Estate planner Penny Thornton loves dusting off items others gloss over, especially since she relates to feeling tossed aside for the “bright and shiny.” When her younger sister’s approaching wedding launches Penny back into the throes of her dysfunctional family, she decides to use the festivities to close the gap in their relationships even if it means appeasing them and finally losing the few pounds they’ve hounded her about for years. 

But she doesn’t expect to meet two very different men in the process: East Fisher, the personal trainer who personifies everything she believes she could never attain, and Jonah Black, a man who reminds her so much of herself. Both men are more than they appear at first glance, and each seems interested in her romantically. 

As Penny uncovers their hidden layers, she discovers when it comes to love and matters of the heart, she’s got a lot to learn about estimating value.

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I picked up this book for two reasons: the cover’s awesome and Susan and I met several years ago at a writer’s event (and have stayed in touch since). As I usually do, I approached this book carefully. My standards (especially for contemporary romance) are quite high, and I’m often disappointed. So how’d it go?

Honestly, I wanted throw a tea cup at Penny more times than I can count, but I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to see if Penny’s family was REALLY that terrible; was East everything Penny wanted; would Jonah finally be honest?

I had to know, so I had to keep reading, and I enjoyed the experience! It was a fun, easy read, but also engaging and emotional. A solid 4 out of 5 stars. (Susan has a novella releasing soon — I’ll definitely be checking that out too!)