So Tough to Tame

So Tough to Tame is the third book in the Jackson series from Victoria Dahl. The publisher is Harlequin HQN, and the release date was September 24, 2013. From the back cover.~

Tough to tame, but not too tough to love… 

Charlie Allington is supposed to be on the fast track to the top—a small-town girl who was making it big in her career. Instead, she's reeling from a scandal that's pretty much burned all her bridges. Now, out of options, she needs a place to lick her wounds and figure out her future. True, working at a ski resort in rugged Jackson Hole, Wyoming, isn't her dream job. But if there's one perk to coming back, it's a certain sexy hometown boy who knows how to make a girl feel welcome. 

Cowboy Walker Pearce never expected a grown-up Charlie to be temptation in tight jeans. She's smart and successful—way out of league for a man like him. But he's not about to let that, or his secrets, get in the way of their blazing-hot attraction. Yet when passion turns to something more, will the truth—about both of them—send her out of his life for good…or into his arms forever?

I'm a huge fan of Victoria Dahl and was excited to get a review copy of So Tough to Tame through NetGalley thanks to the publisher. 

I really liked how strong both Charlie and Walker were as individuals. Charlie is pretty much having to start back over in her security work following a scandal in Nevada. Walker is having to search for work thanks to rumors he was sleeping with the boss's wife at the last dude ranch where he worked. I loved that Charlie and Walker knew each other when in high school and seemed to reconnect pretty fast. They really did have some pretty amazing chemistry, which just got hotter the more times they were together.

I had 2 problems with this book. One was Charlie always trying to make Walker push to be more than a cowboy. She knew he was dyslexic and didn't seem to accept he was happy doing the type of work he was doing. While I agreed with Charlie he would be happier working in a different situation, I didn't agree with her methods of trying to make it happen. My second problem was with the fact that Charlie was more concerned about the red flags she was seeing with her new job. She felt uneasy about both of her bosses, yet never really stepped up and tried to figure out what was going on until it was almost too late. I really felt like she was smarter than she acted. 

Those problems aside, I really did enjoy this book a great deal, and did love Charlie and Walker as a couple. While this is the third book in the series, and can be read as a stand alone, I think you get a better feel for the series if you read the first 2 books in the series first.

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Too Hot to Handle

Too Hot to Handle is the 2^nd book in the Jackson series from Victoria Dahl. The publisher is Harlequin HQN and the release date was March 26, 2013. From the back cover.~

This good girl's going bad….

Merry Kade has always been the good girl. The best friend. The one who patiently waits for the guy to notice her. Well, no more. Merry has just scored her dream job, and it's time for her life to change. As the new curator of a museum in Wyoming, she'll supervise a lot of restoration work. Luckily she's found the perfect contractor for the job.

Shane Harcourt can't believe that someone wants to turn a beat-up ghost town into a museum attraction. After all, the last thing he needs is the site of his dream ranch turning into a tourist trap. He'll work on the project, if only to hasten its failure…until the beautiful, quirky woman in charge starts to change his mind.

For the first time ever, Merry has a gorgeous stud hot on her heels. But can she trust this strong, silent man, even if he is a force of nature in bed? When Shane's ulterior motives come out, he'll need to prove to Merry that a love like theirs may be too hot to handle, but it's impossible to resist.

I’m a really big fan of Victoria Dahl. I devour her books as soon as they hit my kindle. I was lucky enough to get a review copy of Too Hot to Handle thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

I loved Merry Kade from the moment we met her. She has been Grace’s best friend forever and anyone who can keep Grace as a best friend has to be pretty special. I loved how protective both Grace and Cole are of Merry. I also loved that we got to see more of Grace and Cole together in this book. I love them as a couple and love how much they love one another.

I really liked the whole idea of restoration of the ghost town. I’m a history geek, so I got just as excited as Merry did about her work. I even liked that Merry was able to get Shane to help her work on the restoration of the town. I really loved the chemistry between Shane and Merry. As with all Victoria Dahl books, readers get lots of super-hot sexy scenes. My only problem with this book was the fact that Shane kept the secret of who he was from Merry even after their relationship moved beyond a working relationship. I really wanted to kick him in the junk multiple times because I knew Merry would be crushed when she found out the truth of who he really was. That being said, I really did love Merry and Shane as a couple and was so glad she was a much bigger person than I would be about the whole situation.

While this isn’t my favorite Victoria Dahl book because of Shane’s lies, I still really enjoyed this book. I’m really hoping the next hero in the Jackson series is Walker. He is one sexy cowboy and I can’t wait to learn more about him. For more information about Victoria Dahl’s books, check out her website.