A Cosmic Kind of Love

3.75stars-A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE by Samantha Young is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, romance story line focusing on thirty-five year old, US Air Force Captain and NASA Astronaut Captain Christopher Ortiz, and thirty year old, event planner Hallie Goodman.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Hallie and Christopher ) using present day and video diaries, A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE follows the building romance and relationship between thirty-five year old, US Air Force Captain and NASA Astronaut Captain Christopher Ortiz, and thirty year old, event planner Hallie Goodman. Hallie Goodman is a successful Manhattan event planner who finds herself the recipient of a series of video emails sent from Captain Christopher Ortiz, on the International Space Station, to his then fiance Darcy Hawthorne back home. Darcy is newly engaged to someone else, and is hoping Hallie will plan the events of her upcoming engagement and wedding but Darcy had unknowingly sent Hallie Captain Christopher Ortiz’s video letters to home, videos that found our heroine fantasizing about the Captain, himself. Hoping to correct any mistakes, Hallie notified Christopher’s assistant but all of her messages were returned unopened. Several months earlier Captain Christopher Ortiz returned from the ISS (International Space Station) to a less than welcoming home coming when his fiancé announced she had fallen in love with someone else but an unexpected invite to his ex’s engagement party found Christopher face to face with our story line heroine, a woman who has drawn his attention when she insisted on letting him know about the videos she had received. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Chris and Hallie, and the potential fall-out as people behind the scenes begins to manipulate our story line hero, and Hallie is caught in the middle of her parents’ toxic relationship and divorce.

Hallie Goodman is a bit of a mess; a bumbler whose accidents and antics did not endear her to her latest boyfriend. Dumped for many reasons including her choices in employment and pink hair color, Hallie places all of her focus on a successful career, a career that will push her together with the man with whom she will fall in love. Meanwhile, Hallie’s parents’ toxic relationship and subsequent divorce are pulling our heroine into the middle of their fight, a fight of which is out of control. Chris Ortiz has never been good enough for his successful father, and no matter how hard he has tried, Chris finds himself second place to his father’s business, and the brother he once loved. Meeting Hallie gave Chris a second chance at love but someone else is pulling his strings, and Christopher is caught between the woman he loves, and his inability to say no to everyone else.

The relationship between Chris and Hallie begins by accident as each finds themselves watching from the sidelines, personal videos and vlogs in which they inadvertently begin a virtual dance of attraction and love. Christopher struggles with his venomous relationship with the father he barely knows, and Hallie wants to be taken seriously for herself and her choices in life. The $ex scenes are passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Christopher’s ex-fiance Darcy Hawthorne, his father Javier Ortiz, and his mother’s sister Richelle; Hallie’s long suffering parents, her father’s girlfriend Miranda, Hallie’s best friend and co-worker Althea, and their boss Lia Zhang.

A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE is a very slow building story line that does not pick up until about sixty percent of the story line has passed, when our couple finally take their relationship to the next level. The premise is captivating and entertaining; the romance is seductive; the characters are frustrated, struggling, energetic and charismatic.

I love Samantha’s books and this one did not dissapoint. Beautifully written, cute and unique story kept me interested until the last page. I highly recommend Hallie and Chris’s story if you want a sweet and lighthearted read.