4 steamy second time around stars
Tangled Up in Christmas is the second book in the Texas Heat series, though it can easily be read as a standalone. The main characters from book one appear in this story quite a bit, but the author gives relevant information about their relationship so that the reader does not feel like s/he is missing anything vital to this story.
After her celebrity photographer boss is caught in the #MeToo scandal, Hannah has little choice but to leave Los Angeles and go back to Texas, her dreams of making a name for herself in that world fading quickly. Even through her parents don't live in the small town of Sweetwater any longer (and for reasons Hannah has not been privy to), it's still the closest thing to home she knows, which is what she needs most right now. But after only a few moments of arrival, she smacks straight into the main reason she left in the first place: her childhood friend and ex-finace Roarke. He has now made a name for himself on YouTube doing what he has always done best: work with horses; in fact, his nickname is the Horse Wrangler, and though she won't admit it to anyone else, Hannah has watched all of the videos his friend has posted. She once shared that passion with him and worked side-by-side with the instafamous equine surgeon, but all of that went out the window when she was sent a video of Roarke appearing to be engaged in a steamy embrace with another woman. Hurt, confused, and insecure, a younger Hannah left without a word, changed her number, and took a job as far away as she could get. But distance and time have done nothing to make her forget her first true love, and when she accepts a job to plan a major event in her hometown for another life-long friend (who happens to be the best friend of Roarke), she knows she cannot avoid him much longer.
Roarke never cheated on Hannah - he never would. Though they grew up together, he is several years older, so while things simmered earlier between them, it wasn't until Hannah came home from college while Roarke was working the neighboring ranch that they finally got together. Hannah looked up to him and put him on somewhat of a pedestal, which is one of the reasons she fled: insecurity, and a bit of immaturity as she was a naive 21 year old at the time. Roarke knows he made a mistake in not going after Hannah when she left, but he knows things she doesn't about what happened that go deeper than alleged cheating, and he knows those things (while they are not about anything he did) would hurt her. So he left her be as long as he could, but he is finished waiting. She is back, and he has a plan to win her... if only she will listen and open her heart once again to him.
What I liked:
--- Both characters were likeable; the reader definitely feels the connection between the two and wants to see them reconcile
--- The plot is solid and quick-moving
--- Steamy goodness!
What I didn't like as much:
--- At times, Hannah still seemed a little immature in the beginning of the story, but once she realized how much she had lost and what she had to gain, she seemed to get it together
--- I had an ARC copy of this book, so I thought I was in one place in the story, but I was much farther ahead (the book ended at the 57% mark, so it felt very abrupt for that reason as I had no idea there was another story attached)
--- Some of the circumstances didn't make sense.... For example, Linda is supposedly Hannah's best friend but she had no idea that Hannah even knew Roarke, much less that she was engaged to him? Um.... that's not a best friend. Similarly, Roarke's best friend also never knew that they had officially hooked up and were engaged. Since they all knew each other since childhood, another scenario that seems highly unlikely (especially since the rumor mill in the small town was a focal point of the story)
Overall, a steamy second chance romance worth the read.
Plot --- 3.75/5
Main Characters --- 4/5
Supporting Cast --- 4/5
Steam Level* --- 3.5/5
Violence --- none
Language --- not egregious
POV --- Dual, but mostly from Hannah's POV
*Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it: 0/5 - clean; 1/5 - mild; 2/5 - sensual but nothing descriptive; 3/5 - now we're getting somewhere; 4/5 - yes please! ; 5/5 - they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all
Please note that I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.