The Two-Date Rule

This is book 1 in a new series and it is off to a good start. The story is emotional on so many levels. Fear of commitment. Fear of failure. Fear of poverty. Fear that there might not be a tomorrow. Both Willa and Grady have these fears and so many more. Willa is a planner. Her life is scheduled and organized for fear of ending up like her father with nothing; no stability, no job, and at times no home. Grady, on the other hand, lives for the here and now for fear something might happen on a jump and he won't be here tomorrow.

The fears are real and both need to come to terms with why they have these fears and what can they do about them.

Growing up in a single parent home and being an only child, I related to Willa. You grow up fast, learning to be the parent at times. You learn how to budget very quickly and how to make the most of the money you have. You learn to do activities with little to no cost. And when you want a splurge, you learn to save for it. You learn to put money away, because you just don't know what might happen in the future. It becomes a way of life and it is hard to break those habits. Just ask my husband. Even now, we coupon shop and save our coins. I did not experience most of the challenges that Willa did, but it reminded me of growing up.

Willa’s upbringing was a rough one. There was never enough money for anything. The one thing she promised herself was that she would never live that life again. She’s worked hard to get her business going and profitable. So if she works seven days a week, so be it. Willa also has a rule about dating, a two-date rule, that is. She figures this way there will be no attachments, since she can’t work a relationship into her busy life. Well, that’s until she meets Grady, a smokejumper.

Grady loves his life, being a smokejumper. Putting out fires is what all the men in his family have always done. During the winter months he works the west coast of the US, during the summers he goes to Australia. One thing for sure, he doesn’t have time for relationships, that is, until he meets Willa.

Asking Willa out was a no brained, however, when she told him her two-date rule, he went along with it. Except that he had so much fun with her, that now he’s coming up with silly outings just so she can’t call them dates. When Willa loses out on a major deal for her business, she blames her relationship with Grady. Knowing that her business has to be the most important part of her life, Willa breaks up with him. Now she’s having second thoughts. Can she live her life without love.

Really good book, truly enjoyable.
I received a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts with a hilarious case of mistaken identity. I loved the first interaction between Willa and Grady.

Willa and Grady's story is a lot of hilarious but with their backgrounds, also a lot of angst. No-strings should have been easy for two people who avoid commitment like it's s some kind of disease but of course that's not the way their story goes.

This is an awesome start to this new series and I can't wait for the next one!!