Monday, January 21, 2019

Book #Review: Taming Natasha (The Stanislaski Sisters)by Nora Roberts

Book Title: Taming Natasha (*From The Stanislaski Sisters Bind Up)
Author:  Nora Roberts |Website| Facebook|
Publisher: Harlequin Silhouette
Genre: Romance
Series/Standalone: Series Book 1
Format: Mass Market & Ebook
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 381
How I got it: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Publication Date: December 12, 2016
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Synopsis:
When Spence Kimball sets eyes on Natasha Stanislaski, he's thunderstruck by the intensity of his attraction to the foreign beauty. While the former ballet dancer turned toy shop owner has a fiery temperament that keeps most men safely at bay, Spence can’t seem to resist her. But he isn’t sure Natasha would be interested in a single father. Sensing a hidden wound, Spence and his little girl join forces to find a way into Natasha's closely guarded heart. He'll do whatever it takes to tame Natasha's fears…and show her how to love.

Previously published in 1990
I picked this one because one of the apps I was using to read was acting up so I couldn't read the book I wanted to last night. I downloaded this because it's one of my Nora titles I wanted to complete for 2019 and as soon as I started it I fell into it.  Now keep in mind the reason Natasha's family came to the US was big in the 90s and yet it hasn't improved much because the same issues are going on right now.

I started this book and fell in love immediately with Natasha because she was a successful woman who had a strong sense of self and character and when she assumed the man she found attractive was someone without a moral code she was so offended and I loved how she put him in his place when he hit on her.  For Spencer, he felt like he's been hit by a ton of bricks, he hadn't acknowledged his feeling for years and now he's moved from NYC, settling his daughter into a new environment and here is a complication he hadn't expected and yet he's the most open to the feeling they both feel.

I loved the push and pull of feelings Natasha was having. I totally understood her fear of truly believing that her heart knew what it was doing this time because the last time it wasn't as discerning and had been returned to her battered and heavily bruised.  I love that for her even though her dreams had been shattered she still embraced parts of it by opening the business she did.  I love that she fell first for Freddie, then for Spencer.  I loved Spencer and the fact that he wasn't afraid to chase Natasha & still gave her space when she needed it. However, he wasn't above using any advantage he had when he could to make her realize she could trust him.

I loved her family and the way they embraced the changes in her life but had her back the whole time.  They embraced Freddie and Spencer but never gave Natasha's secrets away.  I loved how we got Freddie's opinion on what she wanted to happen and what she saw and her Christmas wish.  I loved how she made the story have so great levity when the adults were struggling to figure out what to say or how to say it.

My favorite moments where the ones when I couldn't help but bust out laughing. They had such good chemistry and moved well together. I loved when they argued when they worked together while Natasha tried to hold her feelings together but she kept falling in love with them and the family they represented.  I felt Spencer's confusions, Natasha's fear and they desire to get it right at the end. The kick to the chest when we learned everything in Natasha's past, the hurt that Spencer felt when he realized that he could lose her, and the fear that she had left him for good.  Those last moments made me sob and want to read as fast as possible so I could know what happened.

I even loved the glimpses of the people that made up their friends. I loved the town although I had to laugh at the idea that small towns don't have their issues with muggings and crime. I also love that Natasha is an immigrant, her experiences that she shared was something I could totally understand and knew how the community around her both aided and held her back. I totally understood her love of the fairytales and how they were her entrance into reading as they were for me as well.   Other than that I absolutely loved their back and forth and the fact that this was a character driven story.  I read this in one sitting and couldn't wait to dive into the next one.
 ★★★★1/2☆
Have you read this?? Share in the comments down below and let me know what other books you would recommend like this. 

As Always, 
Happy Reading my loves, 

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