SOMEBODY TO LOVE – Lori Wilde
A Cupid, Texas Novel
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-221898-8
January 2014
Contemporary Romance

Cupid, Texas – Present Day

Best friends since childhood, Zoey McCleary and Jericho Chance bonded by their mutual lack of parents (hers died in a plane crash and his prefer to live in another country), and the fact that they can about talk to each other about anything. But Jericho now feels tongue-tied around Zoey because the one thing he wants to tell her is that he has romantic feelings for her. Does she have any clue that he wants to be more than friends? After he is hired by a local college to head an archeological dig on property owned by the McCleary family, one of the stipulations is that he cannot do anything inappropriate, such as getting involved with a student. So when Zoey signs on as one of his students, Jericho figures it's going to be a long, painful job.

Zoey is seen by her family as someone who can't finish anything she starts, so she is eager to prove them wrong by joining Jericho and the rest of the students on the dig. Of course, she wishes Jericho would look at her as more than his best friend, yet she would hate to lose their friendship. Yet the chemistry sizzles between them and one thing leads to another, and soon they can barely keep their hands off one another. Will Jericho break this contract before the dig is over? Will they find something significant while digging around? It's McCleary land, but are there secrets that are best left buried?

SOMEBODY TO LOVE is a return to Cupid, Texas for readers of Lori Wilde's series, and it features the flighty Zoey McCleary and her best friend Jericho Chance. Zoey has flitted from one thing to another, and her family despairs that she'll ever settle down, so she is out to prove them wrong by signing up for Jericho's archeological dig. Zoey's distant cousin, Marcus Winz Smith, holds all the cards on what they can and cannot do on the property, yet she can't resist trying to bend the rules, with Jericho going crazy trying to make her toe the line. It's a clash of wills that soon turns to passion. Zoey wants Jericho as more than friends, and he keeps her at arm's length, but will the wall of Jericho soon come tumbling down?

A cute, amusing tale, SOMEBODY TO LOVE is filled with playful banter between Zoey and Jericho, as he is her straight man in contrast to her spur of the moment personality. When they clash, the sparks fly and the chemistry heats up hotter than a jalapeño, and that makes for some hard to put down reading. Both want to do the right thing, yet it is good old-fashioned lust that gets the better of them in SOMEBODY TO LOVE.  Plenty of secondary characters, such as Zoey's aunts and cousin Lace (from ALL OUT OF LOVE), make this tale a feel good read to enjoy. But before you reach the end, Jericho and Zoey have to almost lose one another before they realize how love is the most important thing in the world.

For an enjoyable friends-to-lovers romance, grab a copy of SOMEBODY TO LOVE.

Patti Fischer