Against the Wall

Against the Wall
4 Stars

While scouting the area for her golf course design, landscape architect Sophie Smith is saved from a stampeding horse by its exceedingly sexy rider, who literally sweeps her off her feet. Unfortunately, said rider is none other than Jake Lodge, the lawyer for the Kooksia tribe opposing the construction of Sophie's project. On opposite sides of the issue, will Sophie and Jake put aside their differences and give in to the temptation of their intense attraction?

Given the basic premise of Sophie and Jake's relationship, there is surprisingly little angst in their romance. Zanetti thankfully avoids the pitfalls of the silly misunderstanding trope as both Sophie and Jake communicate directly with one another rather show more than allowing anger to fester and grow.

Jake is typical of Zanetti's dominant and overbearing alpha heroes while Sophie is spirited and independent. Nevertheless, they complement one another, especially considering Jake's nurturing personality and Sophie's desire for family and a place to belong.

With regard to the setting, there is a wonderful sense of community in the town of Maverick. It is unclear how realistic the portrayal of the Native American elements are, but Zanetti does a good job of creating a sense of history and tradition.

All in all, an engaging romance with appealing characters and I look forward to reading the rest of the series focusing on Jake's siblings. show less

Sophie is a city girl visiting Montana to try and finalize plans for a golf course she designed to be built on a reservation. Out of her element she is not used to nature or animals. Exploring one day in the woods she is yanked up onto a horse by Jake Lodge so she won't get trampled. He and his brothers Quinn & Colton and sister Dawn are out riding for pictures Dawn is shooting for a project. Already opposed to the gold course idea but still friendly, they introduce Sophie to tribe members and their extended family. Jake is attracted to Sophie and hasn't dated since his wife died and he has a daughter. The whole town seems to butt into everyone's business and the main business is matching Jake & Sophie together. Jake is all for it and show more badgers Sophie into dating him. She's reluctant because he is the tribe's lawyer and sees some conflicts. Tempers and passion soar as they ease into a relationship along with a vote from tribal council on whether the golf course goes in or not. Great chemistry, close family ties, & humor make this book a treat Looking forward to the next in the series show less

This book was action-packed from the beginning with Jake sweeping Sophie off her feet and up onto his horse. It was what made it exciting and kept me captivated until the end. Not for one moment did I put the book down. The dialogue was well-written and I liked how Jake kept surprising Sophie, turning up whenever she didn’t expect him. The sex scenes were hot, though with as much tension between them as there was I thought they would have happened a lot sooner. But not to worry they were worth the wait because they revealed how good these two were for each other even though they were so different. Sophie the city girl, Jake the country boy – what really did they have in common? Yet they gelled as if they were meant to be together. show more What I liked so much about Sophie was that she never gave up, even though every time she came upon someone opposing her golf course it seemed like a lost cause. While with Jake, I liked how he pursued Sophie because he could see there was something special in her that called to him. That she was someone he was meant to get to know.

Overall, Ms. Zanetti has done an extraordinary job of penning this tale and I can’t wait to read more of this series in the future because the secondary characters – those of Jake’s brothers and sister – need stories of their own since they were such fascinating characters for the short time they were in this book.

~ TRS for AReCafe show less

Just coming off of reading the author's latest book Forgotten Sins I went into this book with high expectations. Maybe that tainted my feelings reading this book but it just didnt have that powerful punch as Forgotten Sins did. Not to say that the story in Against the wall wasnt a good story. I love stories about Indian tribes and when the hero is a hot hunky Cowboy AND Tribal lawyer - WHEW - great combination.

These two had serious chemistry from their first meeting before they knew they were on opposite sides of getting a golf course approved for building on reservation land. Once they realized this there were sparks flying for multiple reasons.

Super alpha male tribe lawyer Jake saves Sophie from being trampled by horses. From the moment he scoops her up on his saddle, these two cannot keep away from each other. As Fate will have it, Sophie works for the company trying to get the commissioners to permit the construction of a new golf-course development, while Jake is the lawyer representing the tribal leaders in opposition to this new development. Being on opposite sides does not stop these two from the unrelenting attraction they feel.

The writing style is easy to read with its unique rhythm. The characters are well developed and lovable. The love story is HOT and if you like alpha males, Jake will be your new book boyfriend. Recommended to all!

Against The Wall was a nice average contemporary romance but nothing outstanding.
It certainly is an entertaining read but the depth and emotions were lacking for me. There were some things I didn't like, one of them was the pressure Jake put on Sophie with the maybe-pregnancy. Always telling her she stays with him if she should be pregnant. Sophie fit so smoothly into Jake's family. It seemed too quick and unnatural to me. Also, the suspense plot was weak and resolved way to easily.

But I liked the whole setting. Hello, cowboys! And I'm very intrigued about the next book about one of Jake's brothers.


(A review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.)

By: Rebecca Zanetti
Published By: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Brazen)
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Book Blog For: GMTA
Series: Maverick Montana #1
Review:

"Against the Wall" by Rebecca Zanetti was the first in this series: Maverick Montana #1 read and a good contemporary romance. Who knew from their first meeting when 'Jake rescues Sophie (who was a Landscape Architect) for certain death via horse trampling by actually piking her up and putting her on the front of his horse." Wow what a start. Sophie quickly explains what she is doing there and is made uncomfortable and she shares her hope of the newly designed golf course land to be built on. With Jake who is a 'shark lawyer who loves to play hardball... and his show more family belonging to the 'Sooski Indian Tribe' opposes this buy out greatly. What will come of it all as these two who definitely do not see eye to eye on this situation? This will be where I say you must pick up this novel see what Jake will have up his sleeve. This author did a good job at throwing these two together and just let me say 'let the sexing began!'

Quote:

“I want your heart.” His mouth dipped to replace his hand. “You already have mine."

I found all of the characters well developed, memorable and lovable. This along with the beautiful description that his author gave us of Montana was simply off the chart...amazing.

If you are looking for a well paced, contemporary western romance you have come to the right place for "Against The Wall" will be a good read for you and Yes, I would recommend this read. show less