P. Dangelico - Bulldozer

Amanda Shaw has pulled it together. It’s taken a couple of years, a boatload of hard work, and a ton of self-discipline, but she finally has her problems in a headlock. Her yoga studio in the city has become so successful she’s opening one near the beach, and her relationship with her ten year old son is improving every day. The last thing she needs is a monkey wrench thrown into her smoothly running life.
Grant Hendricks is one big monkey wrench. The four time Defensive Player of the Year, three time NFL sack leader, and all around football god has officially hit rock bottom. A devastating back injury means he may have to retire and that scares him more than doctors telling him the next hit could leave him paralyzed. All he needs is a quiet place to think and his teammate’s beach house sounds like just the place. Problem is, the woman already living there.

Comment: This is the third book in the Hard to Love trilogy by P. Dangelico. I liked the previous books enough to want to conclude the trilogy but I wouldn't go as far as to say they were amazing books. they were all entertaining and included interesting scenes but now I've read them all, I have to say they won't e stories I'll want to re-read all the time.

In this last story we have the focus on Amanda, she's the sister of the hero from book #1. Amanda needs to stay with her son for a few weeks in her brothers' house near the beach, where she will be opening a yoga studio with a friend, to keep up the success of their first. She also needs to deal with her ex and his desire to bond with their son by having him with him as well. What she wasn't counting with was that a fellow teammate of her brother would be staying at his house while recovering from an injury. They seem to butt heads at first and that is another thing to worry Amanda but as they get to know one another, won't it be fun to realize they can be each other's best support?

For those who have read the other installments, this one is pretty much along the same lines and, so sadly for me, it's also narrated in the first person by the heroine. I don't think her thoughts/words are always that amazing that I feel this is the author's best option... anyway, this is clearly a story with opposites attract but the fun is in how they go from one behavior (antagonists) to another (friends of sorts). I still think the overall plot could have been done much better or could have been focused on different ideas.

Amanda is a recovering alcoholic. I liked how she kept thinking she had flaws but she worked on them to become a better role model for her son. It's difficult not to appreciate such a character but when she is the one describing these things it's also hard not to see her as weird by sharing these things the way she does... well, she has to, she's the narrator - and that's why I tend to dislike 1st person - so she comes across as sometimes vain, sometimes oversharing, sometimes too focused on unimportant stuff...like detailing every thing she notices about Grant or about the chores she performs... it just doesn't seem natural or important for the type of worries she apparently has (like with her ex being in her son's life, work, etc.).

Grant is obviously more difficult to understand for we only have his side of the dialogues and his attitudes screened by the heroine's POV. He is made to be the perfect counterpart to her, the perfect gentleman when she needs help but also an alpha male she can't help but be attracted to. Basically, he has no personality besides the necessary and even his troubles, more heavily addressed towards the end of the book, are like a prop to make him make certain decisions. I understand the tactic but having his POV or having a narrator showing us his personality would have been much better.

I didn't dislike reading this story, despite my critics. I think that in the right mood, this can work very well for those who like the style and I was definitely entertained but I don't think it quite reaches memorable status. I actually think some moments in the book were boring. It was also a bit repetitive if one has read the other books too. I suppose the author might have wanted something cohesive but the narrators' voices in all books aren't always addictive to be with, to want to be in their heads. At least, it wasn't so for me.

Grade: 7/10

P. Dangelico - Sledgehammer

Amber Jones is in a pickle. And when I say pickle, I mean a world of trouble. She knew she shouldn’t have gone to her ex’s New Year’s Eve party. And she reeeaally didn’t mean to almost burn down his house. Now she needs a good lawyer, stat. But where to find one?
Ethan Vaughn is a very busy man. He really shouldn’t have agreed to spring Amber Jones out of jail. As the most sought after lawyer in professional football, he should be focused on representing his NFL clients––not an accident-prone, struggling actress.
Now she’s remanded on bail, and living in his house. The woman is a walking talking disaster. And considering his track record, he needs to stay as far away from this one as possible. Problem is, he’s finally met the one he’s willing to risk it all for.
Take one outspoken actress, put her under the same roof with an overworked lawyer, and watch the slow burn bring down the house.

Comment: This is the second installment in the Hard to Love series by author P. Dangelico. I liked the first book enough to want to try the next one and here it is.

In this second book we have the story of lawyer Ethan Vaughn, who helped Cam, the heroine in book #1, and Amber Jones, her the best friend.

Amber had a bad experience at her ex' house and she sees herself in a legal problem, being at risk of going to jail is she doesn't pay a fee so after asking her friend Cam for help, lawyer Ethan comes along even though it's not his expertise field.

Sadly, the judge orders her to not leave the state and to pay an amount she doesn't have, so Ethan offers to house her, so she can meet the legal matters and that means to live with Ethan for three months. Surely, it can be that bad although Amber thinks Ethan can't stand her.

Living together doesn't mean they need to see each other that much, does it...?

First of all, the premise of this story sets on the fact Amber has to live with Ethan for three months because he accepts to take care of her case. I'm not knowledgeable in legal matters but is this really a thing? Does something like this happens in real life? It seems too ridiculous to be true but well...

This is the way the author chose to put hero and heroine in close proximity so their feelings could develop in a continuous way.

Putting aside the doubts on the workings of legal affairs, of course the story is filled with scenes in which the protagonists slowly change their antagonism for one another into sexual attraction and confidence and then relationship status.

The author is compared with those who prefer a slow romance instead of an insta one but I must say I didn't feel this in this book. (as opposed to the first one, for instance)

What it felt was that the protagonists were not slowly developing their relationship...they were simply taking too long to be intimate, a delay on sexual intercourse because it was obvious to the reader they were in lust with one another.

I wouldn't, therefore, characterize this as a slow burn romance just because it took them several chapter to go to bed together.

I think the problem is that, although the characters talk about their lives and experiences, most of their interactions is followed by or initiated by lustful thoughts from the heroine. I mean, she is always thinking about sex when thinking of the hero and it feels a little diminishing of her real feelings if everything relates to sex anyway. Just because they don't sleep together soon after their legal situation doesn't mean the thoughts are thee and I'll be honest, it got to a point I felt annoyed so much of their time together was always seen through a sexual possibility.

Of course this happened because this is a first person narrative, we only have the heroine's POV. 

I've said this many times before already, but it is really unfair and counterproductive to write a romance when we only have one POV. It doesn't offer balance! Not every author does this well, not all romance stories have enough bases for first person to work out! What a pity this is the case here.

It does feel my opinion is very negative but I liked reading the story, the narrative is fluid despite all the sex innuendos and thoughts. I especially liked the characters' interactions with the secondary characters and the confidences they shared. There were some emotional scenes I felt were very touching and some things made for the ones I wasn't as fond of.

I just feel it's a pity the author wanted to convey sexual tension but the method wasn't the best. I wish she could have written this in third person, perhaps the story could flow better for me.

The HEA is cute, I liked it enough. 

I might also read the last story sooner than later, if I can.

Grade: 7/10

P. Dangelico - Wrecking Ball

Cam DeSantis’ life is a mess. How else would you describe losing your husband, your job, and your money all at once? Desperate times call for desperate measures. So when salvation comes in the form of one intolerable jerk, she has no choice but to accept his offer as a nanny for his eight year old nephew. Now all she has to do is find a way to ignore him for the next three months. Which is easier said than done.
NFL quarterback Calvin Shaw has zero interest in women. It’s not that he doesn’t like women. In fact, he loves women. He just doesn’t want anything to do with them. What he needs to do is focus on winning another Super Bowl before he retires. Problem is, the woman living in his house is a major distraction. And he doesn’t know what’s worse, that he promised to be civil, or that he’s attracted to her.
Best laid plans are going to get wrecked when a reclusive football star is forced to live with a reluctant nanny.

Comment: I got interested in this book after seeing some comments on it being a slow burn and with a heroine that was down on her luck. I mean... talk about catnip!

In this book we meet Camila DeSantis, a widow whose husband has done a ponzi scheme and was considered guilty in court so everything she owned was also arrested and now she doesn't have a job nor does it seem anyone would want to hire her anyway, she lives with her parents again and she doesn't see a lot of hope in her future.

The temporary employment agency she registered at has an offer, though. She is offered the three month possibility of being nanny to a little boy who is now living with his uncle and the pay is very good but the catch is that the uncle is famous and she can't talk about it. The day of her interview, however, she hears that guy and his lawyer discussing her and she doesn't like hat they say so she leaves.

What follows is the guy's attempt to convince her to come back, he apologizes and she returns because she also needs the money. But two lonely people living together most of the time can't really stay away from each other's business, can't they?

I was positively surprised by this story. I knew it would be a slow burn but I must repeat I was very happy with the fact the main characters didn't immediately jump each other. The fact most of the story happens in the house they share while she works for him would be an easy tool for them to be together but thankfully, the author increased the sexual tension scenes and it's more about the possibilities than the actual sex. 

This means that when they do get together, it should be amazing but to be honest, I think the conflict used to keep them apart in the end - before they reach HEA status - sort of downgraded the intensity of their intimate moments. After so long, the actual chemistry seemed weak.

I still liked the story and most of its scenes/situations.

However, I can see many readers really disliking a particularity of the HEA for its magical solution but for me it wasn't such a bother. What I'd change in the whole thing was its presence to begin with. I don't think it really added much to the character's issues if it was just there to be changed...

This makes me think about the hero. He is famous, has very humble origins and now has to deal with the price of having become famous and rich. I can understand the way the author made him seem so reserved after what happened in his past and with his ex wife but his reasoning to some things he does now don't seem to match, after all this is a romance, not a psychological study on personality.

For instance, the heroine also suffered some setbacks and she still has the power of context, of putting things in a different perspective not hers alone. 

I think, as I usually defend, one problem is the fact this is a 1st person narrator. If this had been like this but with alternate narration between heroine and hero, perhaps the reader could have had a better idea of both their thoughts through the novel and not just when they were discussing what could be their future.

Despite the things I found less well done (to my taste), I had a good time reading, I was eager to know what happened and I liked how the character's lives were complex, they had their problems but they were also part of a good sized network of secondary characters I liked seeing them interact with. The pace seemed a very good match to how their relationship developed and I did want to see what next scenes existed with them sharing things, whether in an intimate or funny situation.

I'll read the next story one day, for certain, just to see if the same slow burn tendency holds up.

Grade: 8/10