What a wonderful way to conclude a series. Hadley Cooper is such a likeable character that views her day-to-day life on the sunny side. I like her so much for the bright and upbeat disposition as well as the coo key one liners. Hadley is looking for romance, happiness, love, and forever. I was curious as to how the author would show Hadley as we watch her interact with someone her opposite. Wow, what a pleasant surprise. Spencer Adair is a no nonsense take care of business person that does not have time for a serious relationship. Spencer cares deeply for her parents and her best friend but is distance with others until she meets Hadley. The friend group is awesome as usual with their steadfast support and encouragement.

Oh how we all love Brayden's books. This one is no different. It was a bit sad to finish the Seven Shores series, but I am excited for Brayden's future books. I didn't enjoy this series as much as the Soho Loft series, but it was pretty close. There really isn't much of anything new I could say about this book or anything Brayden has written. Read her books they are all great. Brayden saved the best for last in my opinion. It was really nice to finally see inside Hadley's head. The previous 3 books we have observed her through others eyes, but this one was worth the wait. If you haven't read the previous books in the series I would start there. Fantastic finale to a damn good series.

DNF @ 30%

I just couldn't get into this book for some reason???? The characters, plot, and dialogue all felt shallow and I was sad. I had such high hopes for a great romance, especially because LGBTQ+ is my favorite to read. Unfortunately, this book just didn't catch my attention. I would recommend if you want something that reads fast, and you just want an easy romance and a decent plot.

I wish I could offer more because I generally love Melissa Brayden!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a gentle love story which brings together two hugely different characters and shows that opposites can compliment each other.

There were quite a few characters who were well developed and likeable. The author has a knack of writing characters you want to be friends with, almost because of, not despite their flaws.

I particularly liked the fact the obstacle to overcome in the story wasn't the usual misunderstanding or ex-girlfriend, I felt the story flowed better because of this.

It's well worth a read. I'll be looking out for other books by this author.

We knew Hadley’s story would be special and Brayden delivers once again. I've not been Hadley’s biggest fan in this series, finding her pie-in-the-sky attitude towards life too sweet for my dark roast coffee taste. I loved the many references to her unrealistic “goodness” made in the early chapters of the book. An author who can laugh at her own character and what makes them unique is so entertaining. That she ends up being paired with a pragmatist like Spencer makes Hadley’s fluffy view of life all the more endearing. Spencer is suitably conflicted.

Hadley, Spencer realized, thought a lot of things were awesome. In fact, she was perpetually cheerful and optimistic in every conversation they’d had thus far. She couldn’t decide if that was an endearing quality or annoying one. (Loc. 516-517)

Meeting Spencer, a woman whose feet are firmly planted in the real world, allows the reader to look beneath the Disney princess and see the depth of character we all hoped for in Hayden. I liked the way Spencer challenged Hayden’s view of relationships and I loved how take charge Hayden turns out to be both at work and in the bedroom. A tiger hidden under all those gosh golly good deeds. Who knew?

A great finale to a solid series and some memorable women. Well done.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

My favorite Hadley!! I couldn't wait for this one in the series, obviously. I was equally excited when I found out that Spencer wasn't white! Sounds a tad ridiculous, but any time you can add a bit of diversity in a book and also NOT make it a big deal in their relationship, then I count that as a win.
If you've read the rest of the series, this one is just as good as the rest. It also has a nice little conclusion for them all at the end, although I secretly hope she does a "catch up" book with both these Venice characters and the Soho ones.
The only reason I'm giving this 4 stars and not 5 stars is because I felt like Hadley deserved a little more of a romantic chasing from Spencer. That's all I'll say, not to give any spoilers away.

This book is pure Brayden at her best. Well this book is the last in the series it is very definitely a standalone novel. However if you read any of the books in the series you'll be happy to be reconnected with old friends and find out how their lives are progressing. This story is a beautiful love affair between two women from different racial spectrums. When they meet there is an instant and an intense magnetism between the two women.
The two main characters consist of Hadley and assistant manager at an upscale boutique in rodeo drive who is charged with finding a different way to help the store remain viable in 2018. This effort brings character number to into the picture by the name of Spencer who is an upcoming clothing designer who happen to get a meeting with Hadley who just loved her designs and wants her to be a part of the store. Hadley is a very social, bright, witty, and kind woman who wants nothing more than to find what she calls the big bang which is a person who makes her toes curl and who she will spend the rest of her life with because she would be "the one ". Spencer on the other hand does not believe in having a one and only and while she is not a player she views women who enter her life in a romantic way in a very fluid manner that is they come stay for a while and then leave. She doesn't believe in falling head over heels in love, getting married, we're having children. The exact opposite is the case with Hadley who wants that special person and the family.
With all of Hadley's attributes she really values her self and does not believe that someone would view her as someone to spend their life with. Enter Spencer and their need to work together when both realized that they want to have some sort of a relationship outside of work. The romance blossoms into something beautiful. And while having different mindsets about how they view love and romance they find a way to just be together until Spencer gets an opportunity of a lifetime to work with the famous designer in Paris . Hadley knows that as hard as it will be she needs to let Spencer go and have this adventure which would put an end to the relationship. Both women agreed to this however both do you have broken hearts over what could have been. After months of being apart is a possible that these two could ever get together which would mean one of them would have to make a major life change . You will just have to read this marvelous book to find out how it ends but trust me this is a fabulous book written with beautiful dialogue about a group of friends who any of us would wish to have in our lives and watching the conflicts of two very different people finding their way with each other.

This was cute. I really liked Hadley. I think that was actually my favorite part of the book - getting to know her, and seeing her character fleshed out. It was fun to catch up with the other friends from the quartet as well.

I also enjoyed the details about the rodeo drive fashion scene, and clothing design. I don't know how true to life they were, but they made for an interesting glimpse into a world that I otherwise don't have access to.

3.5 stars rounded up. I can't say that I loved this book. I think based off of the other books in the series I set my expectations too high. Being a Brayden book it's obviously written well, it just didn't jam with me.

The character of Hadley is fantastic and I like Spencer, I just didn't really love them together. I might be an outlier, but I didn't sense a ton of chemistry outside of the bedroom. This book is worth the read though and the ending wraps up the series nicely.

(I'm kind of just pretending that the inappropriateness during the interviews from both characters didn't happen).

-An ARC was given to me from Bold Strokes Books through Netgalley for my honest review-

This is the fourth book in this series, and I believe I saw something somewhere indicating that this is also the last book in the series. This seems reasonable since the last of the Seven Shores friends’ stories unfolds in this here book. That last friend being Hadley Cooper, bubbly, seemingly always happy, always bouncing around like a cat on catnip, and always mentioning that she believes in soul mates/true love/or however she put it – and yet her romantic story is told last (also, she hasn’t exactly been happy in love so far). Hadley also, readers may recall, is the one heavily involved in the fashion industry.

I take a moment to note: for those curious about the continuing stories of the other friends of Seven Shores: their stories are deeply intertwined with this book, and more of their life unfolds before the readers eyes over the course of this book (and even more over the course of the epilogue – which, I believe, might include more time elapsing than in the main part of the book). So Isabel & Taylor, Autumn & Kate, Gia and Elle continue to be seen and felt by the readers.

Getting back to Hadley and my mention of her lust for fashion: the main thrust of this book, the underlying connective tissue is fashion. As in, Hadley has been tasked with finding ‘new blood’ for her store, find young designers to join the group of designers who fill the high class store on Rodeo drive. Hadley has had zero success so far in finding someone her boss will accept, but has good feelings about the newest potential addition to the store: Spencer Adair (the other main point of view in the book).

The reader learns instantly certain factors during the meeting between Hadley and Spencer, which occurs at the store: the store Hadley works at has an aging vibe, one that seems to cater more to over 40 year old white women (over 45?); while Spencer herself has a much younger vibe (though she herself is in her 30s) and . . . has dark skin. Is Hadley’s store ready for a black designer?

No it is not.

Or at least that’s what Trudy (her name was Trudy, right?) tells Hadley. Now before anyone screams racism, I’m not sure Trudy has the first clue who the designer is that Hadley pushed forward – she, Trudy, just saw a few sketches, barely looked at a few samples before making a snap judgment (I can’t imagine a) working for Trudy; b) why anyone would work for her – she literally tells Hadley to fire whoever did the glove display because the colors hurt her gut . . . or something like that).

Hadley, eventually, gets Trudy to reconsider – as long as Spencer does some redesigns immediately – or, I mean, in a month. So, that happens. Over the course of the book.

I’ve yet to mention the only thing I discussed in my status updates: sexual harassment. This book really did seem to be going down a weird road: showcase everything you are not supposed to do, at least in terms of sexual harassment. Exhibit 1: during a job interview, the interviewer cups the interviewee’s hand in an attempt to ‘calm her down’ (remember sexual harassment class: don’t do this – no touching!); exhibit 2: during the same job interview, one of the women tells the other that she looks outstanding in her jeans, in a ‘your ass looks so fine in those jeans’ kind of way (here it was the job interviewee, instead of interviewer, who made the physical appearance comment so . . . ). I realize that this is an apparently acceptable thing in romantic comedies (seriously, the amount of stalking and otherwise creepy behavior that occurs in romantic comedies . . . are so extreme that to showcase that someone really is a nutball and not actually a loveable-screwed-up-socially misfit, the person has to go to the extreme of cooking the other person’s pet rabbit (you know, Fatal Attraction), and the like, but . . . eh, it annoys me personally but probably not everyone else. So, whatever. The story quickly moved from ‘two complete strangers, who might have talked briefly not face to face prior’ to ‘people dating’ so I stopped paying attention to sexual harassment no-nos.

Despite my dive into weirdness above, I actually liked both main characters (though there was a period there wherein I was finding more enjoyment watching the other people’s stories unfold, or, more accurately, watching everyone’s story unfold except when Hadley and Spencer were in the same room). Eventually the story-line that actually followed the two main characters turned neat/interesting/exciting, so I was happy and stuff.

Not sure what-all else to say. There’s lots and lots of sex. There are tender, emotional moments. I enjoyed the book.

Rating: 4.38

This is the fourth book in the Seven Shores series.
I am an avid fan of Melissa Brayden and all of her books but I have to say I absolutely loved this series.

Since day one in the previous books I've been a fan of Hadley, in my years of reading she is one of the best characters I've ever come across, so I have been eagerly waiting for 'her story' to take place.

And the day has come with Love Like This. And to be fair to MB she hasn't disappointed me.

Spencer is the just the right character for Hadley, and is was great to read the chemistry between the two.

Don't want to give the story away, but I will say, this book is excellent and a must read and a fitting end to the series. I guarantee you will enjoy.

Well done MB keep them coming

This is the final book in Ms Brayden’s ‘Seven Shores’ series and after reading the first three books, which I very much enjoyed, I have no choice but to say this is the best of the series. We now get to follow Hadley Cooper on her journey in finding love. Hadley works as an assistant manager of a posh boutique on Rodeo Drive. She has great friends and a family who love her. Unfortunately she hasn’t found the love of her life like her friends have. Spencer Adair is a fashion designer who has a strong following with her online sales but she still hasn’t broke into the bigger markets. When Hadley comes across her work she is given the chance to show her stuff. Ms Brayden has a way of writing about her characters that makes it impossible to not care about and like them. Great read. Very, very much enjoyed.
eARC via NetGalley

Love Like This is the fourth and final installment in Melissa Brayden's Seven Shores series and the third in the series I've read (Sorry, Autumn. I have your book; just haven't gotten to it yet!). The series follows the same group of four friends who all live in the same apartment complex and feature heavily in each other's stories, and Love Like This follows Hadley, the group's resident ray of sunshine. It's fitting that Brayden chose Hadley's story to finish out the series.

After watching her friends Isabel, Autumn, and Gia all find their person and fall in love, it's finally Hadley's turn. As the assistant manager of a clothing store on Rodeo Drive, she's charged with finding a new designer to bring in more interest and clientele. Enter Spencer Adair, a pragmatic designer who doesn't believe in happily ever afters, only happily for nows. The only problem is that Hadley isn't sure she can settle for anything less than forever.

I actually don't have a lot to say about this. It's a cute story. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it. That might have to do with the storyline. Although Brayden doesn't hit you over the hit with fashion information, it's still not really an interest of mine. I couldn't connect with this book in the same way I could with Gia's, because I love sports, or Isabel's, because I love writing.

However, Brayden's strength, in my opinion, has always been her characters. I really enjoyed being in Hadley's head because she's bubbly, optimistic, and sees the beauty in everything. It's a refreshing perspective. And, like in the other Seven Shores books, my favorite aspect was the friendship between the four main characters. I liked Spencer a lot, too, and thought she was a good match for Hadley. I also appreciated that she's explicitly black. She and Hadley have a frank, though short, discussion about their different backgrounds. It was nice to see Brayden include more characters of color. I loved Spencer's parents and best friend and wish they could've been around for more books.

In conclusion, Love Like This kept me reading. It just didn't...thrill me, I guess. My biggest complaint is that I wish Brayden had given us a bit more in the epilogue about how everyone's lives were turning out, but maybe that's me wishing this series weren't over! Overall, this is a lovely, quick, warm read that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys f/f romance.

Typical Melissa Brayden book, well written, solid plot and likable characters. Kept me interested to the end, wasn't riveting but good enough.

Finally! Hadley’s story is written. I've followed the Seven Shores series and was rooting for Hadley. She's one of those characters that grabs you from the start and you just can't wait to get more of. Great book, great series and great stories. A must read.

I received an ARC copy of the book from the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

This is the final book in the series and I am going to miss this bunch of great characters. This one I would say was my favourite out of them all. The characters of Hadley, who is an Assistant Manager and Spencer, who is a Fashion Designer are a great match for each other, when the pair meet the sparks start to fly. Hadley has been one of my favourite since the beginning of the series. Loved the storyline and the bedroom scenes were some of the best I have read by this author. This one (the series) is definitely one to re-read over and over again.

The best way to start this review of 'Love Like This' by Melissa Brayden is to use a favorite phrase of the main character and say, "Oh my dear goodness!" What an adorable and excellent romance this story is.

This is the fourth and final book in Ms. Brayden's Seven Shores series. Each book tells the story of one character from a group of four women. 'Love Like This' is the story of Hadley Cooper and her love interest Spencer Adair. Both women work in the fashion industry; Hadley as an assistant manager in an upscale boutique on Rodeo Drive, and Spencer as an up and coming fashion designer. Both also have very different ideas about how their future lives will be. This, of course, leads to some interesting conflict in the story. The readers also get to meet the characters from the first three books in the series since they are supporting characters in this book.

This is my first Melissa Brayden book (but definitely not my last). This also means it is the first book I've read in this series so I can tell you the book can be read as a standalone story. Ms. Brayden did an excellent job of adding enough information that you learned who the supporting characters were and a little of their stories.

I fell in love with this story, and especially with Hadley. She is just so sweet and funny and would be a joy to have as a friend. Spencer is a good match for her too, with enough difference in their characters to create a good deal of chemistry which also aids in the conflict. I couldn't put this book down. I went from sitting on the couch giggling and reading lines to my wife to crying a few chapters later. The author is an expert at creating emotional highs and lows. She really tugs hard on your heartstrings.

I can give my highest recommendation for this book. I'm giving it a full five stars and would give it more if I could. It has joined my folder of books that I love to read over and over, and I'm sure many more of Ms. Brayden's books will join this one soon.
I am so pleased to have been given an opportunity to review this story in exchange for an ARC.

Love Like This sees us sadly leave the Seven Shores, but with love and happy endings for all our friends. This is wonderful classic romance with some light drama, humour, engaging and contrasting main characters and a great supporting cast of friends. I’m sure everyone who reads this series seems to think Hadley is a wonderful character – and it’s true. Certainly unique, and adorable in her own way. Hadley and Spencer bring out the best in each other and deserve a bright future together.
That said, this is not my favourite Seven Shores romance; that was the first in the series - Eyes Like Those. I’d strongly recommend them all and it’s a five-star series overall, but this book just didn’t quite tip to “love it” for me. Overall, Love Like This gets 4-and-a-half stars and a firm recommendation.

Love like this was entertaining and was the perfect book to read in one sitting. Was it my favorite Melissa Brayden book? No. But is was well written and all the characters were lovable.

Things I liked:
-Hadley has two dads yay!
-cute reaction to meeting Spencer (love interest)
-nice that Spencer a PoC, and this is acknowledged
-sweet bubbly prose
-drama, both big and small, was well handled and believable
-ending was lovely

Things I didn’t like
-I haven’t read the other books in the series so the background characters were confusing to keep track of
-dislike all the jokes about an infant boy being a flirt/ladies man. Such a gross heteronormative trope

Overall, a lovely read, and I’m definitely gonna check out other books by this author.