Review: 4.5 stars. Rick won me over!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2014
(Quote)I can't live with her, and I can't live without her. I'm officially straight jacket material.We met Rick Marin and Madison Stuart in The Do Over. Yes, I loved to hate him. He was an arrogant a** who dumped Dani, then tried to win her back when she found a nice guy who was interested in her. I was not sure how I really felt about Madison.Madison and Rick have had a love hate relationship and have since the moment they met. She took him on as a challenge and tried to help him reign in his inner a**hole, change for the better, and prove himself to his former girlfriend. But along the way their twisted, challenging friendship took an unexpected turn. Rick thought he was doing the right thing for a change, but it turned out  he again miscalculated the situation and it was too little too late. Madison was not about to sit around and see how it all ended up and does what she does best...run....(Quote)But fate had brought Madison into my life, and she'd turned everything around for me. It had been a painful process--her castrating me on a daily basis for months, putting me through her ruthless boot camp of no bulls***. Somewhere along the way though, I had fallen in love with her. Like the bubonic plague. I hadn't known what hit me, but now, I had it bad.They taunt, tease, argue, and generally piss each other off. They drive each other crazy and the sexual tension is heavy. But they make each other feel things that confuse and anger them at the same time. It's cat and mouse. Fight or flight. Destroy and conquer. They both need and love control. He is an a**hole. She is a b***h. But underneath their armor they are damaged and in need of an anchor and love. They realize the other's personality issues, but are able to embrace the bad and questionable as well as the good in the other. He wants her to let go and to be the one to catch her. She wants to be able to trust but with her history it is hard.She helped him deal with his issues in the first part of their friendship. She stood by him as his unconventional best friend, trainer, confidante, cheer leader, and a** kicker. Now it is his turn to stand by her as her professional, personal, and family life become a problem. She has worked hard to be the tough business woman she was groomed to be, but when that is threatened, it makes her insecure and vulnerable. She needs Rick more than she though she ever would.Their interactions are feisty, witty, brutally honest, and sometimes even tortured. Their relationship continues to morph and change into more of a real emotional connection. But their inherent personalities. mood swings,  and spiciness do not change that much. Their fiery chemistry and strong reactions just spur them on into this crazy chaotic coupling."You drive me f***ing insane....But I'll take a day of crazy with you over a lifetime of sanity without you."But their business and personal worlds are complicated and sometimes unforgiving. There are people out to bring them down and break them apart. There is intrigue, threats, secrets, and betrayal. There are situations that Rick and Maddy cannot agree on and cause tension. Their families are both strong and opinionated.Can they keep themselves together and still fulfill their plans and dreams? Or will they have to choose between love and success?I got sucked back in quickly to Rick and Madison's story and found myself really liking them this time. They are so outspoken, strong, opinionated, and such control freaks. It was fun to see them struggle to come to terms with what they really wanted and how to balance the control. They are either a match made in Heaven or Hell...sometimes it is hard to tell and they keep each other on their toes. They ranged from explosive, sweet, humorous, and irrational together. They both showed personal growth and cracking of their walls. We got both points of view and  and it was interesting seeing deeper down into their minds and hearts.I realized as I got closer to the end that their story was not going to be complete in this installment. It did not leave on a horrible cliffhanger, but all of the issues swirling around them were not completely resolved. I am looking forward to more with them and would like to see more with Liam and Dani and Chris and Macy from the first book as well.Thanks to A.L. Zaun for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.