Review Tour: Denim and Diamonds: Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
Denim & Diamonds
Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 27, 2025
When the board of directors of my company mandated that I go to a wellness facility in small-town Maine to recharge, that shouldn’t have included:
- Using a ladder to sneak out of the bedroom window at night and going to the local bar.
- Getting so drunk that the bar owner brought me upstairs to sleep it off in his bed.
- Waking up staring at the taxidermy moose head on said bar owner’s wall.
- Falling for said bar owner who was the most drop-dead gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.
But Brock Hawkins was so much more than just the hot bar owner. He owned half the town, built log cabins with his bare hands, and was apparently the most eligible man in all of Meadowbrook.
He was also a cinnamon roll despite his seemingly rock-hard exterior.
And the last man I should’ve been falling for—because my time in this small town was limited.
I had to head back to my life in New York City, one that was the complete opposite from the kind Brock lived.
He was denim. I was diamonds.
The problem was, the sexy lumberjack wasn’t the type of man who was easy to walk away from. Hell, I couldn’t even part with his plaid shirt that had become a constant fixture wrapped around my shoulders most days, let alone think about erasing him from my life.
A life with Brock, though, would have to be all or nothing.
Go big or go home.
I just didn’t realize that choosing to go big might also mean getting my heart broken when Brock’s life took a turn neither of us saw coming.
Oh my! This book was an absolute delight! I loved the setup, the characters, and the surprises in the storyline. I am a sucker for a good grumpy, burly, snarky hero, especially with a soft cinnamon roll center. Brock Hawkins has a lot going on in his small town community of Meadowbrook, Maine. He owns the bar, a log cabin building business, and several small businesses in town. He’s also got five other brothers nearby. He’s been just going through life avoiding romance since his ex left him. But he’s also protective, and when a city girl ends up in his bar, he can’t help but take care of her.
February is in town for a stay in Wellness Facility mandated by the board of her successful company following a little bit of a scandal. She was not supposed to sneak out to a bar, and she had no idea that that was going to change the course of her life. She is a smart and successful workaholic, stubborn, and a bit impulsive. She is under stress in her life and is still affected by her own past relationship trauma. She is supposed to be getting her mental health back on track. But spending time with a sexy lumberjack is great for her confidence.
These two keep making contact, and they start to find that even though they’re complete opposites, they’re also pretty compatible. They make each other feel alive and they balance each other. And pretty soon they’re realizing that they don’t want it to end. The situation seems near impossible, with him entrenched in his small town and her living in New York and traveling extensively.
As the story progresses, there’s so much push and pull on their hearts (and our hearts), as we see the longing and wishes and fears and disappointments. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg because things are about to change for them both again.
I really liked that this couple did communicate, and during the course of the story, it wasn’t stupid relationship drama, but what really got in the way were actual real-life issues. They had to determine what was the right thing to do, what they needed to be happy in the future, and what they were willing to sacrifice. They had some definite challenges, and there were no easy fixes.
But I was highly entertained by their banter and some of the humorous situations, especially at the beginning. And I was really touched by their connection and chemistry and how things progressed as the story went on. I loved the whole idea of dreams changing, and how these two were trying to figure out what they could live with and what they could live without, and to figure out if they were brave enough to be willing to risk things to make it work.
This is a heartfelt, witty, entertaining, opposites-attract, small-town, country boy/city girl romance with some surprises. I absolutely loved these two together. Brock is the most swoon-a-licious lumber-snack hero. And February is sassy, sweet, chaos. I enjoyed his brothers, and I really wouldn’t mind seeing a series with a few of them in it. This has been my favorite book recently from these authors, and I just devoured it.
February has been sent to a wellness center by her Board of Directors with no contact with the outside world. She has to complete the 30 day program or she risks losing the company she created from the ground up. She disagrees with the need, but has little choice but to go along with the Board’s decision.
Brock grew up in this small Maine town and has deep roots. He looks like a lumberjack and has a heart of gold. His daily acts of kindness had me melting for him right away! He isn’t looking for a relationship, or even a fling, though when February ends up in his bar and finds herself too drunk to go home, he makes sure she is safe and gives up his room for her.
They are complete opposites: big city, small town; designer labels, well worn favorites; fancy cocktails, local drafts. But they click and February finds herself looking for ways to escape the walls of the wellness center in order to spend more time with Brock. They navigate their differences while keeping a distance, afterall, February will be returning home at the end of her 30 day stay. But the longer things go on between them, the harder it becomes to imagine leaving Maine and returning to her normal schedule.
There was a twist that threw me for a loop partway that added to the tension between these two. I couldn’t think of how they were going to sort things out, and it certainly added another element they hadn’t considered. But I also love how it made them take a step and think about what was important to each of them.
This book reminded me of everything I love about these authors together. I loved the banter between these two characters, and hearing the quick wit through the voices of Andi Arndt and Teddy Hamilton were perfect! I can’t imagine anyone else voicing these characters. The narrators made these two come to life and had me laughing out loud on several occasions.
VI KEELAND
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
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PENELOPE WARD
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
1 comments
Nice reviews.
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