'Til There Was U by Dianne Castell

Cute, simple contemporary. Nothing earth-shattering here, but it was sweet. This is the first in a trilogy (I think, anyways) about the three O'Fallon brothers and a baby that a woman involved with their father left with them. So there's an over-arcing storyline involving finding the baby's mother.

Workaholic Ryan O'Fallon has made his name as an architect in a top San Diego firn in more ways than one. One the job, he's the go-to guy who can face down the toughest client without flinching. Off the job, he's got a rep for playing the field. The company lunchroom odds give his average relationship a whopping ten weeks and two days. And nobody knows better than Effie Wilson, Ryan's coworker and competitor. After all, she's won the last two pools on his lack-of-love life and has the Gucci shoes to prove it. Ryan may be Mr. Cal and Cool in the boardroom, but when Effie's around, he starts to sweat.

As if things weren't tense enough, Ryan's dad needs him at home just as Ryan's biggest project is taking off. There's no way Ryan won't help out his dad, but he's not about to let Effie stay and take all the credit. The only things to do is to bring her with him to Tennessee so they can work together. Now back in O'Fallon's Landing, with its slow, easy days and long, steamy nights, Effie's letting her hair down big time, going from a buttoned-up businesswoman into a full-fledged, no-holds-barred force of nature...the kind that's turning Ryan's world upside down and putting anything but business on his mind...


I enjoyed this. Like I said before, there's nothing really spectacular here, but it is a nice straightforward contemporary romance with just a hint of added steam. Not that much, to be honest. Which is fine. Effie and Ryan work well together and the thing that sorta keeps them apart is rather believable. And well, there aren't any big misunderstandings or anything like that.

I did have some issues with the whole baby storyline and how it was sorta forgotten in the ending, yet it's obvious that's the thing that keeps going throughout the trilogy. It didn't have anything to do with the romance at that point, so I sorta understand why it wasn't dealt with further.

I checked this one out from the library and will probably do the same with the next one. But I will read the next one.

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