Review: Sexy romance with unexpected depth
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2013
Ad exec Thomas Jones hasn't just been unlucky in love, he's been stomped on, dragged around and left for dead by it. Eight years later, he's still bitter and has no intention of ever getting involved again. He's currently throwing himself a little pity party while he's in Vegas, waiting for the elusive Brianna Faulk to show up so he can wow her with his company's plans for her casino then hightail it back to California. A brief encounter with a klutzy, irritable and luscious blonde has him rethinking his plans to join the priesthood - and wouldn't you know, the curvy beauty is none other than Brianna.Brianna has her own reasons for not wanting to jump into a relationship. She hasn't been burned by love, but her heart is in a precarious place. It's hard enough for her to get past the idea that she's attracted to someone she'll be working with, but then she has to sort out the parts about having sex with someone again. For her, sex and a stable relationship had always been intertwined, so to embark on that with Thomas was a giant step and there was a lot of stepping forward and stepping back. When they were together though? It's scorchingly hot.This is really a character-driven story and the main conflict comes because of character issues. Both Thomas and Brianna are holding things back and there are things in Brianna's life that he'll have to adjust to if he truly wants to be with her. Thomas was a character I really had to warm up to. In the beginning of the story, he was plain and simple, mostly a jerk. He had the fake salesman smile and persona down and the entire time he was pushing Brianna for her secrets, he put up big "no trespassing," signs on his own issues. He was such an infuriating blockhead! Mid-book though, it was like a switch flipped and it wasn't so much that he opened up, but he gave Brianna some slack for a change and quit being such a faker. The entire tone of the story changed and I started really wanting this guy to win her heart.Brianna was such a wonderful character. Part of her secret explained why she had issues with Thomas but the rest I wasn't expecting and it completely changed the way I saw her. She was so funny and spirited, I loved the way she was always ready to zap Thomas back into place if he got too pushy with her, yet she was so vulnerable that every time she ran from him, I understood why and would have been right beside her.I really do need to get to those other two books of Alberts' that I already have because I completely enjoyed her style and sense of humor in Love Me. Thomas and Brianna were a complicated couple whose story had much more depth than I thought it would. Their chemistry was smoking hot, they had a nice HEA and there was a great epilogue, like a little present.*I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher in exchange for a review with my honest opinion*