Review: Take a Chance book 2
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2013
I've been a fan of Diane Alberts ever since I read Try Me and I've been waiting to read this sequel ever since. If you've already read the first story you'll probably remember meeting Thomas, he is the previous heroine Erica's brother and was best friends with the hero Jeremy before they fell out thanks to the lies told to Thomas by his devious ex-wife. You don't have to have read the first instalment to enjoy Love Me though, the stories are only loosely connected and apart from a very brief appearance the previous characters don't have much of a role in this novella. This is such a fun series though and I'd highly recommend both stories to contemporary romance fans, they are both fairly short and fast reads with plenty of spice and a feel good love story.Thomas is visiting Vegas to try and win a lucrative contract for his company but when he meets Brianna his focus swiftly switches from business to pleasure. He is intrigued by her and since he'll be in town for a couple of weeks he is determined to explore the chemistry he senses between them. Brianna has plenty of reasons to turn Thomas down, her life is more than complicated enough and the last thing she needs is a quick fling but Thomas is hard to resist, especially when he refuses to take no for an answer. Neither of them can deny their mutual attraction but can they find a way to work through both of their issues to build a future together?I have to say I loved the banter between Thomas and Brianna, they have an instant connection and the looks they give each other are smouldering. I felt bad for Thomas after the first book when we learnt about the way his ex-wife treated him so I was happy to know that we were going to get his story and I felt that Brianna was a great match for him. He comes across as quite cocky in the beginning but in reality he is so wary of being hurt again that he puts on an act to keep people at a distance. His ex really knocked his confidence but he has a lot to offer and Brianna can see just how caring and sweet he is when she starts to get to know him. Brianna has suffered her own heartbreaks and is equally frightened of loving again, she is keeping a major secret from Thomas because she is sure that he will go running in the opposite direction when he finds out about her family. I really liked the way Thomas took it all in his stride though and the time he spent connecting with Brianna's children was really adorable.I will admit that I found things developed a little too quickly between them for me to find them completely believable but that is one of the hazards with novellas and considering the number of pages I thought the author did a great job of showing the connection growing between them. I think I'd have just felt a little more comfortable if the story had taken place over a slightly longer time line though, things seem to happen very fast and I felt Brianna (or most mothers for that matter) would probably have taken a bit more time to get to know Thomas before she let him meet her children. If you remove that one minor issue this is a really enjoyable story, they make a really cute couple and having the children in the story added a nice family element to things. I'm definitely enjoying this series and looking forward to more from Diane Alberts in the future.