A playboy who's all about the likes…
Is about to get a lesson in love!
Notorious social media influencer Zach Benning is happy
to swoop into Royal, Texas, promote the Soiree on the Bay and leave with a fat
paycheck. While he's at it, he'll give plain-Jane event planner Lila Jones a
makeover, online and off. The last thing he expects is to fall for his
ravishing creation! But is he really seeing the captivating woman underneath
all the newfound hype?
This is the fourth book in the series, and the Soiree on
the Bay is beginning to come together. The venues are built; now they need the
acts to fill them and the publicity to sell the tickets and bring the
customers. The ticket sales aren't where they should be, which worries Lila,
who works the event for the Chamber of Commerce.
Lila is a born-and-bred Royal resident. Everyone who
knows her likes her, but nothing about her stands out. She's sweet and smart and
determined to do her part to make the Soiree a success. She gets the idea to
ask social influencer Zach Benning to mention the event and hopefully get some
buzz going. She never expected him to show up in person.
Lila's message arrived at the perfect time for Zach. He
unknowingly crossed a line with one of his women and needs to let the scandal
die down. When he arrived in Royal, he didn't expect his instant attraction to
Lila. The quiet, girl-next-door woman is nothing like the women he usually
dates. In addition to promoting Soiree on the Bay, he decides to give Lila a
personal and social media makeover. If he can turn her into the kind of woman
he usually dates, he can sleep with her without feeling guilty.
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Lila
and Zach. Both of them are more than what they appear on the surface. Lila
looks like a quiet, unassuming woman, content to stay in the background. In
reality, she is a vibrant, passionate woman who simply lacks the confidence to
stand out. Under Zach's tutelage, Lila changes the way she dresses, gaining
confidence from the positive feedback. She also learns how to use social media
for herself and her job. As for Zach, in the beginning, he appears to be all
flash and no substance. Everything he does is staged for maximum public display
and to put himself in the limelight. But it isn't long before we see a
vulnerable side to him.
I loved seeing them spend time together. While Lila
really gets into the whole lifestyle, there is still a part of her that sees its
superficiality. When she spends a few days in LA with Zach, deep down, she
misses Royal. She knows she is falling for him but can't see him giving up the
fast pace of LA for the quiet of small-town Texas. Zach has it a little
rougher. Spending time with Lila stirs up emotions that he has spent his life
avoiding. When he realizes the depth of his feelings, Zach freaks out and
pushes her away. It takes some straight talk from an unexpected source for him
to accept the changes in himself and see what he needs to do. His big moment
was terrific, and I loved seeing his plan for the future.
Near the end of the book, during a Soiree on the Bay
committee meeting, head organizer Rusty Edmonds drops a bombshell that could
derail the event. Since the start, one character has rubbed me the wrong way,
and I suspect this person is involved. I can't wait to see if I'm right. 
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