Rowena’s review of Rebound (Boomerang #2) by Noelle August.

Hooking up is only the beginning of the fun in this sexy and irresistible second installment of the thrilling New Adult series, Boomerang.

Adam Blackwood has it all. At twenty-two, he’s fabulously wealthy, Ryan Gosling-hot and at the top of the heap in the business world. His life is perfect, until a scandal from his past resurfaces and knocks the tech wunderkind down, throwing his company, Boomerang, a hook-up site for millennials, into chaos.

Three years ago, Adam married his high school love—and then lost her in a tragic accident. Now, the heartbreak and guilt he’s tried to bury with work and women begins to take over his life.

Alison Quick, the twenty-one-year-old daughter of a business tycoon—and the very ex-girlfriend of Boomerang’s former intern, Ethan—has a problem of her own. She’s got one chance to prove to her father that she deserves a place in his empire by grabbing control of Boomerang and taking Adam down.

But as Alison moves in on him, armed with a cadre of lawyers and accountants, she discovers there’s much more to Adam and Boomerang than meets the eye. Will earning her father’s approval come at the price of losing her first real love? It appears so, unless Adam can forgive her for wrecking his life and trying to steal his livelihood. But Alison hopes that old adage is right. Maybe love can conquer all.

This is the second book in the Boomerang series and it follows Ethan’s (from Book 1) ex girlfriend, Alison Quick and the CEO of the company that he used to intern for, Adam Blackwood. Alison and Adam hit it off at Mia’s parents Halloween under disguise (he was Zorro and she was Catwoman) but when the fantasy ends and the masks are taken off, they’re both pretty shocked that they went as far as they did with each other…because they’re not supposed to date. Or make out. Or anything.

Ali is sent to Boomerang to get to know the staff and investigate the company for her father who is thinking about investing a huge sum of money into Adam’s new venture, Blackwood Film. She’s supposed to make sure that there aren’t any skeletons in the closet that will wreck the entire venture and she had every intention of doing her job but when she meets Adam, an attraction she wasn’t expecting dodges her at every turn and makes it hard for her to keep their relationship strictly professional.

Adam Blackwood has worked hard to get to where he is today. He’s a young gazillionaire who knows and has what it takes to succeed. Boomerang, his dating company is doing really well and he’s got a staff of employees that are more like family than co-workers. Life is good for him, except he’s still having trouble moving on from his last relationship with Chloe. Chloe who will stay with him forever because he holds himself responsible for the way that their relationship ended. It’s not something that he ever talks about with anyone but when he meets Ali Quick, he finds that he wants to know her more and more…and most importantly, he wants her to know him. He hasn’t wanted anyone to know him since Chloe and it’s unnerving for him but the more time he spends with Ali, the more he wants to change their relationship.

It’s the same with Ali. She knows that she’s messed up in life and is trying to rebuild her father’s trust in her but there’s something about Adam that draws her to him and it’s something that she’s finding harder and harder to turn away from. So when her Dad asks her to find out some real dirt on Adam, you (as the reader) wonder when she finally gets that dirt, will she spill his secrets with her Dad or will she keep them and love him?

I don’t remember much about Adam or Ali from Boomerang (Book 1). I only remember that Adam was the boss and Ali was Ethan’s ex-girlfriend that cheated on him so going into this story, I was looking forward to getting to know them better.

Adam was exactly what I expected. He was driven, strong and had a good head on his shoulders. I thought he would be a total bad ass considering he was so successful for someone so young (he’s like 23) but he was a pretty stand up kind of guy that tried to look out for those that matter to him. From his younger brother Grey to the people that worked for him, Adam was good to everyone. He wasn’t perfect but he was close enough. His attraction to Ali was cute and I liked seeing him struggle with keeping it in his pants so that he can get her father to invest in his film company.

Ali was, Ali. I don’t really know what to say about her other than she was a good person who went through a tough time and made some poor choices. I didn’t really connect with her because she had rich girl problems that I can’t in any way associate with but I liked her. I just never came to love her. She was one of those heroines that was fine but not one that would stay with me.

The story started off pretty good. I enjoyed Adam and Ali’s meeting at the Halloween party as Zorro and Catwoman. I enjoyed the banter between the two of them at that party and the shenanigans they got into in the garage but the actual story moved a bit slowly after that. I kept waiting for the story to pick up and when it finally does, the book is ending and Ali does something that pissed me right off. I thought Adam was too quick to forgive Ali but it is what it is.

I liked the secondary characters. The loyalty that Adam’s employees had for him was great and I really liked meeting Adam’s partner and Adam’s brother. They were lively characters that were a great addition to the book. Overall, the book was good but it wasn’t the best book that I’ve read. It was light and fluffy and I think maybe I was in the mood for something a little…more.

Grade: 2.75 out of 5

This book is available from William Morrow Paperbacks. You can purchase it here and here in e-format.