Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a new contemporary romance from Melanie Moreland. AIDEN is the second book in the Vested Interest series. I liked BENTLEY, and I’ve enjoyed AIDEN, too.

About the book:
Haunted by memories of his past, Aiden plays the part of the happy-go-lucky friend. Always ready with a teasing smile or a joke, he is good at hiding his pain.
Using his impressive physique as a shield, he keeps his past buried beneath his rugged exterior.
Except, one woman sees through his façade.
Her green eyes see too much, even as her body tempts him.
Even as his heart yearns for her.
Cami is determined to make him realize that he is worthy of being loved.
He pushes her away at every turn, yet finds himself unable to keep her at arm’s length.
Who will win this battle of love?

My Review:
Aiden and Cami met in the first book of this series. They had an instant attraction, and great sexual chemistry, but Aiden, a child abuse survivor, believes he’s ultimately unlovable. Meanwhile, Cami’s mentally ill mother died when she was young, and has been raised by her elder sister. She needs to feel needed–and loved–and Aiden’s mixed signals are doing her head in.

It’s not the right time for drama, either, because Cami seems to be forgetting things, and is losing possessions and contact with her sister–who’s on an extended business trip–and her bestie, Emmy, who has moved in with her fiance, Bentley. Is Cami showing the first signs of mental illness, or is there another situation brewing that is putting her life in danger.

This book picked up steam about halfway in. Like Cami, I got tired of Aiden’s waffling about how he’s not a forever man, and how unworthy he is for her. That never works for me, as a reader, and the prose was verbose and repetitive until we got to the heart of Cami’s “forgetfulness,” which is a problem Aiden CAN help her manage. That brought me in, and the suspense was almost the right tempo to keep me turning pages. On the whole, the pace of the book was slower than I would have liked. The romance was okay, and I liked that Aiden overcame his issues and loved Cami with his entire being by the end.

Interested? You can find AIDEN on Goodreads, Amazon or other outlets.

****Book Sale****
You can also find BENTLEY on sale $.99 until May 10th on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.

About the Author:
New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.

While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.

Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.

You can catch up with Melanie on her Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or sign up for her Newsletter.