Smitten by Books

One night with the wrong woman can change your life…. 

Jack Simon’s road to the White House has been a smooth one until a night with the notorious Donovan James becomes a roadblock he can’t escape. Suddenly he’s America’s number one story and it has nothing to do with politics. Jack’s tangled with this woman before and knows they’re no good together because the only thing they’re good for is a four letter word…hurt. He should get on with his life and concentrate on his job. But that’s hard to do when the one thing standing in his way, is the one thing he wants the most… 

Donovan James, international singing sensation, has made a living singing songs about heartache and pain, two things she grew up on. But it’s time to set down some roots and the only man she wants is a man she’s all wrong for. A man she’s never stopped loving—Jack Simon. They’d had it all once, until they didn’t. And yet she can’t help but wonder if a second shot together just might be the game changer she needs. Or if old secrets can still ruin the only man she’s ever loved…

Other books in the series: 

Readers are first introduced to Jack Simon in Tucker (which you can currently download free), the first book in Juliana Stone’s The Family Simon series. He’s the eldest of the Simon brothers and the one everyone believes is destined for the White House.

Jack is an easy hero to fall for. He’s definitely got the brooding thing down—and I do adore a brooding hero. But when readers are first introduced to him at the beginning of the book, his ill-temper has Donovan James written all over it. She’s the one who got away. She’s also the only woman to break his heart.

I love a couple with a history. And the worse the history—the worse the breakup—the better I like it. Jack and Donovan’s past goes back five years and ended with her upping and leaving him. Jack, of course, has never gotten over her and the last thing he wants or needs is to have her back in his life. Not even in the vicinity of it. At his fundraiser is definitely too close for comfort. She’s beautiful and he’s still very attracted to her. That the first scene between them closed without any major fireworks was a miracle. The spark it lit though, sets the tension for the rest of the book.

Donovan James is a big-time country singer from Arkansas with a real southern drawl with trailer-park roots. She could easily have been one of those heroines I thoroughly dislike. A lot of big talk and a heaping ton of bravado. But it’s her vulnerability that won me over. The minute I was in her POV, I could feel her pain. She’s still in love with Jack and lives under the black cloud of how she betrayed him…and how she left him.

Then they both end up on Belize together. Sparks fly, passions flare. You can imagine how that goes, right? Their time in Belize truly sets the fire burning between them sky high. They both try not to give in, and I absolutely admired their strength of will. But that’s the great thing about the building of sexual tension, knowing no matter how hard they try, that they will fail in fantastic style.

“If Donovan was an actress, she’d be up for an Oscar because she’d just given the performance of a lifetime. Hell, Julia Roberts had nothing on her.

She’d let Jack put his hands on her. PUT HIS HANDS ON HER. And she hadn’t given anything way.”

The way I see it, the biggest problem with their relationship is there’s just way too many people involved. Too many people telling Jack what’s best for his political career and telling Donovan she’s definitely not it. This and their bad breakup create a boatload of trust issues between them. And they can both be pretty stubborn. But in all fairness to them, the bad guy in all this was pretty darn bad.

The wonderful thing about this story is it gets better with every turn of the page, and with every scene. And despite the fact that I knew what’s coming, I was still sitting on the edge of the seat for the sh*t to hit the fan. And when it did eventually hit, I find out I didn’t know everything I thought I did.  I won’t say any more  than that or I’ll be giving too much of the plot away.

All in all, Jack is a sexy, emotional, tug-at-your-heartstrings kind of book. If you love those, Jack is exactly the type of book you need to pick up.

Reviewed by Beverley

Heat Level: Hot

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