Author: Jill Shalvis
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2025
Pages: 352
Rating: Do Not Recommend
Synopsis: Ryder Colburn has his hands full running the family business and caring for the ailing father who's a virtual stranger from the cold, heavy-handed man he used to be. He's got zero free time for hobbies or women. Or so he thinks until one walks into his life. . .and the path of an oncoming car.
Ryder doesn't mind playing the hero for the skittish, scarred chef Penny. Maybe it's the secrets in her eye or the scar on her chin. Whatever the reason, he's compelled to get closer.
Penny's learned her lesson and how she's paying the price. That's why she's sharing a dilapidated house in a tiny California town with her feisty grandmother and tween brother living off the leftovers from her catering job. It's a far cry from her dream life. But he who needs dreams. . .or love. . .or sex when there's amateur plumbing projects to tackle and breakfast casseroles to bake.
One thing's for sure, she's never falling in love again. Not even with the sexy, snarky contractor who keeps testing the walls she's built.
Review: Perhaps I didn't understand what subgenre I was choosing when I saw this book on a must-read list. I don't mind sex in a book, but it has to make sense for the story. For me, the entire plot shouldn't be progressing to yet another sexual encounter by two characters who either try to deny their attraction, or they downright can't stand each other. It's an eyeroller.
