Book Review | Mine To Keep – Natasha Madison (Southern Weddings Series, Book Eight)

Mine To Keep
By: Natasha Madison

Series: Southern Weddings Series
Book # in Series: 8 of 8
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: January 5th, 2024
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮
My Reading Format: Advanced Copy Received For An Honest Review

Synopsis:

From Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author Natasha Madison comes a Small town, Enemies to lovers, Single Dad, Age Gap, Forbidden, Workplace Romance.

Grace

It wasn’t hard for me to walk away from my family without looking back—the time had come for me to live for myself.
New city. New job.
My new boss? He’s gorgeous.
It’s too bad that handsome face is wasted on such a condescending prick.
He hates me, and the feeling is mutual.
The only reason he may not be the literal devil is because he’s a devoted single dad, making it clear Caine is, in fact, capable of human emotion.

Caine

I’m good at two things:
1. Raising my daughter to be strong and independent.
2. My job.
When my new assistant walks into the office, I become good at ignoring her. She’s sassy. Smart. Beautiful.
Much younger and off-limits for more reasons than I can count.
That doesn’t mean I want her any less.
She hates me—but as each day goes by, it’s harder and harder to remember why I hate her too.

honey-script.light

Mine To Keep by Natasha Madison is the eighth book in the Southern Weddings Series. And as far as I know, this is the final book in the series. Let it be said, if you are a fan of workplace/office romances with lots of heat and endless banter… You definitely need to pick this one up! One of my favorite novels by Natasha Madison is Tempt The Boss, and Mine To Keep gives off some serious Tempt The Boss vibes! Also, if you love a Grumpy/Sunshine scenario, check this one out!

In My Own Words:

There is nothing in life that Caine Griffin hasn’t worked for. His ambition lies within running his very successful business and raising his four year old daughter, Meadow, on his own. And that is all he needs to feel fulfilled… or so that’s what he thought. Enter Grace Barnes. The sassy and beautiful woman that is hired to be Caine’s new personal assistant. Will Caine be able to ignore his gut instincts? Or will the imaginary line he’s drawn between the two be crossed!? Only time will tell.

Grace Barnes is slowly working her way through college, in order to gain a little independence from the overbearingly protective men in her life. Picking up a job as a vice president’s personal assistant sounds easy enough. Until she comes to the realization, her boss is a jerk! But fate intervenes and the more time Grace spends getting to know the real Caine Griffin, the more she can’t control her heart from taking the leap.

My Thoughts:

Let me start off this portion of my review by stating, I loved Grace and Caine’s story. My heart took the leap and Natasha Madison delivered! I loved the grumpy/sunshine vibes, the back and forth office banter, and the growth that came from both characters throughout this story. My heart was invested with this one from the get-go!

Let’s start with Grace. I loved her stubborn pride and her soft heart. I loved her independence and I loved the fact that she wasn’t afraid to run back home when shit hit the fan. What I loved most was her want and need to get under Caine’s skin with her payback antics. There were a couple of moments when I laughed so hard, I was thankful I was in a room by myself!

And then we have Caine. Caine lives his life raising his daughter and growing his company. When I say this man is a boss, I mean that in more ways than just running a company. I loved his alpha-male tendencies when it comes to Grace!! WHEW! One thing I wish for, however, is more moments between him and his daughter. I wanted more of that daddy/daughter duo vibe throughout this novel. Instead of just bringing a babysitter into the mix, I wanted to see him juggle the introduction stage between his daughter and Grace. What can I say, I’m a spoiled reader….

Another reason why I dropped a star on my rating, I felt like the ending was a little too fast paced for my liking. I wanted a grand wedding, and I wanted to see Caine become a daddy again and live happily ever after in a fairy tale. I wanted to see Meadow step into the big sister roll. And I’m really sad that some situations where left out of what could have been an epic ending!

Overall, putting the negative and spoiled reader syndrome aside, I really did enjoy Mine To Keep. Natasha Madison rocked the hell out of the Southern Weddings Series. I loved the growth between Grace and Caine’s characters and relationship. I just wanted a little bit more to be able to push this one to a five star read.

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