Review: A warm and satisfying read - a good end to the series (or I'm assuming it's the end because they're out of siblings)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2014
Talk about a slow burn.  A LONG slow burn.  Because it takes 15 years from the time Joe first meets Alyssa to bring them to the beginning of their HEA.  If you love a friends to lovers book that's deep, builds a good solid foundation between the H and h and has a lot of heart - you will love this book.  I love just about all of Rosalind James' books, so when it showed up on my kindle on a Friday evening - I literally dropped everything I was doing and just read.  And 3 hours later, I'm happily satisfied.  And isn't that the point of reading a romance novel?  To get the warm fuzzies?This isn't a tale full of suspense or with a lot of external conflict - we all know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of how Joe and Alyssa get there.  Joe was...enigmatic and kind of aloof in Alec's book (Nothing Personal (The Kincaids))but it was clear from his interaction with Alyssa that he had a thing for her.  We barely got a glimpse of Alyssa in the last book, but she came across as a strong willed woman who was anything but a pushover.  I expected Joe to be attracted and in serious like with Alyssa going into this novel, but what I didn't expect (and this isn't really a spoiler since it's pretty apparent from...oh...page 2) that Alyssa's been in love with Joe as long as he's been in love with her.  For fifteen years.The book makes their mutual attraction evident from the beginning - and there's no slow slide into love as there was inWelcome to Paradise (The Kincaids)andNothing Personal (The Kincaids)because they're already in love.  Except the other doesn't know it.  Joe's love for Alyssa is so deep - but because of his background, and because her family is the closest thing he has to one, he feels like he's unable to act on it.  He doesn't feel like he's good enough for her and doesn't think she feels the same way about him.  Alyssa feels like the loser in her family - she's 30, she hasn't settled into a career she loves yet, and because her brothers are so accomplished, she feels like a disappointment.  She's been in love with Joe forever, but because he's always stayed away from her, she never thought she had a shot at him.  Once circumstances conspire such that she moves from Southern California to the Bay Area where Joe is - that's when their HEA begins.Joe is much deeper and more damaged than I thought he'd be.  But that's not a bad thing.  This is not a novel with a lot of angst (I don't like angst) -  but his back story isn't pretty and the man literally clawed himself out of the gutter with nothing but his will and determination.  Also...Joe has some undercover alpha tendencies I was pleasantly surprised by (there's some "mine mine mine" going on).  The sex scenes are hotter in this book than the others in the series and the sexual tension between the two can only be described as delicious.  They don't actually get together until after the 50% mark, but when they do...sigh.  You don't have to read the others in the series to appreciate this one - it works very well as a standalone, but since the other two are so good, why wouldn't you?  There's no cheating, no OW drama, no cliffhangers, no suspense or mystery to  be solved.  It's a beautiful story of how two people who've been in love with each other for years finally come together.  It's about Joe finally working through his emotional baggage to come to the conclusion that he deserves Alyssa.  And it's about Alyssa growing up and really finding herself - standing up to her brother when necessary and finally having the guts to put the moves on Joe.  It's a love story.  And it's a good one.This is a warm and fuzzy and satisfying read...but this IS a book that touches on uncomfortable issues (for those with triggers: foster care, child abuse, drug use) though in no way did any of that detract from the feel of the story in any way.  I won't deny that there were some tears shed while reading, but as I said - this is not an angsty book, just a REALLY good one that grabs your emotions.We get a nice glimpse of Alec and Rae and it was fun to see Alec as the besotted husband considering his past man whoring ways.  We see a little bit of Gabe and Mira as well as their parents.  I swear, this is the best family.  I'm only sad that this wasn't a little longer.