Art professor Anita Delgado spends eleven months of the year working. July is her month to cut loose, paint, and pick a guy to make the summer memorable. But this year she isn’t in a tropical location with an exotic man like she'd planned. She’s stuck in small-town USA dealing with a lake house she doesn’t want, inherited from a grandmother she never knew. A summer fling might be the only thing to get her through the next few weeks.
Salvage specialist Noah Colburn is running for mayor. If he doesn’t, an absolute idiot is going to ruin his beloved town. So he’s stepping up. It’s what he does—with his teenage daughters, with the family business, and now with Lakeside. But when the newest resident of the town asks him to renovate her grandmother’s house—and have a four-week fling —he’s tempted. Tempted to step out of the mold and take just one thing for himself. But the gossip mill in the town is notorious.
Anita’s learning it’s hard to have a fling when the town follows your every move, and it’s even harder when the July guy makes it clear one month is never going to be enough…
Natasha Moore fell in love with the written word as soon as she could read. She’s the author of more than twenty romances, and believes that stories of love and hope are important. Love can happen at any age and she often writes about vibrant and passionate characters finding love later in life. She’s a snowbird, spending the winters in sunny Florida, and the rest of the year in beautiful western New York with her real life hero who is happy to tell everyone that he’s her inspiration
There was something so endearing about Natasha Moore’s The July Guy where a man deeply rooted in his small hometown is convinced to have a one month fling with a city woman in town to renovate and sell her late grandmother’s home. This story has many layers making it full and rich and absolutely a delight to read.
Ethan Bradford never intended for his family’s salvage company to be his focus and he sure didn’t ever plan on running for mayor of his village, but that’s where he’s at in his life and it just got more complicated when he almost runs his truck into Anita Delgado, a college professor and artist new in town.
It was obvious that Ethan felt he was responsible not only for keeping his family’s business afloat but also making sure his small town wasn’t turned into a playground for the rich by his mayoral opponent. Between all of that and his worry for his 17 year old twin daughters who are gone for the summer visiting their mother, but will soon be moving away to college, Ethan’s life is a bit out of control.
Being notified that the grandmother she thought died before she was born left her a house is just one of the many questions Anita wishes she could ask her mother who no longer remembers who she is. While spending time in Lakeside in July instead of some foreign county might make finding her “July guy” a bit more difficult, she hopes her grandmother’s house might at least give her some clues as to why her mother kept her away all of her life.
Ethan and Anita were very different people and their outlooks on life in general couldn’t have been further apart, but the intensity of heat between them was apparent from their first meeting and it only increased over time. I enjoyed watching them try to deny it; try to keep their distance once Ethan agreed to a fling, and failing miserably. Anita was sucked into the village life and found herself with more friends than she’d ever had and enjoying so many aspects of small town life although having her relationship with Ethan splashed around town by his mayoral opponent left a lot to be desired. To top it off Anita is dealing with her father making contact with her for the first time since he left her when she was six, finding that her grandmother had a sense of humor, and through people in town that her mother and father had been carefree and so in love when they lived there. I loved the complexity of this story and all the little twists and turns it took to get them from fling to friends to more.
Surprising in all the best ways, fun, sexy, and romantic, I loved The July Guy.
The July Guy is a quick, feel-good read. I enjoyed the story line, and the dynamic between Anita and Noah was pulled off in an exceptional way. I love books where what tends to be a characteristic given to one gender is a given to the other gender, Mrs. Moore wrote it very well. The writing style is amazing, there's a nice flow to it, it was a pleasure to read. All in all, this book is sweet and fluffy, with a hint of angst - perfect for fans of the romance genre.
*Copy received through NetGalley *Rating: 4/5 stars
Anita, an art teacher, lets go one month a year, July, by taking a vacation and finding someone to spend it with. Then, she returns to her life, behaving appropriately for the next eleven months. However, this year that plan is thwarted when she has to spend it in a small town and a lake house left to her by the grandma she never knew. Well, plans can be adjusted and maybe her summer fling will have to take place in other ways.
Noah, a salvage specialist, is running for mayor. It may not be exactly what he wants to do, but if he doesn't, his beloved town will be taken over by someone else, a person that could ruin it. His life is busy enough as a single dad, divorced for three years, to teenage daughters and his family business, and now a newcomer is asking him to help renovate a lake house. And when she offers a mutually beneficial, temporary only, fling, he can't deny he's tempted to indulge, to let loose his rigid control, but he's not that type of guy.
But gossip in a small town is a powerful thing and he can't let anything risk his campaign, not even the sexy woman he can't stop thinking about. Yet, neither can resist the pull between them, nor do they really want to. Soon Anita learns exactly how the rumor mill works, how their every move is monitored, and that Noah knows one month will never be enough for them.
As Noah and Anita explore what's between them, the deadline always in the back of their minds, their feelings rapidly growing into more, other obstacles stand in their way. Anita's life is elsewhere, Noah's seventeen-year-old twin daughters will be returning from their mother's soon, one who comes with them and steps in like she still lives there, and starting college, his run for mayor, and Anita's long-absent dad making a reappearance in her life thanks to Noah's interference.
Can Noah take something for himself and explore what's between him and Anita? Can Anita embrace a life with Noah and all that entails or will she stick to her usual deadline? How will Anita react to her dad wanting to be a part of her life again? What happens when Noah's ex-wife reappears? Is a HEA possible?
One-click now and follow along as two people, seemingly opposites, meet and must decide whether to take a chance on the feelings growing between them. I have to say, I like how this story was different in regards to it being the woman who avoided relationships and instead "enjoyed" herself one month a year and the man, in his mid-forties, had only been with one woman, his ex-wife.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.**
I started this book and then put it down. Coming back to it a few months later I was able to get into the story better. Anita Delgado has inherited a home from a grandmother whom she thought had passed away. Going to a house and a town where people knew her mother, as well as her father, also become part of this story. Anita cannot speak to her mother about any of these things because she is in a home for Alzheimer’s. She is also an art professor who takes a vacation every July. So this July she must find a guy in Lakeside where her grandmother’s home is the one she wants to fix and sell. One problem, the man she is attracted to is Noah Colburn salvage specialist and restorer. He is also running for mayor, a divorced father of twin 17-year-old girls. Just to make everything better the small town posts everything he does on Facebook, even if it is having ice cream with the new women in town. She is very pretty, but there is a campaign to win by his opponent. While going through the home Anita finds notes and money from her grandmother. She also begins to question what her mother told her about her father who left when she was younger, especially when he begins to post on the town page. What her biggest problem is, is not the remold of the house. No, it is what the salvage guy is doing to her and her insides. When she finally breaks and leaves back to Philly Noah begins to think he might have gone too far. Well, he only drove her from upstate New York to Philly, it’s not like she overseas but to him, it feels like it. Everyone around him now wants the election to be over so he can go and do something because he has pushed everyone away. So, read if he goes to her or she comes back to Lakeside. A very good story with good characters. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com
Unfortunately this book missed the mark for me. I was very excited to start after reading the synopsis of the novel. As I started reading it took some time to get used to the floor of the book. It was a bit slow but after getting to know the characters a little more and the story I was able to get into the novel.... about midway though I just wasn't as interested in the book and hard to keep up. This was a DNF for me.
I lost my heart to Lakeside and this wonderful mature-but-playful love story! Natasha Moore creates strong, confident characters who know their own minds, but with just enough vulnerability to make their journeys believable and worth rooting for. Sexy and satisfying!
I hate this part, the one where I'm fence sitting on a book. I loved the plot, the setting, all of that. I just had difficulty relating the both characters, Anita and Noah. Anita comes into a small town to see the house left to her by a grandmother she never met. The backstory there is interesting and clearly her grandmother was well known and much loved by the town folks. All Anita ever heard about her was that the woman was dead. She never knew she existed. She's there only to fix it up and sell it so she has money to continue financing her annual July fling and keep her mother in the facility she is currently in, she has dementia and needs the care. Anita is a college professor and takes the month of July to venture anywhere she chooses and has a fling with a man. End of story. She doesn't want any more than that. Her father left when she was 2 and her mother is a bitter nasty woman that bad mouthed not only her mother, bad Anita's father as well and most other men. Noah is the oldest son of the family in town that owns the salvage/reclamation business and also does demo remodel work. By default Noah gets sucked into running for town Mayor because the opposition is not a nice guy and buying up properties around the lake and demolishing them, destroying the towns heritage and beauty. And the guy is rotten. Noah has a close family, along with two brothers that don't pitch in much. Along with that and running the family business, he's a full time dad to twin teenage daughters. They're visiting their mother in Florida for a few weeks. Anita works with Noah on the house project, she's attracted to him and since she's there for the month decides to proposition him, a fling for the month. Noah wasn't crazy about the idea to begin with, he was a little offended. He's attracted to her as well, but a fling. He's not fling material. But with Anita, he decides to go ahead. Things happen. The story weaves around, gets a little busy with all the family characters and people from town, the neighbors, the workers, it's like a little soap opera. Noah oversteps his bounds when he contacts her father after a post on the towns facebook page from him asking Anita to contact him. She refuses and unknown to her, Noah contacts him and has been talking to him regularly. Meanwhile the girls come home early with his ex wife in tow. Clearly the ex thinks it's ok for her to stay at his house. Anita is still angry over the issue with her face, but won't come between Noah and his family. She leaves and goes back home with her father in tow! Surprise! And that's not the end of the surprises. The book drags in places, I guess that was part of my issue, that and neither Anita nor Noah were likable characters. The big plus for me was seeing the town where my Granny lived mentioned. I'd like to give this book more, I just can't. It was a struggle to push through these two. I would encourage you to read it, that's just my opinion for what it's worth.
arc from NetGalley and Entangled for an honest review
From the cover that accurately reflected the description of the heroine and hero to “This studio is for you, Anita. She dropped to her knees and cried.” the author had me. I was enthralled that Anita was 45, a painter, and had a month long vacation fling with a guy every July for almost 20 years in a different location. Wow! She is sexually confident and independent, which is not often the case with romances with mature women who either just had sex with their husband or very little experience. And Noah is the one who only had his wife for a lover, when I am so used to the men having had lots of sexual experience. A refreshing change.
I liked Noah wanting to be mayor to thwart the candidate who was in the developers’ pockets to gentrify the community. He’s the salvage man who is the oldest and used to taking on responsibility for his two younger brothers. His wife left him for another man, and this is his first foray into romance since that happened. He also has two teenage daughters. Single dad romance. So the mayoral race with its dirty candidate did add a solid story line to keep the story moving and to show off the small town.
I liked Anita a lot; she was an art professor and an artist. She came to sell her grandmother’s house, a woman who refused to have her be part of her life according to her mother. Aggie’s death got Anita to return to the town, yet from her notes to her granddaughter and other quirky things she left behind, I wish that Anita had had a chance to meet her too. The “treasure hunt” was a fun addition to the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and found myself in tears at one point once the truth was revealed. All that wasted time and opportunity to repair relationships hit home for me. This was more than just a July fling between Anita and Noah, but also a chance for her to let go of her bitterness towards men, her father who abandoned them, her mother for lying to her, and her grandmother who had the foresight to leave her the house, notes, and more. I had gotten the advance reading copy and forgot to read it. I ended up buying a copy because it was a 5-star read for me.
My Review: Wow, this was my first time reading this author and I really enjoyed this book.
Anita has done a thing for almost 20 years. She's a professor so every year she takes a month-long vacation in July. In that month, she enjoys life to the fullest, including hooking up with a single guy...all the sex, no strings, no emotions, pure fun. It's her month to indulge.
Normally she goes overseas, but this year, she found out she inherited a house from her grandmother that she didn't even know was alive. Her mother told her that her grandparents died before she was born. So, it's a shock to go to this small town where everyone knew and loved her grandmother and hear about how much her grandmother loved and was proud of her. She had no idea.
This book becomes an exploration about where Anita has come from and how that difficult upbringing made her the woman she is (one that doesn't love or let other people in). Her mother was not a loving one...but as far as Anita knew, she was the only family out there. Not true.
On the flip side of that coin is Noah, whose family is slowly smothering him with expectations. They're close, but they've all come to rely on Noah to handle it all. For the first time in his life, Noah wants to do something solely for himself...have a month of sex with Anita, no matter what his family thinks.
And of course, on the side, there are all these other things happening. It's a small town and gossip is running amok, something that isn't helped by the fact that Noah is running for mayor. Anita is dealing with all the family drama along with trying to get her grandmother's house ready to sell. (Note: her grandmother left post-it notes all over the house for Anita...I LOVED THAT little touch in the story that helped her get to know her grandmother.)
Overall, it was a great read and I'm happy that I took the risk and snagged it for review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest and voluntary review.
Anita Delgado is a lovely woman but emotionally damaged by a cold childhood. She’s come to town to see and sell a property left to her by a grandmother she didn’t know existed. She’s an artist and teacher, but due to her emotional issues, she doesn’t do long term commitments as far as romance goes. She takes a vacation for the month of July and has a fling with a different man every year. However, this year she’s in Lakeside seeing to her grandmother’s property. Noah Colburn is a good man in his forties, he runs his family’s salvage business and loves his community. He loves to save as much of the past as he can. He’s a contractor and builder as well. He’s also running for mayor of Lakeside against a typical man of wealth and power who wants to tear down the lovely old homes and rebuild with condos. They meet by accident and the attraction is instant and interesting. Author Natasha Moore has woven an intricate love story of uncovering a hidden past, bit by bit, as a sizzling romance begins to build. The romance is hot but precarious, the characters are all genuine and well written. Threads of political issues, family relationships, and so much more are added. The storyline is interesting and thought provoking as well as entertaining. I loved the whole thing. It was compelling and very hard to put down…hence I stayed up all night and read. I encourage you to grab a copy and sit back for an enjoyable time.
Anita is a Art Professor and she spends July at a new location around the world each year to recharge her batteries ... with a fling! But this July she has to spend it at the home she inherited from her grandmother. When she meets the sexy handyman working on the house next door ... she knows he's going to be her fling this July. Noah has been his parent's responsible son his whole life. At the age of 45 he runs the family salvage business, has twin 17-year old daughters, has been divorced for 3 years and is now running for town mayor - he has no time for himself. But when he meets Anita, he has an instant attraction toward her and agrees to be her July fling.
This book was different by the woman being the playgirl and the man only have slept with one woman his whole life. I couldn't help but fall for Noah and I enjoyed Anita's outlook on life. There weren't really any twists in this story ... but it made me laugh and the romance was sweet and steamy! A great story that shouldn't be missed.
I received an ARC courtesy of Entangled Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
This was my first read by this author, and it was quite enjoyable.
Anita travels the world each July, picking up a lover for the month before getting back to "real life". When she returns to the small town her mother grew up in, the only heir to her believed dead grandmother's estate, she has to change her overall travel plans, but she wants to stick to her July Guy plan. Unfortunately for her, the man she's set her sights on has permanent written all over him. Works the family business, has teenage daughters, and he's running for town mayor.
Some of the story was a little cliché, eg. his opponent in the mayoral race, his ex wife, but overall it was a solidly written book. I look forward to reading more by this author.
I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Entangled in exchange for an honest review.
An interesting premise in this one. A woman, Anita Delgado, works hard eleven months out of the year but every July she finds time to play just as hard. Different locale, different guy, lots of fun sexy times with absolutely no strings. This July she finds herself in small town America dealing with family issues she doesn't want. Thank goodness she still found her July guy! Noah Colburn is there for everyone. His family, his daughters, his town. Anita is just for him and he plans on enjoying her for as long as she is around. Not so easy to do in a small town and can he really handle just being her July guy?
This was very well done and the story was fresh and fun. I really enjoyed and recommend to everyone.
I received an ARC of the July Guy from a giveaway on the Seasoned Romance Facebook page. This was my first Natasha Moore novel and it won't be my last! I really enjoyed the plot of Anita and Noah's story with a role reversal found in traditional romance novels. Anita travels the world and has light-hearted flings while Noah is all about long-term commitment. Both of the main characters are in their mid-40's and show us that sexy books don't have to just be about people who are twenty somethings. I enjoyed getting to know the family and friends in Lakeside and hope we see them in future books. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and I recommend you check it out!
An interesting plot concept and I liked that the characters were older than those you find in most romance novels. However, in the end I did not enjoy the book as I hoped I would.
The biggest issue for me was the heroine Anita. I didn't connect with her character or like her for much of the book. This made it difficult for me to enjoy the rest of the book despite liking Noah.
The plot also felt a bit uneven at times, too slow in some spots and too fast in others.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for an honest review.
Very nice story line about a professor who doesn't think she'll ever get married and finds a guy every July on her holiday to spend time with (or more). This is about the latest guy she found and one she isn't sure if she wants to let go ... Nice story
Really enjoyed this story with a more mature couple to read about. It had lots of feeling and discoveries about what each of them really wanted in life. So good
the july guy takes place in a small town in upstate new york, and ironically enough i happened to read it while in buffalo and literally on the banks of lake erie. i think this fictional town was on the fingerlakes though. i happen to live not far from these environs so it's always nice to see an author build a story in a setting i recognize.
when noah colburn and anita delgado nearly crash their vehicles you wouldn't think they'd be focusing on how they find each other attractive. but from first sight, that attraction is all they see. both characters are in their 40s and neither is interessted in beating around the bush. anita has never been married and life lessons from her parents have taught her that there's no point in trying to find commitment.
noah, on the other hand, is the divorced father of twin teenaged girls. they're on vacation visitng their mom, so when anita propositions noah with a month of sex and fun, there's no way he can say no. but he very nearly does, because he's not the kind of guy who does casual. and he's also running for mayor and getting a salacious sex life in the midst of a small town campaign is not the smartest.
but their attraction burns hot and as the summer progresses anita and noah find themselves wrapped up in each other in ways they didn't expect. all noah has to do is convince anita that he can be more than just a july guy. he is the kind of man who's happy to be her forever guy.
**the july guy will publish on november 12, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of entangled publishing (august) in exchange for my honest review.
There's something so intriguing about summer romances and the flings that can happen and there was no disappointment here! Anita is a workaholic artist who ends up in a small town where she nearly gets run over by Ethan (literally) and she begins to learn that life is so much more than the tropical escape she wanted. I loved how the author invigorated the values of slowing down from life and smelling the roses so that you don't miss what's right in front of you. Despite their constant denial of attraction for one another, having life slow down for both of them so they can just focus on learning each other was so crucial to their relationship and made their HEA just so deserving. It definitely speaks to how we should be living life and how we must learn to slow down.
Anita Delgado is a 45 year old woman with serious commitment, abandonment and forgiveness issues. In fact, she likes to stay wrapped pretty tightly with the exception of one month a year, when she picks a man with whom to have a fling. Noah Colburn is her July target man when Anita is abruptly forced to a small town to deal with her deceased grandmother's estate. This story concept is unique, and puts the female lead in charge in every way. I actually really like the author's writing, just not her main character. I found it difficult to connect with Anita's story because she was so aggressive, angry and closed off I found her unlikable. I was more drawn to the grandmother she was getting to know post mortem than the main character herself. I liked Noah better, but felt he was too nice for Anita, and way too easily manipulated by sex, which lowered my respect for him. I thought Noah's 17 year old twin daughters were written more like 11 year olds, which also added to the lack of relatability in the story for me. All in all, a unique storyline I wish were populated with more likable characters.
Absolutely loved Anita and Noah's love story! Such a sweet and wonderful story. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.
The July Guy is the first book I've read by Natasha Moote and I am so happy I have it a try. I was really impressed that Anita and Noah were in their mid 40s as I think that population is just not well represented in the romance genre. I admit I didn't immediately warm up to Anita, but as I learned her back story her ideas and actions made total sense and they just wanted to make me give her s big hug. I loved the man Noah was, loving and loyal to family and friends. While instant attraction started the relationship I loved how time and really getting to know each other made it evolve. I will definately be looking for more books to read by this talented author. I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.