Samantha is a writer – or at least she is trying to be. She’s picked up a book deal and has been living off the advance, but her writing prowess has dried up with all of the pressure and expectation that came along with the contract. She also has loving Christian parents who are way up in her business. She loves them to death, but she needs space, so she leases an apartment for 2 years. But the next-door neighbor makes quite a lot of noise and she is forced to confront him on his … erm … sexual escapades that aren’t in any way conducive to her sleep schedule. Her confrontation ends up sparking a friendship of sorts and consequently provides her with a dogwalker. Samantha needs time to get her book written and with her attention-hog of a pup, she is less than successful with her writing endeavors. Her sexy, dimpled neighbor is also proving to be her new muse. He’s surrounded in mystery and constantly dodging questions she has for him. As her feelings for him zigzag from one extreme to the next, each interaction seems to find its way into her book – a fact she has no intention of sharing with him. But just when she seems to make a breakthrough with Shane, everything gets stranger than before, even to the point of placing Samantha in danger. Once the shroud of mystery is dropped, the pieces begin to click into place. Through it all, Samantha struggles to find herself and her misplaced faith. If she’s ever going to make it through this aggravating phase of her life, she’s going to have to obtain help from all sources – her irritatingly evasive and sensual neighbor, her overbearing and meddlesome parents, her best friend, and above all, God. But until she learns to lean on others when needed, she continues to drown in worry.

Shane … he’s difficult to explain because he isn’t exactly what he seems. He’s definitely guarding secrets and up until the end, they could be the worst sort imaginable. There is no way to tell if he’s mixed up in some evil plot or simply the nice guy he seems, unwillingly drawn into something he wanted no part of. It could literally be anything! His tendency to elude certain questions don’t help to stack up his redeeming character traits. The only thing you can really count of with Shane is what you can take at face value – and maybe not even that. What he appears to be is a super nice guy who just happens to be gorgeous and have a fantastic British accent. And he might have a rather rambunctious sex life. At least that’s how it sounds. But for some reason he seems to show up everywhere Samantha is. Literally. Everywhere. And only Shane knows why. It’s almost a bit creepy when you think about it. Rather than straight out asking him – which she wouldn’t anyway – Samantha conjures up all sorts of scenarios and writes them into her book. Her feelings are all over the place and his seem to be as well. One minute he’s the attentive neighbor offering assistance and the next he’s closed off and guarded. Does he even like Sam or is it an act of some sort to cover up whatever is really going on in that apartment? And what’s with the blonde who keeps showing up even though he’s adamant that he doesn’t have a girlfriend? One thing is for sure. Don’t count on discovering the truth until Shane is ready to reveal all.

The first thing I would like to draw attention to is the fact that this is a Christian romance. It’s sweet, it’s clean, it’s a little nutty, it’s only slightly preachy, it’s even got a miniscule amount of suspense tossed in. But it is a Christian romance no matter what way you slice it. If I am being honest, I am a bit miffed that this fact wasn’t disclosed up front. I like to know what I am reading prior to getting into it because there is nothing worse than reading a book and wondering what happened to the book you thought you were going to be reading. And you guys! I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a reviewer give books a 1-star review simply because it was inspirational and not classified as such. They didn’t even rate the book on its own merits, just that one piece of information. So, it is a mistake in my opinion for this book not to come out full disclosure. It’s going to tick some readers off for sure. Not that I don’t understand. With that label, it could also keep others from enjoying it that steered clear due only to the Christian tag. But a book is what it is. The pages don’t lie. If you choose to incorporate certain elements, then you’ve got to label it as such. My opinion. As far as the rating, I am all over the place. As a lover of smut, this book didn’t even come close to fulfilling my inner slut – maybe a 2 if I’m feeling generous. As a clean romance, and little to no heat, I would give it a solid 3 because it met the criteria for such. But as a Christian romance, I’d have to give it a 4. It wasn’t over the top, it was quirky, the characters were likeable, but it absolutely lacked the passionate element I crave. Why can’t you have passion and clean romance in a book? You can. This one just didn’t. Then I had to ask myself how I go about rating it. Do I rate it based on my own preferences? No. I would never do that to a book. I may have my preferences, but I read across several genres, so I tend to rate based on where I am reading at. Do I rate based on what this book claims to be even though it is not entirely accurate? Again, I would have to say no because I do not feel that is what this book truly is. Therefore, I am left with rating this book based on what it is in actuality. A Christian Romcom. So that is where my 4-wing rating comes from.

Despite my difficulty mentioned in the above paragraph, I ended up enjoying this book quite a lot. I did not know what the heck was going on and with the endless quirks of Samantha and her parents, I was unsure what would happen next. Samantha is a bit high strung, is an obsessive pet owner, and has an unhealthy addiction with Starbucks. To the point her dog recognizes the name when it is called out. Her parents are always seeking out that perfect guy for her and trying to play matchmaker – so imagine their glee when Shane enters the picture. And her mother cannot text to save her ever-loving life. Not even joking! One autocorrect mishap after another, with the woman none the wiser of her continual mistakes. It is rather hilarious. Yet at some point one must wonder why she never looks at her phone before hitting send. Honestly. As far as Shane’s secretive life, at one point I had conjured all sorts of possible Shane scenarios much like Samantha did throughout the book. Even their Pastor makes a few appearances, which seemed a bit off even after the explanations are given. There is just a lot going on and not much going on. If that even makes any sense. Probably the oddest detail is that Shane isn’t the slightest bit thrown by Samantha’s parents. He thinks they’re great. Although that probably should have been a red flag from the very beginning. She does finally get her book written but it doesn’t turn out as I had expected it would. The ending and epilogue are just a bit far-fetched as far as likelihood and everyone already on board for the direction headed while Samantha remains clueless … until she isn’t. But either way it works out like I knew it would with the HEA delivered with a cute bow. There are a few moments of heavy in the “come to Jesus” department, but it is done in a way that isn’t over the top. Rather, it’s more from a place of love and concern because her parents and Pastor recognize that she is lost so they try to nudge her in the right direction without being forceful. Her relationship with God, after all, is one she must make for herself. A bit contradictory given the meddling habits of her mother, but appropriate for these characters.

Overall, this book was not what I was expecting, but it ended up entertaining me. My biggest complaint, appropriate labels aside, was the fact that Shane is British and Samantha uses British terms on and off. Sure, her mother is British and she is likely used to some of them, but she is very much American without even a hint of her mother’s accent. I would have preferred that Shane stick to the terminology and Samantha’s character refrained from it. It threw me off at times because it would confuse me as to who was speaking when a word such as “bin” was tossed in. Yes, I know what was meant, but I seemed off when Samantha reverted to the vernacular and I only expected it from Shane. I was most engrossed with Samantha’s raging ability to come up with some of the most off the wall scenarios regarding Shane and his intentions toward her dog. The intensity is ramped up when it appears that her dog likes Shane even more than her. But some of the things she comes up with are borderline looney while still quite funny. With writing comes imagination and I find myself wondering if Ms. Davis had a particular inspiration for Samantha’s character. She reminds me of my friend with hypochondriac tendencies except Samantha is all about her own personal disasters. If it could happen, it would happen and if she can think it up then it is a very real possibility. And her parents? Let’s just say I have a bit of experience with some traits they possessed. *wink* If you are the kind of reader who enjoys clean romance and isn’t a huge fan of passionate moments, then this book will be your cup of tea. And as stated several times, this book contains a strong underlying current of religion. If that is not your style, then do this book a favor and steer clear because it is definitely a fair portion of the content. I wish there could have been a bit more passion because it wouldn’t have hurt the book at all. Initially it looked as though there could be, but it disappeared as quickly as it surfaced. For me, I did not mind the break from the smoking hot attraction I am more commonly accustomed to. But for those of you who seek it out and prefer it, you won’t find that here. Not even a little. Not that I am putting this story down in any way … I just want to be perfectly clear so that readers can make a fair assessment as to if this book would be a good fit for their reading pleasure. Having never experienced Ms. Davis’ work before, I am unable to say if this book is typical of her writing style. But the next time I need a break from the hot and heavy, you can bet she’s one I will go to. I also feel that I have a new author I can recommend in Ms. Davis to my friends and family who tend to be of the more delicate reading constitutions. Let’s just say that “smut” is nowhere in their vocabulary. I am glad to have discovered Ms. Davis. While she may not be for everyone, she will be for me on occasion, and several people I am acquainted with.

Kindle version provided by Author in exchange for an honest review. ( )