Reviewer: Holly Falling Under by Lauren Dane
Series: Ink and Chrome #2
Also in this series: Coming Back, Coming Back
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Publication Date: August 4, 2015
Pages: 320
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Series Rating:
The men of Twisted Steel are great with their hands.
And they're not afraid to get dirty.
Duke Bradshaw, co-owner of the Twisted Steel custom motorcycle and hot rod shop, may devote his days to chrome and leather, but his nights belong to Carmella. His sultry redheaded neighbor has a smile like an angel and a body built for sin, and for the past year both have dominated Duke's dreams. When a problem at Twisted Steel requires a fast fix, Duke sees his chance to finally make his fantasy a reality.
Ever since she first heard the low rumble of his engine, Carmella Rossi has wondered if Duke Bradshaw handles his women as expertly as he handles his bike. When he shows up at her door offering her a much-needed job at his shop, she gets her chance to find out. Beneath Duke's masterful touch, Carmella soon submits to a world of unimaginable pleasure.
But history has taught Carmella how bad a boy boy can be. If she doesn't put on the brakes fast, her hard-bodied heartbreaker could drive her right over the edge . . .
I actually read this book ages ago and wrote a review for it that disappeared completely. Since I didn’t update my reading log with exactly when I read it, I’m just going to mark it as read-for-the-first-time in November.
Carmella is dealing with a lot of stuff in her personal life. Her ex is a d-bag and most of her energy is taken up dealing with her mom. She’s secretly been lusting after her hot neighbor Duke for ages, sure, but lusting and liking are two different things. She isn’t quick to trust, so when he offers her a job she takes it reluctantly, because she doesn’t want to get wrapped up with Duke. He’s hard to resist, though, and it isn’t long before they’re seeing each other. Casually at first, then more seriously.
Duke has been eyeing Carm for years, too, but she’s so much more than he expected. They get off to a rocky start thanks to him jumping to conclusions, but before long they settle into a sweet romance I really enjoyed. There isn’t a lot of conflict or tension. There’s sexual chemistry in spades, but not a whole lot of internal or external angst. Carmella is dealing with her mom and Duke has some family issues of his own, but mostly this was a sweet story of two people coming together and learning to let go with each other.
I really loved Duke and Carmella. Dane writes sexy alpha-males who aren’t assholes and strong, independent women who don’t cross the line into “so independent they’re stupid”. I love the Twisted Steele setting (the shop Duke co-owns, where they build custom cars), the secondary characters and the romance. This series has it all.
4 out of 5
Reading Order:
Opening Up
Falling Under
Coming Back
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