I enjoyed this one! Definitely a sweet read and will look for Claire Raye's books in the future. I don't normally read romance and I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Finally Yours by Claire Raye. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect because reading the info about it, it seemed a bit corny but I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. I loved the main characters they were charming and they had great chemistry. I love that they were Australian as I don’t read a lot of books with Australia in them so that was fun. Definitely recommend.

This was a cute story and it caught my attention from the very first page, and didn't let me go until the very end!

This is a first read by this author and I couldn’t get enough of this story!! The characters took me to a whole other world in which they were the absolute center. You not only wanted to see everything going on but you couldn’t help but cheer them on as a couple! I’m super excited to read more from this author!

EEEKKKKK. This was a hard book to finish. I am not a fan of the holding grudge for so long type of books and that is what this book was. The reasons for the grudge were stupid. The grudge itself was Stupid. Not a fan of this one. Sorry.

The story follows Lauren and Jack, childhood frenemies who met during the summer holidays while his father installed a grape crusher for her family’s vineyard. They lost contact when he and his father returned home to Australia. Now almost fifteen years later, that same crusher has broken down, bringing Lauren and Jack face-to-face once more.
Let me start off by saying I hate giving low ratings and negative reviews to books because I understand the effort and love authors put into their work. But, having said that, I cannot rate this book any higher. That would be unfair and untrue to my opinions.
I had several problems with this book.
My main grip was that the characters acted so juvenile, I had a tough time buying they were almost thirty years old adults. I found the heroine was the main offender of this and I quickly grew to dislike her. I kid you not, there’s a point where she’s avoiding her ex-fiancé in the grocery store and instead of quietly walking away unnoticed (like her sister suggests) she decides to ran, makes sharp turns with her cart, smashes into a chip stand and sends them flying, only to drive over the set of chips! And when that’s done, hide around the corner. Of course he was going to notice her!
Since this has the haters-to-lovers trope, Jack and Lauren start off by hating each other. But it’s more of a I-hate-you-because-I-like-you thing. At least, it read as such from the hero’s point of view. The initial chapters from heroine’s point of view stressed such an intense dislike, it made no sense at all when she brushed it aside later on, going as far as to admit how much she missed him when he left.
Once they do get into a relationship, she becomes very selfish and clingy, wanting him to abandon his life, work, family, and friends in Australia to stay with her on her vineyard. We get hints here and there that her backstory is the cause for this behaviour, but we never learn more. I wish we did because I wanted to understand and connect with her, but I couldn’t.
I wish I could say I at least fall for the hero, but alas no. Even after the heroine made it quite clear more than once that she wanted him to call her Lauren, not Lu or Lulu, he disregards her wishes and continues doing what he wants. If this was a one-off thing, I could’ve overlooked it. But this was something I noticed he continued doing throughout the novel. He’d continuously ignores her verbal no’s until he convinces her it’s what’s she wants too, and then he asks for her consent. his was cringeworthy to read when they get intimate for the first time. Like yikes.
After about the 50% mark, all Lauren and Jack do together is have sex. And it‘s so very boring to read. There is no chemistry, no character development between them to keep the readers engaged.
The author also relies heavily on telling and not showing. The readers are constantly told how they feel about each other, why their previous relationships didn’t or don’t work, what their initial hatred meant.
Aside from the lacklustre romance, the whole buildup with their exes was a huge letdown too. They both came off as plot devices instead of characters in their own right. Nate, Lauren’s ex-fiancé actions make no sense at all. After Lauren tells him again and again to leave her alone, he continues showing up and acting like everything is normal. The narrative insists he’s jealous, but nowhere does he act like it. If anything, he acts like think she’s playing hard to get. And Mel, I had such high hopes for Mel. We’re constantly reminded of her existence, without ever learning who she is or what happened between her and Jack. Then she shows up at the end of the novel, having crossed the ocean to see him, only to cause misunderstandings and all but disappear again.
The crisis was basically a misunderstanding that could’ve been easily resolved with a conversation. And it was, quite quickly.
All in all, this had an interesting premise, but was poorly executed.

Please note: I received an advance digital copy of this book through NetGalley from Claire Raye in exchange for a honest review. This does not influence my opinions in any way.

This was the first book I've read by these authors and it was quite enjoyable for a contemporary romance. Jack and Lulu were frenemies from childhood so reading about their antics was quite funny but the scenes with Ollie and Oscar were the icing on the cake! I loved these two kids so much and they added some lightness to the drama in Lauren's life. The secondary characters were well developed and added to the storyline as well. Solid 4-star read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

This was the first book I read from Claire Raye and I really enjoyed it. I liked both Lauren and Jack and was rooting for them from the beginning. I thought some of the drama toward the end of the book was unnecessary, but overall it was really good!

This one started off strong for me. Then I got bored. So I skipped around some. Then read some. Then skipped around some. Loved the last 10%.
Overall, I am going to give this one 3.5 stars. It was well written, it just wasn’t the book for me. Too much drama with the ex girlfriend and the ex fiancé for me.

Lauren Somerville was born and raised at the Somerville Winery & Vineyard. As a young teen, Jack Wilson stayed at Somerville's with his father who worked there. Jack was an arrogant and cocky kid who aggravated Lauren at every opportunity. 14 years later, Lauren is running Somerville's with her sister Ellen. Jack has ben hired by Ellen to repair some winery equipment at Somerville's. What was once originally thought to be a deep hatred for Jack, appears to truly have been affection for him. Jack makes it his mission to prove to Lauren that they can be good together.

I fell completely in love with Lauren and Jack. This story has a beautiful setting and I love the characters. It was also laugh out loud funny, especially with Lauren's twin niece and nephew. I read this book very quickly and could not put it down. I loved it!

Finally Yours is a very entertaining romance. This book is well written with a good plot and captivating characters . I enjoyed this book and the characters dynamics. If you enjoy romance books I would recommend this one. My thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

A cute read, second chance love, great characters , such wonderful humour and lots of snark, the banter is just brilliant. A really fun enjoyable book.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I have read my fair share of books from the enemies to lovers tropes (It is one of my favourite!), so I am always excited to read a book if it's even remotely related to that trope.

Finally Yours is a sweet, fun and sexy weekend read. It’s a quick read without going over the top with the drama and what not.
Jack and Lauren relationship makes for an entertaining read that is filled with witty banters, swoony chemistry and sweet moments.
The secondary characters are ok…thought the kids are one of the shinning stars in this book.

Finally Yours is what we look for in a romcom.. humour, heart, a dash of sexy and a pinch of drama.

Books like this are quite a conundrum for me. For the most part, very little of the story worked for me. But the parts that did work, really did.

Jack Wilson is returning to Napa, California 14 years after he left as a 15 year old, when he stayed at the Somerville Winery & Vineyard while his dad installed a grape crushing machine. Now that same machine is broken, and one of the owners has contacted the Australian to come see if if can be repaired.

The other owner, Lauren Somerville, is not happy to see him. Long story short...Jack and Lauren had mutual crushes, which manifested itself as picking on each other and teasing. Lauren told herself she wasn’t sad to see Jack leave, then apparently decided she was. Now Jack’s back, and Lauren is pissed off to see him standing in her vineyard, but she needs him to fix the crusher.

For Jack’s part, this chance to return to Napa couldn’t have come at a better time. And even though he’s not sure if the vineyard is still owned by the same family, he’s determined to use this opportunity to find the girl he’s “never forgotten.” He’s thrilled to discover he’ll be working for Lauren and does his best to make her fall in love with him. Spoiler Alert: he succeeds.

There’s so much about this book that crushed my enjoyment.

For starters, I’m not a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, and this book is exhibit A of why. I totally don’t get the whole “I hate his guts” but “his touch turns my insides to goo” thing. And the first half of the book was SO FULL of that. Not to mention I think her “hate” was so silly to begin with. So he played some pranks on her 14 years ago. He wasn’t mean or malicious. As an adult, are you not able to move past what was obvious goofing around? Even as adults their initial interactions were still juvenile - Jack insisting on calling Lauren by a nickname he knows she doesn’t like, and her acting all incensed is just the beginning of it. These people are adults, but they sure didn’t act like it for a good part of the book.

Then, the author did something I really detest: hinting about things that happened in the past, but not telling the reader what the heck happened, and referring to it frequently so as to build suspense. We know something terrible happened to Lauren, but we don’t get any clue what it was until 40% (and even then, we don’t get the full details until much later), and same with Jack - only his wasn’t revealed until 80%. Furthermore, the characters themselves kept it from each other, for no good reason at all, until just about the end of the book. Which of course caused loads of drama, that wasn’t suspenseful or angsty, it just seemed contrived. These were people who are supposed to be almost 30, and instead they were still acting a lot like middle-schoolers.

Sometimes the humor in this book was effortless and funny. But frequently it was slapstick and seemed forced (ie the number of times Jack and Lauren are interrupted during an intimate time). I’m not sure if the other man/other woman drama they had was supposed to be comical or dramatic, because it wasn’t firmly either in my opinion and left me scratching my head. A thought by Lauren about sums up my thoughts about this book:

I feel like my life is one of those never-ending TV series where the writers are just making ridiculous shit happen to me just to keep the show going long after it should have ended.

And finally, I’m not a fan of excessive swearing. I’m not some prissy reader. Reading course language doesn’t make me want to clutch my pearls. But this book is - in my rough estimation - 280 pages long, and has the f word 201 times (thank you, Kindle search function). I’m not opposed to a well-placed f word. But 201 times just seems excessive. And unnecessary. And strikes me as an author(s) who lacks creative writing skills (never mind these ladies very clearly do - but that wasn’t the first impression I had after reading the first few chapters). I’ve sat across from enough tables of 20-somethings in restaurants to know that’s how a lot of them talk now - with f@#! used as a noun, verb, and adjective, sometimes all in the same sentence - but that doesn’t mean I want to read a book written that way. FYI, this is the first time in 400+ reviews I’ve written that I mention swear words...so that might tell you something.

All that being said...I want to end on a positive note because there were several things I enjoyed! At the top of the list were the twins, who made me chuckle just about every time they were on the page. They were just the right amount of precocious, and never seemed unrealistic. My favorite parts of the book were Jack interacting with the twins. I also liked the pacing of the book. It kept me engaged and entertained, even during the times where I was rolling my eyes. I laughed out loud several times, so that’s a good thing too! Plus, it’s always a good time reading about an Aussie.

Would I give this writing duo another shot? Sure. I had very little objections to the writing (well, other than all the f@#!s). We’ll just have to wait and see…

* thank you to NetGalley and Claire Raye for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

The story of Jack and Lauren. They met when they were 15, and now he is back.

The attraction is stil there between them, but both have been in relationships where they got hurt, and they are still keeping some secrets from each other, so what will happen when people from their past come back in to their lives?

Great read - looking forward to more from this author

Lauren and Jack met at fifteen when he spent a few weeks on her family's vineyard while his father was working there installing some machinery. Jack had a knack for riling Lauren up and making her mad. But then he left with his dad back to Australia and that was that. Until fourteen years later, when they meet again and sparks fly!

I really liked Jack's easy-going and teasing nature and enjoyed the banter between him and Lauren. I also adored Lauren's nephew and niece and loved how good Jack was with them. The scenes with them are probably my favorite parts of the book!

It was, for the most part, a fun read, but it felt a bit repetitive at times in terms of the MCs inner conflicts, which together with the many steamy scenes (I was expecting a few, but it ended up having quite a lot), made it feel a little too long. Other than that, I enjoyed most of it.

*I got an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren Somerville was thrilled to see Jack Wilson leave her parents vineyard 14 years ago and go back to Australia. He was nothing but trouble for the weeks he was there while his dad was working, call her Lulu and playing pranks on her. She's not thrilled that he's back after so long and he still remembers her, but now she's in charge. Jack has never forgotten Lauren, he just needs to convince her that he's not the kid he used to be.

I love a good enemies to more lovers and this was a sweet one. I really enjoyed the banter between Lauren and Jack, specifically Jack's responses to Lauren. Poor Lauren and the chip debacle, I was absolutely cackling. The kids always walking in on them was so relatable, you absolutely have to lock doors. Jack was so sweet and patient, wanting to prove himself to her. This book was funny, relatable in several ways, had a good amount of heartbreak, great characters and dialogue.

This is a great read overall. There is a great dynamic between the two main characters, and some very heated moments of sexual tension. There was great dialogue and overall it was a nice change to see that so many people wanted them to be together instead of tearing them apart.

Such a cute and fun read. Great dialogue, witty banter, hilarious and well-developed characters, scorching sexual tension between the two main characters, and a very HEA. Highly recommend.

Jack and Lulu are cute together and you can't help but root for them as you read this book.
It's refreshing to read a book where a lot of people conspire to see someone happy and settled and that's exactly what happened here with Lulu.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.