Blog Tour Review and Giveaway for Smart Move by Melanie Jacobson

The spark was undeniable the night Sandy Burke met the
devastatingly handsome Jake. Conversation flowed easily, so after they
parted, she waited eagerly for his call. It never came. A high-powered
career woman at the ripe old age of twenty-seven, Sandy feels she has
had her heart broken one too many times, and now the redheaded
trendsetter is facing a major quarter-life crisis. After some
introspection, Sandy determines that helping others may be the key to
helping herself. When she’s presented with a job offer in Washington,
DC, as the director of New Horizons, a nonprofit organization benefiting
women in poverty, it seems providential. But now that she’s moved, two
major obstacles threaten the success of her first assignment: The first
is her mother and her constant fog of less-than helpful New Age advice.
Secondly, plans to build another New Horizons outreach center have come
to a screeching halt, thanks to the interference of a pesky lawyer and
his attempts to reverse zoning approval for the building project. After
weeks of verbal sparring over the phone, Sandy is in for a shock when
she comes face-to-face with her foe. The smooth voice at the other end
of the line is a heartwrenching blast from the past. In this twist of
fate, Sandy sees the perfect opportunity to ensure the success of the
outreach center and to enact a little payback on this man she thought
she’d left behind. And so the battle of wits begins. Will Sandy’s
flirt-to-convert plot sway her nemesis’s determination to block the
center, or will his charming and undeniably attractive ways convince the
sassy redhead to give love a second chance?

My Review: 

Sandy’s heart was broken a year ago. With her new move back East to the Washington D.C. area she has a chance to start anew in her life. Little does she know the reason for her heartache has also moved back East to the same town. They soon meet again and sparks fly as they clash in business and in love.

Melanie Jacobson has written a strong character in Sandy Burke who is confident in life, but not necessarily in love. Sandy grew up with a distant mother and an absent father. Trust issues are huge for her and she has built a wall around her heart. Along comes Jake who with his good looks, impeccable style and brains to boot, and this successful lawyer will do anything to win her heart.

I always love the humor that is infused in Melanie’s books. Even with serious issues, her characters seem to find funny things happening to them. One of the most humorous things in the book is when Sandy gets stuck in a cabinet with her behind sticking out.

Ten seconds later, Magdalena’s voice,sounding strangely hollow to her inside the cabinet, asked, “Why is your bottom sticking out of the cabinet Sand Dollar?”

Please let her be alone, Sandy begged silently.

A choking noise that masked a laugh told her that her Ridiculous Situation guardian angel was currently off duty.

“Yes, Sand Dollar,” Jake said from above her. “Why? And how can we help?”

A burn crept up her neck and face. “I’m dusting.”

The other thing I loved in this book was the witty dialogue between Sandy and Jake…

She offered him a slow, mysterious smile, determined to restore some lightness to the evening. “If it makes you feel better, being near you does cause me some serious issues.”

He leaned closer and coked his head, morphing in an instant from goofy to sexy. “Like what, ” he drawled. 

She closed the gap between them until a mere breath separated them. “I have to tell the truth,” she whispered. “being this close to you is hard. I feel this overwhelming urge to…”

“What?” he whispered back.

“Kick you.”

There was a moment of silence, and then he burst out laughing again. When he pulled himself together, he gave her hair a playful tug. “Leave it to me to find the perfect woman and have her hate me.”

There is so much more for you to read, enjoy and laugh about. There are some serious moments as she tries to heal her relationship with her new-age mother, Magdalena. Smart Move is different from Melanie’s other books in that the characters seemed more mature, but this didn’t take away any of the appeal that is always there in a Melanie Jacobson book.  I liked this novel and every fan of Melanie’s will love this new book too!

Guess what? USA readers have a chance to win a paperback copy of Smart Move. I know it’s hard to contain your excitement! I felt the same way when Melanie asked me to be part of the blog tour! Enter in the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Purchase your own copy of Smart Move here.

About the Author:

Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid
reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She consumes astonishing
amounts of chocolate, chick flicks, and romance
novels. After meeting her husband online, she is now living happily
married in Southern California with her growing family and a series of
doomed houseplants. Melanie is a former English teacher and a popular
speaker who loves to laugh and make others laugh. In her down time
(ha!), she writes romantic comedies for Covenant and maintains her
humorous slice-of-life blog. Visit Melanie on her website or blog.