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Review

3.5 “Oh my holy orgasm” stars

This is a hot and romantic novella that is loosely a part of the On Dublin Street series. It is set between books 1 and 2 and features Craig, a bartender who works at Club 39 with Joss. And yes, Joss, Braden (*SWOON!*), Ellie and Adam all make brief, although very welcome cameos. But this novella can easily be read as a standalone.

Craig is an out-and-proud manwhore – he enjoys women, flirts like mad while he’s working, but he never get involved. He’s not an asshole, he’s just never been interested in being with a woman like that, until one glance at a beautiful bombshell at his bar changes everything.

Rain arrives at Club 39 on a mission. She is there seeking vengeance on the guy who destroyed her little sister and sent her running off to Australia to recover, and she isn’t expecting to meet anybody, so she is completely surprised by her reaction to the hot bartender who strikes up a conversation and looks at her like he wants to devour her.

When our eyes met again Craig’s were filled with something…something I couldn’t quite identify. “What?” I said softly.
“I think you just might be more than a little magnificent,” he said.

From the very beginning these two have a battle on their hands. Rain has had a hard life and is not interested in a one night stand. She craves affection and the love of a good man, and she is prepared to hold out until she finds a man who is willing to offer her that. Fair play to her, she knows what she wants and she’s totally up front about it, and Craig accepts that, and for the first time in his life he thinks he may be able to give that to somebody. Rain puts up a valiant effort at resisting him, but Craig’s persistence and the sizzling chemistry between them is impossible to ignore.

“Craig.” I tried to plead as lust and desire fogged my brain. “Please, just leave me alone.”
“But I can’t seem to help myself,” he murmured seconds before his lips brushed gently over mine.

OMG, Sam Young writes awesome UST and the BEST kissing scenes! When Craig and Rain finally get together, it’s hot, it’s intense, and it’s so, so passionate – just their kissing scenes had me fanning myself! And when they actually make it to the bedroom, it’s steamy as all hell.

Both his hands were suddenly cupping my breasts. He squeezed them as he pressed his dick deeper into my belly. “Do you want me inside you?” he growled in my ear.
… “I-I-I don’t know,” I stammered.
He flicked his tongue against my earlobe. “I think you do know. I think you want my mouth between your legs, my tongue making you come first, and then my cock.”

Hot damn! Yep, Craig has a bit of a dirty mouth, and he takes what he wants, but he’s also got a beautiful tender side, and I love how the intensity of their physical connection is just as strong as the emotional one, and they both embrace what is happening between them and just go with it.

“I can’t promise what will happen in the future; no one can. But I can promise that I want to be with you.”

Very quickly, Craig and Rain become an ‘us’, but Rain’s plan of revenge and her promise to be there for her sister interfere with her relationship, and Craig’s working habits don’t help. It’s a bit of an angsty road for these two, can they make it work?

I enjoyed this novella. I know that developing a convincing love story for two unknown characters is tricky in such a short book – you don’t usually get as invested in the characters or their story as you would in a full-length novel. And even though I didn’t feel the love story like I did with the other books in this series, Sam young does a great job at setting up Craig and Rain’s story, and giving us a great mix of romance, sexy time and some nice emotional development.

I wouldn’t consider it a must-read for fans of the series but if, like me, you’re excited for anything On Dublin Street, or simply after a quick and steamy romance, it’s definitely an enjoyable read.

3.5 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.