Blog Tour Review & Excerpt | Two Date Rule by Tawna Fenske

My request to join this blog tour was completely on a whim. I’ve never read anything by Tawna Fenske before, but the synopsis was too adorable to resist.

So I didn’t!

That’s why I’ve got the opportunity to share this book, my review, and an excerpt with all of you!

Thanks so much to A Novel Take PR for inviting me on the tour!

Two Date Rule by Tawna Fenske
Smokejumper #1
Contemporary Romance
Entangled: Amara | February 25, 2020

About the Book: Willa Frank has one simple rule: never go on a date with anyone more than twice. Now that her business is providing the stability she’s always needed, she can’t afford distractions. Her two-date rule will protect her just fine…until she meets smokejumper Grady Billman.

After one date—one amazing, unforgettable date—Grady isn’t ready to call it quits, despite his own no-attachments policy, and he’s found a sneaky way around both their rules.

Throwing gutter balls with pitchers of beer? Not a real date. Everyone knows bowling doesn’t count.

Watching a band play at a local show? They just happen to have the same great taste in music. Definitely not a date.

Hiking? Nope. How can exercise be considered a date?

With every “non-date” Grady suggests, his reasoning gets more ridiculous, and Willa must admit she’s having fun playing along. But when their time together costs Willa two critical clients, it’s clear she needs to focus on the only thing that matters—her future. And really, he should do the same.

But what is she supposed to do with a future that looks gray without Grady in it?

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Two Date Rule was as cute as I expected it to be. Grady and Willa had amazing chemistry right from the beginning, and an adorable banter to boot.

Initially I worried the chemistry between the two characters would be too lusty. There was a lot of time spent talking about swaying bums, hard abs, and breasts, which is all fine provided it eventually leads to chemistry in the heart. Contemporary romance only works for me if the love is emotional, not physical.

I got a big ole sappy heart, ready to be full.

Grady brought the romance though, consistently. His non-date idea’s were fantastic, especially because they were so ridiculous. Mini Golf can’t be a date because it’s nerdy. Hiking can’t be a date, because it’s exercise. Netflix and chill can’t be a date, because no money is spent… right, Grady! Sure!

Every single interaction between them was a date.

By the end of the book I needed these two characters to be together. I wanted them to not hurt each other. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t see each others fears.

In the end I felt like everything was resolved. Mostly. It’s possible there’s room for a sequel, or a smaller bit part in another Smokejumper book. At least I’m hoping so, because I’d really love to read more about Grady and Willa.

She closed her mouth, then opened it again. “If I go to dinner with you, you’ll have us into a bathroom in less than two minutes?”
“Yes.”
“Deal.”
Grady started to stick out his hand, then thought better of it. He really should have scrubbed up before coming here. His nails were caked with soot and dirt that he hadn’t been able to get rid of at that campground water pump. He needed at least a twelve-hour shower.
But the brunette grabbed his hand anyway, lifting an eyebrow at the sight of the ash-smeared chest of his T-shirt. “Nice touch,” she said. “A tad over-the- top maybe, but I like the attention to detail.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Okay, Smokey the Bare—”
“Huh?”
Her smile turned a little sheepish. “Bare—you know, because, um, you bare it all for a living?”
He stared at her, realization seeping slowly into his subconscious. Five nights of sleeping on the ground might have dulled his brain, but he was slowly catching on.
Did this woman actually believe—
“You think I’m a stripper.” He should probably be annoyed but could only muster up flattered.

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA Award finalist, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, step-kids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com. To learn more about all of Tawna’s books, visit www.tawnafenske.com