REVIEW: Cooper’s Charm by Lori Foster

In Cooper’s Charm (Love at the Resort #1) by Lori Foster, Life has thrown a few curve balls Phoenix Rose’s way in the past year, starting with being robbed at gunpoint and then her engagement ending. Left feeling lost and adrift, she finds her way to Cooper’s Charm RV Resort with the hopes of getting the landscaping job advertised–and of finding a quiet place to heal. The resort proves to be just what Phoenix needs. And the people, while respectful of her past, treat her like one of them, thankfully. But it’s the park’s owner, Cooper Cochran, who gets under her skin and causes her to look more closely at her life and what she wants. With her older sister Ridley’s arrival to Cooper’s Charm as well, Phoenix feels like it might just be the right place for them to settle in.

‘They’d both come to the resort to escape their pasts, but in the process had found a way to live again.
Cooper’s Charm…it was more than a getaway.
It was a future, as long as they were together.’

Unsure of whether her sister is telling the truth about doing okay, Ridley travels to Cooper’s Charm to check in with Phoenix, knowing her sister is trying her hardest to bounce back from the attack. With a few wounds of her own to heal since her divorce, she somehow gets roped into pitching in with the cleaning crew at the resort. Surprisingly she doesn’t mind it in the least. Nor does Ridley mind the steamy attention of local scuba instructor Baxter. A hottie who has his fair share of female attention, Baxter could prove to be a fun distraction for her until she decides where to go from here. But with some odd things happening to Phoenix, and Ridley’s attraction for Baxter going off the charts, it seems fate wants her to stick around in Cooper’s Charm for the foreseeable future.

‘Baxter grinned… His thoughts on how fun it would be to tame Ridley Rose’s prickly temper.
Damn, but she was proving to be the best sort of challenge.’

A heartwarming book filled with the bond between two very different sisters, all new beginnings, and romances aplenty, Cooper’s Charm was the perfect way to start off Lori Foster’s newest series.

‘She’d come to Cooper’s Charm to reassert her independence–but could she do that if she immediately fell into a relationship?’

Okay, first: that book cover–specifically the adorable beagle puppy on it–sold me before I even read the synopsis. (lol) And that little cutie, aptly named Sugar, ended up stealing the hearts of everyone at Cooper’s Charm and became an important part of the storyline for Phoenix and Cooper. Who were one of the main couples. The other couple was Phoenix’s sister Ridley and scuba instructor Baxter. There was a lot to like about the couples and how they all ended up getting along, working to make Cooper’s Charm fun and safe for their guests. And that in itself was cool–it was mainly an RV resort, with some areas for tents and even a few cottages surrounding a lake. I don’t know that I’ve read a book, let alone a series, with quite this type of setting so I had a blast with it.

I thought Lori Foster did a fantastic job of creating unique characters and then making their relationships fit their personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Poor Phoenix had been through a very traumatic situation not that long ago and I admired the methodical way she tried to work through her lingering fear/anxiety. Coop of course helped boost her confidence and as a natural protector, he watched over her like a hawk. He turned out to be a wonderful man, kind of the quintessential alpha guy, without being a jerk. Coop, a widower, had been through his own tough times. I really think he and Phoenix were perfect together and helped each other find a way to heal. The tiny thread of mystery/suspense was wrapped up around Phoenix and while it wasn’t all that difficult to figure out what was going on, it did add some excitement to the plot.

Now Ridley and Baxter’s relationship was the polar opposite of Phoenix and Coop’s. There was passion in both love matches of course, but there wasn’t a whole lot of tenderness between Baxter and Ridley. Instead, they liked to tease, antagonize, and were constantly grappling for control. I thought their lively conversations were sexy and highly entertaining. Especially where it was done (mostly) in good fun. That doesn’t mean that Ridley or Baxter didn’t have their own past issues to work through, or that their connection was weaker than Coop and Phoenix’s. It was every bit as strong and fit the couple’s personalities to a T.

You simply can’t go wrong picking up anything by Lori Foster, with her tantalizing heroes and strong, independent heroines. I think Cooper’s Charm will prove to be a delightful addition to any contemporary romance reader’s summer book list.

Book Info:

Publication: July 24th 2018 | HQN Books | Love at the Resort #1

One summer, two sisters and a chance to start over…

Before the burglary that shattered her confidence, Phoenix Rose had a fiancé, a successful store and a busy, happy existence. After months spent adrift, she takes a job at the lakeside resort of Cooper’s Charm. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, friendly colleagues and a charismatic, widowed boss, Phoenix is slowly inching her way back into the world.

Visiting Cooper’s Charm to check up on her little sister, Ridley Rose impulsively agrees to fill in as housekeeper. Still reeling from an ego-bruising divorce, she finds satisfaction in a job well done—and in the attention of the resort’s handsome scuba instructor.

For Phoenix and Ridley, Cooper’s Charm is supposed to be merely temporary. But this detour may lead to the place they most need to be, where the future is as satisfying as it is surprising…