Holy moly, this book was an emotional roller coaster!
After the way the previous book ended, I had been very curious to see in which direction the author would take Jane and Eric. Part of me was worried that they’d be separated for most of the book or that anyway there would have been a disconnect between the two of them. Instead, I loved how they managed to find their way back to each other, this time without the pretense of a fake marriage.
Eric was a big surprise for me in this book. In the first installment I saw him as a very self-assured man, the type of guy that no one can bring down. In this second book, he is more vulnerable, frail, and seeing him struggle with himself and his love to keep Jane safe was heart-wrenching.
This book was full of ups and downs for this couple. I had the feeling, as I was reading it, that I too was walking on eggshells the way they were sometimes doing with each other, unsure of the other’s feelings. Only to then stomp on all those eggshells when they cannot hold in their emotions anymore. Which brings me to another point I want to touch, and bear with me while I go off on a tangent. Many moons ago, while I was still reviewing lots of YA, usually with some paranormal aspects, I discussed how second books often feature a reason why the two leads shouldn’t be together, be it curse, a surprise kinship, or whatever, and I remember that at the time I bashed a book because, in my opinion, the best thing about this “trope” are the outbursts, meaning that despite the don’ts and shouldn’ts, the characters just cannot help themselves from being together. Now, going back the book at hand, this was the perfect example of how it should be done. Because of Jane’s father dearest, being together is risky. But instead of just freezing the relationship into a pillar of ice like I’d seen so many other books do, in this case it transformed into a low simmer that couldn’t help but increase to the point of spilling out of the pot. Tangent over.
Now onto other things I loved about this book. Skylar and Brandon are again featured as secondary characters and it’s always a pleasure to read about them. Also, I really like Zola’s character and the role he played in this book. Jealous Eric is a treat 😉
Also, how could I ever forget to mention the heat level. Off. The Charts.
First of all, I’ll never be able drink vodka without some very vivid images popping up in my mind. And secondly, I appreciated how the steamy parts were never just mindless heat thrown at the book for their own sake, but rather used as elements to bring the couple closer, to signify something.
The ending was probably my favorite part. That last 20% really had me glued to the pages, and at a certain revelation I was squealing of joy, and snickering at the thought of Eric and Jane in that situation.
Now all that is left to do is waititing patiently (Ha!) for the next book. Let the count down start!