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paulabrandon's review against another edition
1.0
This is a second chance story featuring Jolie Peters, who skipped out on T.C. Colton four years earlier, with her baby Emma in tow (T.C. was not the biological father), after horrible threats from T.C.'s mother, and also a hefty cheque amount. Of course, T.C. believes she was nothing but yet another gold-digger, happily accepting a payout to leave him. They are reunited when Emma, now four years old, is the witness to a murder of a woman who happens to look just like Jolie. Jolie thinks T.C. is the only one equipped (not the police), to help her. T.C. will do it for Emma, but trusting Jolie again is not on his agenda, despite still thinking she's hot.
This is the sort of story that requires you to accept that a desperate mother, wanting to get off the grid, instead of going underground, shacks up with T.C. Colton, who is described as being very high profile and important enough to be followed around by paparazzi and reported on. It will also ask you to accept that when on the run from a killer, the best place to go with your famous ex is an isolated shack on his ranch without any mobile phone service. A place that, because you're with a famous local, will be a piece of cake for anybody to locate.
Yeah, right.
So, how about the romance? I thoroughly disliked T.C. He acted like a child at all times. Yes, Jolie did a shitty thing, but she has calmly and rationally explained why she acted in that way. His mother threatened to make her child's life a misery. Yes, Jolie could have gone to T.C. one last time before taking off to talk it over with him (she didn't, as she, reasonably enough, didn't want to come between him and his family.) But what about T.C.'s role in all this? He couldn't track Jolie down himself (easy enough for him to do, considering he can access information about what she did with the cheque she took), and get an explanation out of her?
No. Instead, T.C. likes to remind Jolie at every opportunity that he thinks she's an untrustworthy, opportunistic gold-digger. (But a good mother.) He just harps on and on about this past the point of rationality. You have your explanation of why Jolie did what she did, T.C. A real man would take the information on board, perhaps investigate it, come to a conclusion and either forgive and forget, or not. T.C will do neither. He just resolutely holds on to the idea that Jolie is a liar and their relationship meant nothing and berates her for it for about 75% for the book before an abrupt turnaround.
There's also internal musings from T.C. that he should make Jolie pay for his help with sex, whether it would be reasonable to demand that from her. Indeed, Jolie internally wonders if she would be willing to have sex with TC as payment and thanks for his assistance. Just, yuck! WTF was Justine Davis thinking with this nonsense?
The final nail in the coffin for me believing in this relationship was when, after the umpteenth time of T.C. whining at Jolie for being a liar who only wanted his money, was when he then went on to deny that he was ever calling her a liar and thinking their relationship was all based on a lie! What the actual f***? They then have some sort of spat over that bizarre sex-for-payment thing, and at that point they both just totally lost me. I did not believe for one second that, after the book is over, T.C. would not trot out the whole you-left-me-for-a-cheque scenario whenever he needed to score points in an argument. It should be noted, for those who consider it important, T.C. was not celibate in the four year separation. Jolie was. I'm not strictly a stickler for that, but it admittedly gave me another reason to dislike T.C. (I dubbed him Total Cockhead.)
Justine Davis kept telling me he was a kind, decent, reasonable man. His thoughts and actions told me a different story. It was very wearying.
The plot is a snore. After some initial excitement, it settles into a standard shacked-up-at-the-ranch-while-waiting-for-something-to-happen story. We get told again and again that Jolie is a fierce mother who will do anything for her daughter. (Which I believed). We get told again and again that T.C. is only doing this for Emma and that he is a kind, decent, reasonable man. (Cough, cough). Both T.C. and Jolie will come across belongings of the other and wonder why he/she kept it all this time and zzzzzzz.
The plot of the murder Emma witnessed is secondary to that of what is clearly an ongoing plot involving the disappearance of T.C.'s father, Eldridge. As can be expected, the plot of the murdered woman who looked just like Jolie is wrapped up with a completely arbitrary explanation, and the mystery surrounding Eldridge is to be resolved in some other book, some other day.
I need a dashing Colton (not T.C., obviously) to rescue me from drivel like this.
This is the sort of story that requires you to accept that a desperate mother, wanting to get off the grid, instead of going underground, shacks up with T.C. Colton, who is described as being very high profile and important enough to be followed around by paparazzi and reported on. It will also ask you to accept that when on the run from a killer, the best place to go with your famous ex is an isolated shack on his ranch without any mobile phone service. A place that, because you're with a famous local, will be a piece of cake for anybody to locate.
Yeah, right.
So, how about the romance? I thoroughly disliked T.C. He acted like a child at all times. Yes, Jolie did a shitty thing, but she has calmly and rationally explained why she acted in that way. His mother threatened to make her child's life a misery. Yes, Jolie could have gone to T.C. one last time before taking off to talk it over with him (she didn't, as she, reasonably enough, didn't want to come between him and his family.) But what about T.C.'s role in all this? He couldn't track Jolie down himself (easy enough for him to do, considering he can access information about what she did with the cheque she took), and get an explanation out of her?
No. Instead, T.C. likes to remind Jolie at every opportunity that he thinks she's an untrustworthy, opportunistic gold-digger. (But a good mother.) He just harps on and on about this past the point of rationality. You have your explanation of why Jolie did what she did, T.C. A real man would take the information on board, perhaps investigate it, come to a conclusion and either forgive and forget, or not. T.C will do neither. He just resolutely holds on to the idea that Jolie is a liar and their relationship meant nothing and berates her for it for about 75% for the book before an abrupt turnaround.
There's also internal musings from T.C. that he should make Jolie pay for his help with sex, whether it would be reasonable to demand that from her. Indeed, Jolie internally wonders if she would be willing to have sex with TC as payment and thanks for his assistance. Just, yuck! WTF was Justine Davis thinking with this nonsense?
The final nail in the coffin for me believing in this relationship was when, after the umpteenth time of T.C. whining at Jolie for being a liar who only wanted his money, was when he then went on to deny that he was ever calling her a liar and thinking their relationship was all based on a lie! What the actual f***? They then have some sort of spat over that bizarre sex-for-payment thing, and at that point they both just totally lost me. I did not believe for one second that, after the book is over, T.C. would not trot out the whole you-left-me-for-a-cheque scenario whenever he needed to score points in an argument. It should be noted, for those who consider it important, T.C. was not celibate in the four year separation. Jolie was. I'm not strictly a stickler for that, but it admittedly gave me another reason to dislike T.C. (I dubbed him Total Cockhead.)
Justine Davis kept telling me he was a kind, decent, reasonable man. His thoughts and actions told me a different story. It was very wearying.
The plot is a snore. After some initial excitement, it settles into a standard shacked-up-at-the-ranch-while-waiting-for-something-to-happen story. We get told again and again that Jolie is a fierce mother who will do anything for her daughter. (Which I believed). We get told again and again that T.C. is only doing this for Emma and that he is a kind, decent, reasonable man. (Cough, cough). Both T.C. and Jolie will come across belongings of the other and wonder why he/she kept it all this time and zzzzzzz.
The plot of the murder Emma witnessed is secondary to that of what is clearly an ongoing plot involving the disappearance of T.C.'s father, Eldridge. As can be expected, the plot of the murdered woman who looked just like Jolie is wrapped up with a completely arbitrary explanation, and the mystery surrounding Eldridge is to be resolved in some other book, some other day.
I need a dashing Colton (not T.C., obviously) to rescue me from drivel like this.
scoutmomskf's review
4.0
Good second chance story with some action and suspense thrown in. Jolie and TC had been very close four years earlier until she took the money his parents offered and ran. He still has not forgotten or forgiven Jolie for that betrayal, nor has he seen Jolie since then. Until she and her daughter walk into his office asking for help.
Jolie had loved TC with all her heart, but she couldn't stand up to the threats made against herself and her daughter. After leaving the Colton ranch, she has made a new life for herself and Emma. Then Emma witnesses a murder and the killer comes after her, leaving Jolie nowhere to turn for help except TC.
The initial meeting between TC and Jolie is pretty rough. He's still bitter over her departure and not inclined to be very helpful. His walls against being hurt again are built pretty high. Jolie is still hurt that he let them go so easily and never even came after her for an explanation. I liked Jolie's fierce mama bear persona as she let him know exactly what drove her away. Her explanation set him back a bit because it differed quite a bit from his mother's version. He's still wary though, and ready to refuse his help, when he comes face to face with little Emma. He had loved the little girl, and much of his pain was wrapped up in how much he missed her too. He can't bring himself to refuse anything that will keep her safe. TC whisks them away to his "refuge," a cabin on a distant part of the ranch where he's sure they will be safe.
It was interesting to see the rekindling of TC and Jolie's relationship. Both of them are wary at first, with too many memories and too much hurt between them to be easy with each other. Both are determined to make the best of things for Emma. There are some really sweet scenes between TC and Emma as she wiggles her way back into his heart, and opening the door for his feelings for Jolie. The chemistry between them is still as strong as it had been before, and when they are together that way, everything else fades into the background. However, the memories of what happened before are never far from their minds, making both of them a little oversensitive and prone to take remarks the wrong way. With TC realizing that his feelings for Jolie never went away, it's pretty clear that a confrontation with his mother isn't far off. I loved that face-off when it happened, especially seeing TC and Jolie stand up to her together. It will be interesting to see if those results hold. The confrontation also made TC and Jolie realize that they belonged together. The icing on the cake was their return to the main ranch house, where they were met by the rest of the family. I loved the support they received from the "good" Coltons - Reid, Zane, Piper, and Alanna. The best part was seeing Fowler and Jolie go head to head and Fowler being the one to back down.
The suspense of the story had two parts. The main one being the murder that Emma witnessed and keeping her safe. Most of that occurred at the beginning and end of the book, with the first attack and then laying low while they tried to find the murderer. Things got very intense at the end when Emma was grabbed again. My heart was in my throat as TC and his horse Flash went up against a murderer in a car. There was a surprising twist to the resolution that I hadn't seen coming at all.
The second part was the continuing question of what had happened to Eldridge Colton. Once again, Fowler has a theory and doesn't hesitate to take it to the police. His victim of choice this time is Jolie, whom he accuses of killing Eldridge because she wants more money. I liked TC's belief in her innocence on that point and his help in clearing her name. It was amusing to see his reaction to where she was and who she was with the night in question. It was satisfying for them both to be able to thwart Fowler's intent. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop him from setting his sights on someone else, which is the lead into the next book.
Jolie had loved TC with all her heart, but she couldn't stand up to the threats made against herself and her daughter. After leaving the Colton ranch, she has made a new life for herself and Emma. Then Emma witnesses a murder and the killer comes after her, leaving Jolie nowhere to turn for help except TC.
The initial meeting between TC and Jolie is pretty rough. He's still bitter over her departure and not inclined to be very helpful. His walls against being hurt again are built pretty high. Jolie is still hurt that he let them go so easily and never even came after her for an explanation. I liked Jolie's fierce mama bear persona as she let him know exactly what drove her away. Her explanation set him back a bit because it differed quite a bit from his mother's version. He's still wary though, and ready to refuse his help, when he comes face to face with little Emma. He had loved the little girl, and much of his pain was wrapped up in how much he missed her too. He can't bring himself to refuse anything that will keep her safe. TC whisks them away to his "refuge," a cabin on a distant part of the ranch where he's sure they will be safe.
It was interesting to see the rekindling of TC and Jolie's relationship. Both of them are wary at first, with too many memories and too much hurt between them to be easy with each other. Both are determined to make the best of things for Emma. There are some really sweet scenes between TC and Emma as she wiggles her way back into his heart, and opening the door for his feelings for Jolie. The chemistry between them is still as strong as it had been before, and when they are together that way, everything else fades into the background. However, the memories of what happened before are never far from their minds, making both of them a little oversensitive and prone to take remarks the wrong way. With TC realizing that his feelings for Jolie never went away, it's pretty clear that a confrontation with his mother isn't far off. I loved that face-off when it happened, especially seeing TC and Jolie stand up to her together. It will be interesting to see if those results hold. The confrontation also made TC and Jolie realize that they belonged together. The icing on the cake was their return to the main ranch house, where they were met by the rest of the family. I loved the support they received from the "good" Coltons - Reid, Zane, Piper, and Alanna. The best part was seeing Fowler and Jolie go head to head and Fowler being the one to back down.
The suspense of the story had two parts. The main one being the murder that Emma witnessed and keeping her safe. Most of that occurred at the beginning and end of the book, with the first attack and then laying low while they tried to find the murderer. Things got very intense at the end when Emma was grabbed again. My heart was in my throat as TC and his horse Flash went up against a murderer in a car. There was a surprising twist to the resolution that I hadn't seen coming at all.
The second part was the continuing question of what had happened to Eldridge Colton. Once again, Fowler has a theory and doesn't hesitate to take it to the police. His victim of choice this time is Jolie, whom he accuses of killing Eldridge because she wants more money. I liked TC's belief in her innocence on that point and his help in clearing her name. It was amusing to see his reaction to where she was and who she was with the night in question. It was satisfying for them both to be able to thwart Fowler's intent. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop him from setting his sights on someone else, which is the lead into the next book.
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