Met Her Match

Jude Deveraux

Sep 2019 · Sold by MIRA

About this ebook

Escape to Summer Hill, Virginia, where no one lets the facts get in the way of juicy gossip…

Terri Rayburn is a girl with a reputation. She doesn’t deserve it but, having grown up on the outskirts of Summer Hill, she knows how small towns work. The only way to deal with vicious gossip is to ignore it. So she keeps to herself as she runs the summer resort on Lake Kissel.

When she returns home from a short trip to find a handsome stranger living in her house, she smells a rat. Someone is trying to fix her up, and she has to admit that Nate Taggert is just her type. However, Nate is engaged to the daughter of the mayor and strictly off-limits.

Nate and Terri form an unlikely friendship while he throws himself into life at the lake. When he hears rumors about Terri, he’s confused. Knowing how smart, beautiful and strong she is, he’s determined to discover the source of the gossip. Terri doesn’t want to revisit the past, but Nate won’t stop until he discovers the truth—even if the truth might be more than either of them can handle.

Don't miss New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux's next exciting new release, MY HEART WILL FIND YOU!

Ratings and reviews

Met Her Match (Summer Hill #2) is full of small-town gossip, devilishly crafted characters, lots of secrets, and romance. There is mystery, and twists that round this book out and keeps the reader wondering what is going on in the seeming near-perfect fictional town of Summer Hill. I say near-perfect because there is lots of angst and tension between the three groups of people in the town, the wealthy townspeople, the summer lake people and the working-class people who run the resort of Kissel Lake. Met Her Match is my first book by Jude Deveraux, and I am looking forward to reading more from this author. I did not have the pleasure to read the first book in this series, but I do plan to go back and fix that little misstep. I don't feel that you have to read the first book as the author did an excellent job in explaining the history of Summer Hill. Jude Deveraux's writing style is spot-on; she made me feel as if I was part of this small town, and I could be best friends with the main character, Terri Rayburn. Terri has had to deal with the cruel gossip about her missing mother her whole life. This gossip has in turn been put upon her. In spite of this, Terri has become a strong, self-reliant woman who held fast to her beliefs and morals. Terri returns from a short business trip to find the very handsome Nate Taggert living in her home. Together they figure out that Nate's uncle Kit was the one that arranged for Nate to live in Terri's house. Nate is the total package. He is a good looking, strong, intelligent man, with principles. After some very heated back and forth banter between the two Terri decides to let Nate stay in her house. There is an immediate attraction, but Nate being the great guy that he is tells Terri he is engaged. His fiancé happens to have gone to high school with Terri. But she is just not just any girl; she is the perfect, sweet, beautiful Stacy Hartman, who happens to be in Italy for two weeks. Over two weeks, Terri and Nate fall into an easy friendship that is full of sexual tension. Ahh, but don't be fooled, this book is so much more than a simple taboo romance. There are decades-old secrets, and twists and turns I didn't see coming. The supporting cast of "characters" were excellent, and I want to know more about them. The balance of tone is perfect in the book. At times the book had me smiling and laughing, and other times there was some intense darkness that had me wanting to give Terri a big mom hug. I look forward to catching up with the first book in this series, The Girl from Summer Hill, and looking forward to reading future books in the series. *** I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. ***

Terri returns home from an errand in the city to find a stranger in her aunt’s house, where she’s been living. Too frustrated from her errand that appears to be a ‘wild goose chase’ and a list of things to be done around the lakeside resort she and her father manage, she’s not interested in the how’s or whys, or even the who. She just wants him gone. Nate has been ‘sent’ to stay with Terri by his ‘uncle’ and friend of Terri’s father. After years spent in remote locations with Kit, a diplomat, he was feeling strangled at his desk job with the CIA, and since Summer Hill is his fiancés home-town, he’s arrived to get a feel for the place and see his new offices, where he’ll be working in financial management. While Terri is a ‘home town girl’ the gossip and innuendo after her mother disappeared without a trace when she was young is never ending, and she’s always been aware of the ‘rift’ between the affluent ‘town folk’ and the less so ‘lake people’. This attitude has always been on her mind, and a few incidents when she was younger have her avoiding the townspeople whenever possible, and concentrating on the multitude of tasks that require her to sort them out at the lake. But Nate is different – engaged to the “town’s sweetheart’ and mayor’s daughter, he’s drawn to Terri and her lack of pretension, her work ethic and her ability to think clearly without being in the least concerned about ‘what others think’. At least as far as he can see. He can’t picture his fiancé doing any of the things Terri does, and her more relaxed approach to life and what comes along is intriguing. But there are troubles with vandalism, the usual summer upsets, and the fact that everyone has connected Nate and Terri together – even when she’s trying desperately to keep their connection in the background. With a long-cold mystery tied to her mother’s death, danger and even some newly whispered innuendo from the worst gossip in town have Terri thinking about leaving town to never come back, it will take Nate with his connections, some clear and tough talk to the gossips, and a bit of ‘distance and time’ for his fiancé to realize that the boys that Terri beat senseless in high school were actually in the wrong. Lots of opportunity for growth and sharing, a couple made for one another and a real opportunity for Nate’s fiancé to see just how much better her life and love will be with another made this a story that was jam packed with moments, and plenty of heart. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Met Her Match is a slow burn romance with a love triangle of sorts. Not exactly a triangle in the usual sense, but Nate is being pulled in two different directions even when he doesn't realize it. The story moves a bit slow at first, which would normally turn me off in a romance, but I had forgotten how truly talented Jude Deveraux is when it comes to pulling a reader into the story. It didn't take long before I was hooked on these characters and their lives. They're all wonderfully developed, and the author has given us a whole town full of them. From our romantic couple to the visitors at the lake to the town gossip, they all add something to this story that is at its core a story about the differences between the haves and the have nots. The chemistry between Terri and Nate is darn near perfect. They fit together even when they're butting heads, and I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll just say that I absolutely loved the dance scene. From start to finish, it's sexy and about as romantic as it gets. I hesitate to say it, but if anything, Nate is a little bit too perfect. He knows how to do everything, and he fits in with any crowd. Part of that can be attributed to his past, but I kind of wanted to see him mess up a little. Regardless, I still liked him and spent a good portion of this book wanting him to make the right decision. Terri is just as likable if too concerned about what others think. It is understandable given her past, which also gives a mystery. And that mystery leads to a fair amount of mayhem for the conclusion. It's been quite some time since I've read a Jude Devereaux book, and after reading this one, I'm wondering why. Met Her Match made for a great weekend read and I'll certainly be checking out whatever she does next.

About the author

Jude Deveraux is the author of forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including For All Time, Moonlight in the Morning, and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with a Romantic Times Pioneer Award in 2013 for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide.