrative, spanking, light dominance play
Possible triggers: Death of a spouse, guilt, grief, parental conflict

~REVIEW🖋~
The Quick and Dirty: A journey through guilt, grief and love after loss between a grieving father of two and his late wife’s younger sister.

Tristan and his late wife Tessa had known each other since they were children. They were the golden couple of the town so when Tessa dies of a brain tumor in Feels Like Love, leaving Tristan with two young children to raise, readers all wondered how he’d be able to heal and find love again. Enter Ellie, Tessa’s younger sister who is back in the AV after a snafu overseas. She starts off as the kids’ nanny but the chemistry between her and Tristan keeps building and eventually comes to a head. They can’t seem to fight their attraction to one another but there is also their grief and the seemingly taboo nature of their relationship to navigate. Not without spice and plot twists, the place where this story truly shines is in the journey Tristan and Elle take in piecing themselves (and each other) back together after their loss, risking it all for love and letting go of what others think.

Things I think you’ll love:
– Taboo light — big age gap + younger sister of a deceased spouse seems pretty taboo but it’s dealt with in a way that is tasteful and pays respect to Tristan’s late wife
– Journey of healing — both characters have their own separate journeys to healing their guilt and grief but I loved how they also built each other back up
– The AV, the kids, the friends — everything about the setting and side characters is charming; One thing that Jenna does really well is peeling back layers of characters you previously met in other books so her long-time readers get a little bonus on their favorites in addition to the new story.
– Spice — While their relationship itself is thoughtful, caring and sweet, Tristan and Elle’s bedroom relationship is all SPICE. 🌶🔥🥵 Loved seeing Tristan’s dominant side come out to play.
– HEA — no loose ends but not the gratuitous HEA either; everything wraps up organically with room to grow as Jenna leads readers into the next book.

Next up: We got a sneak peek at Asher and his issues in this book and I expect his book to be the grittiest yet… I AM SO EXCITED!

**I was a Beta Reader for this book but provided this review voluntarily and am giving honest feedback. **

~BLURB~

After my wife died, I never expected to fall in love again, let alone with her much younger sister.

Elle’s too young for me, though.
Too vibrant and cheerful to be saddled with a grumpy widower and two little kids.

Besides, she’s only here for a few months before she moves on to follow her dreams.
And there’s no way we could be together even if she were staying.

It doesn’t seem to matter how often I remind myself of all the reasons why we can’t, or shouldn’t be together, my body won’t listen.
Ever since Elle moved in, all I can think about is her. All I want is her.

She restored order to my home. She got my kids to smile and laugh again. Even I’m smiling more.
For the first time since my wife’s death, I feel alive, hopeful.

I already said goodbye to my childhood sweetheart, my wife, and the mother of my children.
And I know I have to let Elle go; I’m just not sure if I can.

~LINKS~
FEELS LIKE LOVE
GOODREADS
AMAZON

LOVE LIKE NO OTHER:
GOODREADS
AMAZON

A LOVE LIKE THAT:
GOODREADS:
AMAZON

~AUTHOR INFO~
JENNA HARTLEY

Contemporary romance author, Jenna Hartley writes about strong, independent women and the men who dare to love them. Her characters aren’t perfect; they’re authentic. Her passion is to make their stories feel as real for readers as they do to her, infusing each one with sexy, sweet, and laughable moments that reflect real love.

When she’s not writing, Jenna spends her days chasing after a hilarious and imaginative toddler, as well as hunting down new allergy-friendly recipes for them to cook together. She lives in Texas with her family and loves nothing more than a good book, good chocolate, and Topo Chico.