GRR Reviews Every Little Kiss (Kissed by the Bay) by Susan Hatler

Every Little Kiss is a contemporary romance featuring what's supposed to be a strong female main character, but she just came across as neurotic but covered it up with bravado.

Wendy Watts hated her town. Her parents were such wandering spirits, Wendy and her brother never had a stable home. When the kids complained, the parents left her and brother with grandma, and resumed their wandering. Wendy left Blue Moon Bay for Sacramento as soon as she graduated, even though she loved her grandma. Wendy made a name for herself in Sacramento, CA as a powerful realtor who drowned her emotions with work, and she's even saved up enough to put a good down payment on a house... Until her grandma died, with a stipulation in the will that she had to come back to town and sell the little B&B Inn her brother had been running with grandma... personally. Wendy did not like the memories of this town, but she did find something she liked... "Max" with his dog Lucky at the beach near the B&B. Wendy settled down to fix up the inn in order to sell it, but she had to dig into her savings, just as the house she had her eyes on back in Sacramento went on the market (and she can't afford to do both). To help with the stress, she confided in Max, expecting him to leave in the morning, only to find he's staying... another month. Soon Wendy fell under the spell of the Blue Moon Bay, the inn, and Max's gazes and touch... But Max is hiding a huge secret... something that will make them doubt each other's sincerity... in love and other topics...

Wendy just came across as neurotic and unable to make up her mind, as she changed her mind multiple times, and seems to be WAY too sensitive to what other people think of her. Max came across as both charming and sensitive, then also turned douchebag when he's applying a double standard... accusing Wendy of not sharing while he was hiding a huge secret (or three). The romance is fine, the motivations are suspect.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman headed back to hometown to help settle grandma's estate, falls for charming stranger with his own secrets

Tropes: small town, settle estate, return, disguise, fling to a thing, betrayal

Overall Rating: 3/5