Publisher: Samhain
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: eARC from publisher
Isabelle Dixon never should have said yes to that first date, but she couldn’t resist Shane Kelley’s larger-than-life personality. Except now Shane seems determined to make their no-strings fling into something more.
If she thought dating Shane was hard work, breaking up is proving to be much harder. Especially since she’s planning on making some major life changes that don’t include staying out all night, Jell-O shots, and a sex toy shop punch card. She needs a restful cabin getaway—alone—to gather her thoughts. And the strength to finally end things for good.
Shane has always prided himself on being the good-time guy. Exactly Isabelle’s type…or so he thought. Yet ever since he suggested her moving in, she’s been pulling back. Thing is, Shane does everything with gusto—including falling in love.
He’s not about to let her get away that easily. Even if it means chasing her heart down a crazy road to prove that no matter what life throws at them, they make a damned good team.
Product Warnings
Contains a strange road trip with several weird tourist stops, some hot sex in a car wash, and two people who are just crazy enough to be perfect for one another.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I was so excited to continue on with this series. After only reading three books, Nicholas has quickly become a new auto-buy author for me. If only my wallet could handle her backlist… *wink*
Shane has been asking Isabelle to move in with him for months now. He fell for her, and fell hard. Taking no for an answer isn’t something he can do, and Shane will go to any lengths to get her to say yes. However, the idea of sitting nice and quiet at a cabin for a long weekend isn’t exactly Shane’s idea of a good time.
Isabelle loves Shane, but she is keeping a secret from him that she is pretty sure will break them up. Because of a diagnosis, Isabelle knows she can’t keep up with Shane’s wild lifestyle, despite the fact that she would do anything to do so. A quiet weekend just might be the thing to show him that their lifestyles can no longer mesh as well as they thought. But relationships take work, and both are in love enough to stick it out for the long haul.
I am such a huge fan of second chance love stories. I think they are wonderful and fun and so sexy. The fact that Isabelle and Shane haven’t really broken up or fallen out of love makes this book all the more fabulous. They are both so far gone for one another, that they are both willing to do, pretty much, anything for one another. That level of devotion is so strong throughout the book, that I found myself cheering for them extra hard.
I’ve always been a sucker for books that deal with some kind of illness. I liked the way Nicholas dealt with it in this book. It wasn’t anything life-threatening, but it was definitely life-changing. Isabelle really needed to sit down and take control of her life, of her illness, instead of letting it control her. The struggle that Isabelle went through while dealing with it was incredible to read. From realizing she couldn’t do everything she wanted, to having to really hash it out with her sister, to explaining to Shane what all was good or bad for her, was so awesome to read.
I loved the romance in this book. Because these two are still very much in love, there is a lot of unintentional angst. They want to work it out, more than anything. But there have been lies and secrets between them, and before they can move forward as a couple, they have to find out if they can handle being with one another as they truly are. Hearing Shane’s backstory, and why he was Mr. Personality, was heartbreaking. I could see why Isabelle was so desperate to not want him to change for her. But his desire to keep her, at any and all costs, was so great as well. I just loved them both more and more as each page turned.
I am also super excited to read more in this series. I can’t even tell you how much I adore the Dixon sisters, and all their antics. They are so close-knit, and I just know that they are each going to have fun and sexy stories about falling in and out of love.
All in all I thought this was a fabulous second book in the Counting on Love series. Not only was the romance sweet and real, it was also super duper sexy. (Hello! Car Wash sex!!!) I can’t wait to read the next book Nicholas puts out, and have to pace myself going through her backlist. These stories have shown me just how much I adore her writing.
I give It Takes Two an A-