Laugh (Burnside #2) by Mary Ann Rivers

Sam. Sam is perfect. And yes, I know I claimed otherwise when I read Live. A girl reserves the right to change her mind, okay?

Mary Ann Rivers continues her Burnside family series—perfect for readers of Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis, and Ruthie Knox—as two people try to share their hearts without losing their cool.

Dr. Sam Burnside is convinced that volunteering at an urban green-space farm in Lakefield, Ohio, is a waste of time—especially with his new health clinic about to open. He only goes to mollify his partner, suspecting she wants him to lighten up. Then Sam catches sight of Nina Paz, a woman who gives off more heat than a scorcher in July. Her easy smile and flirty, sizzling wit has him forgetting his infamous need for control.

Widowed when her husband was killed in Afghanistan, Nina has learned that life exists to take chances. As the daughter of migrant workers turned organic farmers, she’s built an exciting and successful business by valuing new opportunities and working hard to take care of her own. But when Sam pushes for a relationship that goes beyond their hotter-than-fire escapades, Nina ignores her own hard-won wisdom. She isn’t ready for a man who needs saving—even if her heart compels her to take the greatest risk of all: love.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Oh yes, Sam is my new favorite MAR (That’s Mary Ann Rivers’ for you) leading man. And trust me, when you read this you’ll know he’s all man.

Laugh is Sam Burnside’s story. In Live, Destiny Burnside, Sam’s little sister who shouldered her sibling’s burdens, emotionally and physically, all out of love for them – fell in love herself. Sam, the eldest sibling, didn’t do much to help her in return. And he came across as a major a$$hole.

But in Laugh we get Sam’s other sides. The other facets to his personality, his behavior and his gorgeousness. Sam has ADHD, and while we know how this disorder affects children and adolescents, we don’t always think how it affects those children when they grow up to be adults. It doesn’t just go away with age. That’s what’s so special about MAR’s writing. She knows how to take these everyday “ailments” we never think about and make a story of them. Call it what you will, I call it brilliance!

Back to Sam. We know from book one that together with Lacey, Des’s best friend and nurse extraordinaire, he’s opening a neighborhood clinic. The clinic enters some sort of community collaboration with the local farm, owned and run by Nina Paz, a gorgeous Latina widow. And now Sam’s object of desire.

Nina is strong, loyal, loving, and is very determined to do right by herself and her friends. All while being the best farmer she can be. I loved how MAR carried through her passion for her profession and weaved it through this special love story.

Nina reads Sam beautifully. She sees through him and intuitively captures the good and bad and knows how to handle him and extract his best. He’s not an a$$hole around her and with her (except for a few incidents when it was mostly deliberate – they just have to be self-consciously damaged, don’t they? tsk tsk) and it seems as though Sam falls for her right off the bat.

I’ve never been more surprised reading such as sudden attraction from both MCs in a contemporary story as I have in this one. But exactly for that out of formula plotting it felt more real and genuine.

There are wonderful supporting characters in this, of course, the other Burnside siblings are among them (and I want to mention PJ because, come on – the boy needs his Lacey and I need their story like air is running out) but mostly I’m talking about Tay and Rachel, Nina’s best friends. They completed the story arc with their part and their personality amazingly well. Also, hint to MAR – I’d want to know how Tay’s doing in future books. Just thought I’d share.

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a ginger man as much as I want one now. And I know any ginger I’ll meet will be automatically compared to Sam. (especially if he looks like the ginger on the cover *dies*)

I think my review speaks for itself and reflects how much I loved the book, but in case it didn’t….

My Rating: