Book Review | Tempting Southern Days – L.P. Dover (Magnolia Grove Series, Book Seven)

Tempting Southern Days
By: L.P. Dover

Series: Magnolia Grove
Book # in Series: 7 of 12
Publisher: Books by L.P. Dover LLC
Publication Date: July 11th, 2024
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮
My Reading Format: I received an ARC for an honest review

Synopsis:

High-octane thrills come to the cozy town of Magnolia Grove in the latest must-read book by NYT Best-selling author LP Dover!

Declan Parker thought he left the danger and thrills of being an undercover FBI agent behind when he moved to the small town of Magnolia Grove. Then he meets beautiful and feisty dentist, Ayla Carington, and his heart races in an enticing new way.

Ayla is more than a pretty face. With her quick wit and tenacity, Declan finds himself falling for her fast.

Unfortunately, clouds of darkness creep in when Declan’s past follows him to Magnolia Grove. More than anything he wants to keep Ayla safe from the dangers lurking closer. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to do it alone. The greatest benefit of this small town is that everyone protects each other. And these locals aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.

Will Ayla be able to see past Declan’s checkered history? Or will the life he had before cost him his chance at true happiness? One way or another, life in Magnolia Grove was about to get a lot more interesting!

honey-script.light

Tempting Southern Days is written by L.P. Dover and a part of the Magnolia Grove series. If you love anthological series where each book is written by a different author, I recommend you start this series today. Tempting Southern Days is the seventh small town standalone romance within this series.

After a fateful tragedy struck Declan Parker’s life, he packs up his things and moves away from the city life, to something a little more quaint in Magnolia Grove. A change of pace and scenery is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Enough is enough for Magnolia Grove’s very own dentist, Ayla Carington. She only gets one day off, and that day used to be spent by the pool relaxing with a great book… That is until the new neighbor moved in. Now, her peaceful days are filled with the sounds of lawnmowers and chainsaws. She does what any somewhat sane neighbor would do, she walks next door to give her new neighbor a piece of her mind. What she doesn’t expect is for her neighbor to be drop dead gorgeous. She’s in for a very interesting summer.

The more time the two spend together, the more they become inseparable. But what happens when Declan’s New York problems follow him to Alabama?

My Thoughts:

I’m fairly new to L.P. Dover’s writing style. Thinking back, I can count on one hand, how many books I read from this author. I had no idea what I was getting in to when I picked this book up. I just know that I’m loving the Magnolia Grove Series, and my heart is invested to this wonderful world created by wonderful authors. With all that being said, I adored Declan and Ayla’s story! I loved the budding friendship that slowly merged into a relationship aspect. My heart was swooning from the very start! So if you love small town romances featuring neighbors and a city boy/small town girl trope, definitely pick this book up!

Now let’s talk about the characters starting with Ayla. Ayla was such a sweetheart in this novel. She’s the type of person who never meets a stranger. She’s kind hearted, gentle and considerate to those around her. She’s also fierce and stubborn when it comes to protecting those she cares about, and most importantly, she can get really cranky when her pool and reading time is interrupted. I found her character to be easily relatable, which made reading her point of view even more enjoyable!

And then we have Declan. I felt that Declan’s character grew throughout this novel. In the start we have a grumpy persona, but the more he opened up to Ayla the more that grump persona started to melt away. His character also had me shedding a tear or two. I honestly can’t blame this man for being a vault and shielding his heart and thoughts from the world. Given his occupation and the tragedy he just endured, it’s warranted to be closed off. I loved the different facets to this man’s personality. I especially loved how protective he was of Ayla, from the start….

I have to say, my favorite moment of this novel involved Declan and Ayla’s neighbor Linda wielding a cast iron skillet! I laughed so hard during this moment!! If you know, you know!!!

Now onto the reason why I gave this book a four star rating. I decided to drop a star on my rating due to the fact that I wanted a little bit more from the suspense portion of this novel. I found this portion of the novel was a tad bit predictable. When it comes to suspense in romance novels, I expect to have a moment where I’m thrown for a loop and on the edge of my seat. sadly, the climactic part of this novel was a bit anticlimactic for me.

Overall, negativity set to the side, my heart swooned from the start of this novel! Declan and Ayla’s novel felt like a breath of fresh air! I couldn’t get enough of these two. So if you love small town romances featuring neighbors and a city boy/small town girl trope, definitely pick this book up!

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