Review: An improvement!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 11, 2014
Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.It is probably best to clarify that each book in the Resisting Love series can be read as a standalone, however things will make far more sense and you will get a lot more out of the story if you read them all and in order. It's kind of the idea of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts...there are so many things that make more sense when you take into account that each book has multiple narrators. The timeline of each of the books is roughly around the same time period, so we see some of the same events from different points of view, however in no way does it feel redundant. You feel more connected.Kade gives us the story of Layla's best friend Nicki and her tumultuous relationship with Kade, Chase's younger brother. (Confused yet? Not to worry, we'll keep the quiz until the end of the NEXT book!)Nicki....oh, Nicki. Nicki is a spitfire. Or, at least that's a nice way of saying that where there's Nicki, there's drama. She is not one to shy away from a fistfight and is far more likely to act first and seek out facts later. In a lot of ways this makes her seem far less mature than Layla, and a somewhat less likeable character. While it is nice to see a female heroine with a backbone, unfortunately with Nicki, we also see a character that seems to be permanently afflicted with PMS.Kade is the quintessential man-whore. As you can surmise, good looking man-whore sex God + suspicious, emotionally charged super bitch = some pretty good drama. There are a lot of the same plot devices we see in YA books today in regard to the self-doubt and being very quick to drop the "l" word (ahem, love, for those not keeping score), yet it did not seem far-fetched. The story as a whole is believable and well told.I loved seeing even more of the family dynamic between Layla and her cousins with the brothers. You get the sense that even though most of the men, (in both families), are complete players, they care deeply for their family and do whatever they need to keep them safe and will defend their "honor".There are definite improvements over the first volume of the series. The dialog seems less strained and we are starting to see more character development. There is still a ways to go, however I feel confident giving Kade four stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it, like I was hoping to with the first book, given the opportunity for some serious heat. Jumping right back in with Ryder...I just can't get enough of these Australian bad boys!