Stay With Me -- More of Me (The Montgomery Brothers) by Samantha Chase

I am enjoying reading each book in the Montgomery series by author Samantha Chase. This is a perfect series to read at the beach or on summer vacation. Each book contains well paced storylines interesting characters and fabulous dialogue. William Montgomery is the central character in all of the Montgomery books. He has a new passion-- finding spouses for his sons, nephews and nieces! His matchmaking skills are tested in Stay With Me and More of Me!

Stay With Me is a very emotional, compelling story of love and forgiveness. It's my personal favorite in the series (so far). I adored the hero workaholic Mackenzie Montgomery and his heroine Gina Micelli. Their story is a twist on the opposites attract trope.

Gina travels to North Carolina to visit with her terminally ill father Arthur Micelli who is William Montgomery's best friend. Gina settles in in the Montgomery guesthouse to be near the hospital.

Before heading out of town, William gives his oldest son Mac an ultimatum. He is to leave the office by 5pm or take an extended leave of absence. William asks Mac to check in on Gina while he is away. Mac shows up at the guesthouse with pizza and beer and forgets all about work when he sees Gina by the pool in her bikini!

Samantha Chase takes a potentially heartbreaking situation and provides the characters with a positive life lesson. Gina is given a huge gift by her father; the opportunity for happiness. During their conversations at the hospital, Arthur encourages Gina to figure out what she wants to do--not what others expect her to do. This part of the book was very emotional and well - written. The honest Father- Daughter discussions brought tears to my eyes. Loved the conversations between Gina and Mac. They took time to listen and appreciate each other and became friends over hamburgers, French fries and shakes. Mac is impacted by this lesson as well. He realizes that he is looking forward to spending time with Gina and his family and learns that there is more to life than Montgomery Industries.

The last few chapters of this full length novel are well-paced and superbly crafted. I was invested in the characters and their story and finished the book in an afternoon. The conflict, characters, dialogue and storyline were spot on. Enjoyed how Mac's parents and brothers and their brides were woven into the story as it added to the continuity of the series, I found the ending rewarding and absolutely loved Mac's grand gesture!! He remembered! (With a little help!)

William Montgomery asks his nephew Ryder Montgomery to meet with wedding planner Casey Peterson in More of Me. I enjoyed this classic second chance at romance. It's a fun story filled with passion and fabulous characters and is a perfect beach read!

Ryder meets former girlfriend Casey while jogging on the beach. He is unaware that his uncle has suggested that Ryder step in due to a family crisis and decide on his cousins wedding venue. Ryder feels guilty because he ended things with Casey badly when they broke up twelve years ago. He's very attracted to Casey and decides to use this opportunity to win back Casey's heart.

Samantha Chase infuses More of Me with a lot of great dialogue and quirky characters. I loved the fact that when Ryder saw Casey with her partner's baby, he mistakenly assumed it was Casey's child. Ryder stressed over this for a few days. And Casey let him stew! My favorite scene in the novel occurred when Casey and Ryder were observing a wedding venue. Two elderly guests, Minnie and Izzy, find Ryder and Casey hiding by the a big potted plant and accuse the couple of hanky panky at their nieces wedding and suggest that they get a room! Ryder explains that there is no hanky panky going on-it's all about business and mentions that Casey is married. The aunts take Casey's side in the situation when she explains her side if the story. The aunts invite the couple to sit at their table at the wedding reception. The conversations between the aunts (there are a total of five), Casey and Ryder are loud out loud funny.

More of Me is an enjoyable, light read told with lots of style and humor. I love a great second chance at love story. Enjoyed how the couple talked through (with the Aunts help!) what happened when Ryder left Casey. I felt it was important that Casey admitted she was hurt and wasn't sure if she could trust Ryder. I appreciated that couple needed to learn to trust each other and that it would take time and effort to succeed. Loved, loved the ending of the novel as it provided a few surprises for Ryder and Casey and it introduces the reader to the Montgomery cousins.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman
Book provided by Samantha Chase
Book, poster and book marks provided by Samantha Chase.

Contest Question:

What is your favorite type of romance novel?? Second chance at love, Opposites attract, Friends to lovers or Instant attraction?

For a chance to win a copy of Stay with Me and More of Me, a poster and bookmarks, please provide both your answer and email address below in the comments section.

The winner will be drawn on Saturday, June 6 , 2015 and contacted by Susan Gorman.

Lady Celeste would like to thank Samantha Chase for providing the gifts for our contest!

Meant for You --- Samantha Chase

Lady Celeste Interviews author Samantha Chase

LC: I loved the Alaska setting in Meant For You. It seemed like the perfect spot for a romantic hideaway. have you ever visited Alaska?

SC : Unfortunately, I have not. However, it is actually a dream vacation that my husband and I are planning so the timing worked out great for the research. It's one of those bucket list trips!

LC: Summer has many interests. Dog walking, yoga, hiking--are these things you like to do?

SC: Summer is way more outdoorsy than I am, I'm ashamed to say! I do enjoy some of the hobbies she does but, just the really scaled back versions. She's the woman I wish I could be.

LC: Zach and Gabriella---- Is there a book in the works for them?

SC: YES!! And I am super excited for it! It's actually written and in the first round of edits. You can expect to see it on the shelves this December and it's called THERE FOR YOU.

William Montgomery sets another one of his matchmaking plans in motion when he suggests that his niece Summer relocate to the company's Portland, Oregon office. Summer's father, Robert is not too thrilled with the idea at first but agrees to let his daughter learn more about the family business.

Meant For You is the fifth book in Samantha Chase's Montgomery series. It's a delightful, well crafted, character driven romance. I fell in love with the four main characters: Summer, her brother Zach, Zach's best friend Ethan and Gabriella, Zach's assistant in the first chapter.

The Portland office of Montgomery Enterprises is in turmoil. Company president Zach Montgomery is about to leave on a mountain climbing trip when he learns that his sister Summer has left Portland for a weekend getaway. Both Ethan and Gabriella remind Zach that he and Summer have been arguing non -stop about business and whether or not Zach should go on the mountain climbing trip. Zach, who refers to Summer as a "corporate Barbie", assumes the worst and suggests to Ethan and Gabriella that flighty Summer has gone away for the weekend with a boyfriend. Ethan offers to find Summer while Zach gets ready for his trip. Ethan locates Summer at a rustic retreat and discovers that her date is actually her puppy, a three month old pug named Maylene.

Ethan and Summer discuss Zach and the climbing trip:

"Most people go through life too scared to take a risk." he continued.

"I don't want to have any regrets and neither does Zach."

"Tell me that you understand. Would you be able to live with yourself if you never took any risks?"

"You're right Ethan." She said quietly. "Everyone needs to take risks."

"Exactly, I am glad that you agree."

"Oh, I do." She said right before she stood up on her toes, wrapped her arms around Ethan's neck and pressed her lips to his.


The kiss changes everything. Ethan realizes the depth of his feelings for Summer. He realizes that he has kept his feelings for Summer to himself for fear of not being good enough for her or her over protective family. Ethan decides not to go on the climbing trip with Zach and chooses to spend time in Alaska to sort through his feelings. Summer and Gabriella decide to vacation in Alaska as well.

I wondered if Gabriella was working on William's matching team as the three of them end up staying at the same resort. Gabriella encourages Summer to take a chance and explore her feelings towards Ethan.

Each one of the characters is appealing and I loved that the author had four strong lead characters in the book. The focus was on Summer and Ethan but each of the characters were well developed and played an important role in the story. I adored the character of Summer Montgomery. She is a warm friendly person who observes people and gets to know them on a personal level. This is an asset in a corporate environment which her older brother Zach chooses to ignore. Summer has many strengths and is trying to prove herself and find her place in the Montgomery family and in the family business. Zach is an independent risk taker who is used to being in charge. He dismisses Summer and her suggestions because she doesn't agree with him. Ethan is struggling to figure out who he is. Is he independent, a risk taker or just Zach's friend and follower? Gabriella is a fabulous character. She is smart, organized and a loyal friend.

Both the characters and the storylines in Meant For You held my interest. I read the book in two afternoons. The story was well paced, contained great dialogue and the romance was well written. I enjoyed the story, especially the ending where Summer surprised every male Montgomery! Yay!

Kudos to Samantha Chase for creating such a fabulous character!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by Sourcebooks.

Graphic provided by Samantha Chase.