Advanced Reading Copy
Published: September 24, 2013, Harlequin HQN
My rating: 3.5 of 5 ⭐
Amazon USMy rating: 3.5 of 5 ⭐
Amazon Canada
Kobo
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Girl's gone bad…for the town's new golden boy
Maybe opposites don't always attract. If they did, architect Olivia Sullivan would have run away with bad boy Rafe Russo when they were teenagers. Instead, Olivia has spent ten years dreaming up designs for a life that hasn't gone the way she planned.
Still reeling from her career's implosion and her father's death, Olivia thanks her lucky stars for the support of her three lifelong friends. But this good girl is through sitting on the sidelines.
When Rafe returns to the beautiful Oregon coast where they grew up, her former flame ignites a new desire. Now Olivia must take a walk on the wild side to show the new deputy that in matters of love…being bad can feel very good.
Freshly back from Afghanistan, rugged ex-Marine and new deputy Rafe is done breaking laws and hearts. He's always regretted leaving Olivia behind, but now she's after adventure and he'd better proceed with caution. Because wanting her again might be easy, but fighting for a future together will be his biggest risk yet.
*****
A great romance with a few unfortunate flaws that take away from a solid set of characters, an insightful study of personalities and a delightful simmering love story.
First main concern is that although not listed anywhere, this is a novel that is (or should be) part of the Summer Island Series. But you won't find it described as such on Amazon or Goodreads. It seems to be marketed as a stand alone novel and as such doesn't work. Sure, a lot of 'fill-in" information is provided in the course of the book in an attempt to get the reader up to speed, but you will never quite grasp the strong connection between the women in this book, nor their commitment to Harbor House or their joint love for knitting and its significance in their lives.
The second issue I have is again, with some of the backdrop of the story, in this case Olivia's circumstances. She is left destitute by actions of a father who in his latter years, perhaps in his confusion (or so we are lead to believe) made not only his own, but also Olivia's fortune disappear. This issue becomes a highlight in the story, and in fact, new characters are drawn in who were connected with her father before his death, yet they don't bring any answers, and nothing is ever resolved......the issue just seems to disappear.......just like the money.
The story itself was very charming. Old flame comes back to town, damaged from his time overseas fighting for his country. Bad boy turned hero for the local Sheriff's Department, albeit grudgingly.
Town princess falls on hard times and returns trying to scrape her life back together and find some answers. Good heart, community and the love of friends prevail and when you add the appearance of a long lost lover, who jumps to the rescue when needed, the scene is set for a sweet reunion.
The characters are well-defined, full-bodied and entirely credible. Emotions they experience are easy to follow and not that difficult to envision, which means enough insight was provided to understand them well. That defines a good writer in my book. Christina Skye certainly is a good writer!
If it wasn't for those nagging issues I mentioned, I would not have hesitated giving this book at least a 4 or 4.5 star rating. As it is, and only because of the undeniable quality of writing by Ms. Skye, I feel I can't award more than 3.5 stars, and it pains me......
✨Rich, complex and engaging characters by Christina Skye!!✨
** ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Harlequin HQN in return for an honest review.**
Maybe opposites don't always attract. If they did, architect Olivia Sullivan would have run away with bad boy Rafe Russo when they were teenagers. Instead, Olivia has spent ten years dreaming up designs for a life that hasn't gone the way she planned.
Still reeling from her career's implosion and her father's death, Olivia thanks her lucky stars for the support of her three lifelong friends. But this good girl is through sitting on the sidelines.
When Rafe returns to the beautiful Oregon coast where they grew up, her former flame ignites a new desire. Now Olivia must take a walk on the wild side to show the new deputy that in matters of love…being bad can feel very good.
Freshly back from Afghanistan, rugged ex-Marine and new deputy Rafe is done breaking laws and hearts. He's always regretted leaving Olivia behind, but now she's after adventure and he'd better proceed with caution. Because wanting her again might be easy, but fighting for a future together will be his biggest risk yet.
*****
A great romance with a few unfortunate flaws that take away from a solid set of characters, an insightful study of personalities and a delightful simmering love story.
First main concern is that although not listed anywhere, this is a novel that is (or should be) part of the Summer Island Series. But you won't find it described as such on Amazon or Goodreads. It seems to be marketed as a stand alone novel and as such doesn't work. Sure, a lot of 'fill-in" information is provided in the course of the book in an attempt to get the reader up to speed, but you will never quite grasp the strong connection between the women in this book, nor their commitment to Harbor House or their joint love for knitting and its significance in their lives.
The second issue I have is again, with some of the backdrop of the story, in this case Olivia's circumstances. She is left destitute by actions of a father who in his latter years, perhaps in his confusion (or so we are lead to believe) made not only his own, but also Olivia's fortune disappear. This issue becomes a highlight in the story, and in fact, new characters are drawn in who were connected with her father before his death, yet they don't bring any answers, and nothing is ever resolved......the issue just seems to disappear.......just like the money.
The story itself was very charming. Old flame comes back to town, damaged from his time overseas fighting for his country. Bad boy turned hero for the local Sheriff's Department, albeit grudgingly.
Town princess falls on hard times and returns trying to scrape her life back together and find some answers. Good heart, community and the love of friends prevail and when you add the appearance of a long lost lover, who jumps to the rescue when needed, the scene is set for a sweet reunion.
The characters are well-defined, full-bodied and entirely credible. Emotions they experience are easy to follow and not that difficult to envision, which means enough insight was provided to understand them well. That defines a good writer in my book. Christina Skye certainly is a good writer!
If it wasn't for those nagging issues I mentioned, I would not have hesitated giving this book at least a 4 or 4.5 star rating. As it is, and only because of the undeniable quality of writing by Ms. Skye, I feel I can't award more than 3.5 stars, and it pains me......
✨Rich, complex and engaging characters by Christina Skye!!✨
** ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Harlequin HQN in return for an honest review.**
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