Casee‘s review of Fall Into Me (Hearts of the South Series, Book 7) by Linda Winfree.
After two back-to-back romantic disappointments, bar owner Angel Henderson isn’t looking for love. In the past month, she’s been passed over twice by men she’d pinned her hopes on, both times in favor of a younger woman. She’s ready to swear off men for life. The only problem? A certain younger man determined to prove he can be her right man.
Sheriff’s deputy Troy Lee Farr is tired of being the department screw-up. The harder he tries to prove himself, the worse it gets. The only thing that’s gone right recently is getting a second chance with Angel. Except she’d rather jam on the brakes than rush into a new relationship. Now he has to work hard to prove his worth as a romantic prospect.
Troy Lee is a patient man, and it isn’t long before Angel is falling into him as hard as he’s fallen for her. Just as Angel begins to think of him as more than a fun date, her past—and Troy’s dangerous reality—threatens the tentative happiness they’ve found in one another.
Reminding them both that security is tenuous…and unconditional love is the biggest challenge of all.
Throughout reading this series, I would email Holly and exchange notes about what I liked/disliked. Since the beginning, she has gushed about Troy Lee, something I just couldn’t understand. Yeah, he seemed like a nice kid. A nice, bumbling, awkward kid. So when I started it, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Immediately I realized that there was more to Troy Lee than I originally thought.
Troy Lee has been waiting for what seems like forever for Angel Henderson to notice him. The owner of the local bar, Troy Lee has had his eye on her since he and his band first started playing at her place. For a long time, she was involved with her high school sweetheart. After they split, he thought he finally had a chance. Then she hooks up with Mark Cook (this was before Hearts Awakened) and he once again resigns himself to waiting.
After being with her fiance, Jim, for ten years, Angel is shocked when he shows up after a business trip telling her he got married. On the rebound, Angel hooks up with Mark. She then decides that she should set her cap on Mark. That’s before she finds out that he and Tori Calvert are now a couple. When Troy Lee comes around, Angel is not open to anything but friendship.
There were a few issues that I had with Angel. In Hearts Awakened, the way she was described was like she was a cheap whore. Srsly. I couldn’t reconcile that character with the savvy business woman she was in this book. Another thing I didn’t really care for is how she seemed to need a man to be complete. That didn’t jive with the savvy business woman persona. Even though I liked her, I didn’t love her.
Troy Lee easily gets under her defenses and soon they’re going hot and heavy. Angel doesn’t think she’s good enough for him, which makes Troy Lee furious. He has to figure out a way to convince Angel that she’s everything he’s ever wanted.
In the midst of his relationship problems, he also has to deal with his boss. Tick Calvert is a total ass in this book. He treats Troy Lee like total crap. I felt really bad for him, b/c you can tell he’s a good cop. When Troy Lee first joined the department, it was b/c he admired Tick. Now he just wants to show Tick that he has what it takes.
Angel then turns up pregnant. The problem is that she doesn’t know who the father is. Troy Lee was supportive, exactly how you would expect him to be. I think this, more than anything, convinced Angel that Troy Lee was for real.
Even though I wasn’t a fan of Angel, I loved Troy Lee. He is one of my favorite characters in this book. I would have given this book a higher grade, but the end really ruined it for me. Spoiler alert: The father of Angel’s baby could have been her ex-fiance or Mark Cook. It ended up being Mark, which I thought was a total cop-out. Tori was extremely insecure about her relationship with Mark, but in the end she just accepted it. Now the baby has two sets of parents. It was just too neat. End spoiler.
4 out of 5.
This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Other books in the series:
I loved this book until the very last scene. It was more than a copout to me. It was wrong. Totally wrong. For Mark, Tori, Troy Lee. All of them. It should have been the guy who didn’t give a shit. Just sayin.
But nobody said that Winfree ever took the easy way out.
You’re right, Lori. It was wrong. Especially for Troy Lee.