Series: Men of the Zodiac #9
Author: Sarah Ballance
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Published: September 14th 2015
Format: eARC | Pages: 151
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Publisher
★★★ (3/5) Stars!
Sarah Ballance | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Sign: Sagittarius
He's the perfect kind of trouble...
Zoe Davenport is on her way to a perfect, idyllic, private resort, where there's no ex-fiancé and definitely no public scandal involving said ex-fiancé. But one look at the exceptionally sexy resort owner, and Zoe wonders if she's escaped scandal just long enough to land herself in even hotter water...
Except that Ryder Nash isn't exactly a stranger. He and Zoe used to live next door to each other. She was the sweet little temptation who couldn't stand him-the bad boy with a loud car and a new girl every weekend. What Zoe doesn't know is that all those years ago, her father paid Ryder off...to keep him away from her.
And if Ryder gives into the fiery attraction that rages between them-even for a moment-he'll lose everything all over again...
I received a copy of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. In no way did this sway either my review or my rating!
So this series really hasn't spent much time on my radar. However, last month I picked up the previous book since it was by one of my favorite authors. So when this one came up not long after I finished that one and I happened to notice it was centered around "my sign" I figured why the heck not. I had also read my first book by Sarah Ballance and adored it mostly so it just furthered my decision to read this. The good news after finishing, I really liked it. Well, once again, mostly. The bad news? The ending has left me, well disappointed if I'm being honest.
See, I'm sensing a pattern. And not in a good way. Sarah Ballance writes wonderful characters that you can easily and very quickly get attached to. Her storytelling is absolutely lovely. Both good things. The bad is that you have a couple who meet for the first time, and yes basically Ryder and Zoe count because even though he was the bad boy next door...they never spoke or interacted, except maybe to stare at each other from the other side of the fence. They knew nothing about the other one. In both books I've read, things get intense and heat up really fast. Which is perfectly fine, I always feel the strong connection and sparks within the pairing. But from the point they meet you get like, 2 weeks worth of mostly sex or lusting after each other and very little of the "getting to know you" phase. Then by the end of the book, once again 2 weeks later, L bombs are dropped.
I had been hoping it was just a fluke with the first book I read, but now with this other one...I'm guessing that's not the case. Insta-love is such a bummer. I truly feel this would be my only complaint in both cases. But that's a big one.
The characters were so much fun though. Ryder was very much the gruff alpha male type. Oh my word and he had the most delicious dirty mouth. I swear when he would get all up in Zoe's personal space and start whispering all the naughty things he wanted to do to her...I had the urge to start yelling at my Kindle for him to start acting on those things. Sigh. His intensity was all kinds of sexy. I think I should kind of take back what I said earlier because I do have one complaint about Ryder. He had a pretty rough childhood that was mentioned but it felt somewhat pointless, except maybe to explain his drive and acceptance of Zoe's dad's payoff. I wish it would have added more depth to his character though and maybe be more of an issue in the present.
Zoe was pretty awesome herself. I appreciated the fact that she wasn't completely spineless. Her dad has basically controlled her entire life and all of her decisions since she was little. So I was expecting her to be more of a pushover, but she was far from weak. I loved watching her grow even stronger than she first appears and really stand up for herself. See that fire inside her when she takes control of her own life. She was a really great character.
Insta-love aside, there is a lot to love within this book. Like I said the characters are all completely lovable. Even the side characters, I love Sarah Ballance's writing style, and the setting was total paradise. Like I want to go stay on Ryder's resort island and never leave! However, as desperate as I was to want to continue with the Chase Brothers series of hers that I fell in love with...doubts are sinking in. I feel like I'm willing to take one more shot and keep my fingers crossed the relationship doesn't develop at warp speed. There's only so much of the early I love yous a person can take.
Thanks to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I had been hoping it was just a fluke with the first book I read, but now with this other one...I'm guessing that's not the case. Insta-love is such a bummer. I truly feel this would be my only complaint in both cases. But that's a big one.
The characters were so much fun though. Ryder was very much the gruff alpha male type. Oh my word and he had the most delicious dirty mouth. I swear when he would get all up in Zoe's personal space and start whispering all the naughty things he wanted to do to her...I had the urge to start yelling at my Kindle for him to start acting on those things. Sigh. His intensity was all kinds of sexy. I think I should kind of take back what I said earlier because I do have one complaint about Ryder. He had a pretty rough childhood that was mentioned but it felt somewhat pointless, except maybe to explain his drive and acceptance of Zoe's dad's payoff. I wish it would have added more depth to his character though and maybe be more of an issue in the present.
Zoe was pretty awesome herself. I appreciated the fact that she wasn't completely spineless. Her dad has basically controlled her entire life and all of her decisions since she was little. So I was expecting her to be more of a pushover, but she was far from weak. I loved watching her grow even stronger than she first appears and really stand up for herself. See that fire inside her when she takes control of her own life. She was a really great character.
Insta-love aside, there is a lot to love within this book. Like I said the characters are all completely lovable. Even the side characters, I love Sarah Ballance's writing style, and the setting was total paradise. Like I want to go stay on Ryder's resort island and never leave! However, as desperate as I was to want to continue with the Chase Brothers series of hers that I fell in love with...doubts are sinking in. I feel like I'm willing to take one more shot and keep my fingers crossed the relationship doesn't develop at warp speed. There's only so much of the early I love yous a person can take.
Thanks to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.
