Dating for Keeps by Coleen Kwan

Unlucky in love Lily Baker is ready to get back in the dating game. But her first night out ends with the guy ditching her—in the middle of a dance floor. Wonderful. Public humiliation on top of rejection. And worse, Caleb Willmett, the sexy local contractor with an unfortunate desire to remain single, witnessed the whole thing. But where Lily sees disaster, Caleb finds opportunity.

The only long-term relationship Caleb wants is a business partnership with Lily’s father, but the man won’t give him the time of day. If Lily can arrange a meeting for him, Caleb promises to help her find a guy worth dating. Perfect trade. And this should be easy—just look for someone completely opposite of himself, someone who’s willing to settle down.

But when Lily unexpectedly captures his heart, playing matchmaker for her becomes the most difficult job he’s ever done.

Book 3
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Entangled Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
A cute book about two completely different people falling for each other. Lily is quirky, doesn't fit the norm and she knows it. She's been bullied most of her life for not being what others considered normal and it was so bad in high school that she was home schooled by her father.

Caleb has his own issues and those stemmed from being abandoned by his mother when he was eleven. He doesn't trust women not to walk away, even when you love someone.

Lily wants to be in a relationship but she's a social nightmare. She falls, spills things, and says the wrong things at the wrong times. The only man she feels comfortable around is Caleb and she really doesn't know why. I guess it’s because she believes that he'd never want a woman like her.

Caleb likes Lily. Likes her quirky ways, of saying what she thinks, of her off-beat ways of doing things. He agrees to help her with her search to find a nice guy but doesn't understand why he's so upset when she hits it off with the guy he sets her up with.

Turns out that Caleb and Lily each want the same thing – each other. Only, they are afraid of messing of a friendship in order have more. The characters in this book are easy to relate to and we've all had our share of similar first dates. To see Caleb and Lily work their way through the awkwardness and to each other is amazing.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆
Coleen Kwan is a new-to-me author, and I picked this book up on a whim after the blurb hooked me. This is the third installment in the series, and there was zero confusion to reading it out of series order. However, I do plan on eventually going back to read the first two installments.

Contemporary romance isn't my usual genre, but I've been warming up to it lately – branching out, if you will. I found Dating for Keeps a solid addition to the genre, giving out plenty of feels.

Lily is positively a disaster when it comes to dating. Adorkable. Some of her past failures are over-the-top, but not shown on-scene, so it didn't drag the novel down into eye-roll territory. The dates the reader experiences alongside Lily are realistic, something no doubt countless ladies and gents have experienced in their quest for finding 'the one.'

As a lover of angst and the gut-punch sensation, the first date had my heart clenching in sympathy for Lily. Overall, the vibe of the novel was lighthearted warmth, with realistic humor, and real-to-life emotion.

Our brooding Caleb works with his hands and has momma issues, which is a recipe to drop panties and fan themselves. He's a ladies’ man, but not in the present. Caleb is goal-oriented, looking to become a partner in a construction company... which also happens to be the company Lily's dad own.

Without giving a book report, Caleb wants the opportunity to speak to an introverted dad to become partner, and Lily needs a date to her college reunion. The ladies’ man obviously knows all there is to know about dating, so Lily and Caleb strike a deal.

Love gun-shy Caleb and dating shy Lily have sparks flying as they ignore their feelings for one another. Slow-burn, sweet, and warm and fuzzy, Dating for Keeps has an emotional realistic edge that captured me from the start.

The novel read like candy – once I was finished, it left me wanting more and more of the warm feels it provided. I look forward to more in this series, as well as going back and starting at the beginning. I highly recommend to contemporary romance fans, finding Dating for Keeps a solid addition to the genre.

Coleen Kwan has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance with heart-stopping heroes, spirited heroines, and swoon-worthy HEAs. Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching Criminal Minds.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Dating for Keeps (Pine Falls #3) by Coleen Kwan to read and review.