Minor spoilers alert!!!
“She was the one. The one who got away. Let this be your lesson, men of the world. Don’t be me. Don’t be King Schmuck.” Brent
I’m a huge fan of Author Lauren Blakely’s writing style and her ability to transform familiar romance tropes and incorporate them into a new and exciting read. Every single novel I’ve read by her has been a real winner. This second chance contemporary novel was no different. It was full of angst and passionate make out scenes that built to a crescendo and then repeated in a wholly satisfying manner multiple times.
There was also the emotional fallout of Shannon and Brent’s broken engagement that he sacrificed for his career as a comedian and then a kismet reunion. Added to those elements was the mystery surrounding the murder of Shannon’s father. Was her mom really behind his death, or was she a victim of seriously bad freaking timing? And how is it that Shannon has three hunky brothers when I have none? Gah! I was so jealous! But more than that, I wish they weren’t fictional characters and that one of them could cross my path here in LA. *wink*
Shannon’s brother Ryan was so hopeful about the possibility of new evidence that could prove the innocence of Dora, their imprisoned mother. Her brother Colin looked out for her entrepreneurial business interests while their brother Mike, the oldest, was fiercely protective. I adored Shannon’s grandmother Victoria as well. She was super cool and gave Shannon excellent relationship advice when needed. Victoria also made me laugh at one point when she said to Shannon, “Even the dog is getting jealous of my yoga skills.” I so want to be that fit and do yoga when I’m seventy-three like her.
Brent wasn’t without his own wonderful support group. His brother Clay and his wife Julia – who have their own three-novel storyline in the Seductive Nights series – gave him some very crucial advice on how to win over Shannon.
“I’ve clearly got to big gesture the hell out of it. What do I do?”
Julia answered immediately. “The answer is simple. You need to focus on what matters to her. How can you show her how important she is to you? Where did you fail in the past in that regard?”
Brent scoffed. “That’s gonna be a long list.”
“Then take it item by item, step by step, and follow her cues.”
Clay pointed his thumb at his wife. “She knows what she’s talking about. Listen to the one and only Mrs. Nichols,” he said, and those words dug into Brent’s chest like a rusty shovel.
Why a ‘rusty shovel’ you may wonder? Well, because Brent really screwed up by issuing an ultimatum to his fiancée Shannon ten years ago, an ultimatum that he didn’t really mean. He certainly never expected it to end their engagement. Once circumstances brought them together again, he was determined to do whatever it took to avoid losing his opportunity to prove himself worthy of her love, this time for good.
Brent’s buddy, Mindy doled out even more fantastic advice at one point when he was stalled on his quest to win Shannon back.
“Be the man she needed you to be ten years ago. The man who doesn’t walk away when you hear that sh*t didn’t go in your direction.”
I loved everything about how Brent earned forgiveness from Shannon once they finally reconnected. They easily slipped back into their old college relationship groove with only a few stumbling blocks to overcome as they created a new rhythm as business partners and emerged as a stronger and wiser romantic couple. They truly worked as a sexy, smart and talented pair for me.
“Life is better with you, even if we’re dealing with something hard. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I’ve been through enough to know that whatever comes our way we’ll get through it.” Shannon
Shannon and Brent’s issues got resolved in a non-over-the-top dramatic way that I applauded. That type of resolution can be hard for an author to pull off, but Author Lauren Blakely did so beautifully. And now invested readers like me have to wait until September 22, 2015 for Sinful Desire (Sinful Nights #2) in order to find out more about Dora’s innocence or guilt. I’m looking forward to seeing how that mystery plays out within the framework of Ryan’s love story.
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Lost love and second chances. A winning combination.
Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2018
