Lovin' los libros

 Ok. So. First of all. A huge thank you to Vi and Jessirae again for telling me about Tessa! They weren't kidding when they said her books were hot. They are sizzling! And I loved every minute of this one! I am so excited to continue the Line of Duty series! All gushing aside over the amount of steamy goodness this book has to offer, I really enjoyed Tessa's writing style. I was engaged from the minute I opened the book and could NOT stop reading! I also loved all of our characters!

When we first meet Ginger, she finds herself at a crossroads. She has a tough decision to make concerning not only her own life, but that of her younger sister, Willa, also. Ginger and Willa's mom definitely won't be winning any mother of the year awards. At 23, Ginger is basically Willa's caretaker- ensuring she is provided for and taken care of. Life has been a struggle for the girls and I admire Ginger for sticking around and not abandoning Willa. She wants her to have a future and she knows staying in Nashville where their mother is still present is not the way to go.

Ginger's decision leads her to Chicago and therefore to Lt. Derek Tyler of Chicago PD. Their first meeting is definitely not the best one. Ginger and Willa are moving into the apartment across the hall and the girls are definitely on the louder side. I love their vulgar language and their hilarious back and forth banter! Derek, nursing a mega hangover from the previous night, is kind of a jerk to them. Yet, he can't help but blatantly ogle the beautiful woman that has just moved in. He knows he's in trouble.

"Like a living thing, the swift and potent possessiveness she provoked in him stretched and vibrated in his belly. He'd wanted women before, but not like this. He wanted Ginger immediately. To do things to her he'd only ever fantasized about. If another man had happened to be present on the roof at that moment, Derek didn't doubt he'd throw the unlucky bastard over the side before letting him get a glimpse of her lithe body."

Ginger isn't unaffected by Derek either. He is good-looking, strong, and direct. He does not play around when it comes to telling Ginger what he wants from her. These two have explosive chemistry and she is surprised to find she likes when he talks dirty. Ginger is afraid of ending up like her mother- she isn't reckless like her and doesn't want to go down the same shameful path her mother did. Derek, however, won't be easily deterred. He wants her and he plans to have her. He works his way into her life and has Ginger running scared. She reassures herself that it can only be physical between them, but the more they spend time together, the more she sees how much he cares. He never expected to feel the things he does with Ginger, but seeing her lay her insecurities and fears out in front of him, he wants to be the one to protect her. I have to give it to Ginger- she definitely held out a lot longer than I would have!

I really liked Willa, Ginger's younger sister too. She was fun, sweet, and I liked how we got to find out a bit about her. She is really depressed over not having her mother around, but knows moving to Chicago is in her best interest. We do get to see some of Willa's vulnerabilities- she's never been the girl to go to sporting events or dances and now that she's met a boy, she finds herself coming out of her shell. The sisters are very protective of each other and it really made me smile to see Ginger go to bat for Willa and vice versa.

As Ginger and Derek discover they both do want more from one another, Ginger knows she will have to come clean with him and tell him everything about where she came from. I don't want to spoil anything, but Ginger makes some decisions that she feels are for the best to get her on the right track, but could really jeopardize her life. I loved that the book took on a more action packed feel towards the end- Tessa came full circle with her story and I was very satisfied with the ending!