Love to Win is the third book in the Fireflies series but it is a stand-alone book with no cliffhanger. This is such a wonderful book and series that I highly recommend starting with the first two, especially if you like to read series in order. You won’t feel lost, however, if you just want to start with Love to Win. Each book centers around a specific couple and the previous couples, along with other secondary characters, appear in all of the stories. I devoured this book, as I did the first two, and I think this might be my favorite of the three stories.Brenna and Dante always seem to be at odds with each other and she just doesn’t care for him; she calls him the “Neanderthal.” They live next door to each other and it seems that anything Dante does irritates Brenna to no end. Both of them are very competitive and they are pitted against each other in a fund raising contest to help their town hire a police officer. For one of the Truth or Dare challenges they have to kiss and, much as she wants to, Brenna doesn’t hate it.

Brenna and Dante are forced to work together to save the day when disaster strikes at their best friends’ wedding. When Dante performs a heroic action Brenna begins to soften and decides that she may have been mistaken about him for all these years.

This book made me smile and laugh and cry big, fat, ugly tears – always my favorite kind of story. Dante is any woman’s dream come true – he cooks, he cleans and he’s kind to people and animals. As Brenna learns more about him she can’t help but change her feelings and ends up falling head over heels in love with him. With both Dante and Brenna finally on the same page their love grows stronger until Brenna makes a stupid mistake that Dante can’t forgive.

Dante’s reaction to Brenna’s “mistake” seems way over the top until we learn more about his past. I still wanted to shake him at times and tell him to wake up before he loses Brenna for good. Fortunately, Brenna isn’t a quitter and she’s prepared to fight for her man. This conflict between the two was heartbreaking but it was also wonderful to see it resolved.

The sexual tension in this book is delicious but not explicit and the use of four letter words is minimal – kind of refreshing. I would not label this as “sweet” but it’s also one that I would not hesitate to recommend to just about anyone who loves a good romance.

Ms. Claro’s writing just flows and her descriptive prose kept me glued to my ereader. I was not happy when I had to put the book aside for a bit to attend to family matters. When I picked it up again I didn’t stop reading until I finished it at 3:40 a.m. Thank goodness I’m retired and I didn’t have to go to work later that morning.

I think the Fireflies series could easily spawn several other books, much like the Lucky Harbor stories from Jill Shalvis or the Fools Gold series by Susan Mallery. For my money Ms. Claro’s writing is every bit as rich and satisfying as those two authors whose work I also love.

Reviews for Lisa Ricard Claro

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Fireflies

Love Built to Last, Book 1

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Love to Believe, Book 2

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