Friday 24 July 2015

Review - City Beautiful by CM Foss


Title: City Beautiful
Author: CM Foss
Release Date: June 26, 2015


Patrick Thompson is all city, all the time. A young doctor, once full of passion, now disillusioned by the practice, he sets off across the country, intent on a small breather before a fresh start.

Ivy Lang loves the country way. So much so that she’s created a place where others can experience her ideas of the fundamentals for both mind and body. The life is perfect for her, carefully cultivated by her own hands.

He’s waiting for something to inspire him.

She finds inspiration all around her.

But when a chance meeting turns their worlds upside down, can they come together to create something beautiful?






This book. OH MY GOODNESS. THIS BOOK. It literally made my heart swoon, then broke it all to little pieces, and then slowly put it back together again. 

After having endured a hard life, Ivy is finally where she wants to be. She is running an inn, living on her land and animals, and content as can be. Until one night…

“And what else could one night be?”
“One night?” She cocked her head at me. “One night could change everything.”

And that one night sure did change everything for both her and Patrick. The two of them together were fantastic. Ivy is so feisty, confident and sure of herself, while Patrick is the complete opposite, just trying to figure out what he wants. 

“I did not have a stick up my ass.”
“You kind of did.”
“You fell for it.”
She snorted and shoved at me shoulder. “I kind of did.”

I have read all of CM Foss’ work so far and this is by far her best book. I LOVED IT!! It made me laugh A LOT, it made me cry A LOT, and it made me swoon A LOT. Plus, it was sassy and sexy! I adored the entire cast of characters, especially Connie and Luke. I look forward to many more books from Ms. Foss! 
~ Review by Tiffany

Wow.

CM Foss has completely outdone herself. From almost the first page, this book had me smiling goofily at my Kindle and occasionally (frequently) giggling out loud like a blushing schoolgirl. Ivy and Patrick were so adorably awkward, quirky and strange. My heart wrapped itself around them almost immediately.

Patrick is a big city doctor in the process of transplanting himself from Dallas to New York. Ivy is a reformed big city dweller who has made her living off the land (basically) in the middle of nowhere. Their introduction was unconventional, hilarious, and – like the characters themselves – quirky. 

This was not love at first sight. Patrick comes off as a high maintenance douchebag and Ivy might be a little crazy. Somehow, despite all the reasons they shouldn’t work, they wind up spending the day and then the night together and oh – does it ever work. Big. Goofy. Grin. 

“Come with me. I’m gonna make you the best meal you’ve ever had. It’s gonna change your life.”
“One dinner is going to change my life?”
I smirked at him. “With me it will.”

The statement wasn’t intended to be prophetic, but neither Ivy nor Patrick could have predicted how they’d ultimately change each other’s lives.

This story. It made me fall in love. It left me sitting there with that stupid dopey grin on my face, laughing and highlighting all the sweet, funny, lovely lines. And then it broke my fucking heart. It shattered me. Left me gutted and hurting. And then, so carefully and sweetly, Ms. Foss pieced me back together again, smoothing all the broken pieces with tenderness and humor until that dopey grin was back.

This is an incredibly beautiful, emotional and riveting love story. I loved both Patrick and Ivy. They’re perfect for each other and they were so fun to read about. Their relationship, for all its highs and lows, made me laugh out loud over and over again – the dialogue in this book was just so perfectly captured. 

I didn’t want this book to end, but it could not have ended better and I left it behind with a happy, satisfied feeling (and that damn dopey grin). 
~ Review by Shelly


Right before I picked up City Beautiful, I read a book that I just adored. And that left me in a conundrum. What to read next? What could possibly compare? On the recommendation of my friend, Shelly (yeah, ^^ that one), I grabbed a hold of this book. She said it would make me laugh and smile and cry. She said she loved it and thought I would too. Don't tell her I said this but....she was right.

Bags packed, car loaded. Dr. Patrick Thompson is driving cross-country, headed for a new beginning. His destination is New York City but it's not in New York he finds the freshness he's been looking for.

A chance meeting with Ivy Lang opens his eyes, and has the potential to change his life. But can a city boy and a country girl still find the beauty in life when fate intervenes once again?

City Beautiful is my first foray into C.M. Foss' writing and I loved it. It was charming, playful, sarcastic and funny as hell. Seriously, there are some great lines here, and it gave me the expression "unintentional vagina twerking", so there's that.

The dialogue is so real and natural; I could picture these conversations happening around me, including me, in front of me. I wish for that, actually. That would be super cool. Except for the heart-breaking ones... I mean, I was moved to tears by the words alone, so actually participating might have killed me a little bit.

Come to think of it, C.M. Foss has a lot to answer for. She built me up, then tore me down. I was prepared -- and even if I hadn't been, I think there was some level of foreshadowing that would have alerted me to what was to come -- but that doesn't mean her wonderful words didn't sock me right in the feels anyway. They did. And the way she expressed what these characters must have been feeling was perfect. Seriously, I ached for Ivy and Patrick. Ached. She didn't minimize what they were feeling, particularly Patrick, which would have been so easy to do, and I felt what he was saying in my hurting heart.

I really wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy this one after my previous read. It seemed unfair to pick it up when I did, and yes, I might have noticed a couple of small moments that felt like some depth was missing (or maybe I just wanted more of this book?), but still... Ms. Foss made me laugh and smile and cry, just like I was told she would. She gave me sarcastic, quirky, kinda crazy Ivy. And she gave me wonderful, kind, open Patrick. A rock, not just for Ivy but for me too. He was, to quote Shelly, when I bugged her with messages about this book, "the BEST." Damn it, she was right about that too. 
~ Review by Beth




I live in beautiful Northern Virginia with my incredible husband, two awesome kids, three dogs, and two budgies. My husband and I both grew up riding and competing horses and have our own equestrian operation that we run together. In my spare time, I read through the hundreds of stories awaiting me on my e-reader. 

My love of books started early, and my mom used to ration my reading time so I didn't go through them too quickly. I love all things romantic, whether it's dark or light or silly or dirty, but I really love a happy ending! 

In my small moments of quiet time, you'll find me sipping on wine and reading while any movie where people randomly burst into song or dance plays in the background.



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