Just Folking Around by Penny Reid : All About Romance

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Contemporary Romance

Just Folking Around

By Penny Reid

Grade : B+

Buy on Amazon

What??? A surprise release from Penny Reid??? Yes, that’s right! Ms. Reid is releasing a surprise prequel to Totally Folked (due out July 20). Just Folking Around, gives us the background story to the romance in Totally Folked featuring Jackson James and movie star Raquel Ezra. Readers who are eagerly awaiting the release of Jackson’s story will be delighted to read this teaser.

As Ms. Reid’s fans will remember, Jackson and Raquel were introduced by Cletus Winston at his brother Jethro’s wedding:

I turned, pointing to Jackson James. “My friend over there is a police officer, local law enforcement.”
Her attention moved to Jackson and I saw his eyes widen, bouncing between Ms. Ezra and me.
She conducted the same swift once-over of Jackson that she’d employed on me. “Oh? Is he?”
“He is. And he’s got handcuffs with him.” I gave her an even smile. “Just FYI.”
Her lips twisted to the side and her brown eyes danced with laughter. “Thanks for the tip.”

What we never found out was what happened next between Jackson and Raquel. And now we do!

Just Folking Around tells the story of the less-than-twenty-four hours that Jackson and Raquel spend together. It’s short and sweet – only 107 pages. There are some wonderfully steamy scenes but we also get to see a surprisingly tender side of Jackson. Darn it Ms. Reid, now we’ll have to add Jackson to the list of ‘which man from Green Valley is your dream man?’ discussion! It was already getting too hard to pick (although for me Cletus always wins!).

This prequel and Marriage and Murder have set Jackson up to be a delectable hero. I also liked Raquel as a heroine. I’m usually not a fan of ‘famous heroines’ but Raquel is different – she is unexpectedly awkward and less confident than you would expect. She has an interesting relationship policy:

“And I have a rule about this kind of stuff, you don’t need to worry about me.”
“A rule?” He shuffled his feet, moving him closer, his hands inching around to my back. “What kind of rule?”
“I’m never with the same guy twice. There’s something about the – the elegant tension of one-night stands, you know? Two strangers sharing their bodies but nothing else? If we have sex, you never have to worry about me talking to you again.

Well unless one (or both) of them can’t get the other out of their minds. At the end of Just Folking Around, we read Jackson’s love letter to Raquel a few months after their encounter. It’s the best!

Thank you Ms. Reid for the appetizer to Totally Folked. Bring on the full feast of Jackson and Raquel’s story!