Return of the Jerk

Sweet Life in Seattle #2

by Andrea Simonne

After five years without a word, her husband has decided to come home.

Wedding cake baker Blair Thomas loves her life. Her business is thriving, her Seattle condo has a great view of the water, and her refurbished convertible Mustang "Isadora" is the coolest car ever. She barely even thinks about that jerk she married five years ago. The one who abandoned her after four months of marriage. The one who left a note on her pillow saying, "See you later, babe."

Seriously, who does that?

So what if she was once obsessively in love with him. He's her best friend's older brother and for years he barely even knew she was alive. At least she's over him.

Definitely over him.

The problem is Blair never got around to divorcing him and after five years of traveling the world--Nathan "Road" Church--has finally decided to come home. He arrived on her doorstep this morning, and now he's in her bathroom taking a shower. The nerve! Oh, and did I mention he's still hot? Blair doesn't know what to do.

The jerk has returned.

Warning: Contains one sexy jerk, a heroine with obsessive-compulsive disorder, cussing and swearing, steamy love scenes, and references to a part of the male anatomy that doesn't crow like a rooster - but certainly rises in the early morning.

*All books in this series can be read as a standalone.*

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Rom Com, M F Romance, Drama

Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2015

About the author

Sign up for my newsletter to hear about new releases and other musings: https://www.andreasimonne.com/mailing...

Andrea Simonne grew up as an army brat and discovered she had a talent for creating personas at each new school. The most memorable was a surfer chick named "Ace" who never touched a surf board in her life, but had an impressive collection of puka shell necklaces. Eventually she turned her imagination towards writing. Andrea still enjoys creating personas, though these days they occupy her books. She's an Amazon bestseller in romantic comedy and contemporary romance, and author of the series Sweet Life in Seattle and About Love. She currently makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

[CeCe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This did not work for me.

Some spoilers.

It could have been so good, if I felt the hero actually and truly wanted the heroine back.

The hero, Nathan/Road, just shows up after leaving the heroine, Blair, 5 years ago with no explanation. They are still married even though Blair claims she thought about sending him divorce papers a few times.

Blair accepted Nathan back into her life too quickly. Nathan and Blair both had relationships. It seemed like Nathan really did not care if Blair knew or did not know whether he was having sex/relationships during his 5 year absence. (loc 3%) It just did not feel like he cared.

"I'm sure there are plenty of women you could stay with in Seattle."
"Maybe," He shrugs. "Don't need that kind of complication right now." (loc 3%)

Then this:

"Really? Are you going to tell me you've been faithful to this marriage for the past years?"
"Road smirks. "Let's not get crazy." (Loc 4%)

What kind of man comes back after 5 years and talks to the woman he supposedly wants back like that?!?!? And I am supposed to like Nathan/Road???

If the hero comes back after 5 years, I want the heroine to be strong and actually not just give in so quickly and I WANT the hero to sound and act like he made the biggest mistake of his of life by leaving her. I LOVE GROVELING. When you meet Road, it is as if he is laughing at her. He makes fun of her lists, he teases her about not sending him the divorce papers. All his actions show that he knew Blair was a pushover even though she tries to act and talk like she is not.

This may work for you, but it did not work for me. This is my opinion.

[Romance Rehab · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man oh man, do I have some problems with THIS one. Hang in there, folks. This one’s gonna get ranty.

First of all, I don’t normally do this, but let me sum up the plot of this one for you.
A woman who has been in love with her best friend’s brother since childhood takes advantage of said friend's brother when he’s drunk and vulnerable, marries him after their one night together (because he felt obligated to propose), then the dude abandons his new wife almost immediately and doesn’t return for 5 years. When he does return, he doesn’t necessarily want his wife back because he never really loved her, but he does force his way back into her life with little to no regard for her feelings or personal space. They fall into a lazy sexual relationship that turns into a totally unbelievable HEA. The end.

Ugh! Blech! Ew! Any one of those words accurately describes my feelings for this book. But to be a little more specific, here’s what totally didn’t work for me:

Nathan “Road” Church, the hero:
I use the term “hero” super loosely when I’m talking about Road. In actuality, he’s a jizz stain on the silk blouse of life—an unrepentant douchenozzle who I wished plague, pestilence, and erectile dysfunction upon the entire time I was reading this book. I hated Road more passionately than I’ve hated any romance hero in a long, long time. I hated him for NEVER ONCE apologizing for abandoning Blair with no explanation. (I don’t count his “I can’t do this anymore, please take care of my car” note. That’s not a proper explanation.) I hated him for waltzing back into her life, bullying his way into her apartment and bed even though he didn’t love her and never really wanted to be married to her. But more than anything, I hated him for having the nerve to question her about her sex life while they were separated as if it was any of his business, then having this little bit of conversation with her:

“Really? Are you going to tell me you've been faithful to this marriage for the past years?"
Road smirks. "Let's not get crazy."

The correct response to this statement, I believe, is a swift nut punch. But that’s not what happened, sadly. So, really, Road faced absolutely ZERO consequences for abandoning his wife, then popping up 5 years later to demand that she, a) let him invade her apartment and sleep in her bed, b) give up the car she painstakingly and lovingly refurbished over the years, and c) not invade his privacy. Yep, you read that last one right. He got pissy with her for looking through his stuff. You know, the stuff HE LEFT IN HER HOUSE WHEN HE BULLIED HIS WAY BACK INTO HER LIFE AND REFUSED TO LEAVE! I think he should’ve been grateful Blair didn’t burn his stuff on the front lawn.

Blair, the heroine:
While I didn’t despise Blair as much as I despised Road (may he develop a flaming case of genital warts), she wasn’t without her fair share of faults. Why didn’t she divorce Road’s loser ass as soon as he left? Why didn’t she call the cops and have them drag his sorry ass out of her house when he reappeared? Why didn’t she go to court and fight for her rights to the car? Why did she think she was still in love with him after he abandoned her? These are all things I wanted to know. None of these questions were answered to my satisfaction. Blair was a doormat. And worse than that, she was a confused doormat, because she never really seemed to understand that Road was, in fact, a stranger. Sure, she had a silly school girl crush on him, and he eventually married her out of a sense of obligation. But she never really knew him, so she couldn’t have been in love with him—not in the past, or the present. The fact that she confused a silly school girl infatuation with love pissed me off. I wanted her to be strong and stand up for herself, but she never did. Not once.

Weird writing style:
This was written in 3rd person, present tense, which I just found weird. Everything I’ve read before is either 1st person present, or 3rd person, past tense. 3rd person present was just way too...out there for me. I couldn’t get into it. It was jarring.

So, long-story-short, I wanted the hero to get hit by a bus, and I wanted the heroine to either develop a backbone, or throw herself in front of the same bus that runs Road over. Either way would’ve been fine. It earned it’s 1 star only because I didn’t DNF it. I feel SUPER generous for giving it that 1 star.

And don't forget to follow the Romance Rehab blog for more rants, raves, and other fun romance-y stuff: http://www.romancerehab.com/

[Southern Sky · Rating 1 out of 5]

H and h have one night stand cause he was hurting and she's always loved him yada yada yada. She gets pregnant and they marry, H leaves h after miscarriage. Gone for 5 years, falls in love with another woman and then H decides he needs a divorce and only comes back for her then. I think she dated and even had sex but only ever loved H so she was pining away for him the entire time he was gone. H had sex with multiple women and never even thought of his wife at all until he decided it was no longer convenient to be married because he had fallen in love with another woman. NO, just no.

[Wendy'sThoughts]

This was a very interesting concept... Take a girl who has loved the boy forever...he, of course, was friends but paid her no mind...She tried with the help of his sister to get his attention many times... till finally it all comes together and she has her moment with him...

Because there are "circumstances", they marry... only for him to leave after 4 months...and his way of leaving is to say... see you later. Years go by but our gal never follows up with the divorce papers she had done...

One day she see a man in front of her condo and as she get's closer... it is HIM. Her inner voice is giving her a pep talk... she is over him...and she confronts asking what are you doing here...It seems he is back...and she is stunned as to how to handle all of this.

Now there were positive moments in the book and I could see where the "pitch appeal" would be. My problem was I lost a bit of interest with all of the acceptance and ease both had with him being back and then when I learned of the big confrontation and reveal towards the end...It kinda turned me off to both the characters.

These reactions, though, are through my filter...Many others may find this a snappy quirky read. It is part of a series but I did not feel lost from not reading the first one.

A gifted copy was provided by Liebe Publishing via NetGalley for an honest review.

For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the other reviews for more details, but he's a heartless jerk and she's a doormat.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get that love makes you do stupid stuff but to lose your self respect for some dude...that's not love, that's desperation. There is no way that all their problems would be solved and end like that. And to have 5 years of separation and then get together for a short time and then bam it all works out. Whatever!

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

There wasn’t much for me to like about this one. The characters were shallow and weak with self serving personalities. The plot, had it been written better could have made this a great angsty read. But as it stands it was more irritating than anything else. I struggled to finish.

[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Reviewer’s note – I found it really interesting when I went to add my review for this book on Goodreads to see all the 1 and 2 star reviews. I actually liked it better than the first book in the series for a variety of reasons most of which were covered in my review. As a warning I will tell you now that this couple has been married for 5 years but living apart for the majority of that time and both have been dating and even had relationships with other people. It’s a weird set-up I know, I get it but there were extenuating circumstances on both sides. I don’t want to say more, but have an open mind.*



I was really curious going into this book as Blair, the heroine, talked a bit about her husband, Road, in the first book of this series. We knew they’d been married a short time and then he left one day told her he couldn’t do it anymore and to take care of Isadora his ’65 Mustang that was given to him by his beloved uncle. It was obvious Blair wasn’t over her husband, but she’d dated quite a bit and even dates in the first book. So while she may still be in love with him she wasn’t sitting around pining away. I want that noted up front. This book was complicated, their relationship even more so, they weren’t truthful with one another a lot (that seems to be a staple of this author’s work to be honest), and they both had changed in their years apart. I liked Blair and Road together, I honestly think they were meant to be together but before they could be they had to grow up and figure out who they were individually before they could be a couple. Return of the Jerk was a bit frustrating at times, but the characters were likable, their passion evident, and their story unique.

Blair has been in love with Nathan “Road” Church since she was 13 years old. Her best friend’s older brother never really noticed her, dated heavily, women who where the opposite of her good girl image, and then one night after her caught his live in girlfriend in bed with his best friend, she seduced him and got pregnant. It wasn’t pretty, she had complications and eventually miscarried and 4 months after he was gone, with just a note and she hasn’t seen or heard from him in 5 years. She’s thought about divorcing him and if she’d ever found a man she loved more than him she would have, the sad fact is Blair still loves Road. When he turns up on her doorstep and just moves in against her wishes she wants him gone, but he wants Isadora, the car that has come to mean so much to her. She lovingly restored it while he was gone, spent thousands of dollars doing so, Road might have left them behind, but in his absence they became better versions of themselves. So she lets him stay, despite how difficult it is and despite knowing that he doesn’t love her, doesn’t consider her a complication as he does other women and it hurts her but she just can’t let him go.

I actually loved their banter especially when it came to living in the same space and about Isadora. There was this push/pull to them and while we knew Blair was crazy about Road, he wasn’t very forthcoming about his feelings towards her. They talked about relationships they’d had while apart, he even admitted he’d left someone behind in Spain, and I know it sounds horrible, but Road has NO CLUE that Blair loves him, has always had strong feelings for him. NO CLUE, none because she’s never told him, his sister and mother who both knew she did never told him and while he married her out of obligation, because he wasn’t going to let his child be fatherless, he felt that when they lost the baby she wanted him gone. Yes, he should have discussed it with her and yes, honestly she should have tried to contact him over the years, but they didn’t. The made the mistake of assuming they knew what the other one wanted.

There were a few things about this book that bothered me; first and foremost was that even after Road came back she wasn’t honest with him about her feelings towards him or about the night she got pregnant. Secondly, when Blair tells him there was someone she loved that didn’t return her feelings and he’s indignant about the “dipsh*t” that didn’t return her feelings never thinking it might be him. He’s not a dumb man, she never divorced him, she allowed him into her home and her body, but he can’t figure that out? Thirdly, After they hit a rough patch and the woman he was with in Spain shows up, Road takes her to his half-sister’s wedding knowing Blair would be there, like seriously? Fourthly, the author giving the heroine OCD but it “got better” once Blair told Nathan the truth about the night their baby was conceived. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.

The set-up was unique, I genuinely liked the characters even when their actions drove me crazy, and I loved that Nathan slowly fell in love with Blair during their time together. Was this a perfect romance? No, but it was a good story and despite my problems with this book, it held my interest.

Frustrating at times, yet emotional and sexy, I enjoyed Return of the Jerk.

Review copy provided for a voluntary review.

[Elle Markov · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series, unfortunately for me the second book fell flat. I did not feel the love between Blair Thomas and Nathan “Road” Church.

Nathan just leaves Blair five years ago and then out of the blue pops back into her life. What's worse is that Blair just accepts him back in, she tries to resist and then just buckles.

It took me forever to finish this one because I honestly did not find the main characters likable.

Rating 1 out of 5
Read@Book

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think we are supposed to finish this book and realize that maybe The Jerk, Nathan/Road was not actually a Jerk. I am here to tell you he was for sure a jerk.

[♡Tonya♡]

sounds so romantic *insert dramatic eye roll here*

[Talltree]

Sounds terrible:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks, Christine.

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars
This is Blair and her husband Road's story we had slight teasers of this in the previous book but we didn’t get the full story and there’s much more to it than Blair actually revealed now Road/Nathan is unexpectedly back after five years and he’s taking over Blair’s life apartment and cat and driving her nuts.

Blair has secretly loved Road forever and in her devotion made a terrible decision one that only ended in miserable heartache for her when he left her with only a note on her pillow. All she retained from this time of her life is his car which she lovingly restored her beloved Isadora. Now her husband wants it back but Blair is not willing to part with it and battle lines are drawn.

Road had no idea still doesn’t about Blair’s feelings there’s was a marriage of circumstance and he did think he was doing her a favour when he split. Now he’s returned back home a successful travel blogger and author and with him now spending so much time around Blair he starts to see her in a whole new light. As the pair reconnect and grow closer secrets from the past threaten to tear them apart before they’ve even properly started. Blair with her prior actions and Road/Nathan with just why he came back in the first place.

I enjoyed this a lot the slight drama near the end did somewhat spoils things as I was disappointed in Nathan’s reactions but despite that this was a solid read. A kind of second chance contemporary romance though it wasn’t really much of anything the first time around just unrequited love that Road was wholly unaware of.

I could see how much these two had grown since five years previous and I did like their dynamic and banter when Blair told Nathan drunk that he was the worst she’d ever had taking her data from their one drunken encounter they had years ago it was classic he was absolutely horrified. This managed to easily keep my attention and I would recommend reading.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

[Tiara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t get past it

I’m sorry but am I the only one who got r*pe vibes from this book. I mean Blair assaulted him! She knew he was hammered and literally said to herself “this is my only chance to be with him. I know he’s drunk and I’m taking advantage but I “love” him so who cares”. Seriously if this were reversed it wouldn’t even be a boom. Imagine if it were Road that opened the door to a drunk Blair and then seduced her. He would be in jail! Also she didn’t love him. She was obsessed with him. How could she have been soooo madly in love with him when they only ever had that one conversation in the library like three years after she met him. Blair was a stalked who baby trapped a guy and then lied to everyone about what actually went down in their “marriage”. And what makes it worse is that sure she finally gets caught In her lie about the pill but NEVER admits she took advantage of him when he was drunk out of his mind. This book made me so angry. I literally had to force myself to finish it just to get to the next one although now I’m rethinking my decision to read the next one.

[Charliegirl1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this story bittersweet

I enjoyed reading this book, but found the story bittersweet. The heroine has always loved the hero, but even though he was attracted to her and felt she was "forbidden" and a "princess", he didn't really love her back for a long time. I never felt there was a good explanation of why he leaves without a word for five years, then when he comes back, acts as though she should just take him back in because they're still married. Then it turns out that he'd been back in the interim to see his family but hadn't bothered to see her or let know. Then he has the gall to be angry at one lie she told the first night they had gotten together. He abandons her without a word for FIVE years and he gets self righteous with her?? So despite the decent writing, the overall storyline and their relationship left me feeling sad.

[Milisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do authors write their heroines to be doormats, and call it romantic. There is nothing romantic about a man digging out a month after his young wife miscarries, leaving a "can't do this" note on his pillow, just to travel the world for 5 years without a single word to her. Apparently he's been back to Seattle several times over the years, but never stopped by or filed for divorce while he was back home or even in the States, and when he finally turns up on her doorstep and forces his way into her home, bed, and life, she acts as though she has no choice but to let him instead of calling the police and putting him out. Nor does she immediately for divorce.

I really enjoyed book one in this series, but I can't deal with a heroine too stupid to live, and that's what Blaire is.

[Tarsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Pretty good story with some sweet and sexy moments. Also there was some sad and touching moments too. The MC's were ok. Would I reread this book, probably not, but I would recommend it.

[Jeannie Zelos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Return of the Jerk, (Sweet Life in Seattle Book 2),  Andrea Simonne 

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance,
 
I hadn’t realised this til later but  I’d read and loved book one in this series. This one has that same streak of humour, laced with pathos, of such funny situations that then have an edge of heartbreak.

Blair, she’s lovely, worked hard for her success, has some wonderful friends and yet under all that surface happy life she’s a mess. OCD rules her life, though she’s so careful to hide it from others. Her home is her sanctuary, her spiritual replenishment, her quiet, careful private space, and then its invaded...by none other than Road, her husband, the jerk who left after four months, leaving her a post-it note....What an ar sehole  I thought. How could he do that? Then when we first meet him he seems to still be that same guy, a thoughtless, heartless taker, one of those who run roughshod over others. As we get to know him though he’s not quite as it seems, his reasons for leaving were real, and he didn’t know how Blair felt, that she’d been in love with him since they were kids, and that he had his own issues to deal with too.

Sadly when he’s back she finds she’s still obsessed with him, still feels so attracted to him. There’s some funny issues and events that made me laugh. Poor Blair, its bad enough with Nathan in her home and taking over her life, but then she finds out what he’s been doing over the last five years. Not only that, but a drop dead gorgeous lady also comes to invade her space. Fiona isn’t all that she seems to be however, and though I hated her at first she grew on me the same as Nathan. Its clever the way authors do that – give us someone and reasons to dislike them, and then show us how everything isn’t black or white, the blame doesn’t lie with just one person but that there are faults all over and two sides (or more) to everything.

I really enjoyed this read, loved the hot, sensual sex that Blair and Nathan were having, loved the way the story builds up, and just when you think they’re going to get a HEA something comes out that shatters everything. It was great to see how both of them realised how much the other had changed over the years, how they grew to respect each other and oh – heart-breaking when it all falls apart. I’d been desperate to know what it was Blair was holding back, and when it came out I felt so sorry for both of them – did she deserve the reaction she got though? Wasn’t it another part of the “two sides to everything” issue? 

Its a great read, will make you laugh, make you cry and is a perfect way to lose yourself for a few hours. I can’t let the dog f arts go...any dog owner knows how they repay us when we kindly share a little of some delicious meal with them – and how they can clear a room, or in this case the whole house! That felt so true and its little touches of reality like that which bring a story to life. This book could be real, the events and results could happen and that’s why I loved it so much. 

 Stars: Five, a great follow up story.

I got this read via Kindle Unlimited, a monthly subscription that lets reader borrow many books.

[Aarann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little book that... well... could have been cuter.

For the record, I didn't hate this book at all (three stars is still a good rating as far as I'm concerned). I liked Blair a lot, even if I did feel that the book lacked a clear understanding of genuine OCD and its sufferers (hint to romance authors: magical love peen is not a magical cure-all for OCD). When I think of OCD and romance, I think of this guy and people like him. I know there are varying degrees of OCD, but I really think it's a little insensitive when romance authors imply that it's something that can you can just "get over" if you meet your one true love and oh look at this cute quirky girl who likes things clean, isn't she just precious? One thing I liked about this author's portrayal of OCD, at least in the beginning, was that Blair did have to get up and check the toaster and the door before bed three times, every night. You actually see that it's a debilitating disease and not just an excuse for people who can't deal with clutter in the house.

I also liked Nathan "Road" a lot as well. It was nice to see a romantic male lead not stomp around all ragey and broody and billionaire-y. In fact, the title was a little misleading here. Nathan wasn't a jerk. He was a normal, mostly nice guy who, after a bad situation, truly thought Blair would rather him be gone.

This is the first book that I can recall that I've read in third-person present-tense. And. I. HATED. It. With every fiber of my being. (Note: not the book itself, just this narrative style.) As it turns out, I hate third-person present tense in a fiction novel even more than I hate first-person present-tense in a fiction novel. It kept yanking me out of the story. This likely would have been a four-star read otherwise, but as it was, I kept getting distracted by the narrative style. That's not okay with me when I'm reading for pleasure. It felt like I couldn't connect with the book because I kept being reminded that I was reading and couldn't fully get transported to Romancelandia like I wanted to. I had gotten the other book in the series, but when I realized that it was the narrative style that was stopping me from getting full enjoyment, I went ahead and returned that one for a refund.

Excluding that (which admittedly for me was a pretty major issue), this was a pretty great read. As it stands, I don't think I'll be reading this author again simply because her preferences for narrative style and mine do not jibe, but if you're someone who thinks I'm nuts for having a problem with third-person present tense, this would be a great book to check out (and only $.99 right now).

[Dakotah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ll give it a .5 and that’s being nice. One, I just found the writing style super boring and hard to follow. The changes from present to past tense were weird and didn’t help with the flow. Also I feel like at some point the story went from 3rd person to 3rd person omniscient. Also I don’t understand why half way through the book the author started calling the male interest by his real name???
Overall there wasn’t a good message (as other reviews have said) like weird tricking into unprotected sex and then acting like it was both their faults (even though the guy was black out drunk) and abandoning your wife for 5 years after a miscarriage- all for him to come back and her be like “I’m in love.” Like sis???? He ain’t the one.

This was supposed to be my last book of the year but I gotta end in something better

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's official. My new book boyfriend is Nathan 'Road' Church.

I just finished reading this and loved it. Hard. I laughed, I cried, I highlighted parts because they made me snort. I even have a mini book hangover and can't think of reading anything else right now. For a book that is over 110K long, I surprised myself by finishing it in 36 hours (including sleep, school runs and taking a sick child to the doctor). Completely immersed in the world and didn't realise the pages were clicking on by.

I love The Bandito Test and Skank Factor X.
Brilliant.
Just read it!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank god it was a ku book. Road is an asshole. He left her after a miscarriage, sleeps with other women and only comes home to get a divorce because he is with another woman. Super douche. Blair is a push over who should have held her ground and not let him in so easily after five years.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Road has to come along and spoil a perfectly good marriage by actually showing up after five years and putting an end to a carefully controlled life of his wife. Pretty fun.

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

KU*

3.75 stars

This is Blair and Nathan’s (aka Road) story.

Blair and Nathan are married, but their marriage wasn’t technically one of love and 4 months in Nathan abandons Blair; he doesn’t contact her for 5 years and then shows up one day and never leaves.

They have a complicated history, but honestly the way it was handled was so odd to me. If my husband abandoned me after a tragic event and leaves barely a note, when he comes back there will be some problems. However, while Blair has internal issues and revelations, she basically gives into Nathan’s hotness. She never even divorced the man in the 5 years yet she had the papers ready, but never once were they mentioned after Nathan came back.

Nathan really didn’t see anything wrong with the way he left and never contacted his wife. Everything was just bizarre and then Blair’s guilty secret wasn’t great and, honestly, she never planned on telling him until the cat was out of the bag thanks to her mom.

Everyone felt betrayed and guilty; Blair because she was always in love with Nathan which is why the big secret (which her best friend who is Nathan’s sister, knew about including his mother); and Nathan because he learns the secret and wasn’t exactly truthful about the reason his for his return.

I felt like I was reading an over dramatic teenage romance where no on wanted to take responsibility for their actions.




















Also, Nathan’s mother, Lori, is an alcoholic with issues, but she is described as good mom with problems. This is the same mom who let her boyfriend break her son’s nose with no consequences; yeah isn’t a good anything in my opinion.

[Addicted 2 📖 · Rating 1 out of 5]

😡🤬


**Five days later and I am still pissed at Nathan! And Blair’s desperation!**


Nathan ‘Road’ was more than a jerk. His character to me was unlikable. He didn’t have any redeeming qualities in my opinion and Blair was nothing more than a certified doormat. Pathetic.
Author continues with this bizarre offensive writing style with 3rd person point of view storytelling and horrible use of verb tenses.

[Wendy Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book in general, but I never felt fully engaged, I had a lot of stops and starts while attempting to read it. The writing seemed a tad sloppy, almost as if it was being narrated rather than being told from the characters perspective at times, which became frustrating. Also, 'Road' drove me crazy more than a few times with his total cluelessness and his comments about some women from his past. I hated that he was so cavalier about being with those other women while he was technically married to Blair and how he still had feelings for two of them (one who cheated on him and the other a long term gf from Spain). I really think that Blair could have done better, despite her poor decision ages ago in their "relationship". I guess I just couldn't quite buy her infatuation with him, given what I knew about his past behavior. I think with a few tweaks here an there, this could be a much better book.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really mixed feelings about this book and the two lead characters. I think I just didn't like Nathan/Road all that much... there were too many things that grated at me. The fact that for about half of the story he didn't care much about Blair was the most annoying thing. The way he acted, the things he said, the things he did... made me want to kick his @ss so bad!
I also didn't like Blair much... there were times when I thought she was too stupid and she was making mistakes and bad choices. I don't know, I guess I just couldn't get into her character and I didn't agree with the choices she made. And we all here can agree on the fact that both Blair and Road acted like stupid, reckless, careless teenagers that fateful night.
The story wasn't really bad. It wasn't a hideous read... but I guess I didn't enjoy it the way I expected to.

[Smiler The Avid Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Storyline was great. Easy to read. I much preferred it to the first book as the storyline was more believable. (I love the first book until part way towards the end).

I know a good book when I don’t get bored. I have five books I’m reading at the same time on my kindle app andI read this all the way through without having to flick to one of the others. That’s always a sign of a good book when I just read it straight through!
Looking forward to reading the next one.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nathan and Blair's story was quite sorted, but it was also very sweet. I liked both characters, however, they each seemed to have a level of immaturity that was slightly irritating. I thought the story went from jerk mode to juicy in 0.5 seconds, which made for interesting reading. In the end, I'm glad that they were able to find love together.

[BrownAyez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this because I liked the first book in the series. Unfortunately, two stars feels kind. If you are looking for a story about an absolutely spineless doormat heroine and a Zero then you might enjoy it more than I did.