REVIEW: It Started With a Kiss by Marina Adair

It Started With a Kiss by Marina Adair brings two complex characters together, while giving them a chance at a sweet and touching romance.

Avery Adams received a kidney transplant and is now devoted to living life to the fullest. She’s a guide for a local adventure lodge, well, she wants to be. Her boss has her in the office mostly, but when they are a guide down, she decides to take this chance and prove she can be a great guide. Only problem is…she’s never done this before and the boss’s son is on her tail.

Tyson Donovan is part of the Mountain Rescue Team, where he saves lives and brings people home. But now he’s back home after hearing about his dad’s health problems and the financial mess the lodge is in. Tyson isn’t prepared for Avery. He didn’t think things back home were that bad, until he stumbled upon an inexperienced woman with a sweet smile and fire in her veins, trying to take clients out. Tyson actually fires Avery, but she doesn’t listen to him. He needs her, maybe not as a guide, but as the office manager. He can’t do everything on his own and reluctantly, he keeps her on. Besides, his mom and dad treat her like she’s one of the family.

Tyson doesn’t need saving and only wants to get the lodge back on track and then he’s leaving again, so a relationship with Avery is out of the question. But Avery is proving to be special and sometimes, there are benefits in staying.

“You. Avery. You are all I want in my life.”
“Even if mine ended tomorrow. Is that still what you’d pick?”

Avery and Tyson have great chemistry together and their time together, is filled with sweet kisses and fun moments. Their love is unexpected but the best love stories, usually are.

I really adored Avery’s character. She has this amazing inner strength about her that allows her to keep going. If I had a kidney transplant, I would be scared to do anything that might affect it, but Avery is fulfilling wishes and not taking life for granted. She appreciates the beauty in life and doesn’t obsess over what could happen tomorrow or the next day; she’s living life for today. Her ability to accept her illness and whatever life throws at her, is simply awe-inspiring and is exactly what Tyson needed.

It Started With a Kiss has that small town feeling that we know and love; the type that Marina Adair excels at. If you’re looking for a story with characters that are honest, engaging, and refreshing, look no further! A must-read for contemporary romance lovers.

Book Info:

Publication: January 31st 2017 | Montlake Romance | Sequoia Lake #1

With a kidney transplant behind her, Avery Adams is determined to channel her inner adventurer and explore everything life has to offer. Only problem is, the closest she’s ever come to a real-life adventure was sixth-grade science camp. So to seize the summer in her rustic Sierra Nevada town, she takes a job as a guide at the local adventure lodge. But Avery doesn’t realize her biggest challenge will register at six-plus feet of rugged good looks and alpha-male charm.

As a member of the Sequoia Elite Mountain Rescue team, Tyson Donovan has made a life out of cheating death and rescuing weekend warriors from the treacherous terrain. “The world is my home” is more than just a motto; it’s what scares off women who would otherwise try to tie him down. When his dad’s health lands the family’s adventure lodge in serious danger of going up in flames, he moves home—and quickly remembers why he left. Until he meets Avery, the irresistible new guide who makes him want to stay.

Tyson gives the inexperienced Avery a lesson in romance that her books could never teach her. And with her undeniable spirit for life, Avery shows Tyson the healing power of love. But with one misstep, everything comes crashing down, and they’ll both have to take the biggest leap of all—into the kind of adventure that lasts a lifetime.