Jessica Lemmon

Terrific second chance love story. Vic and Aubrey were high school and college sweethearts whose relationship ended with a bang ten years ago due to their differing outlooks on their future together. They have barely spoken in the decade since then. In the fourth book of the series, On Opposite Sides, we see Vic as Chelsea's brother and rival for their family ranch. As the only boy in the family, he has been the designated heir since birth. In that book, Vic comes across as rich, entitled, show more arrogant, selfish, and very unlikeable. I was waiting for someone to come along and adjust his attitude. As this book opens, Vic is thinking about his contentious relationship with Chelsea when a blast from the past appears.

Aubrey went on to get her teaching degree and become a high school teacher. As Teacher of the Year, she was given a year's membership in the Texas Cattleman's Club, where she knows she'll regularly see Vic. After ten years of giving him the cold shoulder, she's realized that it doesn't help her move past what happened. When she runs into him at The Silver Saddle, she decides it's time to call a truce and accepts his invitation for a drink. That drink turns into a one-off, get you out of my system night together.

Two days later, Aubrey wakes in the hospital after an accident at the TCC results in a head injury. Partial amnesia caused her to forget that she and Vic are no longer together, and she thinks they are still a couple. Her doctor worries that forcing Aubrey to remember could cause a relapse, so she suggests that Vic play along. Though he suspects the decision could come back to bite him, Vic agrees. He hopes to use the time to rekindle their relationship and earn a second chance with her.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Vic and Aubrey develop. Without the memory of their breakup and what caused it, Aubrey's love for Vic is clear to see. She is determined to spend as much time as possible with him while she recovers. Vic is more than happy to do so but also cautious. Because she doesn't remember their past, he is reluctant to take anything too far, but Aubrey's advances are hard to resist. I loved their time together as they got to know each other. I especially liked Aubrey's influence on Vic regarding his relationship with his sisters.

But as Vic and Aubrey's relationship deepens, he feels more guilt about the deception. His love for her has grown, but he won't do anything about it until she knows the truth. The revelation was as painful as he expected, and he fears Aubrey will never get over her feelings of betrayal. I ached for Vic as he gave her the time to process what she had learned, and I loved that he refused to give up. The depth of emotion at the end, with Vic's confession and Aubrey's realization that they had both changed and grown, was the perfect ending.

There is a little progress on the series arc involving the Thurston family's oil rights claim against the Grandin and Lattimore ranches. The stresses on both families are evident, but there is hope that new information will resolve the issue. show less

Fun opposites attract story. Kendall is a Hollywood agent who is determined to make a success of her chosen career. Unfortunately, things aren't going so well for her. She mistakenly committed her client, Isaac Dunn, to doing a sponsor's commercial without checking with him first. With his upcoming part reprising the role that made him famous as a child actor, they can't afford the bad publicity if he doesn't follow through. So Kendall travels to snowy Virginia to convince Isaac's twin show more brother, Max, to play the part of Isaac.

Max walked away from Hollywood fifteen years ago, burned out on everything he experienced working as his brother's double. He swore he'd never go back and bluntly refused all attempts to convince him otherwise. He prefers the privacy of his mountaintop cabin and the friends who don't care about his former life. His relationship with Isaac is strained because of it.

I loved the first meeting between Max and Kendall. Kendall shows up on his doorstep in the middle of a snowstorm, obviously ill-prepared for the weather conditions. She immediately launches into her proposal that he returns to Hollywood with her to do the commercial, thereby helping his brother. Max tells her no. Every reason or incentive she comes up with, he flatly refuses. When he tells her to leave, she plans to return to the town, stay at the hotel, and then try again. However, fate has other plans. She doesn't get far before wrecking her car and walking back to Max's house, where she is snowed in with him for the next several days.

I enjoyed watching the relationship between them develop. The sparks between them fly fast and furious despite their differences. Max is settled on his mountain with the privacy he craves, but he can't deny that he finds Kendall fascinating, entertaining, and sexy. With her fashionable clothes and Hollywood career, Kendall is all California, but Max's sexy mountain man vibe sucks her in. I loved watching her try to convince Max to go along with the plan. It's not until she opens up about why it means so much to her that he begins to soften his stance. I loved watching their interactions, as both excel at teasing and innuendo while their attraction builds higher and higher.

The chemistry between them is explosive. Neither expects the depth of the connection they feel, and they try to ignore it. After all, their fling has an expiration date. When Max agrees to shoot the commercial himself with Kendall as his costar, the result is incredible. But trouble looms when someone at the sponsor's office leaks the commercial long before its release date. Suddenly everyone believes that Kendall is involved with Isaac, and Max doesn't like that. When Isaac shows up at the cabin, all hell breaks loose.

I felt terrible for Max and Kendall. He hates the idea that people think Kendall is with Isaac. He hasn't quite accepted that he's in love with her, but he knows he's in deep. Kendall knows she's in love with Max, but her work is essential to her. She feels it is vital to do damage control, which means pretending with Isaac for a while. I feel as though if they had just told each other how they felt, Max would have been okay with the pretense. Instead, Max refuses to go with them and lets Kendall walk away. And Kendall chooses Isaac over Max because of her career. Each of them deserved the misery they felt. While Kendall tried to make the best of it, Max wallowed in his unhappiness. I loved the advice from his friend Luca, "Woman like that comes into your life, one who makes you tromp out in the snow and kick your own a$$ for her bonking her car into a tree, you don't let her leave. You drop to your knees and beg her to stay." Max's big moment at the end was sweet, romantic, and fun to watch.

I loved the setting of the book. Stranded together by a blizzard gives them plenty of time to get to know each other. Kendall sees a different side to Max when she visits the small town with him. The people accept Max for who he is without making a big deal over him, and he returns the favor by investing in the town itself. I also loved Max's pleasure in showing Kendall around his world and his surprise at how well she fits.

I liked the few secondary characters. Luca knows Max well and is one of the few people who can call him out when he's being stupid. One that I surprisingly liked a lot was Max's ex-wife, Bunny. Though she has a bit of a one-track mind, she was unexpectedly loyal to him. At first, Isaac rubbed me the wrong way, as he seemed all about himself. Hearing about how he treated Max when they were younger didn't help. I feel like he's got some growing up to do and can't wait to see how the author makes it happen. show less

Fun conclusion to the series. This is the story of Gavin Sutherland, youngest of the four brothers and unrepentant playboy, and Hallie Banks, the quieter, "good" twin to her superstar sister Hannah.

Hallie has always preferred living in the background, avoiding the spotlight, which works well as her sister's career manager. However, lately, she's felt as though something is missing in her life. She longs to break free of her fear of breaking the rules and do something outrageous and fun. show more Just talking to Gavin would be a start, but she feels like she turns into a blithering idiot whenever she's near him.

Gavin likes his bachelor life. He makes sure the women he's with know not to expect anything serious from him. He works hard as a music industry lawyer with his brothers' music studio, and he plays hard. He frequently sees Hallie thanks to her sister being married to his brother and their work together on Hannah's career. Gavin believes that Hallie doesn't like him because she won't meet his eyes and avoids him whenever possible.

The story gets off to a rough start between Hallie and Gavin as she steps out of her comfort zone, and Gavin mistakes her for her sister. Gavin sticks his foot in his mouth with some observations about Hallie (he thinks he's talking to Hannah), and Hallie doesn't react well. I enjoyed the scene the next day as the truth came out, and they cleared the air. Hallie makes up her mind to ask Gavin to teach her how to break free of her rut. When he confesses to needing help with the interior decorator for his house, Hallie offers up a trade - lessons in rule-breaking for her assistance with his home.

I enjoyed watching Hallie break out of her shell. Gavin does a terrific job of starting her out slow and working up to more daring things. I loved how she thought she was doing great when she drove the sports car a whole eight miles per hour over the speed limit. Neither expected to discover their attraction reciprocated. I liked seeing Hallie take the initiative, though I must admit that her rule-breaking in that instance was asking for trouble. Gavin is honest about his attitude toward relationships which suits Hallie just fine.

I loved watching the development of the relationship between Hallie and Gavin. They have fun together, and their chemistry is undeniable. Gavin is sweet in his determination to help Hallie fulfill her goals, and sometimes she surprises him. I loved the skinny-dipping scene at the lake and his shock at her actions. Hallie's insights into Gavin made helping the interior decorator a breeze. The more time Gavin and Hallie spent together, the deeper their connection grew. Hallie suspected early that she fell for him, but Gavin resisted admitting his feelings for a long time. His brothers see it and call him on it, but Gavin refuses to give in.

Hallie is shocked when she gets pregnant (no idea why she's shocked considering the rule she broke). She knows Gavin's views on marriage and children, but she finds she wants more than he's willing to give. She breaks off their relationship without telling him why, leaving Gavin wondering what went wrong. He spends several miserable days before Hallie's friends and sister confront him and point out his idiocy (without giving away her secret). I loved how he saw the light and immediately set out to make things right. I loved his big moment at the end, and his heartfelt "I was convinced loving someone meant missing out on life. You taught me being in love made life better" and "I'm about to break the biggest rule in my world and beg you for forever." One of the things I loved about Gavin was that he saw past her resemblance to her sister and loved Hallie for herself. I also liked how Hallie gained more confidence in herself as she stepped out from Hannah's shadow.

The epilogue was a terrific wrap-up to the series. I enjoyed seeing all four couples together and catching up with their lives. I had to laugh at Gavin poking at Cash about who has the better house. Hallie's happiness and contentment are evident, as is Gavin's joy in his life.

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Terrific second chance love story. Cash and Presley knew each other in college and had a fairly intense relationship. That all ended when he dropped out of school his senior year to pursue his dreams of a Nashville music career. Refusing even to consider a long-distance relationship, Cash turned his back and walked away, leaving Presley brokenhearted.

Years later, Cash is a country music star who made his dreams come true. But he also has thick walls built around his heart, keeping people at show more a distance. While his success is satisfying, it hasn't made him as happy as he thought it would. Cash finally realizes the price he paid for that success - losing the one woman he truly loved. When a DUI tarnishes his reputation, he and his brothers know he needs some help. His brothers hire Presley to write a story that will return the shine to his star.

After the breakup, Presley concentrated on her journalism studies and tried to consign Cash to her past. Years later, she works for a worldwide magazine but is still stuck in Florida. If she can impress her boss with this story, Presley can write her own ticket to anywhere in the world. All she has to do is manage the interview without risking her heart.

I enjoyed watching the rekindling of the relationship between Cash and Presley, though there were also a few times I wanted to smack them for being blindly stubborn. Cash and Presley's first meeting came as a complete shock to Cash and happened as he had a bit of a freak-out in the service elevator. All of Presley's good intentions went out the window when Cash kissed her, and old feelings came roaring back to the surface. Cash, who still feels guilty over how he broke up with her, is equally affected. To say that he wasn't happy to find out she was there to interview him would be putting it mildly, but his brother Gavin pointed out that they could trust her to be fair. Cash is skeptical, but that doesn't stop him from inviting her to stay with him.

It is clear from the start that the feelings Cash and Presley had for each other in college never faded. Sparks flew whenever they were together. The attraction continues to build until neither can resist giving in, though both insist it's a short-term, no-strings thing to give them closure on their previous relationship. I loved watching them spend time together, from talking about his career to hanging out together. Both of them fight their growing feelings. Cash believes that Presley has never forgiven him for the way he left her and that he wouldn't deserve it anyway. Presley is equally sure that he never really cared for her. The best she can do is write her story and move on with her life.

There are a couple of rough patches caused by Presley's pursuit of the story. One happens when she gives her opinions about why he does the things he does and asks questions about his family. Cash's reaction is less than polite (okay, her timing wasn't the best, either), and they exchange harsh words. I liked Cash's apology, which was sweet and very Cash-like. Later, Presley makes a very boneheaded mistake while trying to discover the inspiration for his signature song. She earned Cash's anger and hurt, and I appreciated what she did about it.

It is the ending that provides a roller coaster of emotions. From Cash's confession to Presley about the origins of his song to Presley's reaction, the pain for both of them leaps off the page. I ached for Cash and his misery while at the same time I wanted to push him into the lake for being such an idiot. I loved seeing Gavin's version of support and how he dragged Cash off. I liked seeing Presley put her hurt behind her to write one of the best stories of her life, then make an important decision about her future. I loved the scene at Luke's bar when Cash finally read Presley's article and his relief and happiness at the surprise waiting for him. I loved watching the last of his walls come crashing down as he finally stops fighting the past. The epilogue was fantastic, and I loved Cash's new version of The Apology Song.

Oh, yeah. I was curious about Cash's car, as I'd never heard of a Bugatti Chiron. All I can say is WOW!

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