Rolling in the Deep by Rebecca Rogers Maher (Lopez Brothers #1)
Released: November 10, 2015
Contemporary Romance
Loveswept
Reviewed by Mandi
With the huge Powerball lottery that just hit a few weeks ago, this is an appropriate read. Holly is a single mother who is barely scraping by, working at a super center (think Walmart). She divorced her controlling, verbally abusive husband and they take turns raising their son. She lives in an apartment and eats a lot of rice, while her wealthy husband jets around the country. She feels guilty she can’t give her son the life his father is giving him.
Ray also works at this store. He has dreams of being a chef, something he promised his mother he would try before she died. He grew up working in a diner in Brooklyn, and preparing food is in his blood – he just needs to save enough money to go to culinary school. He has fallen into lust with his co-worker Holly, and finds every excuse to talk to her while they work together. With the upcoming big Powerball jackpot , he tells Holly if she gives him a dollar, they can split the cost of a ticket. She thinks it’s very silly, but he buys one ticket – and they win.
This story has a fun premise and a pretty strong start, but by the second half things were falling flat for me. Holly is on very bad terms with her ex, who treats her absolutely miserably. After she wins, she adopts more of a – woe is me – attitude. She feels as if she doesn’t deserve the money. Things go even more sour with her ex. She sits in her tiny apartment and wallows. I felt like she always wanted pity.
Ray handles things a bit better – he starts to seriously court Holly, who eventually opens up to his advances. It’s a sweet romance, and I did feel like these two fall in love. But the Holly’s ex and a nosy photographer kind of made the story less enjoyable to me.
Grade: C
Just Give Me a Reason by Rebecca Rogers Maher (Lopez Brothers #2)
Released: February 16, 2015
Contemporary Romance
Loveswept
Reviewed by Mandi
Tony (brother of Ray above) is recently divorced after a twelve-year marriage where they lost passion and she strayed. He is staying strong for his two daughters but his life hasn’t worked out the way he thought it would. He owns a home merchandising store in the city, but with the mom and pop shops closing up because of pressure from the bigger stores, Tony feels like he works nonstop and his business is still failing. With much convincing from his brother, he decides to house sit for him for a week, while his brother goes on vacation. His ex has his daughters for the week, so it’s just Tony, to finally relax for a bit. But his solitude won’t last long.
Beth met a guy, had sex, and ended up pregnant even though she used birth control. The guy didn’t really want to be part of the kid’s life, so he gave up legal rights. Beth is actually okay with his, as she doesn’t ever see herself settling down and committing to one person. Now just starting her third trimester, Beth is nervous but excited to meet her new little one. When a storm goes through and she loses power, (expected to be out for a few days) she decides to head to her friend’s house. Beth has met Tony in the past through mutual friends and they’ve always had something little between them. Tony is house sitting by himself, and these two continue their lusting for each other – even with the baby bump between them.
I really like Beth – you meet her in Rolling in the Deep, and I remember liking her a lot in that book too. She is very no non-sense, alpha, “tell it like it is” type of woman. She is very independent, funny, and not afraid to confront people. Her and Tony have definite chemistry, it’s just a matter of what she wants to do about it. Tony is such a gentleman he doesn’t want to out undo pressure on her – plus he is still dealing with his recent divorce. She takes him by the balls (kinda literally) and gives him that nudge he needs to start a sexy romance. She is very direct and that turns him on. They have nice chemistry and tension together. I enjoyed them as a couple.
But….the baby story line takes over at the end. I kind of wish that had not happened so we had a little more just Tony and Beth time. It wasn’t my favorite part of the book.
Grade: B-
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