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Review

4 stars

This is such a gorgeous read.  Old-school KA with a great hero, a loveable heroine, an intense, passionate, functional romance with very little drama and full of sweet, happy, sexy, fun and emotional moments that make KA relationships some of my favourites. It’s an easy read with lots of swoon and I loved it!

Eliza ‘Izzy’ Forrester has just moved to a new town looking for a fresh start after leaving a toxic relationship. She’s bought a house and is settling in and reveling in her new and happy life. And then she wakes up in the bed of Johnny Gamble. As a woman who doesn’t do casual sex, it’s an unexpected surprise, but there’s a connection between the two of them that is absolutely undeniable. And when he doesn’t shoo her right off in the morning, she begins to hope for something more.

Johnny grew up local, and is the owner of several garages throughout the area. He lives a simple life, but he was once part of the town’s golden couple – the kind of couple where, when people saw them together, they stopped to stare and bask in the perfection of Johnny and his girl together. But then she suddenly left town and left Johnny wrecked, and he has been a shadow of his former self ever since. When Izzy comes into his life, he wasn’t expecting her.

I looooooved these two together! They are honest and up front about everything, and it makes for such a satisfying read. Johnny likes Izzy, he can see himself building something with her, but he knows that he has been left half a man and that Izzy deserves better than what he can offer her, and he doesn’t hide that from her – or his disappointment that that’s the way it is.

“Fuck,” he whispered, his arms spasming around me.
My voice got soft again. “Johnny, it’s okay.”
His voice got soft too. “I wish I met you before she fucked me up.”

It’s a bit of a bumpy start for them, and though Johnny has his doubts, their pull is irresistible, and as Johnny learns more about Izzy, he knows that he can’t walk away from her and in true KA alpha style, he goes after his woman with single-minded determination. It’s hot and swoony, and deliciously no-nonsense, and I loved watching it all happen for them.

“If you were put on this earth to take care of me, what was I put on this earth to do for you?”
… “To make me happy.”

And don’t go thinking this book is all about OW drama, or about Johnny getting over his long lost love and Izzy only being second best. It’s not that at all! It’s about a man who was in love, who had his heart broken and who is moving from the past and discovering something new. And it’s beautiful! If in doubt, just check out this piece of swoony epicness…

“She was three years ago, Eliza. I loved her. That fact doesn’t change. I loved her and she wrecked me when she left because that was how much I loved her. I’m not going to apologise for that or deny it or walk on eggshells with you about it while we figure out what we got and why it’s so fuckin’ good and so fuckin’ intense and so fuckin’ everything.”

Johnny Gamble…. Oh, be still my beating heart. He’s a genuinely good guy who has had some hardships but who has persevered. I love the way he opens himself up to Izzy and her family, embracing her and all that she is, and he is such a loving, manly, possessive and protective alpha. Oh, and he’s also sexy as all hell.

“After drinks, we’ll come back to my place and I’ll fuck you stupid.”

(Yes please!!)

And Izzy is just gorgeous. I love that she was a little bit shy and uncertain, but she’s smart and sensible, and once she found her place, she truly shone, and she and Johnny were just perfect together. They have sizzling chemistry, they are sweet, fun, honest, open, super passionate and so freaking functional. They are everything that I love about Kristen Ashley, and I felt, and loved, every moment of them together.

“The going will get tough, and you’ll stick. We’ll fight, and you’ll stick. Our world could rock, Eliza, and there’s one thing I’m certain about, you’ll stick.”

Their friends and families are a big part of the story, being all up in Johnny and Izzy’s business, but I thought it was fun, and it brings a bit of drama and depth to the story without being OTT. Because there’s honestly not a lot of story in this one, it’s just a gorgeous romance and I loved seeing Johnny and Izzy come together and get the happy ending they both deserve.

“Love never really dies, but it does fade … And when it fades, the part that remains teaches us how to love better the next time.”

I can’t wait for more of this series. 4 stars.

 

Moonlight & Motoroil

 

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