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Jackson Hole #3
Demasiado sexy
Difícil de domar, pero fácil de amar… La exitosa carrera profesional de Charlie Allington estaba tambaleándose a causa de un escándalo que la había dejado sin salida. Ahora necesitaba un lugar en el que lamerse las heridas y planear su futuro. Trabajar en un hotel de su pueblo natal no era su sueño, pero había una ventaja en toda aquella situació cierto chico sexy de la zona, que sabía cómo hacer que una chica se sintiera bienvenida. El vaquero Walker Pearce nunca hubiera esperado que la Charlie adulta fuera toda una tentación con unos vaqueros ajustados. Era inteligente y tenía éxito en su profesión, así que estaba fuera del alcance de un hombre como él. Pero Walker no estaba dispuesto a permitir que eso, ni sus secretos, interfirieran con la atracción que sentían ambos. Sin embargo, cuando la pasión se transformó en algo diferente, ¿la verdad sobre cada uno de ellos los separaría… o los uniría para siempre?
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
62 people are currently reading
1296 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Dahl
65 books2,001 followersI have my mother to thank for my passion for writing. My mom is an avid reader of popular fiction, and I began reading highly inappropriate books around the age of eleven, I think. (Thanks, Mom, for always leaving those delicious books strewn about!)
To Tempt a Scotsman, a Golden Heart winning historical, was my first published book. Here I am signing the cover! A Rake's Guide to Pleasure (which was excerpted at the back of Scotsman) is my second.
Due to my all-around goofiness, my agent suggested I also try my hand at a contemporary romantic comedy. Boy, is my agent smart! I had a great time writing Talk Me Down, the story of a young woman who goes back to her small hometown in Colorado and causes a huge stir with her secretive career and her burgeoning relationship with the chief of police. Not only did I have a great time writing it, but Tara Parsons at HQN liked it too! So if you like cold weather, hot sex and dirty jokes, be sure to check out Talk Me Down (out in January 2009).
Speaking of cold weather, my family and I live in a beautiful ski town in
Utah. No, I don't ski. I prefer to sit inside with a hot toddy and a good
book while the snow falls. It's especially beautiful to watch when from the inside!
I have a wonderful husband and children, and the house is kind of crowded, what with the dukes, Scotsmen, police chiefs, and naughty ladies running around, but my family is very understanding about my imaginary friends. Good thing, since they refuse to leave!
To Tempt a Scotsman, a Golden Heart winning historical, was my first published book. Here I am signing the cover! A Rake's Guide to Pleasure (which was excerpted at the back of Scotsman) is my second.
Due to my all-around goofiness, my agent suggested I also try my hand at a contemporary romantic comedy. Boy, is my agent smart! I had a great time writing Talk Me Down, the story of a young woman who goes back to her small hometown in Colorado and causes a huge stir with her secretive career and her burgeoning relationship with the chief of police. Not only did I have a great time writing it, but Tara Parsons at HQN liked it too! So if you like cold weather, hot sex and dirty jokes, be sure to check out Talk Me Down (out in January 2009).
Speaking of cold weather, my family and I live in a beautiful ski town in
Utah. No, I don't ski. I prefer to sit inside with a hot toddy and a good
book while the snow falls. It's especially beautiful to watch when from the inside!
I have a wonderful husband and children, and the house is kind of crowded, what with the dukes, Scotsmen, police chiefs, and naughty ladies running around, but my family is very understanding about my imaginary friends. Good thing, since they refuse to leave!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
February 4, 2017
Quick review for a quick read. I read this in a matter of hours, but all I really got out of this story was a "meh" read, unfortunately. Walker and Charlie definitely had chemistry and some fun flirtations in the mix (though there were some sensual scenes that made me cringe because they were awkward), but on the whole, I wasn't really taken into this story very much even with the quirky personalities and side-characters this narrative had to offer. Walker and Charlie respectively come from really difficult places, disgraced and fired from their jobs for former relationships that involved cheating with married spouses and nursing assumptions against their reputations. They were once childhood friends but grew apart and eventually reconciling as they work at the same ski resort in Jackson Hole. I could believe in Walker's insecurities about his educational background/learning disability and his complicated relationship with his father and brother. I found it harder to believe Charlie's particular conflict in the narrative, because it seemed to be one set of conspiracies/betrayals after another in a deliberate unfolding. Add to that a bit of a rushed ending for resolution to the conflicts, and you get me scratching my head wondering where both the time and the story went. At least it was a very fast read, but it's not a story that would stick with me for much longer than the moment. "Too Hot To Handle" I thought was a much better offering in the Jackson series than this.
Overall score: 2/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
Overall score: 2/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
September 5, 2013
I had a hard time warming up to the couple in this one. Each one seemed to put on a front. I know a lot of characters are written that way, but I was turned off by these 2. It seemed that each person was trying to hide things, things that they thought if hidden would let them be someone else. I wish that they would have just accepted those aspects of their lives and acknowledged the effect it had on them. I also didn't care for the way that each of them seemed to keep harping on things between them.
I did really like the relationship that Charlie had with Rayleen. I didn't think that Rayleen would like her and she was a girl, but Charlie just played into the more outrageous aspects of Rayleen's personality.
Charlie's job seemed off, the constant picking from Dawn, the sneakiness of Kevin, all lead me to think there was more going on there. Turns out I was right on what was happening, even with the people that were behind it. I felt bad for Charlie and the place she was put in. I thought she made the right choice in the end and did it in a way to protect herself.
I felt bad for Walker with what was going on with his father, but was glad that Micah was there for him. For two brothers being so different, they totally got each other. Walker's professional life wasn't much better. I was glad he learned why things were bad and glad that he realized that he had it in his own hands to make things better and did something about it. Where he ended up working was the perfect place for him.
I think the best part of this book was the girls night. I loved how 2 men dropped in , one forcing the hand of one of the woman, the other got an insider's look.
The ending was so great! I loved that the big event was filled with lots of grumpiness, just what we have come to expect.
I did really like the relationship that Charlie had with Rayleen. I didn't think that Rayleen would like her and she was a girl, but Charlie just played into the more outrageous aspects of Rayleen's personality.
Charlie's job seemed off, the constant picking from Dawn, the sneakiness of Kevin, all lead me to think there was more going on there. Turns out I was right on what was happening, even with the people that were behind it. I felt bad for Charlie and the place she was put in. I thought she made the right choice in the end and did it in a way to protect herself.
I felt bad for Walker with what was going on with his father, but was glad that Micah was there for him. For two brothers being so different, they totally got each other. Walker's professional life wasn't much better. I was glad he learned why things were bad and glad that he realized that he had it in his own hands to make things better and did something about it. Where he ended up working was the perfect place for him.
I think the best part of this book was the girls night. I loved how 2 men dropped in , one forcing the hand of one of the woman, the other got an insider's look.
The ending was so great! I loved that the big event was filled with lots of grumpiness, just what we have come to expect.
January 8, 2016
Not my favorite of this series. Charlie has come back to Jackson Hole after working for several years in Tahoe. Unfortunately, while she was there she got caught in the middle of some illegal dealings, then discovered that the man she thought she loved was married and setting her up to take the fall. While cleared of any illegal doing, her reputation is toast and the best she can do is working for an old high school classmate. The working conditions aren't great, but at least she has a job.
Walker is also dealing with work related issues. He was working at a local dude ranch when the boss's wife went too far in her pursuit of him. He likes women a lot, and is well-known for giving them pleasure, but messing with a married woman didn't feel right. However, the boss took a dim view of the rumors and fired him. He's having a hard time finding a new job because no boss wants to hire a man he can't trust around his woman. It doesn't help that he's got issues that limit the kinds of jobs he can get anyway.
When they were in high school, Walker and Charlie were friends, as well as Charlie being Walker's tutor. Charlie had a crush on Walker, but he was the school's hottest guy and she was a nerd. Strangely enough, Walker had a crush on her, but felt that he was too stupid to look at a girl like her. When they meet again as adults there is immediate and overwhelming attraction.
This is where it starts to fall apart for me. They can't keep their hands off each other and go at it whenever they are together. Every time one of them starts asking uncomfortable questions or says something they don't want to talk about, the other immediately tries to distract with sex. They appear to be growing closer, with both of them discovering that interest in other people is becoming non-existent. Unfortunately, neither of them is really sharing what is most important.
There were things I liked about Charlie. I liked the way she is doing what she needs to do to start over. She is working really hard at the new job, even putting up with the crap that her boss is dishing out. I also loved her relationship with the irascible Rayleen. Instead of being offended by the woman's treatment of men and the hard time she gives Charlie herself, she is completely amused by her. However, as Charlie got closer to Walker, I didn't like that she never told him what she had gone through before she came home. I also didn't like the way that she was constantly nagging at him to apply for jobs other than ranch hand, even though he told her to stop. I wasn't at all surprised that her lack of honesty with him came back to bite her when he did find out.
There were also things I liked about Walker. He's is a really nice guy at heart. He may sleep with a lot of women, but he treats them well while he's doing it. He doesn't cheat on them, and is clear that he doesn't do commitment. He also has a fantastic relationship with his brother, who is about as different from Walker as a brother can be. And I really loved seeing him with kids. He never had any trouble relating to kids, even the handicapped ones. I didn't like the way that he was always so down on himself. Yes, he's dyslexic, which caused him great problems at school and with his father. But he refuses to listen to anyone who tries to tell him that he is capable of far more than he believes.
I had a hard time believing in a romance between Walker and Charlie because they frequently didn't seem to actually hear what the other one was saying. They also kept their emotions to themselves most of the time. There were a few times when they would open up a little bit, but then would retreat again. It wasn't until near the end, when Charlie's past came up, that they seemed to share some real emotions, and those were negative ones. It did give them each something to think about, and realize that they had decisions to make. I liked the conclusion as both admitted their mistakes, which gave me hope that they could pull off a happy ending after all.
The best part of the book was actually what was going on up at the resort. Charlie is actually very good at her job, and she isn't there long before her instincts tell her that there is something funny going on. She's not sure if she should trust herself at first, because of her previous history, but eventually she does investigate. I really loved seeing her figure things out, then have to decide what she's going to do about it. I loved the decision she made and how she made it happen.
The epilogue was good, with a nice wrap up to the story lines. I liked seeing where Charlie and Walker's decisions about their futures took them. I also loved the last part with Rayleen. It was sweet and salty, just like her.
Walker is also dealing with work related issues. He was working at a local dude ranch when the boss's wife went too far in her pursuit of him. He likes women a lot, and is well-known for giving them pleasure, but messing with a married woman didn't feel right. However, the boss took a dim view of the rumors and fired him. He's having a hard time finding a new job because no boss wants to hire a man he can't trust around his woman. It doesn't help that he's got issues that limit the kinds of jobs he can get anyway.
When they were in high school, Walker and Charlie were friends, as well as Charlie being Walker's tutor. Charlie had a crush on Walker, but he was the school's hottest guy and she was a nerd. Strangely enough, Walker had a crush on her, but felt that he was too stupid to look at a girl like her. When they meet again as adults there is immediate and overwhelming attraction.
This is where it starts to fall apart for me. They can't keep their hands off each other and go at it whenever they are together. Every time one of them starts asking uncomfortable questions or says something they don't want to talk about, the other immediately tries to distract with sex. They appear to be growing closer, with both of them discovering that interest in other people is becoming non-existent. Unfortunately, neither of them is really sharing what is most important.
There were things I liked about Charlie. I liked the way she is doing what she needs to do to start over. She is working really hard at the new job, even putting up with the crap that her boss is dishing out. I also loved her relationship with the irascible Rayleen. Instead of being offended by the woman's treatment of men and the hard time she gives Charlie herself, she is completely amused by her. However, as Charlie got closer to Walker, I didn't like that she never told him what she had gone through before she came home. I also didn't like the way that she was constantly nagging at him to apply for jobs other than ranch hand, even though he told her to stop. I wasn't at all surprised that her lack of honesty with him came back to bite her when he did find out.
There were also things I liked about Walker. He's is a really nice guy at heart. He may sleep with a lot of women, but he treats them well while he's doing it. He doesn't cheat on them, and is clear that he doesn't do commitment. He also has a fantastic relationship with his brother, who is about as different from Walker as a brother can be. And I really loved seeing him with kids. He never had any trouble relating to kids, even the handicapped ones. I didn't like the way that he was always so down on himself. Yes, he's dyslexic, which caused him great problems at school and with his father. But he refuses to listen to anyone who tries to tell him that he is capable of far more than he believes.
I had a hard time believing in a romance between Walker and Charlie because they frequently didn't seem to actually hear what the other one was saying. They also kept their emotions to themselves most of the time. There were a few times when they would open up a little bit, but then would retreat again. It wasn't until near the end, when Charlie's past came up, that they seemed to share some real emotions, and those were negative ones. It did give them each something to think about, and realize that they had decisions to make. I liked the conclusion as both admitted their mistakes, which gave me hope that they could pull off a happy ending after all.
The best part of the book was actually what was going on up at the resort. Charlie is actually very good at her job, and she isn't there long before her instincts tell her that there is something funny going on. She's not sure if she should trust herself at first, because of her previous history, but eventually she does investigate. I really loved seeing her figure things out, then have to decide what she's going to do about it. I loved the decision she made and how she made it happen.
The epilogue was good, with a nice wrap up to the story lines. I liked seeing where Charlie and Walker's decisions about their futures took them. I also loved the last part with Rayleen. It was sweet and salty, just like her.
February 7, 2015
Well that was just delightful.
August 28, 2020
Both equally unlikable.
March 15, 2014
Victoria Dahl is one of my favourite authors of contemporary romance, but I let myself be put off by the very lukewarm reviews of her latest series (especially the first book in it). Well, I shouldn't have, because her contemps just work for me, even when I see some issues with them.
So Tough To Tame is the third in the series (which also includes a couple of short stories), but stands alone fine. Charlie Allington is used to being respected. She was a studious girl in school and, after leaving the small town of Jackson Hole, she started to build a very successful career in security. She was flying high until she trusted the wrong person and was left holding the bag (if you forgive the mixed metaphor). While the police withdrew criminal charges, her reputation in the business was ruined, as people assumed there must have been something to the accusations.
As the book starts Charlie is back in Jackson Hole, where a former school friend and her husband have given her a job as head of security in the new resort they're about to open. It sounded like a great opportunity, but it's turned out to be a nightmare. The former friend has turned into a complete nutter who disrespects Charlie and makes it clear she suspects her of all sorts of misconduct, including wanting to seduce her husband. At her wits' ends, Charlie decides the only way her sanity will survive is to keep their interactions only to working hours, so she moves out of the provided accomodation in the resort and into an appartment in town.
And immediately, things start to look up. One of the first people she meets there is Walker Pearce, whom she used to tutor when they were in high school. Walker was attractive as a teenager, but he's off the charts now. And he's just as attracted to her. He used to fantasise about her during their tutoring sessions, but he felt clever, good girl Charlie was out of his league.
I really liked both characters, especially Walker. I thought his character was particularly well done. Walker is dyslexic, and this has had a big effect on how he sees himself and what he's capable off. This is not one of those books where dyslexia is ridiculously presented as this huge, horrible, shameful secret. It’s not at all a secret. People know and some mild accommodation was made for Walker when he was in high school, although not really as much as he needed, or as would be made today as a matter of course (at least from what I hear from my friends who have kids). But, combined with the fact that his father saw and treated him as stupid, and that Walker has absorbed those views, this has resulted in a man with a low view of his own intellectual abilities and capabilities.
Walker is a cowboy, and although he enjoys some of the work, Dahl gives us a more realistic and unromantic view of the job than found in most romances. It can be back-breakingly hard work, especially as a man gets older. It's pretty miserable in bad weather and the job security sucks. When Walker is earning money he makes enough to live comfortably, and has managed to set aside a small amount, but he doesn't know what he'll be able to do in a few years, or what would happen if he got injured and had to miss even a couple of months of work. It's heart-breaking, because it becomes quite clear that he's got some outstanding skills, especially with people, and he could get a job that he'd like more and would be better for him, if only he dared go for it.
The relationship between him and Charlie was also affected by this, and in a way that broke my heart as well. Over the years, Walker has become someone who's seen as only good for showing a girl a great time in bed. He's just not someone women will consider as a prospect for a relationship. Walker feels that this is because he's just not good enough for the kind of intelligent woman he feels attracted to. And once he starts a relationship with Charlie, it feels like it's going to follow the script of all other relationships in his life. Charlie thinks so as well, not because she feels he's not good enough, but because he's developed a reputation for loving them and leaving them, so she feels that trying to have something serious with him is setting herself up for a fall. Watching them negotiating all this made for fascinating reading. This sort of plot is also a weakness of mine. I enjoy the role reversal, because it’s so often the hero is all confident and arrogant, and the heroine who’s suffering from self-esteem issues. I love it when it’s the opposite.
And by the way, those love scenes. Dahl is one of the very few authors whose scenes work for me (although there was one in this one where she lost me). Her love scenes are all about the feelings, not so much about what is going on physically. Oh, we get the physical as well, it's just that it’s not the whole point. They are also about developing the relationship. You couldn't just cut them out, because the relationship just wouldn't work without what's being shown in them.
Something else I really appreciated here was that there was none of the 'blood is thicker than water' crap we get in so many romances, where there’s this decree that you MUST forgive and love your relatives, even if they’ve been crap to you. We could have got that with both Walker and Charlie (father and brother, respectively), but we absolutely don’t. In fact, the resolution of a certain threat against Charlie is exactly as it should be (don’t want to add more detail than that), and I cheered her for it.
I had more mixed feelings about another element I usually love in Dahl's books, which is how her books often deliver an explicitly feminist message. This happens here as well, although with mixed success.
The successful part was the characterisation of Charlie, who is completely unconflicted about her sexuality. She knows (and even insists out loud to her slut-shaming boss) that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her enjoying sex and that no one has the right to judge her for it. I loved that.
However, what I didn’t love is that Dahl seems to think that it’s sex-positive and feminist to have women engage in the sort of behaviour that would brand men sexually harassing assholes. I’m talking about Rayleen, who seems to be a recurring character in the series. She is the owner of the apartment complex where Walker and Charlie rent, an old woman who constantly makes crude sexual comments to Walker (and apparently to any other young man who may live in the complex -she insists on only renting to hot “studs”). I get that she’s meant to be funny (Charlie finds her absolutely hilarious), but I didn’t find her so at all. Yeah, call me humourless, but I don’t think the aim of feminism should be to allow women to objectify men in exactly the same hurtful way they have objectified us over the years. Doing so can be a weapon in the fight (‘this is what it feels like, see why I’m saying it’s harmful and awful for us?’), but I didn't feel that was what was going on here. I had similar mixed feelings about the girls’ night Charlie has with her new friends. I'm all for women being frank about sex and about enjoying it, and I’ve had plenty of girls' nights with my own friends,where we bullshit about sex and it’s so much fun. This one, I'm afraid, felt forced and fake and pretty immature, like a bunch of little girls trying hard to be shocking.
This is only a very minor element of the book, though. On the whole, I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely go back and read all the others in the series.
MY GRADE: A B+.
So Tough To Tame is the third in the series (which also includes a couple of short stories), but stands alone fine. Charlie Allington is used to being respected. She was a studious girl in school and, after leaving the small town of Jackson Hole, she started to build a very successful career in security. She was flying high until she trusted the wrong person and was left holding the bag (if you forgive the mixed metaphor). While the police withdrew criminal charges, her reputation in the business was ruined, as people assumed there must have been something to the accusations.
As the book starts Charlie is back in Jackson Hole, where a former school friend and her husband have given her a job as head of security in the new resort they're about to open. It sounded like a great opportunity, but it's turned out to be a nightmare. The former friend has turned into a complete nutter who disrespects Charlie and makes it clear she suspects her of all sorts of misconduct, including wanting to seduce her husband. At her wits' ends, Charlie decides the only way her sanity will survive is to keep their interactions only to working hours, so she moves out of the provided accomodation in the resort and into an appartment in town.
And immediately, things start to look up. One of the first people she meets there is Walker Pearce, whom she used to tutor when they were in high school. Walker was attractive as a teenager, but he's off the charts now. And he's just as attracted to her. He used to fantasise about her during their tutoring sessions, but he felt clever, good girl Charlie was out of his league.
I really liked both characters, especially Walker. I thought his character was particularly well done. Walker is dyslexic, and this has had a big effect on how he sees himself and what he's capable off. This is not one of those books where dyslexia is ridiculously presented as this huge, horrible, shameful secret. It’s not at all a secret. People know and some mild accommodation was made for Walker when he was in high school, although not really as much as he needed, or as would be made today as a matter of course (at least from what I hear from my friends who have kids). But, combined with the fact that his father saw and treated him as stupid, and that Walker has absorbed those views, this has resulted in a man with a low view of his own intellectual abilities and capabilities.
Walker is a cowboy, and although he enjoys some of the work, Dahl gives us a more realistic and unromantic view of the job than found in most romances. It can be back-breakingly hard work, especially as a man gets older. It's pretty miserable in bad weather and the job security sucks. When Walker is earning money he makes enough to live comfortably, and has managed to set aside a small amount, but he doesn't know what he'll be able to do in a few years, or what would happen if he got injured and had to miss even a couple of months of work. It's heart-breaking, because it becomes quite clear that he's got some outstanding skills, especially with people, and he could get a job that he'd like more and would be better for him, if only he dared go for it.
The relationship between him and Charlie was also affected by this, and in a way that broke my heart as well. Over the years, Walker has become someone who's seen as only good for showing a girl a great time in bed. He's just not someone women will consider as a prospect for a relationship. Walker feels that this is because he's just not good enough for the kind of intelligent woman he feels attracted to. And once he starts a relationship with Charlie, it feels like it's going to follow the script of all other relationships in his life. Charlie thinks so as well, not because she feels he's not good enough, but because he's developed a reputation for loving them and leaving them, so she feels that trying to have something serious with him is setting herself up for a fall. Watching them negotiating all this made for fascinating reading. This sort of plot is also a weakness of mine. I enjoy the role reversal, because it’s so often the hero is all confident and arrogant, and the heroine who’s suffering from self-esteem issues. I love it when it’s the opposite.
And by the way, those love scenes. Dahl is one of the very few authors whose scenes work for me (although there was one in this one where she lost me). Her love scenes are all about the feelings, not so much about what is going on physically. Oh, we get the physical as well, it's just that it’s not the whole point. They are also about developing the relationship. You couldn't just cut them out, because the relationship just wouldn't work without what's being shown in them.
Something else I really appreciated here was that there was none of the 'blood is thicker than water' crap we get in so many romances, where there’s this decree that you MUST forgive and love your relatives, even if they’ve been crap to you. We could have got that with both Walker and Charlie (father and brother, respectively), but we absolutely don’t. In fact, the resolution of a certain threat against Charlie is exactly as it should be (don’t want to add more detail than that), and I cheered her for it.
I had more mixed feelings about another element I usually love in Dahl's books, which is how her books often deliver an explicitly feminist message. This happens here as well, although with mixed success.
The successful part was the characterisation of Charlie, who is completely unconflicted about her sexuality. She knows (and even insists out loud to her slut-shaming boss) that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her enjoying sex and that no one has the right to judge her for it. I loved that.
However, what I didn’t love is that Dahl seems to think that it’s sex-positive and feminist to have women engage in the sort of behaviour that would brand men sexually harassing assholes. I’m talking about Rayleen, who seems to be a recurring character in the series. She is the owner of the apartment complex where Walker and Charlie rent, an old woman who constantly makes crude sexual comments to Walker (and apparently to any other young man who may live in the complex -she insists on only renting to hot “studs”). I get that she’s meant to be funny (Charlie finds her absolutely hilarious), but I didn’t find her so at all. Yeah, call me humourless, but I don’t think the aim of feminism should be to allow women to objectify men in exactly the same hurtful way they have objectified us over the years. Doing so can be a weapon in the fight (‘this is what it feels like, see why I’m saying it’s harmful and awful for us?’), but I didn't feel that was what was going on here. I had similar mixed feelings about the girls’ night Charlie has with her new friends. I'm all for women being frank about sex and about enjoying it, and I’ve had plenty of girls' nights with my own friends,where we bullshit about sex and it’s so much fun. This one, I'm afraid, felt forced and fake and pretty immature, like a bunch of little girls trying hard to be shocking.
This is only a very minor element of the book, though. On the whole, I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely go back and read all the others in the series.
MY GRADE: A B+.
October 2, 2013
Goddddddd, Victoria Dahl can write a barnburning good book. How does she do it every time?
I think I've already talked about this in my other Victoria Dahl reviews, but I'm going to repeat it because it's TRUE.
Victoria Dahl--for me--can do no wrong. She writes romance novels that are so unlike anything I've ever read. But it's not outside a comfort zone. Here's how she does it: She takes tired trope (in this book's case: The Broken and Traumatized Girl Who Ran Back Home to Lick Her Wounds and Figure Out Her Life, the Super Hot Guy Who Has Dyslexia and Is Majorly Insecure About It) and completely writes the HELL out of them. In so many of my reviews I say, "I've read this before, but someone else did it better." And that someone else is usually Victoria Dahl. She takes these tropes and somehow makes them fresh, new, nuanced, complicated, layered, heart-wrenching, understandable, wonderful, amazing, shiver-'cause-the-book-isn't-even-close-to-done-and-you-have-so-much-more-story-to-read!
Personally, I have a lot of issues with the stock character of the Broken Girl Who Comes Home. She usually is beaten down and has to find her way back to her Sass-with-a-Capital-S through a man or through another trauma. I don't like that, and Victoria Dahl doesn't either. Charlie (short for Charlotte) is a BADASS, you guys. I was about 100 pages in when I thought, "My god. I want to BE her!" She's so unapologetic. So strong, so independent, so in control of herself, knows herself, is funny, witty, lovable, total best friend material, yet vulnerable and makes mistakes at the same time.
What a character. My god, I just want to hug this book all the time.
I love that Dahl shows a character who's been wronged, who did some wrongs herself, and is not at the top of her game, but doesn't show her as a broken, fragile flower. Because not everyone would react like that. Charlie's got such strength of character that it would be ridiculous for her to just shut herself up in her apartment and cry all day because people were mean to her and used her. That's ridiculous. That is not her. Charlie's going to go out, be herself, and have fun. Because that's her. That doesn't mean she's not suffering the aftermath of a serious betrayal. That doesn't mean she's not scarred from it. I looooove her because she doesn't let her past change her. She keeps going. But at the same time, you see her grow, you see her trust again, you see her try again. And that is a character I can get behind.
Same with So Tough to Tame's hero, Walker. I read a lot of romance novels, and there's at least 20 of them with guys who have a learning disability of some kind (most of the time it's dyslexia), and they're incredibly insecure about it/ashamed of it. This book's no different. BUT. The character of Walker is just so much more nuanced than any of those other characters with the same issue. Victoria Dahl really takes the time to show you the connection between Walker's dyslexia, his father's abuse, how Walker sees himself in relation to other people (eg: his brother and the women in his life). The reader has the ability (dramatic irony, anyone?) to see just how Walker sees himself and how Walker actually is. And the divide is heartbreaking. You're frustrated right along with Charlie when she tries to talk to him about pushing himself out of his comfort zone. You feel his pain when you find out why he can't do the things he wants to do.
Again, mannnnn, I just want to give this book as a present to everyone I know.
The other thing I love about Dahl's books as a whole is how she writes sex/sexuality. Her sex scenes are never gratuitous. They always further something, and it's usually character development. Something is always going on in those scenes besides intimacy. I love and appreciate that her books are huge advocates of knowing and owning your sexuality. I think a lot of RNs try to do this, but many get caught up on the whole Virgin thing (which can easily slide into the Virgin/Madonna vs Whore dichotomy--this drives me UP A WALL), or focuses too much on the woman finds her freedom through her male partner. In Dahl's books, the woman is usually very unapologetic about what she wants and how she wants it. This book is no different. It's not shameful to be in touch with your sexuality, Dahl's books say, and I think that's such an important message to have, especially with the audience who reads Romance Novels.
This book wasn't 100% perfect (I felt like the ending was a bit rushed), but I really enjoyed reading it. It was funny, sexy, the whodunit? was compelling, and this story had lots of things to say, all of which I agreed with: Don't let trauma/betrayal/your past define or change who you are; Don't let fears and insecurities stop you from doing what you want to do and what will make you happy; surround yourself with good people and the bad people won't be such a big deal anymore; you can save yourself; and every feeling you have, even the "bad" ones (like the ones Walker feels about his father) are legitimate and okay.
Required Reading.
Thus ends my love letter to Victoria Dahl. Please keep writing. You say everything I need to hear.
I think I've already talked about this in my other Victoria Dahl reviews, but I'm going to repeat it because it's TRUE.
Victoria Dahl--for me--can do no wrong. She writes romance novels that are so unlike anything I've ever read. But it's not outside a comfort zone. Here's how she does it: She takes tired trope (in this book's case: The Broken and Traumatized Girl Who Ran Back Home to Lick Her Wounds and Figure Out Her Life, the Super Hot Guy Who Has Dyslexia and Is Majorly Insecure About It) and completely writes the HELL out of them. In so many of my reviews I say, "I've read this before, but someone else did it better." And that someone else is usually Victoria Dahl. She takes these tropes and somehow makes them fresh, new, nuanced, complicated, layered, heart-wrenching, understandable, wonderful, amazing, shiver-'cause-the-book-isn't-even-close-to-done-and-you-have-so-much-more-story-to-read!
Personally, I have a lot of issues with the stock character of the Broken Girl Who Comes Home. She usually is beaten down and has to find her way back to her Sass-with-a-Capital-S through a man or through another trauma. I don't like that, and Victoria Dahl doesn't either. Charlie (short for Charlotte) is a BADASS, you guys. I was about 100 pages in when I thought, "My god. I want to BE her!" She's so unapologetic. So strong, so independent, so in control of herself, knows herself, is funny, witty, lovable, total best friend material, yet vulnerable and makes mistakes at the same time.
What a character. My god, I just want to hug this book all the time.
I love that Dahl shows a character who's been wronged, who did some wrongs herself, and is not at the top of her game, but doesn't show her as a broken, fragile flower. Because not everyone would react like that. Charlie's got such strength of character that it would be ridiculous for her to just shut herself up in her apartment and cry all day because people were mean to her and used her. That's ridiculous. That is not her. Charlie's going to go out, be herself, and have fun. Because that's her. That doesn't mean she's not suffering the aftermath of a serious betrayal. That doesn't mean she's not scarred from it. I looooove her because she doesn't let her past change her. She keeps going. But at the same time, you see her grow, you see her trust again, you see her try again. And that is a character I can get behind.
Same with So Tough to Tame's hero, Walker. I read a lot of romance novels, and there's at least 20 of them with guys who have a learning disability of some kind (most of the time it's dyslexia), and they're incredibly insecure about it/ashamed of it. This book's no different. BUT. The character of Walker is just so much more nuanced than any of those other characters with the same issue. Victoria Dahl really takes the time to show you the connection between Walker's dyslexia, his father's abuse, how Walker sees himself in relation to other people (eg: his brother and the women in his life). The reader has the ability (dramatic irony, anyone?) to see just how Walker sees himself and how Walker actually is. And the divide is heartbreaking. You're frustrated right along with Charlie when she tries to talk to him about pushing himself out of his comfort zone. You feel his pain when you find out why he can't do the things he wants to do.
Again, mannnnn, I just want to give this book as a present to everyone I know.
The other thing I love about Dahl's books as a whole is how she writes sex/sexuality. Her sex scenes are never gratuitous. They always further something, and it's usually character development. Something is always going on in those scenes besides intimacy. I love and appreciate that her books are huge advocates of knowing and owning your sexuality. I think a lot of RNs try to do this, but many get caught up on the whole Virgin thing (which can easily slide into the Virgin/Madonna vs Whore dichotomy--this drives me UP A WALL), or focuses too much on the woman finds her freedom through her male partner. In Dahl's books, the woman is usually very unapologetic about what she wants and how she wants it. This book is no different. It's not shameful to be in touch with your sexuality, Dahl's books say, and I think that's such an important message to have, especially with the audience who reads Romance Novels.
This book wasn't 100% perfect (I felt like the ending was a bit rushed), but I really enjoyed reading it. It was funny, sexy, the whodunit? was compelling, and this story had lots of things to say, all of which I agreed with: Don't let trauma/betrayal/your past define or change who you are; Don't let fears and insecurities stop you from doing what you want to do and what will make you happy; surround yourself with good people and the bad people won't be such a big deal anymore; you can save yourself; and every feeling you have, even the "bad" ones (like the ones Walker feels about his father) are legitimate and okay.
Required Reading.
Thus ends my love letter to Victoria Dahl. Please keep writing. You say everything I need to hear.
November 18, 2017
I really enjoyed this series!!
Now looking to see if there are any more.......
Now looking to see if there are any more.......
November 18, 2024
"📖 Demasiado Sexy de Victoria Dahl: Una historia que combina romance, química irresistible y personajes que te roban el corazón. 🌟 Perfecta para quienes buscan una lectura ligera y apasionante. 💕✨
June 15, 2016
So Tough to Tame is my TBR Challenge book for June 2016. The topic: Favorite Tropes.
I never get tired of the Friends-to-Lovers trope and So Tough to Tame is one of the best I’ve read. I’m not sure why it was on my TBR for so long … sometimes a book or an author will come so well-recommended that I decide to read it after the fuss has died down and then I forget.
Whatever the reason, I’m glad I took it off Mt. TBR because Dahl is unparalleled in her ability to give her readers fully-formed human beings who are not perfect, who have desires and yearnings, even when life isn’t 100% great. They forgive themselves for mistakes they might have made in the past and they look towards the future.
What’s better than a tired, gentlemanly cowboy encountering his former high school tutor? She’s still whip-smart but it seems like she might have obtained a master’s degree in sunny, suggestive flirtation. Walker and Charlie live in the same apartment complex, they go to the same laid-back bar at the end of their long days, and they definitely see each other in a new light.
I have to mention a cougar for the ages, Rayleen—the lady who owns the apartment and flat out owns up to the pleasure of eyeing a “fine piece of tush.” Walker convinces her, in his inimitable charming style, to let Charlie rent an apartment … and she lets him have it.
Rayleen raised a silver eyebrow and settled into her normal seat at a table at the corner of the bar. “You finally decided to up your cougar game? Ten-year age difference no longer a challenge?”
Walker and Charlie are alike in that they both have concerns about their past decisions and how that impacts their everyday: but that doesn’t stand in the way of them getting to know each other in an unabashedly carnal way. Charlie is just fine with that, thinking, “she could trust what Walker wanted from her.”
I think I might have to search out the earlier Jackson books, cause So Tough to Tame is a lot of fun.
I never get tired of the Friends-to-Lovers trope and So Tough to Tame is one of the best I’ve read. I’m not sure why it was on my TBR for so long … sometimes a book or an author will come so well-recommended that I decide to read it after the fuss has died down and then I forget.
Whatever the reason, I’m glad I took it off Mt. TBR because Dahl is unparalleled in her ability to give her readers fully-formed human beings who are not perfect, who have desires and yearnings, even when life isn’t 100% great. They forgive themselves for mistakes they might have made in the past and they look towards the future.
What’s better than a tired, gentlemanly cowboy encountering his former high school tutor? She’s still whip-smart but it seems like she might have obtained a master’s degree in sunny, suggestive flirtation. Walker and Charlie live in the same apartment complex, they go to the same laid-back bar at the end of their long days, and they definitely see each other in a new light.
I have to mention a cougar for the ages, Rayleen—the lady who owns the apartment and flat out owns up to the pleasure of eyeing a “fine piece of tush.” Walker convinces her, in his inimitable charming style, to let Charlie rent an apartment … and she lets him have it.
Rayleen raised a silver eyebrow and settled into her normal seat at a table at the corner of the bar. “You finally decided to up your cougar game? Ten-year age difference no longer a challenge?”
Walker and Charlie are alike in that they both have concerns about their past decisions and how that impacts their everyday: but that doesn’t stand in the way of them getting to know each other in an unabashedly carnal way. Charlie is just fine with that, thinking, “she could trust what Walker wanted from her.”
I think I might have to search out the earlier Jackson books, cause So Tough to Tame is a lot of fun.
August 29, 2013
Dahl has been one of my favorite contemporary writers for quite some time and I've even bought a few of her books new in the past few years (much preferring library and used books). But this latest series has been nothing but infuriating. I had high hopes for this book but it didn't start off well.
Walker Pearce is a real cowboy. Even down to the part where he's sleeping with his boss's wife. Well, he's sort of trying not to, but he's actually just been fired so now he can start sexxxing her up. But the thrill is gone so... maybe he won't now. What the what? This is the hero we're supposed to be impressed with? Maybe the heroine will be somebody better.
Charlotte, Charlie, Allington has had something go wrong her in her life. Something that caused her to come home to Jackson Hole where she was once part of a promising clique of girls. A clique that now delights in looking down on her. And doesn't she feel sorry for herself? Yes, yes she does. Because we get to hear about it through her POV. Nope, not really loving her either.
And unfortunately, the description of Jackson is off as well. I'm sure if you didn't live close by, you would enjoy the description. But actually knowing the town... Meh.
So Charlie is rebuilding a life, Walker is helping her while she helps him. Just not a book that I connected with.
But I love Dahl and I can't wait for her next series. Hoping it's better than this one.
Walker Pearce is a real cowboy. Even down to the part where he's sleeping with his boss's wife. Well, he's sort of trying not to, but he's actually just been fired so now he can start sexxxing her up. But the thrill is gone so... maybe he won't now. What the what? This is the hero we're supposed to be impressed with? Maybe the heroine will be somebody better.
Charlotte, Charlie, Allington has had something go wrong her in her life. Something that caused her to come home to Jackson Hole where she was once part of a promising clique of girls. A clique that now delights in looking down on her. And doesn't she feel sorry for herself? Yes, yes she does. Because we get to hear about it through her POV. Nope, not really loving her either.
And unfortunately, the description of Jackson is off as well. I'm sure if you didn't live close by, you would enjoy the description. But actually knowing the town... Meh.
So Charlie is rebuilding a life, Walker is helping her while she helps him. Just not a book that I connected with.
But I love Dahl and I can't wait for her next series. Hoping it's better than this one.
April 5, 2015
I'm pretty sure Walker just became my favorite Victoria Dahl hero!
Charlie and Walker rekindle their highschool friendship when she returns home after a scandal pretty much rocked her world and turned it upside down. She's not the same sweet girl she was in school and sets out to prove it to Walker. And he is more than happy to go along for the ride, until he realizes he doesn't want to just be that fun fling anymore.
I wanted to deck Charlie about 2/3 of the way into the book and tell Walker to run from her, as far and as fast as he could. I understood where she was coming from, and that she only wanted the best for him, but she was juts pushing and pushing and pushing...I don't blame Walker for finally blowing up on her. They both had things they were hiding from each other, but I understood Walker's reasons way more than I did hers, with what she was keeping from him. I don't think I ever wanted to stand up and defend a character as much as I did for Walker, I just wanted to yell at her to back off!
I'm glad they were able to work through everything, because I did like Charlie's character.
I've really enjoyed this series, I love that the other characters make appearances, but I was missing Shane! Loved that we got more of Rayleen and Easy!
Charlie and Walker rekindle their highschool friendship when she returns home after a scandal pretty much rocked her world and turned it upside down. She's not the same sweet girl she was in school and sets out to prove it to Walker. And he is more than happy to go along for the ride, until he realizes he doesn't want to just be that fun fling anymore.
I wanted to deck Charlie about 2/3 of the way into the book and tell Walker to run from her, as far and as fast as he could. I understood where she was coming from, and that she only wanted the best for him, but she was juts pushing and pushing and pushing...I don't blame Walker for finally blowing up on her. They both had things they were hiding from each other, but I understood Walker's reasons way more than I did hers, with what she was keeping from him. I don't think I ever wanted to stand up and defend a character as much as I did for Walker, I just wanted to yell at her to back off!
I'm glad they were able to work through everything, because I did like Charlie's character.
I've really enjoyed this series, I love that the other characters make appearances, but I was missing Shane! Loved that we got more of Rayleen and Easy!
September 12, 2015
Victoria Dahl plante sa nouvelle série dans une petite ville américaine - Jackson Hole, dans le Wyoming - qui est aussi le pays des santiags, des Stetson et des cowboys. Et là je vous vois hausser le sourcil en guise d'acquiescement. Hmm...
Ce livre, en fait le 3ème tome (après Pas si sage... et Un destin rebelle), peut être lu de façon totalement indépendante.
Bref.
J'ai franchement beaucoup aimé les débuts de l'histoire, l'humour, les personnages, le cadre et l'ambiance. C'était génial ! On bascule vite dans la gaudriole - avis aux amateurs, c'est très, très sexy - même si j'aurais voulu davantage de séduction ou de sensibilité pour dire que ce n'est pas juste « du sexe pour du sexe ». L'histoire opère un virement plus solennel dans la dernière partie, pas très folichon, mais l'épilogue est craquant à souhait.
Il me tarde de retourner au pays des cowboys !
Ce livre, en fait le 3ème tome (après Pas si sage... et Un destin rebelle), peut être lu de façon totalement indépendante.
Bref.
J'ai franchement beaucoup aimé les débuts de l'histoire, l'humour, les personnages, le cadre et l'ambiance. C'était génial ! On bascule vite dans la gaudriole - avis aux amateurs, c'est très, très sexy - même si j'aurais voulu davantage de séduction ou de sensibilité pour dire que ce n'est pas juste « du sexe pour du sexe ». L'histoire opère un virement plus solennel dans la dernière partie, pas très folichon, mais l'épilogue est craquant à souhait.
Il me tarde de retourner au pays des cowboys !
November 25, 2013
4 1/2 Stars. This is my first Victoria Dahl and I can see why her fans rave. At first glance I didn't think it would be my cup of tea but she sucked me in with her vulnerable but tough hero and her tough but vulnerable heroine. Unless it's the other way round.
Walker knew Charlie back at high school when she was one of the smart girls tutoring the dumb kids. He was one of the dumb kids in his eyes because he struggled with school because of dyslexia.
Charlie kind of liked him back then but he was a charming flirt playing with the big busted cheer leaders and she thought he'd never look at a flat chested beanpole.
The relationship between Walker and Charlie is sweet and flirty and sizzling hot. But the issues they both bring to the table are not easy to get past. Charlie is still smarting from a previous betrayal and Walker is settling in to be the no hoper his father declared him to be. Both issues will cause conflict and feed off each other to give us a very dark moment.
Altogether I really enjoyed the read. It's a little longer than my usual fare but by the time I got halfway in I was flying. Lovely sweet ending and it may just have brought a tear to my eye. Just the one.
Walker knew Charlie back at high school when she was one of the smart girls tutoring the dumb kids. He was one of the dumb kids in his eyes because he struggled with school because of dyslexia.
Charlie kind of liked him back then but he was a charming flirt playing with the big busted cheer leaders and she thought he'd never look at a flat chested beanpole.
The relationship between Walker and Charlie is sweet and flirty and sizzling hot. But the issues they both bring to the table are not easy to get past. Charlie is still smarting from a previous betrayal and Walker is settling in to be the no hoper his father declared him to be. Both issues will cause conflict and feed off each other to give us a very dark moment.
Altogether I really enjoyed the read. It's a little longer than my usual fare but by the time I got halfway in I was flying. Lovely sweet ending and it may just have brought a tear to my eye. Just the one.
November 1, 2013
I loved this book! It had a little bit of everything: romance, suspense, forgiveness, and memorable characters that stayed with me after I finished it. However, what I enjoyed most about Victoria Dahl’s So Tough to Tame, was the theme of acceptance, the acceptance of others and more important the acknowledgement of one’s own flaws and turning them into a positive.
Charlie Arlington left the small town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and became a successful business woman. In spite of this, she returns to her small town after being exonerated in an embezzlement law suit to work for a ‘frenemeny’. Her new job as a security expert for her old high school ‘friend’ is not going as planned as the so called friend is constantly reminding her of her past troubles and how lucky she is to be given this chance. Charlie decides one night after work to blow off some steam at the local watering hole and reconnects with an old crush from high school, Walker Pearce.
For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2013/1...
Charlie Arlington left the small town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and became a successful business woman. In spite of this, she returns to her small town after being exonerated in an embezzlement law suit to work for a ‘frenemeny’. Her new job as a security expert for her old high school ‘friend’ is not going as planned as the so called friend is constantly reminding her of her past troubles and how lucky she is to be given this chance. Charlie decides one night after work to blow off some steam at the local watering hole and reconnects with an old crush from high school, Walker Pearce.
For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2013/1...
December 9, 2022
Es la tercera entrega de la serie "Jackson Hole, Wyoming", sin embargo se puede leer perfectamente sólo y se entiende totalmente la historia.
Hace poco me había leído el segundo libro y tenía muchísimas ganas de leer la siguiente historia del 'semental' pero me decepcionó bastante.
La historia se me hizo súper lenta. No terminé de sentir conexión con Charlie ni con Walker, es que no le encontré formas a ninguno de los dos, me resultaron muy aburridos a pesar de que la trama pudo haber sido muchísimo ya que trataba un tema interesante, pero no sé, no pude sentirme emocionada leyéndola.
Solo hubo un momento dentro de los de tensión sexual entre los protagonista que me pareció interesante, pero así de rápido tambien se esfumó.
Otro detalle que no me gustó es el momento donde Rayleen y Easy salen, pensé que ellos rescatarían todo y me animaría a terminar la lectura pero de la nada ya no aparecen hasta el momento final donde no me pareció atractivo la conclusión que tuve con ellos y los protagonistas.
El anterior me gustó más.
Hace poco me había leído el segundo libro y tenía muchísimas ganas de leer la siguiente historia del 'semental' pero me decepcionó bastante.
La historia se me hizo súper lenta. No terminé de sentir conexión con Charlie ni con Walker, es que no le encontré formas a ninguno de los dos, me resultaron muy aburridos a pesar de que la trama pudo haber sido muchísimo ya que trataba un tema interesante, pero no sé, no pude sentirme emocionada leyéndola.
Solo hubo un momento dentro de los de tensión sexual entre los protagonista que me pareció interesante, pero así de rápido tambien se esfumó.
Otro detalle que no me gustó es el momento donde Rayleen y Easy salen, pensé que ellos rescatarían todo y me animaría a terminar la lectura pero de la nada ya no aparecen hasta el momento final donde no me pareció atractivo la conclusión que tuve con ellos y los protagonistas.
El anterior me gustó más.
April 27, 2016
Read this on a campervan holiday in Cornwall, the perfect accompaniment to cold nights shivering on the Cornish coast as it happens (well, maybe not as perfect as having the hero of this book - big, buff Walker Pearce - wrapped around you, but close). It's the last (I think) of Dahl's Jackson Hole stories, with unemployed ranch hand Walker and disgraced security expert Charlie Allingham the couple getting it on in fine steaming Dahl style. A great rollicking read, with Walker's dyslexia, his crummy childhood and Charlie's wanker of a brother and her shameful past secret keeping them apart - while lots of hot sex, their own tender damaged personalities and their obvious need for love drawing them together. Loved also the little glimpses of the other couples we've already met and the chance to see that fabulous old wagon Rayleen who runs the bar next door - and knows how to appreciate a nice tight cowboy butt - finally getting her happy ever after too! Win win frankly.
March 24, 2014
I enjoyed the way Charlie and Walker renew their relationship and turn it into something more. I also rather liked both their misinterpretation of the other's expectations and talking.
What I did not like so much was mostly related to Charlie's naivete relating to her work, her past work and her current work. I really had trouble believing she could be good at security, considering how blindly trustworthy she was. Even though Walker's difficulties, , seemed overinflated in comparison with what they should have been, that represented well the mental barriers one can set to oneself. I really liked how Charlie and his brother finally helped him conquer those, though he had to want it for himself to make it happen. That seemed both real and motivational.
What I did not like so much was mostly related to Charlie's naivete relating to her work, her past work and her current work. I really had trouble believing she could be good at security, considering how blindly trustworthy she was. Even though Walker's difficulties, , seemed overinflated in comparison with what they should have been, that represented well the mental barriers one can set to oneself. I really liked how Charlie and his brother finally helped him conquer those, though he had to want it for himself to make it happen. That seemed both real and motivational.
June 26, 2015
Charlie Allington
Walker Pearce
WALKER IS SOOOOOOOO DREAMY! For serious, I can't not even begin to put into words the gushy feelings this guy gives me. He is a "man's man" but with such a sensitive soul and how he became the man he is despite is childhood is amazing to me. But this book is not all about Walker. Charlie is no wilting flower. Life has knocked her down more than once but she refuses to stay there. I love her tenacity and her sense of humor makes me want to be instant friends with her.
This was all together a great story of rebuilding life, facing up to your problems and falling in love. 4 Stars
Walker Pearce
WALKER IS SOOOOOOOO DREAMY! For serious, I can't not even begin to put into words the gushy feelings this guy gives me. He is a "man's man" but with such a sensitive soul and how he became the man he is despite is childhood is amazing to me. But this book is not all about Walker. Charlie is no wilting flower. Life has knocked her down more than once but she refuses to stay there. I love her tenacity and her sense of humor makes me want to be instant friends with her.
This was all together a great story of rebuilding life, facing up to your problems and falling in love. 4 Stars
May 2, 2019
God this story was awful and so incredibly difficult to get through it was unnecessarily long and i skipped many pages to get to the end and i practically missed nothing because i still figured out what happened beforehand. All this couple did was have sex which usually never bothers me but it was all so .... terribly written. I couldn’t handle it. Don’t recommend AT ALL.
December 25, 2013
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I needed something light to read the night before Christmas and this was absolutely perfect. :)
I needed something light to read the night before Christmas and this was absolutely perfect. :)
November 24, 2013
Great series by Dahl. Close Enough to Touch was my fave, but I really enjoyed this one and Too Hot to Handle. Sexy, real and very satisfying.
October 23, 2014
Wanted more from the epilogue but happy to see Rayleen happy :). I liked both Charlie and Walker...wonder what the future holds for them.
September 19, 2019
Kira-kira sampai berapa lama misteri penyebab Charlie aka Charlotte dipecat dari pekerjaannya di Tahoe dan tidak ada satupun perusahaan yang menerimanya kecuali resor milik Dawn, teman SMA Charlie. Dan Dawn menggunakan skandal ini untuk menambah tekanan pekerjaan Charlie yang mana dalam beberapa minggu pembukaan resor. Nah, Charlie ini bekerja dalam bidang keamanan yang meliputi penyelidikan latar belakang karyawan, penempatan cctv, membuat sop keamanan bagi tamu dan karyawan dll. Yang anehnya, dengan tipe pekerjaan yang memerlukan fisik dan pikiran yang jernih tetapi setiap malam selepas jam kerja, Charlie menghabiskan waktunya di bar setempat minum-minum (kadang-kadang sampai mabuk) dan berlenjeh-lenjeh ria dengan pengunjung bar lainnya. Sedangkan Walker, akibat tampang dan tubuh di atas rata-rata membuat dirinya yang sering dikejar para wanita, yang terakhir adalah istri pemilik peternakan di mana Walker bekerja yang membuatnya dipecat dan kemungkinan jika beritanya tersebar tidak ada pemilik peternakan yang mau mempekerjakan Walker lagi. Hal ini berlaku juga dengan Charlie yang sejak awal bertemu kembali tidak henti-hentinya menggoda dan mengirimkan sinyal-sinyal mesum ke Walker, muraham banget ya.
Dan ternyata saudara-saudara, skandal yang menimpa Charlie adalah ternyata Charlie berhubungan dengan bosnya yang ternyata sudah menikah (ahli keamanan tetapi tidak mampu mengecek status perkawinan pasangannya?). Ditambah bosnya itu menggelapkan uang dan menyeret nama Charlie, walau di pra pengadilan tidak terbukti, berita di luar sangat merugikan karir Charlie. Jadi dengan skandal yang membayangi, mengapa penulis membuat Charlie bertingkah laku penggoda kan jadinya tidak salah bahwa orang berasumsi Charlie memang sebejat itu. Satu lagi yang tidak biasa bahwa tokoh prianya bukan pria yang telah mapan, Walker bekerja serabutan entah sebagai koboi di peternakan biasa atau koboi pemandu di peternakan komersial. Ternyata pilihan karir Walker dipengaruhi masa kecilnya yang menderita dislexsia dan diperparah dengan sikap orangtua terutama ayah yang bukannya mencari solusi malah membully yang membuat Walker rendah diri walau menutupi diri dengan tebar pesona ke semua perempuan. Ada juga soal misteri keanehan perilaku Dawn, suaminya dan kakak Charlie. Sayangnya semua cerita sampingan itu kalah dengan porsi adegan percintaan Walker dan Charlie. Dan di halaman-halaman terakhir barulah semua terungkap dan agak dipaksakan endingnya. Di epilognya pun tidak terlalu jelas nasib Dawn, suaminya, kakak Charlie yang ternyata dua dari mereka bersekongkol untuk penggelapan dana dan mengkambinghitamkan Charlie.
3🌟
Dan ternyata saudara-saudara, skandal yang menimpa Charlie adalah ternyata Charlie berhubungan dengan bosnya yang ternyata sudah menikah (ahli keamanan tetapi tidak mampu mengecek status perkawinan pasangannya?). Ditambah bosnya itu menggelapkan uang dan menyeret nama Charlie, walau di pra pengadilan tidak terbukti, berita di luar sangat merugikan karir Charlie. Jadi dengan skandal yang membayangi, mengapa penulis membuat Charlie bertingkah laku penggoda kan jadinya tidak salah bahwa orang berasumsi Charlie memang sebejat itu. Satu lagi yang tidak biasa bahwa tokoh prianya bukan pria yang telah mapan, Walker bekerja serabutan entah sebagai koboi di peternakan biasa atau koboi pemandu di peternakan komersial. Ternyata pilihan karir Walker dipengaruhi masa kecilnya yang menderita dislexsia dan diperparah dengan sikap orangtua terutama ayah yang bukannya mencari solusi malah membully yang membuat Walker rendah diri walau menutupi diri dengan tebar pesona ke semua perempuan. Ada juga soal misteri keanehan perilaku Dawn, suaminya dan kakak Charlie. Sayangnya semua cerita sampingan itu kalah dengan porsi adegan percintaan Walker dan Charlie. Dan di halaman-halaman terakhir barulah semua terungkap dan agak dipaksakan endingnya. Di epilognya pun tidak terlalu jelas nasib Dawn, suaminya, kakak Charlie yang ternyata dua dari mereka bersekongkol untuk penggelapan dana dan mengkambinghitamkan Charlie.
3🌟
November 27, 2019
This was kind of all over the place for me. The writing is good in a lot of ways, but the characters are just a little too much. Charlie is just a little too preachy, Walker is just a little too defensive, Dawn is a lot too much of a shrew (and there's no resolution with her), Rayleen is a little too into sexually harassing men in a way that a male character wouldn't get away with, and there's just a little too much slut-shaming.
This also hit one of my biggest pet peeves: an author who writes about a character living in Las Vegas without seeming to know what it's actually like to live there. Charlie went to strip clubs every weekend living in Vegas? I've lived in Vegas for 15 years and I've never stepped foot in a strip club. Young women living a party lifestyle are more likely to do what they would do in any other city: go to bars or restaurants or go dancing. That's just the partiers. The rest of us live pretty normal lives, working regular office jobs, getting overpriced coffees at Starbucks, sending kids to school, watching Netflix on the couch at night. Living in Vegas, for the vast majority of us, is not like being a tourist in Vegas. Tourists do crazy things to get a break from their lives, while we're just living our lives. Authors don't seem to get that. It makes it hard for me to invest in the story when that misrepresentation is present.
This also hit one of my biggest pet peeves: an author who writes about a character living in Las Vegas without seeming to know what it's actually like to live there. Charlie went to strip clubs every weekend living in Vegas? I've lived in Vegas for 15 years and I've never stepped foot in a strip club. Young women living a party lifestyle are more likely to do what they would do in any other city: go to bars or restaurants or go dancing. That's just the partiers. The rest of us live pretty normal lives, working regular office jobs, getting overpriced coffees at Starbucks, sending kids to school, watching Netflix on the couch at night. Living in Vegas, for the vast majority of us, is not like being a tourist in Vegas. Tourists do crazy things to get a break from their lives, while we're just living our lives. Authors don't seem to get that. It makes it hard for me to invest in the story when that misrepresentation is present.
March 2, 2020
Charlotte Allington aka Charlie come back ke kampung halamannya. Charlie bertemu kembali dgn Walker Pearce, teman SMU-nya. Mereka tertarik satu sama lain tetapi saling menyimpan rahasia.
Ibarat benang kusut, masing-masing dari mereka punya hubungan masa lalu. Walker pernah berhubungan selingkuh dgn Nicole, istri orang. Sedangkan Charlie juga pernah berhubungan dgn Keith, boss-nya yg notabene suami orang. Sama-sama bikin puyeng kan?
Gak cukup kusutnya sampai disitu aja. Kakak Charlie, Brad menambah jalinan benang kusut sbg perantara yg membeli tanah suami Nicole dan "mengorbankan" Charlie utk bekerja pd Keith. Dan salah paham pun terjadi saat Walker yg merasa terintimidasi menuduh Charlie bersekongkol dgn kakaknya dlm penggelapan uang, hubungan yg baru terjalin itu pun ambyar.
Menurut saya sih, chemistry Charlie dan Walker ini insta-love dan murni hanya tertarik fisik. Masing-masing kurang/tidak paham kekurangan pasangannya, jadi pas mereka tahu, mereka tidak tahu hrs ngapain. Akhirnya solusinya gampang saja dibuat oleh author, saling memaafkan.
Selain itu saya kurang sreg karena skandal penggelapan uang itu seperti dibiarkan "floating" gitu aja di akhir cerita. Seri "Jackson Hole" ini tidak semenarik seri "Donovan Brothers" yg pernah diterjemahkan juga oleh GPU. Tapi buku ini lebih baik drpd 2 buku sebelumnya dari seri yg sama.
Ibarat benang kusut, masing-masing dari mereka punya hubungan masa lalu. Walker pernah berhubungan selingkuh dgn Nicole, istri orang. Sedangkan Charlie juga pernah berhubungan dgn Keith, boss-nya yg notabene suami orang. Sama-sama bikin puyeng kan?
Gak cukup kusutnya sampai disitu aja. Kakak Charlie, Brad menambah jalinan benang kusut sbg perantara yg membeli tanah suami Nicole dan "mengorbankan" Charlie utk bekerja pd Keith. Dan salah paham pun terjadi saat Walker yg merasa terintimidasi menuduh Charlie bersekongkol dgn kakaknya dlm penggelapan uang, hubungan yg baru terjalin itu pun ambyar.
Menurut saya sih, chemistry Charlie dan Walker ini insta-love dan murni hanya tertarik fisik. Masing-masing kurang/tidak paham kekurangan pasangannya, jadi pas mereka tahu, mereka tidak tahu hrs ngapain. Akhirnya solusinya gampang saja dibuat oleh author, saling memaafkan.
Selain itu saya kurang sreg karena skandal penggelapan uang itu seperti dibiarkan "floating" gitu aja di akhir cerita. Seri "Jackson Hole" ini tidak semenarik seri "Donovan Brothers" yg pernah diterjemahkan juga oleh GPU. Tapi buku ini lebih baik drpd 2 buku sebelumnya dari seri yg sama.
November 24, 2022
I started read Ms. Dahl's works with "Real Men Will" and I liked it. But, this Jackson Hole series were terribly disappointing
As I haven't read book #2 yet, I will review based on book #1 and #3. Both are similar, IMHO:
1. The main characters wanted to jump to bed at their first meeting, poured out their weakness while at bed and called it love
2. They had secrets, BIG secrets which turn into small after a quarrel and some serious thinking
Back to book #3, I found it upsetting that Keith had threatened to ruin Charlie if Charlie spilled out his crime but then didn't do anything when Charlie did. Not just that, but there were several issues in this book left unsolved, like Dawn and Nicole. So many holes that left me unsatisfied
Also, isn't it weird that Walker never interact with Cole or Shane, given they were used to live at Stud Farm?
As I haven't read book #2 yet, I will review based on book #1 and #3. Both are similar, IMHO:
1. The main characters wanted to jump to bed at their first meeting, poured out their weakness while at bed and called it love
2. They had secrets, BIG secrets which turn into small after a quarrel and some serious thinking
Back to book #3, I found it upsetting that Keith had threatened to ruin Charlie if Charlie spilled out his crime but then didn't do anything when Charlie did. Not just that, but there were several issues in this book left unsolved, like Dawn and Nicole. So many holes that left me unsatisfied
Also, isn't it weird that Walker never interact with Cole or Shane, given they were used to live at Stud Farm?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2020
#134 - 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Aku langsung loncat ke buku ketiga dari seri Jackson Hole ini,karena gak punya buku keduanya. Tapi sepertinya seri ini bisa dibaca sebagai stand-alone.
Dua tokohnya: Charlie Allington dan Walker Pearce ini punya masalah yang sama yang membuat karir mereka hancur. Sama-sama selingkuh dengan pasangan atau atasan yang sudah menikah. What a stupid stupid move they made. Keduanya sudah saling mengenal dari masa SMA jadi boleh dibilang hubungan mereka tidak terlalu insta disini.
Ada lagi kesamaan mereka adalah mereka suka secara fisik satu sama lain, jadi boleh dibilang hubungan mereka tidak terlalu mendalam. Mereka hanyalah dua orang yang punya masalah bertemu kembali dan butuh kehangatan.
Sebagai penambah kerumitan adalah adanya kasus penggelapan uang di tempat kerja Charlie yang baru yang melibatkan sang kakak, Brad. Brad lah yang dengan sengaja memasukkan sang adik ke tempat kerjanya agar pembelian tanahnya lancar.
Kalau cuma mau baca contemporary romance tanpa mikir tapi banyak adegan "seru", bolehlah baca seri ini. Lumayan menghibur dan kebayang lah gantengnya Walker ini.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Aku langsung loncat ke buku ketiga dari seri Jackson Hole ini,karena gak punya buku keduanya. Tapi sepertinya seri ini bisa dibaca sebagai stand-alone.
Dua tokohnya: Charlie Allington dan Walker Pearce ini punya masalah yang sama yang membuat karir mereka hancur. Sama-sama selingkuh dengan pasangan atau atasan yang sudah menikah. What a stupid stupid move they made. Keduanya sudah saling mengenal dari masa SMA jadi boleh dibilang hubungan mereka tidak terlalu insta disini.
Ada lagi kesamaan mereka adalah mereka suka secara fisik satu sama lain, jadi boleh dibilang hubungan mereka tidak terlalu mendalam. Mereka hanyalah dua orang yang punya masalah bertemu kembali dan butuh kehangatan.
Sebagai penambah kerumitan adalah adanya kasus penggelapan uang di tempat kerja Charlie yang baru yang melibatkan sang kakak, Brad. Brad lah yang dengan sengaja memasukkan sang adik ke tempat kerjanya agar pembelian tanahnya lancar.
Kalau cuma mau baca contemporary romance tanpa mikir tapi banyak adegan "seru", bolehlah baca seri ini. Lumayan menghibur dan kebayang lah gantengnya Walker ini.
November 21, 2020
This series was not that good. I liked Charlie and Walker however I skimmed a lot of this book. I was interested in the actual story and there was so much sex it went overboard.
I was disappointed in not knowing what actually happened after Charlie blew the whistle. What happened to her brother, Dawn and the others. It would have been nice if there was less sex and more storyline on this side of the story.
The epilogue was a rush to wrap things up. Three months passed Walker got his GED, Charlie started her own company and Rayleen marries Easy. It was as if, okay I need to end this story so let's do it in less than two pages.
I was disappointed in not knowing what actually happened after Charlie blew the whistle. What happened to her brother, Dawn and the others. It would have been nice if there was less sex and more storyline on this side of the story.
The epilogue was a rush to wrap things up. Three months passed Walker got his GED, Charlie started her own company and Rayleen marries Easy. It was as if, okay I need to end this story so let's do it in less than two pages.
October 1, 2013
Charlie Allington is reeling from a scandal that sapped her of all the professional respect she’d built up for herself over the years. It’s also a scandal that very nearly landed her in jail. She’s been lucky enough to get another job but the patronising scrutiny of the wife of the owner/manager (and her former school friend) means that most of the time, Charlie feels more uncomfortable than grateful. As head of security for a new resort that is about to open, accommodation is one of the perks of the job. However Dawn’s constant snide remarks and her habit of always looking over Charlie’s shoulder and knowing what she’s up to (and judging her on it) means that Charlie is desperate for her own place. Thanks to her cousin, she’s able to secure a place at the ‘Stud Farm’, an apartment building in Jackson, Wyoming belonging to an older woman who usually only lets her apartments out to young, good-looking cowboys. However she’s gone a bit soft in recent times and Charlie isn’t the only woman living in the building.
The apartment opposite hers is occupied by Walker Pearce, who Charlie knows from school. When she was 16, she tutored Walker Pearce and daydreamed about the hot cowboy who was way out of her league. Well school was a long time ago and Charlie has changed a lot since then. She’s no longer timid and shy, shunning any and all interactions with boys. She’s aggressive and self-confident and she knows what she wants. And what she wouldn’t mind is a hot fling with Walker, the cowboy she’s always wanted to try.
Walker liked Charlie back in high school – they were friends. When he finds out that she’s moved in across the hall, he’s surprised at the temptation Charlie provides now. Walker has avoided long term relationships but things heat up between the two of them very quickly. But both Charlie and Walker are hiding secrets and it’s going to take an awful lot of trust for them to be able to confide in the other.
So Tough To Tame is the third novel in Victoria Dahl’s series set in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I’ve enjoyed the other two books in the series – they’re fun and sexy and feature cowboys. What’s not to like? So I was pretty excited about this one, especially as Walker featured in the previous book and I was pretty sure he was going to be the ‘hero’ in book 3. I was right, so I was really keen to hear his story.
Unfortunately, this one falls short of the mark for me. The other two books sucked me in to the story right away and I felt the chemistry between the characters. This one didn’t really do that – I didn’t find myself warming to Charlie at all in the beginning and unfortunately this didn’t change throughout the whole novel. There were some things she did that were unbelievably stupid. Her reckless attitude irritated me instead of making me want to cheer her on and the way in which she put up with the way Dawn and her friends spoke about her within her hearing drove me nuts. I know she’d hit rock-bottom professionally and had taken the new job gratefully but sitting there listening to people run you down is just ridiculous. She was uncomfortable with the whole thing – the job, the scrutiny from Dawn, the claustrophobia of living on the premises, the bad feeling she got from Dawn’s husband. Moving out was a good start for her state of mind even though it gave Dawn more ammunition against her. Dawn was a character that just bothered me. She was so cardboard cutout villain in the beginning of the book and then I think there was an attempt later on to give her depth, hidden layers and insecurities and motivations but it didn’t really work for me. It came off as awkward and a bit clumsy, like she was two different people with two really different characters.
I liked Walker in the previous book and I didn’t mind him in this one either, but I just didn’t really enjoy the two of them together. There seemed to be a lot of misunderstandings and Charlie was attempting to push Walker into doing something that he didn’t want to do. She was lacking information about why he didn’t want to and she did want the best for him but the way that she kept going, even when he became so uncomfortable, didn’t sit well with me. Walker should’ve just told her his issue, but I also understand why he didn’t – he was embarrassed. And he’d been ridiculed for it all his life by his father, who believed him to be stupid and worthless. I’m not quite sure how their feelings came to be love – Walkers says at the end of the book “Is that love? I don’t know” and then about a page later, he tells her he loves her. So I guess he figured it out pretty fast. However, their interactions didn’t seem to be enough to warrant such strong feelings. I felt like there wasn’t a huge amount of time devoted to developing their relationship and taking it to that next level. They were attracted to each other and had some hot interactions and some hot sex. Also when Walker learns of the scandal (I find it hard to believe no one knew, given her schoolfriends knew and this is a small town, stuff like that spreads like wildfire) he immediately believed the worst about her. So much of Charlie seemed to be an aggressive projection that I wasn’t really sure what her character was truly like. And likewise I got the feeling Walker hid a lot of his true self too, which made it doubly difficult to really get behind them in any way.
A bit of a disappointment for me, but it’s written in the same style as the previous two and many will probably still enjoy it.
The apartment opposite hers is occupied by Walker Pearce, who Charlie knows from school. When she was 16, she tutored Walker Pearce and daydreamed about the hot cowboy who was way out of her league. Well school was a long time ago and Charlie has changed a lot since then. She’s no longer timid and shy, shunning any and all interactions with boys. She’s aggressive and self-confident and she knows what she wants. And what she wouldn’t mind is a hot fling with Walker, the cowboy she’s always wanted to try.
Walker liked Charlie back in high school – they were friends. When he finds out that she’s moved in across the hall, he’s surprised at the temptation Charlie provides now. Walker has avoided long term relationships but things heat up between the two of them very quickly. But both Charlie and Walker are hiding secrets and it’s going to take an awful lot of trust for them to be able to confide in the other.
So Tough To Tame is the third novel in Victoria Dahl’s series set in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I’ve enjoyed the other two books in the series – they’re fun and sexy and feature cowboys. What’s not to like? So I was pretty excited about this one, especially as Walker featured in the previous book and I was pretty sure he was going to be the ‘hero’ in book 3. I was right, so I was really keen to hear his story.
Unfortunately, this one falls short of the mark for me. The other two books sucked me in to the story right away and I felt the chemistry between the characters. This one didn’t really do that – I didn’t find myself warming to Charlie at all in the beginning and unfortunately this didn’t change throughout the whole novel. There were some things she did that were unbelievably stupid. Her reckless attitude irritated me instead of making me want to cheer her on and the way in which she put up with the way Dawn and her friends spoke about her within her hearing drove me nuts. I know she’d hit rock-bottom professionally and had taken the new job gratefully but sitting there listening to people run you down is just ridiculous. She was uncomfortable with the whole thing – the job, the scrutiny from Dawn, the claustrophobia of living on the premises, the bad feeling she got from Dawn’s husband. Moving out was a good start for her state of mind even though it gave Dawn more ammunition against her. Dawn was a character that just bothered me. She was so cardboard cutout villain in the beginning of the book and then I think there was an attempt later on to give her depth, hidden layers and insecurities and motivations but it didn’t really work for me. It came off as awkward and a bit clumsy, like she was two different people with two really different characters.
I liked Walker in the previous book and I didn’t mind him in this one either, but I just didn’t really enjoy the two of them together. There seemed to be a lot of misunderstandings and Charlie was attempting to push Walker into doing something that he didn’t want to do. She was lacking information about why he didn’t want to and she did want the best for him but the way that she kept going, even when he became so uncomfortable, didn’t sit well with me. Walker should’ve just told her his issue, but I also understand why he didn’t – he was embarrassed. And he’d been ridiculed for it all his life by his father, who believed him to be stupid and worthless. I’m not quite sure how their feelings came to be love – Walkers says at the end of the book “Is that love? I don’t know” and then about a page later, he tells her he loves her. So I guess he figured it out pretty fast. However, their interactions didn’t seem to be enough to warrant such strong feelings. I felt like there wasn’t a huge amount of time devoted to developing their relationship and taking it to that next level. They were attracted to each other and had some hot interactions and some hot sex. Also when Walker learns of the scandal (I find it hard to believe no one knew, given her schoolfriends knew and this is a small town, stuff like that spreads like wildfire) he immediately believed the worst about her. So much of Charlie seemed to be an aggressive projection that I wasn’t really sure what her character was truly like. And likewise I got the feeling Walker hid a lot of his true self too, which made it doubly difficult to really get behind them in any way.
A bit of a disappointment for me, but it’s written in the same style as the previous two and many will probably still enjoy it.
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