Series: Jackson #3
Published by HQN Books on 2017-04-01
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Goodreads
A sexy fan-favorite from USA TODAY bestselling author Victoria Dahl, previously published in 2013.
Tough to tame, but not too tough to love…
Charlie Allington is supposed to be on the fast track to the top—a small-town girl who was making it big in her career. Instead, she's reeling from a scandal that's pretty much burned all her bridges. Now, out of options, she needs a place to lick her wounds and figure out her future. True, working at a ski resort in rugged Jackson Hole, Wyoming, isn't her dream job. But if there's one perk to coming back, it's a certain sexy hometown boy who knows how to make a girl feel welcome.
Cowboy Walker Pearce never expected a grown-up Charlie to be temptation in tight jeans. She's smart and successful—way out of league for a man like him. But he's not about to let that, or his secrets, get in the way of their blazing-hot attraction. Yet when passion turns to something more, will the truth—about both of them—send her out of his life for good…or into his arms forever?
FTC : I have no relationship with the author and got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am still pretty new to Dahl’s writing but have liked what I have read so far. She writes love stories that are light, with a hefty dollop of sex, and fall deeply into the “feel good” category. This one was no different.
I did enjoy both of these characters, although I wasn’t sure on the relationship between them. Although Charlie is portrayed as a wronged woman, she never comes across as bitter to the reader. I read her back-story and I never felt that it hindered her as a character; it only hindered her relationship with Walker. She wasn’t hiding away in this town, she was there because it was the only place that she could get a job and she was embarrassed about her predicament so kept it from the man she was trying to impress (understandably). This backfired on her spectacularly when he found out she wasn’t being completely forthright and it gave him more excuses to push her away. Her pride caused the rift between them but I can’t say I wouldn’t act the same. I really liked her. I liked her attitude towards life in general and, even though it causes mayhem, I loved the way she tried to push Walker to achieve. He had no belief in himself; he needed a champion.
I felt too much pity for Walker to ever fall in love with him as a hero and that’s possibly the only thing that stopped me fully losing myself in this book. I’ve seen people destroyed by a low opinion of themselves and that’s exactly what happens with him; he thinks that his dyslexia makes him unintelligent and that means he is good for nothing but a tumble in the hay. My heart bled for him and I wanted to personally smack the people that had cemented that opinion into his head. It was also a big massive road-block to the relationship between Walker and Charlie, his self-esteem refusing to allow him to get serious about someone he didn’t feel he was good enough for. It was very frustrating to see him press the destruct button on any future they had and I can honestly say this isn’t my favourite trope because I get so blooming annoyed.
However much these characters tended to fail to communicate their feelings to each other verbally, sexually there was no such issues. Ms Dahl doesn’t go all out with graphic imagery during the sex scenes but she does enough to make sure we feel the heat between them. I got a little steamed myself during a couple of the scenes and was pleasantly surprised with how hot this book under its very sweet exterior.
Overall, an easy read that I enjoyed for a few hours. If you like a feel-good romance with a smidge of heat, this is one to try. I wanted to hug Walker and take him under my wing; I just never really wanted him to be my hero.
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