Short Take Reviews: Getting Real and Eleanor & Grey

GETTING REAL
by Emma Chase
Series: Getting Some #3
Format: Audiobook

Connor Daniels never thought he’d be starting over at dating square one. His career as a successful doctor, and his three boys, are everything to him. It’s not exactly a set-up conducive to a scorching love life—but he’s giving it a shot.

ER nurse Violet Robinson never intended for Connor to find out she’s had a crush on him forever. It was a dirty little secret only meant for her dirty dreams. Her heart trips every time he’s around—and so do her feet.

When Connor sees Violet coasting across the grocery store parking lot—and she falls on her face—he starts falling for the gorgeous, young nurse right back.

Dating can be tricky. And life can be beautiful and crazy and unpredictable. But when it gets real, you discover what matters most . . . and the one person you want loving you through it all.

Get ready for some gushing because I loved this return to the Getting Some series. At forty-two, single father Connor is a successful ER doctor. But his foray into dating since his divorce… not so successful. His focus is on raising his three sons and his career, but that hasn’t stopped him from noticing Violet. Violet is an ER nurse with a raging crush on Connor. When a meddling well-meaning friend sets them up to attend a wedding together, their chemistry is obvious and it’s only a matter of time before they take the next step.

I adore this series and I was so happy to return to characters that I know and love. Connor (Garret’s brother from Getting Schooled) and Violet were thoroughly likable, and I really appreciated that these were two mature adults and acted like it. There was no drama or misunderstandings, just two people, both with some baggage, exploring a new relationship and showing so much love, respect, and support. Chase managed to blend together a mixture of romance, humor, steam, and emotion that worked perfectly. There were a few scenes that got me all choked up and others that had me laughing out loud or melted my heart. The cherry on top was the amazing narration by Andi Arndt and Zachary Webber. They truly brought these characters to life and created a feel-good reading experience that I loved. 4.5 stars

ELEANOR & GREY

by Brittainy C. Cherry

Format: Kindle

Greyson East left his mark on me.

As the young girl who first fell for him, I didn’t know much about life. I did know about his smiles, though, and his laughs, and the strange way my stomach flipped when he was near.

Life was perfect…until it wasn’t, and when we were forced to go our separate ways, I held on to our memories, let go of my first crush, and wished for the day I’d find him again.

When my wish came true, it was nothing like I imagined.

I couldn’t have known when I took the nanny position that it would be his children I looked after, that my new boss would be that boy I used to know, that boy who was now a man—a cold, lonely, detached man.

The smile and laugh I had loved so much were gone, now distant memories. Every part of him was covered in a fresh pain.

When he realized who I was, he made me promise to do my job and my job only.
He made me promise not to try to get to know him, not to recall the memories I’d treasured all this time.

But, sometimes, I saw the boy I’d once known in his stormy eyes. I saw the Greyson who smiled and laughed, who had stolen a young girl’s heart, and there was no doubt in my mind that this boy was worth fighting for.

I was given a second chance with the one who’d left his mark on me. All I hoped was that somehow I’d leave a mark on his soul, too. 

As teenagers, Eleanor and Grey turned to one another and offered support and understanding when they needed it most. Time and distance separated them, and their once-tight bond slowly faded away. Flash forward sixteen years where Eleanor was interviewing for a nanny position – her new employer: the recently widowed Grey. Drowning in grief and guilt, Grey had pulled away from everyone, including his children, after the accident that took his wife. Eleanor barely recognized the man he had become, but was determined to help heal the family, including the boy who once stayed by her side and helped her.

My high expectations may have got the better of me with this one. While there was much to love – the enduring bond between Eleanor and Grey, the realistic portrayal of grief in its many stages and forms, a few characters that were layered and complex (Greyson and Karla) - there were also aspects that left me wanting. Heroine Eleanor was so kind and so pure, and seemingly without faults, that she felt too good to be true. And it was that purity and near-perfection that made her feel like a device, there solely to help Greyson and his children through their grief. At times there was dialogue and some repeated lines (he was him, I was me, and we were us – this was really overused) that started to veer into cheesiness and was *this close* to saccharine. While these few things kept this from being a total win for me, I was invested in Eleanor and Grey and overall enjoyed their emotional journey. 3.75/4 stars (I can't decide)

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