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stumpfed's review against another edition
3.0
Good story. Little angsty. A bit of weak sexual tension and a great deal of self imposed family baggage. There was quite a bit of self doubt with these two and their nieces/nephews were really the only dialogue that helped endear them to the reader. The ending was rather abrupt and a really solid epilogue would make all the difference here. It was a decent little read overall.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Yay a new romance in Shannyn Schroeder's fun and sexy O'Leary's series! In Something to Prove oldest brother Colin finds love with Elizabeth Brannigan, but their road to happily ever after is anything but smooth.
Colin has been fighting to prove himself to his family since he returned to town after a three year absence. He has been steadfast and dependable working as a bartender in the family bar but earning his brother's trust has been darn near impossible. While he has been content to work for Ryan, Colin's dream is to someday purchase a bar of his own. So when Elizabeth Brannigan needs help renovating her family's rough and tumble biker bar (!), Colin is eager to provide her with his expertise in exchange for a share of the profits. The fact that Colin is extremely interested in exploring their mutual attraction is added incentive to assist Elizabeth, but Colin is going to have to do some pretty fast talking to convince her to break her strict no mixing business with pleasure rule.
Elizabeth is all business, all the time. She and her brother Keith have been locked in fierce battle to secure the CEO position in the family's business and with her father's retirement looming, she is determined to come out on top. Seizing the opportunity to turn around the failing bar, Elizabeth undertakes the renovation on the sly with the hopes of impressing her father and winning the coveted position. Elizabeth has a take charge, no nonsense attitude and she butts heads with the more laidback, easy going Colin on more than one occasion. Working with a partner and taking his advice is difficult for Elizabeth, but if she is going to successfully revamp the bar, Elizabeth knows she needs to trust Colin's judgment.
Colin regrets abandoning his family after his father's death and he has been trying to make up for it ever since he returned to town. He has made great strides in restoring his relationship with his extended family but he still feels like he does not quite measure up to Ryan's expectations. Helping Elizabeth revamp the bar will provide Colin with the money to buy his own place and hopefully show Ryan once and for all that he plans to stay in town for good. Colin is eager to help Elizabeth overhaul her business but he is also eager to loosen up his uptight, buttoned up business partner. An added bonus would be convincing Elizabeth that giving in to their attraction won't affect their business arrangement.
Elizabeth and Colin's professional relationship is anything but smooth in the beginning. Elizabeth is not willing to cede control and she is frustrated by Colin's more casual approach to business. And of course there is also the matter of her attraction to her outgoing and flirtatious partner. The more time they spend together, the more difficult it is to resist giving in to their passion. Colin finally works past her defenses and presents a pretty convincing argument in favor of them indulging in their desire and although she still has reservations, Elizabeth agrees to a short term affair. When a health crises occurs, their casual fling begins to feel like a real relationship but will their personal insecurities tear them apart?
Elizabeth and Colin are appealing characters and their respective personal baggage brings a little bit more angst to the storyline than the previous novels. The O'Leary family dynamics are always compelling and their scenes together are always a joy. Elizabeth and Colin's romance slowly simmers in the background as they wrestle with their personal demons but their conflicts are realistically and quickly resolved.
Something to Prove is another spectacular addition to Shannyn Schroeder's O'Leary's series and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Colin has been fighting to prove himself to his family since he returned to town after a three year absence. He has been steadfast and dependable working as a bartender in the family bar but earning his brother's trust has been darn near impossible. While he has been content to work for Ryan, Colin's dream is to someday purchase a bar of his own. So when Elizabeth Brannigan needs help renovating her family's rough and tumble biker bar (!), Colin is eager to provide her with his expertise in exchange for a share of the profits. The fact that Colin is extremely interested in exploring their mutual attraction is added incentive to assist Elizabeth, but Colin is going to have to do some pretty fast talking to convince her to break her strict no mixing business with pleasure rule.
Elizabeth is all business, all the time. She and her brother Keith have been locked in fierce battle to secure the CEO position in the family's business and with her father's retirement looming, she is determined to come out on top. Seizing the opportunity to turn around the failing bar, Elizabeth undertakes the renovation on the sly with the hopes of impressing her father and winning the coveted position. Elizabeth has a take charge, no nonsense attitude and she butts heads with the more laidback, easy going Colin on more than one occasion. Working with a partner and taking his advice is difficult for Elizabeth, but if she is going to successfully revamp the bar, Elizabeth knows she needs to trust Colin's judgment.
Colin regrets abandoning his family after his father's death and he has been trying to make up for it ever since he returned to town. He has made great strides in restoring his relationship with his extended family but he still feels like he does not quite measure up to Ryan's expectations. Helping Elizabeth revamp the bar will provide Colin with the money to buy his own place and hopefully show Ryan once and for all that he plans to stay in town for good. Colin is eager to help Elizabeth overhaul her business but he is also eager to loosen up his uptight, buttoned up business partner. An added bonus would be convincing Elizabeth that giving in to their attraction won't affect their business arrangement.
Elizabeth and Colin's professional relationship is anything but smooth in the beginning. Elizabeth is not willing to cede control and she is frustrated by Colin's more casual approach to business. And of course there is also the matter of her attraction to her outgoing and flirtatious partner. The more time they spend together, the more difficult it is to resist giving in to their passion. Colin finally works past her defenses and presents a pretty convincing argument in favor of them indulging in their desire and although she still has reservations, Elizabeth agrees to a short term affair. When a health crises occurs, their casual fling begins to feel like a real relationship but will their personal insecurities tear them apart?
Elizabeth and Colin are appealing characters and their respective personal baggage brings a little bit more angst to the storyline than the previous novels. The O'Leary family dynamics are always compelling and their scenes together are always a joy. Elizabeth and Colin's romance slowly simmers in the background as they wrestle with their personal demons but their conflicts are realistically and quickly resolved.
Something to Prove is another spectacular addition to Shannyn Schroeder's O'Leary's series and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.
jonetta's review against another edition
4.0
Quick Summary
Colin O'Leary has spent the last year trying to prove to his family, especially his younger brother, Ryan, that he's a better man than the one who ran away from them for three years. He sees an opportunity to do just that when Elizabeth Brannigan partners with him to revive a dive bar owned by her father (who's also her boss).
The big issues
See, Elizabeth has something to prove to her family, too. Dad's getting ready to retire and she wants his job as CEO but her brother, Keith, seems to be the front runner. Her partnership with Colin is magic...and so is their attraction to each other.
What I loved
Colin. Yes, he's a charmer but he's also a man of substance. He's perfect for the prickly Elizabeth, using patience and compassion to disarm and bring out the best in her. They made a great team as business partners and lovers. Both have something to prove and the contrasts of their agendas made the story extremely interesting, especially as it illuminated the best about them and what bonded the two.
The O'Leary clan also added some comic relief at times and I loved the follow up of Quinn & Ryan and Griff & Indy. They're still important to the series.
The bottom line
Each story in the series seems to top the last one. I was rooting for Colin before this story and now I'm an even bigger fan. Pairing him with someone like Elizabeth (a control freak, though a talented one) was brilliant and I enjoyed their romance and business relationship. Hopefully we'll get more of them, too, in future stories. 4.5 stars
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
Colin O'Leary has spent the last year trying to prove to his family, especially his younger brother, Ryan, that he's a better man than the one who ran away from them for three years. He sees an opportunity to do just that when Elizabeth Brannigan partners with him to revive a dive bar owned by her father (who's also her boss).
The big issues
See, Elizabeth has something to prove to her family, too. Dad's getting ready to retire and she wants his job as CEO but her brother, Keith, seems to be the front runner. Her partnership with Colin is magic...and so is their attraction to each other.
What I loved
Colin. Yes, he's a charmer but he's also a man of substance. He's perfect for the prickly Elizabeth, using patience and compassion to disarm and bring out the best in her. They made a great team as business partners and lovers. Both have something to prove and the contrasts of their agendas made the story extremely interesting, especially as it illuminated the best about them and what bonded the two.
The O'Leary clan also added some comic relief at times and I loved the follow up of Quinn & Ryan and Griff & Indy. They're still important to the series.
The bottom line
Each story in the series seems to top the last one. I was rooting for Colin before this story and now I'm an even bigger fan. Pairing him with someone like Elizabeth (a control freak, though a talented one) was brilliant and I enjoyed their romance and business relationship. Hopefully we'll get more of them, too, in future stories. 4.5 stars
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
beckymmoe's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed on my blog, Becky on Books, on 12/31/18.
I really liked Colin here. I knew from reading book one (More Than This) that he was going to have to do some work to get me 100% on his side, and for the most part, he did. He's still a work in progress, but he's putting in his time and definitely isn't the same guy who left his family in the lurch several years ago. (Though we still don't have the whole story behind that drama, which makes the story feel a bit unfinished. I can't imagine where we'd get that information, if not in Colin's book, so... ?) Anyway, I enjoyed watching him make something of himself that he could be proud of and doing it while out of his family's shadow. The bar felt like the right choice for him, and I was quickly on his side and hoping he'd somehow be able to stay with the business.
Plus, I just love the O'Learys, full stop. He'd have to work harder at being a tool for me not to come around to his side when the rest of the O'Learys are with him. :)
Unfortunately, Elizabeth was a bit harder to love from start to finish. There were parts of her that were endearing--the "Libby parts", as Colin thought of them, especially her weird clumsy awkwardness--but when she was in stick-up-her-butt mode and nursing the years-old grudge against her brother? Not so much. Plus, her family is pretty much the polar opposite of the O'Learys. How did her brother not realize that she still resented the heck out of him for what he'd done when she was in college and didn't trust him even the tiniest little bit? They worked together, for pete's sake.
When Colin and Elizabeth were together, though, they both managed to bring out the best in each other. Colin helped Elizabeth to channel her inner Libby more, and Elizabeth made Colin stretch beyond the working-for-his-brother rut that he'd been in since his return and thinking about how to make their new business venture a success. That she ends up being the cause of their relationship black moment was more disappointing than surprising--fortunately, she managed to get both the stick and her head out of her butt in time to get to a feel-good HEA in the end.
Bring on Moira's story; I'm ready!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
I really liked Colin here. I knew from reading book one (More Than This) that he was going to have to do some work to get me 100% on his side, and for the most part, he did. He's still a work in progress, but he's putting in his time and definitely isn't the same guy who left his family in the lurch several years ago. (Though we still don't have the whole story behind that drama, which makes the story feel a bit unfinished. I can't imagine where we'd get that information, if not in Colin's book, so... ?) Anyway, I enjoyed watching him make something of himself that he could be proud of and doing it while out of his family's shadow. The bar felt like the right choice for him, and I was quickly on his side and hoping he'd somehow be able to stay with the business.
Plus, I just love the O'Learys, full stop. He'd have to work harder at being a tool for me not to come around to his side when the rest of the O'Learys are with him. :)
Unfortunately, Elizabeth was a bit harder to love from start to finish. There were parts of her that were endearing--the "Libby parts", as Colin thought of them, especially her weird clumsy awkwardness--but when she was in stick-up-her-butt mode and nursing the years-old grudge against her brother? Not so much. Plus, her family is pretty much the polar opposite of the O'Learys. How did her brother not realize that she still resented the heck out of him for what he'd done when she was in college and didn't trust him even the tiniest little bit? They worked together, for pete's sake.
When Colin and Elizabeth were together, though, they both managed to bring out the best in each other. Colin helped Elizabeth to channel her inner Libby more, and Elizabeth made Colin stretch beyond the working-for-his-brother rut that he'd been in since his return and thinking about how to make their new business venture a success. That she ends up being the cause of their relationship black moment was more disappointing than surprising--fortunately, she managed to get both the stick and her head out of her butt in time to get to a feel-good HEA in the end.
Bring on Moira's story; I'm ready!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
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