cover image Take Me All the Way

Take Me All the Way

Toni Blake. Avon, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-239258-9

Blake's third Coral Cove contemporary (after Love Me If You Dare) transports Jeremy Sheridan, a Marine veteran from her Destiny series, from Ohio to the quirky Florida seashore town. Jeremy, suffering from PTSD after a tour of Afghanistan, needs a place to start over. He finds work constructing a miniature golf course. Artist Tamra Day, whose upbringing in an Arizona commune led to her trust issues and need for control, designed the course with Coral Cove landmarks. Forced to work together, rude, bushy-bearded Jeremy and reserved, long-skirted Tamra feel attraction growing, though both try to hide their true selves. By giving Jeremy's backstory and artfully describing his tense reactions to crowds, Blake creates a fully fleshed-out character. Sex scenes sizzle, and emotional encounters resonate with honest feelings. The theme of forgiving oneself adds depth to an otherwise routine romance. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)