Publisher: Berkley Intermix
Publish Date: 16 July
How I got this book: ARC from the author via Novel Sidekick
The Hanover brothers are doing their best to live down the legacy of their con artist father…but they still have a knack for getting in trouble where romance is concerned.
As the lawyer of the family, Beckett Hanover ought to be sorting through the many claims filed against their family estate—which the brothers have recently inherited from their grandmother. But something about the housekeeper, Sophie, keeps stealing his focus…
Little does he know, as he flirts, what else she intends to steal. The truth is Sophie took the job with one purpose in mind: to help her aunt. But she never expected to find a man like Beck or get sidetracked by the handsome hottie’s sweet talk and broad shoulders. Between her secret and Beck’s past, the two are headed for one risky romance.
This blurb came from the author’s website.
Earlier this year I did a joint review of No Turning Back, the first of the Hanover Brothers series, and really enjoyed it. I waited a few months and started pestering Dimon about the next book in the series. She eventually gave permission to Novel Sidekick to send me a copy to review. As much as I dislike waiting for things this was certainly worth the wait. It was as if Dimon took everything I enjoyed in the first installment and multiplied it plus added a few more things.
Beck while a straight-laced appearing lawyer, the exact opposite of his father, prided himself on looking at things from a logical unbiased viewpoint. He liked to follow the paper trail until he was able to fix whatever the problem was and right the wrong. However, while the wrongs are staring him in the face he has been unable to find what he needs to fix it. Add that to the stress of living with his brothers again, the inclusion of Leah into the household, Sophie flitting around “cleaning,” and Beck was about to lose his mind. I put cleaning in quotations because the house never seemed to be any cleaner even though Sophie was there every day in just about every room. He was both attracted to Sophie and bugged by the secrets he knew she was keeping.
Poor Sophie, she was torn between her loyalty to her aunt and her growing loyalty to Beck and his brothers. She knew that their father was a criminal who conned a lot of people but she never believed the sins of the father were the sins of the children. While she stood up for them against other people she felt that the information she had could not be shared because it belonged to someone else. I loved hearing her inner thoughts as she tried to remain in control of the situation even though people were accurately reading into what she was or wasn’t saying. I also liked how she tried to tell Beck her secrets once she understood they were a barricade between the two of them and more than a physical connection.
Dimon did a great job of including humor and various types of tension in this installment. I think I started giggling when I was about four percent in and was laughing so loud I was afraid the neighbors would start banging on the walls by the six percent mark. Even though that scene was hilarious, it also ratcheted up the sexual tension between Sophie and Beck while giving the other members of the household something to bring up whenever they wanted to get a reaction. I think that really resonated with me because it reminded me of the teasing that goes on in my family and it showed that the three brothers and Leah were building and strengthening their connection. That same scene also spurred a few arguments between Beck and his brothers as the story continued.
There were so many things I loved about reading this A Simple Twist of Fate, the humor, tender moments, sad moments, smexy times, secrets revealed and kept not to mention the reactions of those involved. I did wish Beck delivered a bit more of a grovel, but I think his grovel will end up being worth a much higher price as the series continues. I am super curious about Callen’s HEA because he is a very complex character. Hard on the outside but soft and squishy on the inside so his heroine will have to be amazing. I also have my hopes for the mysterious FBI dude who won’t leave Callen alone. I mentioned my suspicion about him to Dimon, but I was unable to get her to comment or even hint one way or the other. I really hope that he gets his own story because there has to be so much more to him buried under his rigid surface. I can’t wait for the next installment.
I give A Simple Twist of Fate an A-
Lol I wish you could teach me how to pester an author until she gives you the ARC. Great review, I promise to one day read her books.
Well what probably happened is she put me on the list so when it was ready I could get a copy. But it sounded a lot more fun the other way and I did politely remind her more than once… *grin*