Review: RATING: 5 CHARLIE STARS with A BIG SIDE ORDER OF JAX AND AN INTRIGUING ORDER OF BRAIDEN * waggles eyebrows *
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 31, 2013
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:I got to say, I am loving this series. The lads are all humma, humma and the girls are all worthy of the partner Kirsty gives them. It’s like a melding of Maya Banks, Jay Crownover with characters that feel very real, throw in a side order of Lauren Dane. The lads are the strong, protective type with friends who are loyal and true. If you are in trouble, then they will be there on the double.Rebecca has attracted unwarranted attention and Charlie is the only one who she will let in.Rebecca has been attacked.Fiesty, hear-me-roar Rebecca, is now feeling afraid and no longer who she once was. That has been taken away from her.Hell yeah, I am Rebecca F*&ing; Donovan, hear me roar! Well, at least I thought I was. My roar now sounded something more like a timid and pathetic whine.Charlie won’t let that happen. They may have had their misunderstanding in the past, but Charlie wants Rebecca. Rebecca has never given up on her affections for Charlie. She saw Charlie as only a one night stand kind of guy. She didn’t think he was capable of anything more.This 50’s fasionista needs to claim back who she was and fight her inner demons that are plaguing her nights.Dressing like a fifties pin-up girl seemed ridiculous now, and I began to see what everyone else saw when they looked at me; a fraud.Charlie has found someone in Rebecca he thought didn’t exist. He found someone he cared for more than a one night stand. Someone he wanted a forever with.Charlie grinned. “I guess I should make myself perfectly clear then. You’re not sure what this is? It’s us, you and me, Rebecca and Charlie, Betty Boop, and Caveman Cole. Friends? Always, but this is more, Rebecca. And you should know, I don’t like to share what’s mine, so monogamy has just become my new best friend. The fact that you have a jealous streak makes me ridiculously happy, I like to know that I’m yours. You should also know that only boys make their woman jealous of other women. A real man makes other women jealous of his woman. I intend to make every other woman on the face of this earth insanely jealous of you.”“Damn, woman. Why does it suddenly feel like I’m the chick in this relationship and you’re the dude?”Team Charlie.I am absolutely crushing on this big, beefy fighter. Just roll me about in a Charlie sandwich. I loved him in Saving Ella and I love him even more in Fighting Back. He has such a protective caveman appeal to me. He isn’t too much, he is just right. He has his own skeletons in his closet, but he opened the door for Mercy to help save him. He knows how it feels to need someone who will be your life raft.“Mercy never let a day go by where she didn’t tell me she loved me, that I was worthy and cherished. She wiped away all the crap my parents fed me, and helped me become the man I am today. Never doubt the power of words, Rebecca, they can help you heal, make you feel whole. Not a day will pass where you won’t hear those kinds of words from me.”It's his turn to be somebody's life raft.“No, Betty Boop, you are no heavier than a very warm and pretty blanket.”His connection with Jax is that of a brother from another mother. They are tight. They behave like brothers. They are loyal to the core. I LOVE their camaraderie.Jax stood in the doorway, actually he more like filled the doorway - I’m fairly certain he’s still growing. In one hand was a bottle of vodka, in the other was Rebecca’s Clitoria. I smirked and nodded to the innocuous looking plant. “You look awkward with that in your hands.”“F*@k you,” Jax growled.Shiz is going down and Rebecca’s sister Emily is in trouble.Deep. Trouble.It will take all the calendar men to help stop the evil that is preying on Rebecca and Emily.Jax was wearing nothing but a pair of track pants, sitting dangerously low on his hips, and it took every ounce of self-preservation not to follow the hard, perfect washboard abs down to the magic V that led into the waistband of his pants. The man was scorching hot perfection, but he didn’t make my heart race like Charlie.What? I just thought I would remind you of what Jaxon Carter looked like.RawrrrrRRrrrrrrrr...rrrRRRrrrrrMercy is the core, motherly strong female character, who is the glue for some of these characters. Her angels come in the form of Jax, Charlie, Dave, Mary...Although there are serious issues in this series, Kirsty throws in some comic relief that never fails to make me smile. It shows the warmth of these characters as they handle each day that comes with working at the shelter and it shows how far some of these battered women have come, how having these big guys helping out around the shelter puts a smile on their faces. They are a big self made family.“Where are my muffins, Mary? You don’t want this to get ugly.” I grinned.She burst out laughing. “Five minutes, Charlie, just five minutes earlier and you’d have your muffins.”My playful grin disappeared. “Who took my muffins?” I demanded.She laughed harder. “Ella left just before you came through the back door. Actually, she ran; I think she knew you would be looking for them.”That cheeky little brat, I thought to myself. I was definitely kidnapping her precious penis cacti next time I dropped by Jax’s. I’d been threatening to unman her cactus for a long time. Now that she had messed with my muffins, that cactus was done for! The girl was going down!She raised her hands in self-defense. “I only told Jax,” she said, looking slightly nervous.My gaze moved to Jax. “I only told Mercy.”I arched an eyebrow at Mercy, and she shrugged. “I only confided in Annie.”Annie at least had the good grace to look a little shamed. “I only told Dillon,” she whispered, and I groaned.“No one told me, but I guessed as much,” said Lola.Bunch of f&%ing gossips, I rolled my eyes.But then I met Braiden. The thinker. There is much more to Braiden.Braiden was a thinker, a deep thinker. He watched, listened, and seemed to see all. Anyone that quiet had to have dark secrets lurking beneath their cool exterior, and I had no doubt Braiden had plenty, but I still trusted him explicitly.Whahhh!!* waggles eyebrows *It will take a special man to help bring Emily back from the life she has lived for too long.A certain someone appears up for the challenge.I am looking forward to #3.Bring. It. On.Smashing good job , Kirsty!Michelle