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Review
Holy freaking swoon! And holy freaking hotness! This book took me by surprise! I wasn’t expecting it to be as deep as it was, and I certainly enjoyed getting to see a new side of Woods. Holy hell, the man is swoony, Alpha sex on a stick, and I am smitten!
I fell for Woods while reading Fallen Too Far, and then Never Too Far. The son of rich parents and working at his father’s country club, we discovered over the course of those books that he is deeply caring and fiercely protective of the people in his life, and I loved him for that.
What I wasn’t expecting was for this book to open with Woods hooking up with hot, young road-tripper, Della. They meet when he helps her pump gas, he takes her to dinner, and the two of them indulge in one night of (very explicit) wild monkey sex that rocks both of their worlds before he leaves during the night, and she continues on her way. Four months later and Della finds herself back in town, and unknowingly applying for a job at Woods’ club. When they see each other again, the intensity of their connection flares up again, and just… DAMN! The minute that they reconnect, their lives are thrown right off course, Della finding something she never thought she would have, even though she is terrified to take hold of it, while Woods is forced to reasses his whole life.
Della and Woods are both complex characters, and I am really glad this book is in dual POV so that we know what’s going on with them. Della is very damaged, having suffered a horrific childhood. Her story is utterly tragic, and my heart broke for her as she tried to deal with the trauma she had endured, the effect it still had on her, and her very real fears for the future. She suffers terribly, but is determined to get out and live life on her own terms and discover who she is. And I really admired her for that!
And while Woods may come off as a smooth, arrogant manwhore, in reality he is trapped. He is controlled and manipulated, big time, by this father, being forced into a life he doesn’t want for the good of their business. While I initially wanted to smack him and tell him to grow a pair, seeing his POV, that he knew and accepted that he was being manipulated (even though he hated it), I could understanding why he was allowing it to happen – even though it still irritated me. But all was forgiven when his growing feelings for Della finally woke him up and he decided to take back his life.
“I was doing it because (it) was the key to getting what I thought I’d always wanted. But you changed that. I realized I wanted other things. I didn’t want to be controlled. And I wanted a chance with you. Even if you don’t plan on staying long. Even if you aren’t one for commitments, I want this time with you.”
Woods is just sensational! I loved seeing him go all alpha caveman over Della, staking his claim and being ultra-protective, even when he really had no right to. Plus he has an uber-sexy bad boy thing happening, and that went right off the charts when he finally got his girl. Seriously, these two are ON FIRE, and I was stunned by the amount of sex in this book, and the explicitness of it! It’s not all sweet and tender lovemaking either, it’s intense and a wee bit dirty at times, but it’s not offensive or off-putting in any way, it’s just more sex than I’ve seen in any other Abbi Glines book and I wasn’t expecting it. It gives the whole story a more ‘adult’ feel, even though the characters are still young (he is 24, she is 19). But it fits the story, and demonstrates the intensity between them.
“Fuck, woman, you’re every damn fantasy I’ve ever had.”
But there is also some gorgeous swoon as their feelings for each other develop, and when Woods learns what Della is going through, his sweet side comes out, and his utter devotion to her and insistence on being there for her is absolutely beautiful!
“I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. I can’t walk away from her; I tried. I’m hooked. And now I’m about to lose my mind because I don’t know how to help her. I just need to go find her and hold her the rest of the damn day. I need to know she’s okay.”
“You are mine. Do you hear me? You are mine, Della Sloane. I will take care of you. Nothing is taking you away from me. Nothing.”
I really enjoyed seeing these fantastic characters again. There is no Rush, and only a tiny bit of Blaire, but the setting and the rest of the characters are all there – most notably Jace, Bethy and Jimmy (and a tiny bit of Grant, with a bit of a further clue into his future story, hmmmm….). There are other new characters introduced, and I have to give a shout out to Jace’s cousin, Tripp, and to Della’s BFF Braden and her hubby Kent – all three of them are sensationally protective of Della, and I loved how they were each prepared to lay down for her. Awesome scenes!
There is also a bitch and bastard from hell – seriously, I was feeling the need to inflict major bodily harm towards the end of the book when things started getting totally outta control! But the big climax is resolved, and resolved well. There is a bit of a cliffy, but it’s external to their relationship, and it’s nothing that I’m going to lose sleep over.
This book is more of a spin off from Fallen Too Far and Never Too Far, rather than a continuation. It’s very much Della and Woods’ story, and it is gorgeous. I can’t wait for more.
4 stars.
For full series info, see our Rosemary Beach series page.