Only Mine, by Susan Mallery

Only Mine (Fool's Gold #4)
Susan Mallery

Publisher: HQN
Release Date: July 26, 2011
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5/5 (Avg 4/5)

You can’t win if you don’t play…

Her town’s lack of men may make headlines, but it isn’t news to Dakota Hendrix. The beautiful blonde has bigger problems to deal with, such as overseeing the romance reality competition filming in Fool’s Gold. Screening eligible bachelors is a difficult enough task, but Dakota hits an unexpected snag when a sexy stranger comes to town.

Finn Anderssen will do anything to keep his twin brothers—the perfect contestants—off the show. Despite Dakota’s better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious outsider. Like her, Finn knows about heartbreak and how a family can fall apart, so she doesn’t dare to hope for anything more than a fling. After all, even in the Land of Happy Endings, finding true love is never as easy as it looks on TV.

FYI for anyone that reads my blog, this is most definitely not a YA read. Every once in a while, I step away from YA to read some quality fiction reads, and this is one of those times.

I haven't read any of the books in the Fool's Gold series before this one, but I can definitely say that I will be sure to remedy that soon. On the same note, even though I've never read any of the books before, this book was easy to read as a stand-alone and I was never once confused for reading the books out of turn.

If there ever was such a place as Fool's Gold, I would most definitely want to visit there.. if not move there. Even though the main part of this story was about one specific girl, there was this overwhelming sense of community with all of the characters from this town - everyone knows each other and, in seeing so, it makes you feel as though you know them too. Plus, all of the characters, no matter how minor, really sprung to life off of the pages of this book. There were all unique with their own voice and personality. I loved it.

Dakota is a female lead that you won't soon forget. She's smart, funny and very charming... yet she has a vulnerable side, too. She's a real go-getter and her sense of independence is absolutely mind-boggling. I love how her attitude is really, "I would like to have a husband, but I don't need a husband to be able to have a great life," unlike most characters that either don't need a man at all or are completely dependent on a man. She's the perfect role model for a strong woman in control of her life. And I did fall in love with Finn right along with Dakota. He was pretty great. Independent himself, though he had a few selfish streaks that I could have done without. In the end, he made things right, so I won't be too upset with him.

There was definitely a bit of the reality show storyline thrown in but I really liked how the book concentrated on Dakota more than anything. Plus, we also get some perspective and growth on some of the other characters as well, which really add another layer to the story that made it that much more enjoyable. This is definitely a great read for all of the romance lovers out there. I will definitely be picking up more from Susan Mallery, especially the other books in her Fool's Gold series.

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Also, be sure to enter Susan's Only Mine... All Mine contest for an exclusive first look at the Fool's Gold Christmas ebook and a Man Shortage shirt! Click the banner below and be sure to sign up for Susan's newsletter to become a member. All it takes is an e-mail address and a zip code! Offer ends September 1, 2011!

Interview with Susan Mallery

Susan Mallery
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Books:
· Delicious (February 2006) Buchanans Series
· Sweet Talk (July 2008) Bakery Sisters Series
· Under Her Skin (May 2009) Lone Star Sisters Series
· The Sparkling One (February 2010) Marcelli Series
· Chasing Perfect (May 2010) Fool's Gold Series
More books by Susan Mallery...


Out Now:
· Only Mine (July 2011) Fool's Gold Series

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How did you come into writing?
I had always imagined writers wore berets and smoked and lived in dark, danky apartments in Paris until I took an evening course called “How to Write a Romance Novel” while in college. A recruiter had lined up an excellent job for me as an accountant. When I told him I had decided to become a romance writer instead, he said he had always wanted to be a writer, too, but had been afraid to try. He told me that he would help me find a different job in a year if it didn’t work out, and that gave me the courage to take the leap.


"Best-selling Author, Susan Mallery." What is your reaction when you see this?
I’m humbled. You don’t become a bestseller without a lot of amazing fans. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, and my fans have been telling their friends about me from the beginning. It means the world to me. This year, I’m doing something really fun – I’ve selected 25 fans to be the Fool’s Gold Varsity Cheerleaders. They’re doing what they love to do – talking books with people who love to read – and they’re earning prizes as they go along. It’s pretty fabulous, and their enthusiasm makes me feel giddy. They are so sweet!


You've written many books. Where do you find fresh inspiration for your future books?
I find inspiration everywhere. Country songs are a great source of inspiration. So are stories on National Public Radio. And the evening news. And eavesdropping on conversations in the ladies room – oh wait, did I just admit that? It’s true, though. Watch what you’re saying when a writer is around. You never know what snippet might end up in a book.

Ideas are easy to come by for me. The real trick is identifying which of those ideas are big enough to sustain a book. An author needs to find ideas with many layers and infinite possibilities for where the story could go, so that the path she chooses is unpredictable to her readers. My stories are emotional with a lot of humor, and it’s the emotional choices my characters make that I find so fascinating.


How did you come up with your Fool's Gold series?
I knew I wanted to create a series based on a place. In the past, I’d written series based on a family, so once I ran out of siblings, I ran out of stories. Readers kept asking me for more in every series. They loved that sense of connection, and they wanted it to go on. By creating a series based on a place, I can continue to write books in the series as long as readers love them and as long as I find inspiration there.

The place itself needed to have a strong identity. As I was brainstorming the series, I heard a story about the then-upcoming 2010 census, about everything a town can discover about itself from census results. I wondered, “What if there was a man shortage?”

So Fool’s Gold was born… the town with the man shortage. But instead of making the women eager to get more men to town, I tweaked reader expectations and made the women strong, self-sufficient, and kind of crabby that anyone would think they need more men. They can run the town just fine without men. Which means that any men who do move to Fool’s Gold have to earn the right to live there. . . and they have to earn the hearts of the women they love.


What would you tell the reader about Only Mine that separates it from the rest of the series?
Each book in the series is a standalone novel, meaning that you won’t get lost if you read them out of order. As ONLY MINE begins, a TV dating show is about to film in Fool’s Gold. Psychologist Dakota Hendrix, one of the Hendrix triplets, has been assigned by the mayor to keep unbalanced contestants off the show so Fool’s Gold won’t look stupid. Between her job and hiding an emotional secret from her mother and sisters, Dakota has plenty on her plate. The last thing she needs is an angry, rugged Alaskan pilot in her face. Finn Anderssen isn’t going to leave Fool’s Gold without his fame-seeking younger brothers, who belong in college, not on TV.

You can read free excerpts at www.foolsgoldca.com. You’ll find lots of freebies and fun bonus content there, too!


Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
Next year, three yummy cowboy brothers will move to Fool’s Gold. The year after that, a bodyguard academy will open up on the edges of town. Who doesn’t love cowboys and bodyguards? I’m all a-tingle!

In addition to the romances, I also write one non-romance women’s fiction per year. These books are more serious, more emotional, and they give me the opportunity to spend more time on the other relationships that are so important to women. My next women’s fiction, BAREFOOT SEASON, will be out in April. It’s the first book of a new series set on quaint Blackberry Island, Washington.