Yours to Keep (Hqn) [Mass Market Paperback]

In a bit of an overzealous attempt to reassure her grandmother Cat that she can take care of herself, Emma's taken a little creative license with Sean Kowalski's life while he's been serving in the military overseas. It started harmlessly enough, a small lie told when her grandmother was worried and Emma didn't want her to leave her friends in Florida to come take care of her. Her best friend Lisa is married to Sean's cousin and since she knew he was away, it didn't seem to matter if she dropped his name as a fake boyfriend. It just sort of spiraled out of control from there and now Grandma's coming for a visit and she's expecting a live-in fiancé - and Sean's come home just in time for Emma to ambush him and ask him to play along.

One guilt trip, a little wheedling and some whining later, Sean finds himself with a brand-new fake bride-to-be, a job working alongside her at her landscaping business and a nice house to live in. They've given him a load of grief for it, but he's managed to get the huge Kowalski family to play along for the month and Cat seems to believe all of them. With their crazy-hot chemistry sometimes it's easy for Emma and Sean to believe too - but the month they agreed to stay together is running out and neither is sure how or if the other wants things to last after Cat leaves.

Emma and Sean are really cute together and I loved that they were written just as normal, flawed and occasionally weird people. Right before they picked up her grandmother, Emma gave Sean a notebook filled with information about her that she thought he ought to know - his answer to that was to start leaving Post-It notes on her mirror when there was something about him that he thought she should know. They bicker over things like who's going to drive and who's winning at Scrabble - and all of it's written with in a way that makes you laugh out loud. I adore the Kowalski family and any book with them in it deserves reading. They're funny, loving and familiar - who could resist a family that has an oily smelly garage where the men congregate to randomly work on some sort of machinery when they have get-togethers or an aunt who carries a wooden spoon in her apron so she can smack people when they get mouthy?

The one thing that kept this book from a perfect score was that I didn't get the feeling that I really knew as much about Sean. It could have been because Sean wasn't part of the "main" Kowalski family that most of the interaction was with - and I was familiar with - but the introduction of his brother and sister felt like sequel bait, not something natural.

Even with a shaky premise, this is a sweet, likable and funny book that's a terrific addition to the Kowalski series. I was laughing and occasionally tearing up reading Sean and Emma's story - Stacey has a gift for creating believable characters, a comfortable feeling of family and a satisfying ending.

I highly recommend you read the other books in the series, Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours - they're both wonderful.

I marked this one as one of my favorites for the year before I was even half-way finished.

Let me get this out of the way first - I loved this book so much that I started writing my review on sticky notes. Naaa I'm just kidding, but the sticky notes played such a cute, make me smile part in Yours to Keep, I had to mention them right off the top.

The pretend, fake fiancé storyline is certainly not a new concept and in Yours to Keep it could have been cheesy and cliché but Shannon Stacey tells a fun, sexy, heartfelt story with real and likeable characters in Sean and Emma and let's us revisit with all the old Kowalski favorites.

Emma is strong, independent and she's not afraid of hard work or getting her hands a little dirty...which is a good thing since she owns her own landscaping business. She loves her grandmother to bits and wants her to be happy in her retirement to Florida but Grandma Cat worries about Emma managing her business and living in the big family home with all the responsibility all alone. So who's gonna be hurt by a little white lie of a fiancé if it helps Grandma sleep easier at night and not worry about Emma? It was a good plan...until Grandma Cat decided she was coming home for a month to visit and meet "the man" her grandbaby was going to marry. Oooops!

Sean Kowalski's at loose ends for the next month after just serving in the Army for the past 12 years. He's gonna rest, relax and chill, maybe pound a few nails and eats lots of Aunt Mary's lasagna. Ahhhh the best laid plans...until...who's that knocking at his door? That's exactly what Sean's asking himself when he discovers it's his fake fiancée come a-calling to break the news of their engagement. She's hot, tall and just a little crazy. 2 outta 3 ain't bad - right? Emma seemed perfectly sane, were his Kowalski cousins setting him up? Where were the hidden cameras?

I believed the set-up. I believed in Emma's motivation for engaging in such an elaborate scam to convince her Grandma she was engaged and why Sean finally agreed to play his part. Now to convince the rest of the Kowalski's to play along because family loyalty will only get you so far.

The Kowalski siblings, their respective wives and children were up to their old tricks again...making bets, holding their tournaments of Doom and razzing their cousin Sean. They are one of the most enjoyable families to read about. Shannon Stacey brings them to life on the page and makes them seem like one big happy family anyone would be lucky to be a part of. I wouldn't mind a piece of Aunt Mary's lasagna, but keep the wooden spoon outta her reach!

*posts pink sticky note* I heart Kowalski's.

Sean was a real trooper. Funny, charming, loyal and sexy. Emma and Sean had supposedly been living together for a year when in fact they barely knew each other which only added to the drama and laughs as they tried to pull the wool over Grandma Cat's eyes. Sean choking down the broccoli during dinner when he detested the green vegetable was LOL funny and showed just how far he was prepared to go to play his part.

And now for the sticky notes. I loved how Sean used them to communicate his likes and dislikes on the bathroom mirror. And the final pink sticky note - broke my heart, got that lump in the back of my throat growing and made my eyes well up.

Yes...it was wicked good!

I loved the book Yours to Keep!! It was the best book i have read in a long time! most definitely on my top five of all time!!! i cant wait to read her other books!