Review: You'll fall hard for Vin Moretti!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 8, 2014
***4.5 stars***I think most of us can freely admit that the average romance novel follows one of a few basic progressions.  Either the couple is just meeting and they gradually fall in lust/love, they have a past together and they’re rekindling an old flame, or it’s one of those tension-filled storylines where they deny liking each other and they have a love/hate relationship until the sexual tension makes them cave.  And I’m okay with that, I like the dynamics for any one of these.  But I admit I’ve always been curious about the idea of a book couple being together from the start.  Would the thrill be gone?  Would the chemistry remain through the whole book? How do you add drama to keep it interesting?  I’d like to thank author Anne Hansen for answering all of my questions with a resounding “Vin Moretti”!!When we first meet Vin and Keira, they are together for the summer while he works off his punishment for joyriding.  She was from a completely different world, but among the rich and bratty at the country club Vin didn’t have to worry about the crappy situation at home.  He let the side of him he kept hidden come to the surface just for Keira, showing her the sweet and tender guy that wanted a chance.  I loved these two together for that brief moment, they were living in their own little happy bubble and neither of them wanted to let go.  Reality is a bitch, though, and they both got slapped with it…hard.  Keira went from having everything to moving into Vin’s run-down neck of the woods, and it wasn’t what either of them expected.  She couldn’t believe her luck ending up at the same school as the guy she fell hard for, and he couldn’t face her seeing what his world was really like.  Yes, and at this point I said “ooooh, so THAT’S how this is going to keep me sucked in until the very end!”, because I couldn’t get enough of the angst and tension between these two as they fought their way through some serious challenges!Vin’s reaction to seeing Keira in the one place he never wanted her to see was heartbreaking.  His knee-jerk reaction is to push her away, and it hurts them both. But it was his defense mechanism, and it was ultimately to protect her from being brought down to his level.  Vin had a lot of self-loathing when it came to his worth for Keira.  There’s no denying Vin’s choices were questionable, but I sympathized with him because he had the best of intentions behind his actions.  Thankfully Keira saw the same thing, and the bitter angst between them over Vin’s behavior made for some great sexual tension!I really enjoyed the fact that this wasn’t a completely predictable plot with characters that fit into a perfect mold for their personalities.  Both Vin and Keira had sides to them that had them meeting in the middle, neither extreme being too much for them to overcome.  They worked through roadblocks together, whether it was simple high school drama or grown-up problems that spelled real trouble.  Readers will fall hard for Vin’s charm despite his flaws, and Keira wins you over easily with her feisty attitude and strength.  I loved their journey and look forward to other romance fans getting a chance to dive in!