Patience McGraw fell in love with Justice Garrett when she was sixteen. When he disappeared on day, her heart was broken.

Justice Garrett was eighteen when he entered the Witness Protection program because his career criminal father had vowed to kill him. Posing as two years younger than he was, he made friends in Fool's Gold including Patience. When his father was spotted nearby, he was moved.

Justice joined the military and served in the Special Forces. After leaving the Service, he became a bodyguard. Now he and some military friends are coming to Fool's Gold to open their bodyguard school.

Justice and Patience, who married, had a daughter, and divorced, reconnect. They both remember the friendship and are heading to a romance. But Justice is afraid that he is too like his father and wouldn't be a good bet as a husband.

Patience is building a new business after an unexpected inheritance from a great aunt and Justice is building his business too. But the past isn't finished with them. Patience's daughter Lillie's grandfather wants to get to know her. Although he abandoned his family like his son abandoned Patience and Lillie, he says he's a changed man. But can Patience trust him with her daughter? And maybe Justice's father isn't as dead as he was believed to be.

This was a great story with intriguing characters and a wonderful cast of supporting characters. Tanya Eby did a wonderful job narrating. ( )

An interesting plot with just a hint of suspense along with some very steamy love scenes keep Just One Kiss moving at a brisk pace. Susan Mallery has created a wonderful, tight-knit community for her colorful cast of eclectic characters. All in all, another light-hearted and appealing romance that I highly recommend to old and new fans of the delightful Fool’s Gold series. Please click HERE to read my review in its entirety. ( )

Patience is a dedicated mom who still believes in not only her own dreams but also in finding true love and is not afraid to be out there willing to find it. Justice, once military turned private security, who has come back to the only place that ever made him feel like home. Now he is guarded and afraid of not knowing what he is capable of and letting people see that. I enjoyed this story for many reasons, one being the fact that it shows family comes in all kinds including a town becoming a family. There is a backstory, wisdom from elders, supportive friends, and showing that heroes come in many different sizes and shapes.

Yes I would recommend this book. You always need a good story of a tough guy being afraid of what he could be capable of that he shies away from love and family and an old friend and new ones who believe that he is not capable of what he thinks he could possibly do. ( )

I definitely like some of Susan Mallery's books better than others. This one was engaging until the last chapter or so. I'm not so fond of how Mallery concludes her works. Usually one or both of the characters are in denial and then all of a sudden, they see the light. After having walked away. I much prefer the books where the climax has to do with elements of plot itself. Suzanne Brockmann and Lori Foster are good examples. I liked this book. It just could have ended better. ( )

I am really torn about my feelings about this book. I enjoyed it but there were a quite a few things that really grated on my nerves. In this 11th full length Fool's Gold novel I have to wonder if they've run their course and the entire town should retire. On the other hand I truly love revisiting the quaint town. See, told ya', I'm torn.

This particular venture into Fool's Gold just didn't work for me. The town took on a Stepford feel to it where the children are just precocious, the teens are all heading to college with the highest honors, Mayor Marsha seems to pop in at a moments notice, as if she's hiding behind bushes and billboards waiting to pounce and new business ventures never fail.

Even Patience herself was irritating. Perfectly named, Patience was almost too kind and caring. When she did show some 'negative' feelings ie:jealousy, it seemed so out of character it tipped the scale toward shrew making her look petty and ugly.

There were several plot threads woven throughout the story and all were wrapped up quickly in bright shiny convenient bows. Speaking of convenient, at one point Patience is telling Justice that she wants nothing more than to open up a coffee shop. She even has the name and logo picked out but she is lacking the funds to start such a venture. Next thing we know a Great Aunt Becky has died, leaving her a whopping sum. She was able to pay her mom's mortgage and open up her business. Never mind that Patience didn't even know who the woman was.There were a couple other 'too convenient' happenings too.

I also had a problem with the ending. There were no hard feelings and all was forgiven by an 'I'm sorry' where there should have been massive groveling and some sort of wow factor to go along with the apology. At least the man should have brought flowers!

All of that really prevented me from fully enjoying this book but it wasn't a total loss...

The chemistry between Justice and Patience is sizzling and pretty awesome. I also appreciated that both characters were smart and prepared with condoms. In this day and age not having them mentioned is almost irresponsible.

There are quite a few characters that are super intriguing too. Angel, Ford and Felicia for starters. These are the people helping Justice start up his business. Also, Noelle is interesting as is Gideon. Looking forward to more of them.

Despite the many eye rolls I did during the reading of this book I still am a huge Mallery fan. Even with the issues I had with this particular book it still felt good getting back to Fool's Gold (even with the many shades of Stepford). These books are my comfort food and I'll continue reading them. I just wish I'd enjoyed this one more.

I'd recommend this book to other Fool's Gold fans but keep in mind that you'll have to suspend your disbelief a lot. I would also recommend that readers new to Susan's work or just new to Fool's Gold might want to start with another one, perhaps starting at the beginning with Chasing Perfect. ( )