Review: I love authors who can make me laugh as well as give me a strong romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2014
4.5 StarsI love authors who can make me laugh as well as give me a strong romance laced with some oh so very hot love scenes and Cari Quinn is one of those authors. She has such a way with words and writes characters that you want to be friends with, ones that you can share a joke and a laugh with, and ones you can comfort when they are down.Protecting His Assets is the first book in her new Deuces Wild series and she comes out stronger than ever. I usually find the first book in a series to be bloated, too many characters introduced, too much time spent setting up the series but that doesn’t happen in this one. We meet other characters that will no doubt be featured in future books, but they help move this story forward and while we get the gist of what the series will encompass it doesn’t overpower us. Most of all we get a love story between two people brought together by circumstance, who never expected to be together, but can’t seem to stay apart.Chase “Deuce” Dixon’s MLB pitching career is suffering. Most people think it’s due to his bad-boy reputation but that’s all a cover for an elbow injury no one knows about. Taking a gig as a bouncer in a New York City nightclub seemed like a good thing to do to get his mind of his tanking career, but when he realizes the singer on the stage is his sister’s best friend and some drunk is getting way too close, he decides to take matters into his own hands.Hands he’d be hard pressed not to admit he’d like to see all over Summer.The last thing Summer Maitland expects in her first New York City appearance is to wind up in a bar fight because her best friend’s brother is attacking her fans. Sure they fans were a little out of hand, but she doesn’t need anyone to fight her fights especially the one guy she’s had a crush on forever, the one who brushed her aside when she finally made a move.These two have a little bit of history and a whole lot of sexual chemistry leading them down all sorts of paths. Chase still sees Summer as the sweet church going girl who is his sister’s best friend, but he also sees her as the alluring woman she’s become and one whose voice has him addicted. He can’t believe the way her music haunts him. Summer has had a crush on Chase ever since she caught him in an intimate moment with himself back when she was a young girl. But, when he pushed her away at a party she got the hint loud and clear that while he might date anything with a vagina apparently hers isn’t good enough for him. I loved the interplay between these two, the snappy dialog, the put-downs, the tender moments, and the “just gotta have it now” sex. These two run hot and cold with usually Summer trying to heat things up and Chase backing off because he thinks he’s got nothing to offer.The secondary characters in this book played a huge part in helping Summer and Chase deal with their growing feelings for one another, acting as the voice of reason and giving them a swift knock upside the head when needed. The other part of this story I appreciated was that even though Summer’s life was turned upside down on more than one occasion, she never lost her faith. She makes sure she attends church on a regular basis and isn’t ashamed to do so. I also applaud the author for showing us an alcoholic who is dealing with his addiction one day at a time, one who fights it, one who struggles but manages to come out on the other side, one who doesn’t hide it from people who are important to him, and one who knows it’s never going away.From beginning to end author Cari Quinn had my attention and I loved this book. Her characters are far from perfect but they are perfectly wonderful, and together they are spectacular. Engaging, entertaining, loads of fun, and lots of smart, sexy action makes Protecting His Assets a not to be missed book.Review copy provided for an honest review.