Mad About the Boy by Suzan Battah

Mad About the Boy:
Julia Mendoza is driven by the success of her business. Since her husband Carlos passed away at such a young age, her business By Design is her number one priority. In her late twenties she works too hard and doesn’t take time out for fun. Annoyance with a pesky ex-friend has her begging one of the local surfer’s with a cheeky smile in the grocery store to pretend he’s her boyfriend. Suddenly, life takes a sudden detour from her business plan; much to the delight of her boisterous Latin American family.

Christophe Augustine is groomed to take over his father’s successful chain of luxurious hotels. With a wealthy French-American background, Chris has been given privileges that not many have. He works hard, plays harder but seeks approval and recognition above all else. Family is a top priority for him as he fights for custody of his young brother. His parent’s divorce has not diminished his faith in romance. When a gorgeous Latino woman changes one boring morning into an interesting game of role play, though reluctant to help at first, he soon realises she’s not like the string of other women he’s known.

A romantic first date ending dramatically doesn’t stop Chris from wanting to know Julia more. And for Julia, she’s all for a bit of fun but when things get too serious she’s running the other way. Too alike, in some ways and complete opposites, in others ways, Julia and Chris fumble through fun moments, annoying confrontations, passionate times and heartbreaking revelations.

Love has no boundaries when soul-mates meet but when one is ready to love and the other one isn’t...

This was a realistic and completely sweet romance. Suzan Battah's characters came to life on the page and I absolutely loved their introduction. There were a few grammatical errors, but they were easily overlooked, and did not take away from the story at all. Julia was a strong, yet vulnerable character. After being hurt before she finds it hard to open herself up to anyone. Christophe (*sigh*) was the glue that held the romance of this book together. No matter how hard Julia pushes him away, he was not willing to give up on the woman he believed would make him happy. Although there is no suspense and little danger in this book, I was entertained and enjoyed reading long into the night to finish Julia and Christophe's story.