Series: Nashville Nights

Guest Review: Love Taker by Erin McCarthy

Posted February 28, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Love Taker by Erin McCarthyReviewer: Tracy
Love Taker by Erin McCarthy
Series: Nashville Nights #3
Also in this series: Heart Breaker
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: February 28th 2017
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The Nashville Nights series is burning up backstage in this sensual friends-to-lovers novel featuring a good-guy cop and a woman who’s been looking for Mr. Right in all the wrong places.

Pretty-boy musicians are a fixture of the Nashville country scene—and Elle Hart, hairdresser to the stars, is beginning to think that they’re all total pricks. Elle’s dating choices have been a disaster, but at least she has Tucker. Though he’s easy on the eyes, no one would ever accuse Jason Michael Tucker of being a pretty boy. The humble and handsome sheriff's deputy from Elle’s hometown has always been there to comfort her—until the evening their friendship unexpectedly leads to the best sex Elle has ever had.

Tucker has been lusting after Elle since they were an item as teens, but he knows that their wild night of passion is a one-time thing. He’s an old friend, nothing more, and they’re too different to become a couple just because they’ve knocked boots. After all, she hates being back in their hometown, and he’s not so fond of the big city. But when Elle comes to Tucker with news that changes everything, he must help her come to grips with her traumatic past—or risk losing her forever.

Tucker and Elle had dated in High School.  They really liked each other but when her family moved from their small town of Starkey, Kentucky to Nashville they became just friends.  They’d remained friends although Tucker really wanted more.  He was always there for Elle but one night when she had just gotten home from a date  – one who had verbally hurt her – Tucker drove the four hours to Elle’s place to comfort her.  One thing led to another and soon they were sleeping with each other.

Tucker’s elated until Elle tells him she has a date that night. She assumed he’d want to keep their friendship tight and he’d assumed this meant a huge step in “together” direction.  He finally realizes that Elle won’t ever want him for more than friendship so he starts to date.  He likes the woman he’s dating and is thinking of taking things further when Elle shows up to tell him she’s pregnant.  Now that time has passed Elle realizes she feels more for Tucker than she thought but now Tucker isn’t sure he wants to go that route with a woman who hadn’t ever seen him for who he was.

This was a cute story.  I liked the friendship between Tuck and Elle even though it had its ups and downs.  Even though they each reacted differently to her pregnancy than I thought they would they were both happy about it. A portion of the story focused on Elle and her family and how they’d grown up in the Starkey and how that affected their lives.  I liked that bit of background that we got on her and her family.  I wish would could have gotten the same bit of in depth background on Tucker but that didn’t happen.

The end of the story seemed a bit abrupt to me.  Decisions had been made between Elle and Tucker and their future – and this was done so that they could make a clean start together.  Tucker wasn’t a Nashville kind of guy and Elle absolutely did not want to move back to Starkey.  After a particular incident, that all changed and Elle made the decision for both of them to stay in Starkey.  It seemed rushed and not so well thought out on her part – more of a highly emotional decision.  I know that it was supposed to be the big gesture from her to Tucker but it rang false to me – especially after how adamant Elle had been to stay out of Starkey.  IDK, it was sweet on one hand but on the other it just didn’t make sense to me.

The story was sweet and cute for the most part and I always enjoy a good contemporary from McCarthy.  If you’re looking for a story with not too much angst then this would be a good one to pick up.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: Heart Breaker by Erin McCarthy

Posted May 16, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Heart Breaker by Erin McCarthyReviewer: Tracy
Heart Breaker by Erin McCarthy
Series: Nashville Nights #1
Also in this series: Love Taker
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: May 17th 016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Self-made singer/songwriter Jolene Hart loves everything about being on top in Nashville. Well, everything except her very public breakup with Chance Rivers, her sexy masculine other half. Once the hottest duo on the scene, they turned Music City on its ear. Now their careers are as cold as their relationship. Which is why their manager has practically locked them in a remote cabin with nothing but a guitar, a bed, and time to do what they do best: make some beautiful music together.

As Nashville royalty, Chance has big boots to fill—and the pressure that comes with ’em. He fell hard for Jolene, but he couldn’t handle the spotlight, the crowds, and the fights that made headlines and killed any notion that love and success could go hand-in-hand. Still, Chance is more than willing to rekindle the one thing that worked: the wild passion behind their hit songs. Soon they’re making up for lost time, in the steamiest ways possible. But Chance finds himself wishing for the impossible: that their intimate hideaway could last forever.

Jolene and Chance came together as a writing couple and then started a relationship.  They didn’t let one get in the way of another (or so they thought).  Eighteen months in, however, they had a huge blow up and broke up.  It’s now been 4 months and their agent is throwing them together – despite their animosity toward each other – to write the second album that they are contracted to do.  She ends up sending them about an hour away from Nashville to a secluded cabin so they can work out their differences and write their album.

They don’t spend much time together before they realize that they do need to work out their issues so that they can make the album.  They are each still attracted to the other so each knows that they’ll end up in bed together – and yes, they were right. The problem is with the couple is that they can’t seem to trust their own feelings – nor that of the other person.  Can they not only become friends, but lovers once again?

This book started out wonderfully for me and I just knew it was going to be a total keeper.  Unfortunately, neither of the main characters could get out of their own way.  The constant push and pull of the relationship drove me a bit batty and I got frustrated with both of them.

Jolene had come from nothing.  A trailer park with no money and an abusive father.  All she wanted was to go to Nashville and make a living so that she didn’t have to worry about food or money ever again.  Yes, she loved to sing and write songs but that wasn’t what it was all about.  It was about surviving.  She loved the spotlight because it kept her in the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Chance came from money and from a famous family. He was paraded around by his famous father and grandfather to show everyone how wonderful he was but they didn’t pay much attention to him other than that.  He didn’t care for the spotlight because he knew he could make it as a songwriter even without the spotlight.  The fact that Jolene always wanted to be in it drove him nuts.

When this pair finally say their I Love You’s to each other they certainly had NOT worked everything out.  It kind of came out of the blue and I wasn’t sure why it happened when it did.  They then went and ignored the issues that broke them up in the first place and were focusing on sex.  It was an odd relationship.  There was, of course, the obligatory issues that broke them apart again but that was done well imho. In the end they finally got back together but even then I didn’t think they had communicated all that well.

Don’t get me wrong, the story isn’t bad, it was just frustrating for me to read.  There were some funny parts in it as well but it really focused on the romance between the two.  I’m hoping the next book in the series isn’t quite as volatile and more on the sweet romantic side as I know how well McCarthy can do that.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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