***3.5 Stars***
After the events of the first book, I was really curious how the author was going to figure everything out between Holly and Sy....and I have to say, she did a good job!
First off, let me just say that Sy's past broke my freaking heart! Any time I saw those damn italics appear on page, I had to brace myself for some serious heart squeezing emotion.
The beginning of Sy and Holly's relationship was intense and dysfunctional. It was spurred on by pure lust and attraction. A lot of things were being felt, but nothing was being said...which just built up the tension since after reading the first book, you know what's to come...it also created some serious frustration.
I was concerned that this book would feel too depressing and dreary in the aftermath of what happens at the end of the first book...but it surprisingly wasn't. Watching Holly deal with her issues was so sad, especially seeing how months later she was still heavily weighed down by the loss. Her normally upbeat and spunky personality was buried by grief and anxiety. But watching the cat and mouse game with Sy slowly wake up her heart added some great banter and at times, comedic relief.
Once Sy pulled his head out of his ass, I loved watching him fight for Holly. He refused to give up. He recognized the same sadness in her that he carried, and he just knew that together they could have a future together. And that future was going to be happy.....and hot as hell!!
However, I wish it didn't take them so long to finally open up to each other. I understood both of their trepidations, and their reasoning made sense, but waiting for Holly to finally tell Sy what truly happened to her made the book drag in spots. The book isn't that long...a little over 300 pages...but damn did it feel long. I found myself a bit bored at times.
Overall, I'm really enjoying this series and am curious what's in store for the rest of the guys. Jesse, the manwhore, is next, which could be interesting.....but my real curiosity lies with Beau and his connection with someone introduced in this book.