4.5 stars.

Thrill Me by Susan Mallery is a very charming second chance at love romance. This latest addition to the marvelous Fool's Gold series is the first novel featuring the Mitchell brothers and in this outing, oldest brother Del meets up with ex-fiancée Maya Farlow when the pair work on a publicity project together. Surprisingly, they easily reconnect without anger or recrimination despite the abrupt end to their engagement ten years ago but trust issues threaten to derail their semi-rekindled romance.

Maya never thought she would return to Fool's Gold but she is now happily established in her new job as communications manager for the town. She and her stepbrother Zane have repaired their relationship and she has renewed some of her old friendships. Maya is about to begin working on a new project to promote tourism when she is stunned to learn that she will be working with Del, who is visiting his family for a few weeks. Maya still feels guilty over the way she ended their engagement but she is happy to discover he harbors no animosity towards her. Although there is no residual tension between them, Maya is quick to apologize for the way she handled their break up and their failed romance is pretty much a non-issue for them.

Del is not close to his extended family and his relationship with his artist father is particularly strained. He has more in common with his mom, but she is a little out of sorts trying to put the finishing touches on her husband's upcoming birthday party. Del gets along well enough with his brother Nick, but he is a little taken aback by his brother Aidan's hostility. Twin brothers Mathias and Ronan live out of town but they do put in a brief appearance at their father's birthday celebration. Overall, there is a lot of discord in the family due to the many secrets they have been keeping.

Despite the difficulties with his family, Del is fairly easygoing and not much ruffles his composure. He enjoys working with Maya and he has learned a lot from her during their project. Both of them are still attracted to one another and they eventually act on their desire. Their relationship is a bit undefined since Del is leaving town soon, but Maya slowly realizes her feelings run deeper for him than just lust. Before they can decide what comes next for them as a couple, Del feels betrayed and lied to when he discovers Maya has been keeping a major secret from him.

Heartfelt and engaging with an exceptional cast of characters and a unique storyline, Thrill Me is a splendid addition to the Fool's Gold series. Del and Maya are a terrific couple and their relationship is comfortable with a strong undercurrent of sexual tension. As always, the town of Fool's Gold is warm and inviting and the townspeople are genuinely concerned for another's well being. The glimpses of the Mitchell brothers are quite intriguing and it will be very interesting to see what Susan Mallery has planned for them in upcoming books. All in all, another sweet installment in a favorite series that old and fans of this wonderful series are sure to enjoy. ( )

Wickedly entertaining, adorably fun with subtle sex appeal. Susan Mallery is on a roll. I am really enjoying the Fool's Gold Series. These stories of love, heartache, growth and redemption are treasured finds for me. Thrill Me is a definite keeper. Second chance love stories are powerful. They give the characters the chance to face the obstacles that broke them apart head on or choose to walk away. Things learned the first time around can help to build a stronger link. Maya and Del's story is sweet story of facing mistakes and getting it right. Enjoyed the characters, loved the writing, had fun reading the story. I received an ARC of Thrill Me for an honest review. ( )

Maya, Zane's stepsister, moves back to Fools Gold after her job folds in LA, with a job opportunity engineered by Mayor Marsha, to produce the town's promotion videos. Ex-boyfriend Del is also back in town, after wandering the globe for 10 years, but only plans to stay for his Dad's 60th birthday party and then head out again. But, Mayor Marsha puts them together on the videos and the old sparks start to fly again. Some appearances from characters in previous books, plus entrances of new characters that will likely pop up in the future books. ( )

Wonderful second chance romance. Maya and Del had been in love ten years earlier, but their relationship hadn't worked out. Both of them left Fool's Gold to pursue other dreams. Now, through the efforts of Mayor Marsha, they have been recruited to work on publicity videos for the town, forcing them to deal with their past.

Maya had been raised by a mother who bounced from man to man. Her happiest time had been when her mom was married to Zane and Chase's dad (Kiss Me), giving Maya the most stable life she'd ever had. That was when she fell in love with Del, but the strength of her feelings and her fear of being like her mother, caused her to break things off with him and leave. When her current plans didn't work out she accepted the opportunity to come home to Fool's Gold and work with Mayor Marsha. She's stunned when she finds out Del will be working with her. She has never forgotten him and still feels guilty about the way she broke up with him. She hopes to have a chance to apologize to him.

Del grew up as the oldest of five boys in his family. His father is a famous and very self-centered artist who had no use for anyone who wasn't following in his footsteps. When Maya broke up with him, Del left Fool's Gold and got involved in extreme sports, and later made a fortune with the production of sports equipment. He has come back to Fool's Gold after selling his company to celebrate his father's birthday and to decide what is next for him. Working with Maya seems to be a good fit.

I loved the fact that they talked about their past early on and moved past it. Because they had been friends first way back then, they were able to move forward as friends again. There's also no shortage of the attraction either, but both are determined to resist that. Maya knows that Del isn't planning to stay in Fool's Gold past the end of summer, and she has no plans to leave. Falling for him again would be asking for trouble. Del feels the same way. He had trusted his heart to her once and he wasn't about to do it again.

I loved seeing how well they were able to work together. Each of them had strengths that, when combined, made the work they were doing go wonderfully. Spending that much time together also gave them a chance to get to know each other again. Del is more confident and comfortable with himself, now that he has had distance from his father. That confidence comes through in his work with Maya, especially when he opens up to her about his dreams for the future. He also begins to picture Maya as part of that future, and though his heart is all for it, his head isn't so sure about believing it. In the previous book Maya had made peace with her stepbrother Zane, and with her other stepbrother Chase, finally has a family relationship she feels that she can depend on. She also realizes that her own dreams for her future have been changing, thanks to Del's influence.

Of course, with the rekindling of their friendship, the attraction they feel for each other strengthens also. Eventually it becomes too much to resist, adding another layer to the feelings growing between them. I loved how thoughts of a future together kept creeping into each one's dreams and ached for their fears of confessing their feelings and taking a chance. There are signs that it could happen until family issues and secrets create a rift that may be too much to overcome.

Maya has remained good friends with Del's mom over all these years, and it's to Maya that Elaine turns when she needs help. She swears Maya to secrecy, and though Maya is positive that Elaine is making a mistake, she agrees. This secret weighs on Maya throughout the book, and when it comes out, leave Del feeling betrayed by both Maya and his mother. I felt that Del overreacted to this quite a lot, spending far more energy on that than the actual secret that Elaine had. I loved the ending and seeing Del in all his vulnerability and awkwardness and he tried to show Maya how he felt.

The Mitchell family dynamics are really interesting. The whole lot of them seemed to have an unhealthy thing about secrets. I didn't like the father at all. He was selfish to the point of not caring what was going on with his family if it didn't match with what he wanted. He drove his sons away with his treatment of them. While Elaine and Maya had a wonderful relationship, I also thought it was selfish of Elaine to make Maya keep that secret. There were also other secrets involving the younger sons that will have more impact in later books.

I enjoyed seeing other residents of Fool's Gold also. Phoebe and Zane had big parts in this book. I had fun attending one of the infamous Fool's Gold breakup parties. But the best of the secondary characters in this book were Eddie and Gladys. The old ladies are up to their usual antics, pushing the bounds of good taste with their "naked butts" contest on their local cable show. It was fun to see Maya have to try to control them, though she was also very entertained by them. They do make a surprising revelation at the end, one I never would have expected. ( )

good