Review: This was so much more than a love story!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2013
Headlining in his family's magic show in Las Vegas, Max Dalton leads the life of a playboy, never spending too much time with any one woman, never becoming attached. Now that his identical twin brother Rhys and his wife Melina are married and expecting twins, Max starts to want more out of life, and longs for someone to see past the mask that he has worn to protect his heart."How often had his family and friends referred to him as "Max, the fun one"? "Max, the chick magnet." "Max, the charmer." They never spoke of his intelligence or his ambition, or his ability to care about others."Grace Sinclair is one of Melina's best friends and has met Max several times. Knowing about his playboy lifestyle, Grace seeks Max out to help her with her problem - she has never been able to find release with a man before. What Grace doesn't know is that Max has felt an attraction toward her since he first met her, but has never made a move on her out of respect for his sister-in-law Melina. When Grace asks Max for help, he is only too willing to offer his assistance."I think you're beautiful. You turn me on more than any woman has in a long, long time. I need this, Dixie, just as much as you need it. Something's been missing from my life. I don't know what it is, but what I do know is the idea of being with you, and yes, the idea of proving to you there's not one damn thing wrong with you, has me jazzed up in a big way. Has me excited. Very excited."As Max and Grace get to know one another, Max quickly determines what the root of Grace's problem may be."Because now I'm beginning to understand the reason you came to me the other night isn't because of my reputation as a playboy, but as a bad boy.""What does that mean?""It means you giving up control isn't what you need, Grace. Me taking it away from you is."What starts off as a casual arrangement quickly grows into more when Grace begins to see the man behind the mask and realizes that Max might be able to offer her something else she craves - a family."All Grace truly knew was she was lonely. Her parents had both been only children, whose own parents died before Grace was born. No parents, no grandparents, no aunts, no uncles, cousins, second cousins - nothing."But Max and Grace are both battling with issues from their past, and when the added stress from both their pasts come back to haunt them, coupled with Max's celebrity status, will Grace and Max be able to find their happy ever after?This is the second installment of the Dalton Brother's series and we met both Max and Grace in book 1, "This Magic Moment". Max and Grace are both wonderful characters, each fighting demons from their past. Max was burned early with love and has protected himself by living a playboy, carefree lifestyle. Grace was an only child whose parents died when she was young. She has always longed for a life that she has defined as "normal", but her inability to reconcile her true personality with what she considers normal has created all sorts of stress in her life.I loved Max and his sexy, dirty talk. His ability to both shock Grace with what comes out of his mouth yet also put her at ease was wonderful. His love for his family and the vulnerability he shows when he is around them was sweet, which only made him that much more endearing - and if Grace didn't want to take a chance on him, I would certainly step up in her place!Grace's southern persona was great - I loved her drawl! It was great that Max saw right through her when she used that drawl to put up her own front. Her fight to fit into the box she had labeled as "normal" really hit home, because it is something we all tend to do in life - try to be/do/act/say the way we think that "normal" people would.I loved that both characters didn't spend too much time hiding from their feelings and were willing to put themselves out there to each other. And even when they were both hiding who they truly were, they were both able to see through each other's masks and find the real person beneath all the layers.This was such a great read that was so much more than a love story!