Review: A surly military man meets his match
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 6, 2014
I reviewed this at MustReadBooksOrDie with my friend Shelley!Shel: First of all I love the name Knox. I don't know why..I just do. Court: Me too. Writing that down for future baby making. Shel: It conjures up an image of a hot, tattooed, mouthy man...oh wait!...just like the Knox in this novel. Court: Yes, this is true! Hah! Shel: He's hot, tattooed, and has a smirky, dirty, sarcastic mouth. Court: We're kind of obsessed with dirty mouths yeah? Shel: He's also sweet and vulnerable and swoonerific. Court: I think I should urban dictionary that word! Shel: He's not perfect--which I like--and he's got a lot to learn..but I love that he's flawed. He's home from a serious injury while overseas; he's weak and he hates it; he needs help and he really hates that, and he has absolutely no desire for some dude named Charlie to come help him while he's recovering.Court: I have to throw out there that I might have got to pop Knox's Goodreads status cherry. Just sayin' lol. (I know you don't care, but I did!)Court: I think you hit the nail like 100 times on the head there. Knox is a soldier. He doesn't want or know how to be anything else. So when he is laid up for months wearing a back brace basically 24/7 and has to rely on other people just to put clothes on...he does NOT like it. He's grouchy. And I think these aspects where he is rough around the edges, and has been scorned and is not all that happy with how some things in his life turned out (making him completely opposite of happy go lucky Jace from Ignite) and that is why we might just love him more than Jace. Okay. I know I do!Shel: Hahahaha...enter Charlie (AKA Charlotte Rose). She's stubborn, mouthy, smart, and takes absolutely no s*** from anyone. She calls it like she sees it and she has absolutely no problem calling herself out when she's been dumb. I love this about her. She may be hot-headed and impulsive but once she simmers down she will take the steps to right a wrong or admit a hard truth. She's perfect for Knox. Exactly what he needs.Court: I call her sassy, ballsy-ness being her father's daughter. Her relationship with her Dad is seriously epic...and he is a military man too. Which intimidates her boyfriends. So whether or not Knox can deal with that is all part of the ride of reading this wonderful story.Shel: Their story is a slow burn...it takes a while for walls and barriers to be broken open. Court: And let me tell you....this girl writing in blue did NOT like this. I was getting some violent texts! It was great! Shel: These two are so damn stubborn...so protective of their hearts and suspicious/doubtful of the intentions and desires of the other. I wanted to hurt them both at various points in the novel for their inability to verbalize ...but obviously I got over it. And they do too...Court: She did. She was threatening them bodily harm several times because of their shenanigans...but I could tell she was loving it. We both zoomed right through this story, and while we were frustrated with them...they DID for the most part communicate with one another...it was just the strong as hell personalities getting in the way...Shel: The angst was there but it I think my anticipation of it made it way worse than it was. No throwing Kindles for me, this time. Instead, I enjoyed the resolutions to problems and the way their story played out.Court: The things I loved about this book were Knox and Charlie. The depth to their characters also pays a testament to how much Tessa has grown as an author in such a short time because it wasn't a repeat of Ignite. There are a couplea scenes with Jace and Lexi, so it was amazingly wonderful to get to see those two again...and how they're doing now. I really loved this book and have made my strong opinion known that Branson needs a book...and guess what. He is getting one. (Hey, I live like 20 miles from Branson, MO...so I feel a strong kinship to the name...and I think Tessa has the writing chops to pull off making this major douchebag a redeemable guy...so look for that after Kale and Cohen!)Shel: I am sooo looking forward to book 3! Court: Me too! You will not be regretting stalking Tessa for details on Kale, it does the body good. (Or whatever the hell the BCG girls are saying these days ;)Shelley: 4 1/2 StarsCourtney: 5 stars