Review: Very enjoyable and emotional thanks to the hero
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2013
3.5 rounded up to 4Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot. Evelyn is a woman with a dark and painful secret. Instead of letting it rule her life, she's determined to strike out on her own and pursue her dream of starting her own business. She gets her chance when her childhood friend, Vincent Hawk (damn, that name is sexy!) offers her a job that could launch her career. She's had a crush on him for a long time, but he's a playboy and her brother's best friend. Two reasons why staying away from him would be a good idea, but working in such close proximity to him challenges her mind and her heart. Vin's crush on Evie hasn't lessened in all the years, but seeing her now as a grown and capable woman is wrecking havoc on him. He has never had a problem seducing women, but Evie is special. However, his protective instincts flare to life and the hackles rise when he notices the terror in her eyes whenever he gets too close. Why is she having nightmares, and why does she both fear and yearn for his touch? What had happened to her?I thought Evie and Vin had good chemistry together. I loved Vin for not being an overbearing male, but he had no trouble showing his concern for her. Actually, I found him to be more patient with her than I would have been. I'm not downplaying Evie's past, but for someone who didn't want the truth to come out, she sure dropped a lot of ominous hints at Vin. I kept hoping that by the time Vin learned her secret, he would have heard it from her because she felt safe enough in their relationship to trust him with the truth. On the one hand, her reason to not come forward was selfless, and I got it, but I couldn't understand how she could act as if nothing had happened around Alan. Her concern for possibility of other women suffering a similar fate came a little too late towards the end of the story. I don't mean to judge her so harshly, but I had hoped that her journey would have led her from being timid to saying to hell with it all, her family would understand and it was time to get some justice.I may not have found the heroine to my liking, but I still felt her pain, her anxiety, her hope and the excitement of her evolving relationship with Vin. If anything, she was admirable for her extreme loyalty to her family. I liked the author's voice in getting all the conflicting emotions across. It's a good sign that I like a story when my feelings fluctuate from one extreme to the other. If there was anything that I would have really wanted some attention paid to, it would be the repetitiveness of certain facts or phrases:- Vin was "the man to help her overcome her fears" (up to the 25% mark this was repeated at least 5 times)- Vin mentioning her curves (6 times)- Evelyn being "his best friend's baby sister"- how she "wants to take control of her life"- how Vin, Dylan, Alan and Evelyn relate to each other- how Vin hired her as a favor to Dylan and- every near confrontation with Vin begging her to open up ends with her thinking "there was no way she was going to hurt her godfather or Dylan"Despite the distractions, this emotional story got to me, and now I'm curious about the next installment in this series. I will definitely check out the next book when it comes out.Disclaimer: Review copy provided by the author/publisher.