Review: Pretty good contemporary romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 23, 2014
3.5-4 starsThis was a pretty good story. I liked Jake a lot. He was a great hero. Beth was a nice woman and I liked her for the most part but she's one of those heroines that has her mind so far up her butt that she makes a number of stupid choices that were annoying after a bit.Beth didn't have a good childhood and it affected her greatly. Her father left when she was very young and her mother went from man to man trying to find one to take care of her. Since her mother didn't find decent guys, they didn't tend to last long and usually left them in a bind at the end of a relationship. Beth had to live with the consequences of her mother's actions as they'd go from luxury to a homeless shelter very quickly and in her mind, Beth blamed her mother for not being able to live without a man taking care of her. Beth swore to herself that she'd never rely on a man and the few men she's dated have reinforced that. Now Beth is unwilling to trust any man and sees them all as the enemy.Jake was an orphan but was lucky enough to get adopted by a good couple that loved him a lot and gave him a good life. Jake made it through college and ended up doing great things with video games that turned him in to a very rich man with his own company that's still going strong. Jake dates some but hasn't found the right woman as he wants someone that will love him and not his money.The night before her 30th birthday, Beth is at a bar with her friends. She sees Jake and her friends try to convince her to ask him to dance. In the meantime, Jake sees Beth and sends her over a drink. It's pretty much a love at first sight thing for them both but where Jake is interested in exploring things further, Beth is adamant about not even giving him a chance. Between her friends encouragement and Jake, Beth is convinced to have a dance with Jake. The dance goes so well and affects her so much that Beth can't help herself and agrees to spend the night with Jake. They have a night of very hot sex but in the morning, Beth wakes before Jake and (determined that he'll wake up any time and throw her out) she leaves without a word to him so when he wakes she's gone. When Jake wakes up, he's happily remembering the night they spent together and looking forward to spending more time with Beth (and asking her on a real date) but he finds her gone and has no idea how to find her. Jake decides he's not willing to let her get away and hires a PI to track her down. Beth, in the mean time, has been missing Jake and wanting to see him again but is trying to control her mind and forget about him because she's determined that he'll just be her ruin if she let him in her life and she's determined not to become her mother. So when Jake shows up at the restaurant where she works as a bartender, Beth is unwilling to give him a chance even though it's obvious that they both have it bad for each other. Jake has to work hard to get Beth to agree to see him again. He manages to convince her to give him 24 hours and if she seriously doesn't want to see him again afterwards he'd leave her alone. They set it up for the weekend and in the days between, Jake sends Beth sweet little gifts to make sure she's thinking about him (in a good way).When the day comes, Jake goes to pick up Beth and her dog ends up coming along with them. This is actually just one example of how nice a guy Jake is and he shows his colors through the day, not taking advantage of Beth's come-ons and instead spending the day getting to know her and spending time doing non-sexual things. It actually goes pretty well and they have a really good time together. At the end of their time together, Beth is unable to say she doesn't want to see Jake again and he doesn't give her the chance, saying he'll be in touch. Beth thinks he doesn't mean it and is surprised when he shows up at her work the next night. They continue to go out but there are issues along the way and they all revolve around Beth's "issues". Jake realizes pretty quickly that he loves Beth but knows he can't tell her because she'll just run so he sets out to show her he's there for the long run by actions not words. Beth does manage to mess things up a few times badly enough to cause them to take a break from each other. Every time this happens, Beth is all crushed because she knew this was coming, even when she caused all the issues herself through her inability to trust. Jake does all he can to weather the tides and does pretty good at it. To be honest, where Beth was annoying at times, Jake was just about perfect. He wasn't willing to let her go but he would back off at times when it became clear Beth had hit a blockage she had to get past on her own. Thankfully, the last time things blow up, Beth's friends come and show her the light and Beth finally realizes she's been an idiot and goes after Jake. Although I didn't necessarily think much of the method she used to get Jake's attention for their final reunion, I liked the fact that she finally took the initiative and went after Jake so they could be together for good. They make up and talk things out and then start their HEA together.This was a pretty enjoyable story. Outside of my annoyances with Beth, I liked the characters (especially Jake) and the story was very good. I'd recommend this story (if you can deal with a headstrong heroine that doesn't always make the best choices). :)