3.5 stars –
Kezia has spent her life never worrying about where she’ll be or what she’ll be doing tomorrow. She’s a free-spirit but when her parents are taken from her, she isn’t sure what to do with herself. A chance meeting with a woman named Maria provides her with an opportunity she can’t help but jump on.
Maria’s offer takes her back to the UK and lands her on the front step of a home surrounded by a locked gate… which she decides isn’t going to keep her out.
James had planned to spend the summer in quiet and peace… when he sees a young, beautiful woman climbing his fence in just a dress he wants nothing more than for her to turn back around and leave. But that isn’t going to happen, and he recognizes immediately that she is going to be nothing but trouble for him.
James and Kezia are complete opposites yet they can’t deny the desire and intrigue they have for each other. But James had his fill of relationships and heartbreak in his other life… The one he left behind. And despite how strong Kezia is, she doubts her decisions and wonders if this place is meant for her.
I enjoyed this quick story… and it really is a quick read – less than 200 pages, but within those pages we get some fairly well-developed characters.
Kezia is strong willed and carefree… on the outside. Underneath all that, all she really is looking for is a place to call home, someplace to feel grounded and her own. Instead from the second she meets James, she’s almost unsure of everything she has done. When Maria convinced her to give them a try, she knew she would be leaving her friend Simon behind, but she also knew that what they had wasn’t permanent. Unfortunately he wasn’t of the same mind.
Can I just say right now, that I was suspicious of him from the get-go – he was creepy stalker dude.
James has been burned in the past… his last relationship took everything out of him and he promised himself he wasn’t going to care about anyone that way anymore. James has some obvious control issues, but I honestly really enjoyed his character, even when he was being kind of a jerk. I don’t know what that says about me, but there you have it. Maybe it was the things that came out of his mouth?
”I can make you come,” He took another step closer. Stroked along her lip with one finger, “without touching you where you want me to most.”
“Slightly bigger deal, but if I get in the zone, think the right things…” Her voice tailed off as he eased his thumb between her teeth.
… he just wanted her. To see her surrender, for him. To him.
“All you have to do is say please.”
But this isn’t just a story about two people fighting for control and falling and love… It’s more about submitting and surrendering to the person you love. But there also ends up being a bit of a mystery to this story, because Kezia’s parents died under mysterious circumstances, which you slowly learn as the characters start to reveal more of themselves to each other.
A couple things I wasn’t quite on board with… Kezia’s questioning of her decisions about 2/3 of the way through the story. I felt it was a bit out of character. To me, she didn’t really come across as someone who would let another manipulate her and her feelings. I felt like she was stronger than that the entire book, so when it happened, I was caught off guard.
Another thing… I wasn’t quite sure what this farm/property was exactly. Sex Therapy was thrown around, and James said he was a therapist, but … at times, the place sounded like it was a bit shady. I think I would have liked a bit more explanation as to what exactly was going on at this place when it was actually in business.
If you’re looking for a quick and entertaining read that has a bit of heartbreak mixed with hope and some definite steam and heat filled moments … complex characters that are well-developed and interesting then this story is for you.
Thank you to Harper Impulse for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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