Always My Girl by Samantha Chase

Sometimes the love that’s closest to you is the hardest to see.

Quinn Shaughnessy’s two older brothers have found their true loves … but Quinn’s not about to join that parade. Nope, as he tells his best friend Anna, there’s a lot more to life than getting tied down to one person. He’s positive tomboy Anna will be on his side — except she’s inexplicably developing other interests — even dating! Suddenly Quinn is seeing Anna in a very different light.

Quinn has been Anna’s buddy since they were both five years old. She can tell him anything — except the one big secret she’s been hiding for years — that she’s fallen in love with him. Now Anna is determined to make a life for herself that doesn’t include pining for Quinn. Falling in love with your best friend? Easy. Telling them how you really feel? Impossible.

‘Um…is that one of your friends from Arizona? Aidan didn’t mention anyone being here yet.” He took a couple of steps past Zoe, a grin slowly appearing on his face as he appreciated the curvy, half- naked woman on the chaise. She was wearing a tiny blue bikini and was all tanned limbs.
“Uh…Quinn? Zoe began.
Quinn sat down on the chaise Zoe had vacated and cleared his throat. “Hey, he said smoothly. ‘I’m Quinn, Aidan’s brother.
Anna turned over, the large floppy hat falling behind her.
Quinn quickly stood and stumbled and fell backward over Zoe’s chaise. ‘Holy shit! Anna? He slowly came to his feet. What the hell? 

Always My Girl is a superbly written- character driven novel. Samantha Chase has created an imperfect hero in her third Shaughnessy Brothers book. Quinn is the self- absorbed, oh, so charming brother who is annoying and opinionated. A former race car driver, Quinn has returned home and opened a series of car repair and restoration shops. His focus is on his career. Restoring a friend’s classic cars will bring prestige and future business to his shop. In order to gain a lucrative account, will Quinn put family or his business relationships first?

Samantha Chase is known for her unique characters, their real life issues and dialogue. Quinn is my least favorite of the Shaughnessy clan. I didn’t appreciate how he treated Anna or his siblings. The author does a fabulous job with Quinn’s backstory which helped me understand this complex character. Loved the conversation between Quinn and Ian—this heartfelt, emotional talk brought to light Quinn’s relationship with his mother and provided Ian the opportunity to give Quinn a swift kick in the butt. This conversation was deftly written—just the right amount of humor and frank talk—not too preachy. Ian made Quinn think about his choices. 

Anna Harrington is more than the girl-next-door. She is the heart of the Quinn family. She is always there when Quinn, Zoe, Aidan or Darcy need her. Anna realizes she needs to move on and start living for herself, and that takes courage. As Anna decides to re-enter the dating scene, the author includes several well -written dramatic scenes that made an impression on me. The novel portrays Quinn and Anna’s journey from friendship to lovers in an honest, touching way. Samantha Chace stays true to the character of Quinn and the path to happiness for the couple follows quite a bumpy road. Always My Girl is different take on the typical friends to lovers story and it works! 

If you are looking for a captivating romance with great characters, pick up Always My Girl! 

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Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Since then, she has published seventeen more titles and has become a New York Times and USA Todaybestselling author. She lives with her husband of twenty-four years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Reviewed By: Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the publisher.

Graphic provided by the author.