Beauty and the Beach by Diane Darcy

Synopsis:

She's finally free to follow her heart!

When her mother died, local beauty Isabelle Kenna was left with the task of raising a much younger sister and dealing with a lovable but increasingly alcoholic father. Now, with a nursing degree firmly in hand, her father on the wagon, and her sister off to college soon, Isabelle finally has the chance to live her own life and get a taste of the freedom she's craved. She might even find time for a bit of romance with the scarred yet attractive Marine who comes into the hospital. That's the plan, anyway.

Add in 100,000 reasons keeping them apart.

Adam Wilder, a hot-headed Marine-turned-master-jeweler, has a big crush on the pretty nurse at the VA hospital, and he plans to keep asking until she goes out with him. When his store manager 'borrows' and loses a $100,000 necklace, Adam goes ballistic. Too late, he realized the man's daughter is the pretty nurse he's hoping to impress. Maybe threatening her father and taking her freedom aren't the brightest ideas he's ever had. Unless he can make Isabelle fall for him, he obviously can't keep her forever. And it's not helping that they're also dealing with Adam's nosy neighbors, a few matchmaking Marines, and her sister who hates his guts! Can he still win Izzy's heart? Or will he simply lose his own?

When did Happily Ever After become so complicated?

My Review: 3.5 Stars

Adam is a retired Marine who has a crush on his nurse, Isabelle, at the VA hospital. He has asked her out a few times but has always been turned down. He doesn't know if it's the scars on his face or if it's for other reasons. But he is determined to keep asking her until she says yes. 

Izzy's life has always been a bit crazy. Between taking care of her little sister after their mom passes away, taking care of her dad when he's drinking himself into oblivion, going to college and working, she has very little time left to do anything else... especially date. But now that her sister is getting ready to graduate high school, her dad is in recovery and holding down a steady job, she can finally start taking steps to move out on her own. Now there isn't anything stopping her from saying yes to Adam the next time he asks her out. 

But when her dad "borrows" a necklace worth $100,000 for her sister to wear to prom and she loses it, their lives are thrown into chaos! Especially when her dad's boss turns out to be Adam. Now Izzy is forced to stay with him until the necklace is found and returned. But how can they start a relationship with the lost necklace hanging over all their heads? Adam doesn't know if it will be possible but decides that while Izzy is living with him, he will do everything he can to woo and romance her. Only time will tell what the future has in store for them. 

I did enjoy Adam and Izzy's relationship for the most part. It was cute and fun. But I do wish Adam would have given her more to do while her family was looking for the necklace. It was like she was there on vacation. And don't even get me started on the way she acted once the necklace was found. I seriously wanted to Gibbs slap her!  

Another thing I just have to get off my chest... her sister, Courtney, is a spoiled brat and their dad, Stephen, is a moron! Their behavior at times was ridiculous and I found myself rolling my eyes while muttering under my breath. They acted like immature teenagers! *le sigh* Okay.. rant over. ;)

All in all this was a cute, quick read. If you're in the mood for a beauty and the beast type story that's light and fun then I would say give this one a try!

And of course my casting... I really like these two! :) 

Steal His Heart by Diane Darcy

Synopsis:

What if keeping your job depended on keeping a secret?

Daisy Manning has been testing security by shoplifting in Worthingtons Department store for five months. Not once in that entire time has she been caught by security personnel. Until today.

Kent Whitaker is disgusted by the beautiful thief he’s caught red-handed, and even more disgusted by his attraction to her. While he won’t allow himself to become romantically involved with a thief, he can certainly help out a friend by curing his daughter of bad habits.

They both fight their growing attraction, Kent because dishonesty is the one trait he cannot tolerate, and Daisy because Kent is directly interfering with her long-range career goals.

But when an unskilled matchmaker tries his hand at getting them together, the unexpected happens to them both as Kent gets distracted and Daisy steals his heart!


My Review: 5 Stars

My second time reading Steal His Heart and it's still a 5 star read for me! I absolutely loved Daisy and Kent! They were hilarious!

Daisy is working as a shoplifter and Kent is working security in the same department store. They met for the first time when Kent caught her shoplifting. They were both instantly attracted to each other but neither one wanted to admit it. When Kent found out that Daisy was the daughter of his mentor he tells himself that he needs to "help" her overcome the shoplifting habit for her father's sake. He was a stubborn man who refused to admit his feelings about Daisy. Daisy really had a hard time lying to Kent. She wanted to tell him what she was really doing but in order to do her job she could not tell him. She had to let him think the worst of her just until she finished the job and then she hoped he would be able to understand why she had to lie in the first place.

Of course there are little ups and downs before they get their HEA. And let me tell you.. some of those ups and downs will have you giggling or just straight laughing out loud! I loved the ending of this book. It was perfect!

I couldn't help but notice this time around that this book is set up to be a possible series. I wonder if Daisy's sisters will eventually get their own books?! Crossing my fingers that they will! I'm thinking that Sam and Lily's story would be a fun read as well! ;)

Steal His Heart was one of the first books I read by Diane Darcy and she instantly became a favorite of mine! I would recommend her books to everyone! Can't wait to read even more by her!