Review – Bad Boys Do by Victoria Dahl

Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: Sep. 27th
How I got this book: NetGalley

Olivia Bishop is no fun. That’s what her ex-husband said. And that’s what her smart bob and glasses imply. So with her trademark determination, Olivia sets out to remake her life. She’s going to spend time with her girlfriends and not throw it all away for some man. But when an outing with her book club leads her to a brewery taproom, the dark-haired beauty realizes that trouble—in the form of sexy Jamie Donovan—may be too tempting to avoid.

Jamie Donovan doesn’t mean to be bad. Sure, the wild streak in his wicked green eyes has lured the ladies before. Now it’s time to grow up. He’s even ready for a serious romance. But how can that be when Olivia, the only right woman he has ever met, already has him pegged as wrong?
*Blurb from Goodreads*

 

After reading the first in the Donovan Brother’s Brewery Series, I was anxiously awaiting to see what Jamie would be up to, and I think I loved this book WAY more than the first!

Jamie was always the “bad” child, but now that he is all grown up and wanting to prove himself, no one is willing to take him seriously, especially his brother and sister. He wants to move forward with his vision for the brewery, so he takes a class and finds out that his teacher is none other than the sexy Olivia. With his desire to grow up, he also realizes that he is ready for a real relationship, and he wants it with her.

Olivia is getting over a divorce and trying to live on her own. When she meets Jamie, she is instantly attracted to him, but doesn’t want to seem like a cougar. When they decide to help each other, Jamie teaching her how to have fun, and Olivia helping him with his plans, they might just find that they could be perfect together…

I love me some bad boys, and when you put him in a kilt… well that seals the deal for me! I especially love bad boys who are ready to reform – to an extent. Jamie was such a REAL character for me. Following his struggles with being taken seriously, constantly being viewed as a screw-up by his brother, and the strong desire in him to be so much more, to do so much more was perfect. At times I cried for him, I laughed with him and I wanted to reach through the pages of the book and hug him! Dahl really went above and beyond with Jamie’s character, and I think he might be one of my new favorite heroes of all times.

Olivia was great as well. She really had a horrible sense of self-worth and confidence. Seeing her come out of her shell with Jamie was like watching a butterfly hatch. I loved that every moment with Jamie, Olivia would come more and more alive. There were a few moments when I hoped that she would understand the big picture quicker, but her reactions to Jamie and her situation made total sense within the confines of her character. While it took her awhile to come around, I was glad to see her embrace her inner cougar and just go all out when it came to Jamie.

The romance between Jamie and Olivia was perfect for me as well. It was this amazing combination of sweet and innocent at times, and then scorching hot the next. There were so many parts where the sexual tension between the two was thick and heavy, and so engaging. I was happy to see Olivia have to work a little at getting Jamie, especially towards the end. Jamie really felt like one of those characters who needed to have someone fight for him, instead of the other way around. I loved it!

After reading the last book, I was both in love and annoyed with the oldest brother Eric, and I have to say he didn’t exactly do anything to redeem himself in my eyes. In fact, if anything he made himself seem even more un-redeemable. I have faith that Dahl will be able to write an incredible story with him, but after this book, I hope that there is a significant amount of groveling and apologizing from Eric.

There was a secondary character announced in this story that I really loved – Olivia’s best friend Gwen. She was snarky and quirky and had such a great personality on the page. I don’t know that we will get to see more of her in books to come, but I certainly hope so!

All in all Dahl scored high marks with me in this book. I loved everything about Jamie and Olivia, especially their romance. It was sweet and yet totally smoking hot. There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about this story, unless you count Eric being an asshat.

I give Bad Boys Do an A!

 

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