Her Ordinary Joe (King's Valley Book 2)

The story was sweet, but focused a lot more on the novel she was writing than on the actual romance between the two characters. Instead of having Polly and Joe fall in love, they fell in lust and the stage light was constantly shifted to her novel. Somehow we have to believe that they were always in love due to a previously forgotten, brief meeting during childhood. Although there are no sexual encounters, there are kisses accompanied by inappropriate physical touch during which Joe attempts to teach Polly about romance to help her writing improve. In one such instance, Polly warns Joe to refrain from touching her breasts, and eventually Polly, who was adamantly against writing what she called "bodice-rippers," begins to warm up to the idea that including physical touch will automatically make her a better romance writer. In the end, I did enjoy how Joe attempted to know and understand Polly, and how Polly helped Joe be more informal and embrace his childhood. However, I think the novel did miss the mark in terms of the female protagonist's initial values.

A 5th grade niece is looking for a husband for her Aunt Polly and her teacher was just perfect. All the kids respected Mr. Joe Matthews. Needless to say that Joe was shocked to hear one of his brightest students wanted him to marry his aunt. After all, he wasn’t looking for a relationship, especially with a woman like Polly.Polly is a struggling writer, often penning romance stories without sex. She’s never been able to meet a man as perfect as the heroes she writes about…until Joe came along. Although he had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen, Polly knew that he was just an ordinary Joe that couldn’t compare to Lance, her fictional hero. They just didn’t make men like they used to back in the days of the old west, which is why she wrote historical romance with rugged men that could handle anything. Polly’s writing was her life, and she wouldn’t rest until she got her first publication.To Joe, Polly was a reminder of his free-spirited and lackadaisical mother, who was an artist solely concentrated on her work with no regard for anything else.They were just no interested. Period.But that eventually changes when Joe starts helping Polly with her story. He makes her see that maybe she doesn’t know romance as well as she claims. So Joe helps her feel romance.Very good writing! I enjoyed Polly and Joe’s easy camaraderie and how they learned to look beyond first impressions. Of course, the cover is pretty ordinary, but it’s fitting to how the characters actually are—just ordinary. The story creating process between Joe and Polly could be a little daunting, but it definitely brings the characters together.A nice story!

In order to give a 5 star review the book needs to make me sigh, cry, laugh, and think about it long after I have put it down. This story did none of those things, but I did find it sweet. I would have liked to have seen a bit more relationship development showing the two falling in love rather than reading bits and pieces of Ellie's romance novel. To be honest, I skimmed over those parts because I didn't really feel like they added much to the story. I did like the way Polly's hero began taking on qualities of Joe, though. Overall, this is a sweet romance, and for free, it is definitely worth the read.

This is a sweet story about two people who have expected ideals in mind for their perfect future loves. He likes control and everything in order, since his childhood lacked stability. She is an exuberant writer who can't separate her heroes from her expectations in real life.Maybe it sometimes turns out that we are so focused on one thing, that we don't see that our perfect ideal is standing right before us. We just have to face our fears, and really come to know ourselves.This is a tale of sweet hearts who take the long way around to uniting, but when they do, their love is ready to last.They also have some kisses along their path to emotional intimacy, without crossing that line into brazier busting territory, which I appreciate.

This is my second book from this author, and I'm very excited to read more of her novels soon. Ms. Desmond has a true talent for using the written word to create a realistic story that grabs your heart and makes you smile. I have to admit that I was rooting for Joe and Polly from this 1st meeting, and I loved watching them change and grow as they fell in love. This story will definitely stay on my Kindle in my "keeper" pile! Thank you, Ms. Desmond.😃