The present-day Tyler Holiday and Paris Fairchild are a product of their past - one where they knew each other and developed an intimate connection despite their families’ rivalry and hatred…one where they both let one another down and went their separate ways, without truly dealing with the fallout of their time together…one where sins were made and secrets were buried. And because Tyler and Paris now find themselves in need of the other’s help, it’s clear that unless they come to a truce about everything that occurred when they were younger…unless they find a way to trust one another and prove that they’ve both changed…unless they work together to save their families’ wineries, their pasts will continue to dictate their present and more than likely their futures, which doesn’t bode well for either of them.
Even though life can’t be rewound, Tyler and Paris need to find a way to work through all of their issues…the problem is, there are so many outside interferences and factors that stand in their way and the fact that neither of them seem to handle things well when everything goes on tilt, I’m not sure if there’s a way for them to truly be more than the arrangement that they started as at the beginning of their story.
It’s clear that Paris is trying to protect herself - Tyler hurt her before and she still carries those scars and she also has others due to a mother and sister she never knew as well as a father who always seems to remind her that she was her sister’s replacement - one that will never live up to his expectations. And it’s the idea that she’s never been ‘enough’ that she’ll never be number one that keeps her on guard when it comes to her need to marry Tyler to save their wineries.
In Volume 2, Kim Karr provides readers with more of Tyler and Paris’ past, but she also paves the way for her two characters to make amends…to understand that the past wasn’t as black and white as they thought…to let go of some of the hatred they’ve always directed towards each other by taking a minute to look at the facts as they’re presented. Tyler and Paris seem to be happy and seem to want to make things work between them, but there is so much that they have to battle, on both personal and professional levels, which means that this cease fire that’s been called, in all likelihood, will not last, especially when reckless behavior, undiscovered family secrets, and half truths still seem to dominate their lives.
I knew that volume 2 wasn’t going to be all hearts and flowers for Tyler and Paris, but I had high hopes that these two would hold onto one another instead of pushing each other away, allowing old habits and family truths to overshadow what they were finally building as a couple. Heading into volume 3, Tyler has his work cut out for him and with all of the new knowledge uncovered in book 2, I honestly can’t see how things will sort themselves enough for Tyler and Paris’ relationship to remain intact and what that means for these two as well as their respective family business is definitely up in the air.
4 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)