It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly.
But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.
Then Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to uncover all of Jo’s secrets even if it means taking apart her defenses piece by piece.
Johanna is the breadwinner in the family. She works hard for to keep her and her brother afloat and to make sure Cole, who is 14 years old, gets everything he needs to flourish and prosper. Unfortunately she also has to take care of her mother who is a drunk who lives with them. Jo does have two jobs but another way she keeps the veil of security over the family is by dating rich men. Her friends don’t like that she does this but she cares about the men she dates. No, she doesn’t love them, but for the security she’ll do what needs to be done. Malcolm is her current boyfriend. He is kind and generous and though he’s 14 years older than her it’s all ok.
When Malcolm takes her to an art showing for one of his friends – an ex-girlfriend – Jo meets Cam. Cam is hot, hot, hot, and so freakin judgmental about Jo it’s almost mind-boggling. He thinks he’s got her pegged and he’s not very nice to her at all – that doesn’t stop him from lusting after her. Jo knows who she is – even though she doesn’t show that person to everyone.
When Cam gets a job at the same bar that Jo works at sparks fly. Cam passes judgment and Jo seems to surprise him at every turn and prove him wrong. Then there’s the sexual tension that’s thick enough to cut with a knife. Both of them feel it but they both have significant others and aren’t touching each other. When Cam happens to move into the same building as Jo and her family things heat up in a million different ways and neither Jo nor Cam can deny their attraction any longer.
I have to say that this book was a huge surprise to me. It sounded good so I agreed to read and review it but hadn’t read the first book in the series so I was a little leery to dig into this one after I’d received it. I admit I put off reading for a bit and now am kicking myself. I actually pulled up the book on my ereader one night (at about 11pm) with the thought that I’d read the first couple of pages and then put it down. HA! I ended up staying up for another 2 hours and reading half the book because I couldn’t find a good place to put it down!
Jo was the one that immediately caught my attention and I could see her insecurities almost from the beginning. She was so embroiled in the past and the things that her parents said to her that she had herself believing she wasn’t worth anything. My heart went out to her and I just wanted to give her a great big hug. Then Cam happened along and the sexual tension in the story skyrocketed. I mean, it really hit the roof. Cam and Jo were explosive and they hadn’t even touched each other. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next.
Once Jo and Cam are together there are issues – as there are in any relationship. Yes, Jo’s insecurities played a huge part of that but Cam dealt with them well. There was once instance where I felt he was just an idiot but other than that I thought he was a man with a good head on his shoulders.
Ms. Young has written a wonderful love story here. I loved reading about Jo and Cam and frankly didn’t want their story to end. The book is also about family and friends – and what happens when those friends turn into your family. I loved almost every word of this book and can’t wait to read what Ms. Young will give us next.
Rating: 5 out of 5
I loved this too. It was so much more than I expected it to be.
Oh, this one sounds really good! Yep, got it on my TBL!
Hawk
Holly – It WAS so much more than I expected and I loved that.
Houston – Definitely read it! 🙂