Search - Exclusively Yours (Kowalski Family, Bk 1)

Joseph Kowalski and Keri Daniels were high school sweethearts but Keri left Joe broken hearted in order to chase her dreams. Now 18 years later, he’s a reclusive best-selling author and she’s a reporter for an entertainment magazine whose editor has just discovered her past relationship with Joe and demands she get the scoop on the guy. If she refuses she’ll risk losing her job and any chance of moving up a rung or two on the ladder. Keri’s worked hard to get to where she is and leaves behind sunny California to travel to the small New Hampshire town where she lost her virginity to a boy named Joe in the back of a 78 Ford Granada to the sounds of Whitesnake.

Said boy, now all grown and super sexy, talks her into joining him and his large extended family (he is single, without kids) on a two week vacation camping in the deep woods of New Hampshire without cell phones (no texting for help!), computers, or luxury bathrooms. Keri is appalled, especially when she learns she’ll be sharing a cabin with still hot Joe, but agrees for the sake of her career. The premise is too, too cute. Living in New Hampshire and coming of age in the 80’s (to the dulcet sounds of Whitesnake, Poison and Ratt -- remember them?) this book really resonated with me on a nostalgic level. The author got the feel of NH camping down pat and reminded me of all the reasons why I haven’t done it in a decade or so. Joe is a fabulously warm and lovable hero with a realistically messed up family who you’ll probably love and despise in equal measure. This book is as much a reunion romance as it is a tear-inducing family drama-edy. Keri and her unending quest to be someone other than a “mom”, “girlfriend” or a “wife” is where things fell flat for me. Personally, I can’t connect with a woman so hung up on her career that she’d leave her true love in the dust. But that’s just me, I married my high school sweetheart and we’ve been together since ’87 so I’m lucky and probably pretty biased.

Despite Keri, and her obsession with being “Keri, an important someone” I enjoyed this book a lot. When Joe and Keri reunite the sparks fly and they’re both forced to face their past mistakes and figure out a way to get along without losing their hearts all over again. Joe was devastated and made some poor choices when Keri left him the first time and all that heartache, angst and pain must be dealt with before they can move on. It’ll all bring a tear to your eyes, I swear it. The plot isn’t anything terribly exciting but it felt very real and honest and I will definitely check out what this author is up to next.

Cute little romance. I personally didn't mind Keri picking her career over love... a lot of us did that back in the late 70s and 80s. Regrets??? Some but we all made choices and had to live with them so did Keri. I like the Kowalski family and can't wait to see what Kevin is up to in Book 2. So wile away some time with this huge loveable family. It's fiction, it's sweet and Shannon Stacey did a good job!

EXCLUSIVELY YOURS was, for me, one of those uncommon cases where a part of me liked the synopsis slightly more than the actual story. I never ended up being a fan of Keri: with the book describing her as just short of being stereotypically “high school cheerleader perfect,” I just didn’t find myself empathizing with her poor-li’l-me romantic troubles. Realistic heroines, wherefore art thou? I did like Joe—except for, you know, the part where his fatal flaw was his soft spot for Keri. And most readers will probably get a blast out of the titillating dialogue between the Kowalskis. Personally, there’s a line I draw as to what I will or will not discuss around family members, and having your siblings point out your massive, unending erection all throughout the camping trip falls on the other side of that line for me. Still, the sibling teasing makes for funny moments and is what makes this book stand out among other similar titles.

I’m undecided as to whether I will continue with this series, on account of the fact that if I have to read about one more super-perfect woman worrying about nails and hair and pores in the middle of the woods I might throw a fit, but romance readers looking for a love-conquers-all tale with a hearty dose of raunchy family thrown in should look towards EXCLUSIVELY YOURS.

a new author - new series - loved it - like another reviewer - I did get tired of Keri's snobbiness. But I did like the family and characters. I look forward to reading more in the series.