AVERAGE JOE

In this opposites-attract romance, an ex-con and an entrepreneur find sizzling chemistry and much more.

Marley Masters is a beautiful, single woman with a past full of toxic men, both father figures and exes. But thanks to a genius business idea—Pink Sweets, a chain of coffee stands with attractive, scantily clad baristas, Marley among them—she has her own home in Seattle and a kind neighbor, Alice, with a beautiful garden (“Her yard was her pride, and that rose garden, her joy”). When Marley is tending to the garden while Alice is in the hospital, she encounters Joe Kaine, a muscle-bound biker with an attitude. It turns out that he is Alice’s beloved nephew and beneficiary—she has died and left Joe her home, so he is now Marley’s new neighbor. Though Joe’s recently out of prison, he and Marley bond over their grief and kick off a red-hot sexual affair. But Marley’s reluctant to jump into a relationship with yet another bad boy who will break her heart and leave. Meanwhile, both Marley and Joe may be in over their heads. Local sleazebag and strip-club owner Johan Harper has his eyes on Marley’s business, not to mention the entrepreneur herself, and Joe discovers that his sweet aunt might have had some secrets of her own when he finds a cache of valuable, stolen jewelry among her belongings. Can Marley and Joe make their relationship work despite the increasingly dangerous surroundings? In this series opener, Daniels alternates Marley’s and Joe’s perspectives, making for a well-rounded narrative that’s also extremely sexy, as the protagonists find themselves in bed more often than not. Marley is stubborn and guarded, but readers will gradually learn she has reasons for both, and the friendships and career she’s built for herself are as admirable as her sassy demeanor. Though Joe is often endearing, taking in an ugly rescue dog named Ginger and talking about how much his aunt meant to him, he also has recurring jealousy issues and frequently doesn’t hear the word nowhen it comes to seducing Marley. In addition, the book is lengthier than it should be for the first installment of a series.

A fun contemporary love story that’s a bit too long.