Missing Dixie (Neon Dreams #3)
   by: Caisey Quinn

Publication Date: Oct. 27, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 304 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Fighting for redemption…

I've lived most of my life in darkness, beneath the shadows of secrets and addictions. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt the only girl I'd ever loved-the one who brought me into the light. In my entire life I'd made one promise-a promise I'd intended to keep. I've broken that promise and now I have to live with the fallout. Dixie Lark hates me, and I have to tell her that I love her. I also have to tell her a truth that might destroy us forever.

Can she love me even if she can't forgive me?

Learning to move on…

Gavin Garrison broke his promise to my brother and he broke my heart in the process. I may never love anyone the way I've loved him, but at least I won't spend my life wondering what if. We had our one night and he walked away. I'm finally beginning to move on when my brother's wedding and a battle of the bands brings us back together.

Our band is getting a second chance, but I don't know if I can give him one. How do you hand your heart back to the person who set it on fire once already?

 

 

I feel like I've been waiting for this book for so long! After finishing Leaving Amarillo, I was desperate to see how Dixie and Gavin's story would continue. My heart ached for both of them, as Dixie is heartbroken over Gavin's inability to commit to her and he is struggling because he doesn't want to hurt her. However, Gavin has secrets of the past and wants to try and get his life together before he feels he can truly let himself be with her.

 

As much as I was rooting for these two to get their HEA, it took me a bit to work past the anger and frustration I felt (mainly at Gavin). This book was more angst-filled than the others and it drove me a little nuts because I just wanted Gavin to stop with the act and open up to Dixie and be honest with her. She deserved that from him, especially after telling her to wait for him and giving her hope. Even after time apart and Dixie being hurt by Gavin not telling her he was back in town, they still have explosive chemistry together. They both can't deny they want the other, but Gavin still hasn't gotten his crap sorted and he knows he has to come clean to Dixie if he ever wants a shot. I was not a fan of his plan to intentionally hurt her because he feels he may never be good enough for her. Dixie has always been in his corner, ever since they were kids, so to see him treat her the way he did broke my heart for both of them. His past is an ugly one and I can't blame him for wanting to keep it from her. He has a lot of anger in him and music has always been an outlet for him. However, his friendship with Dixie and Dallas has also shaped a lot of who he is too. He is a good person and I love that his friends believed in him every step of the way.

 

One of the most surprising developments in this book was Liam. I absolutely loved the addition of this character and seeing him bond with both Dixie and Gavin floored me in the best way. I won't say much more, but he will definitely leave an impression on your heart.

 

Dixie and Gavin have not had an easy road together and it does take quite a bit of the book for them to finally get to a point where they are tackling things together. I was so happy then because I loved seeing them work as one and be able to support each other wholly.

 

Overall, I am happy with the way the story concluded, even though the emotional whiplash I felt between the two of them really messed with me. (I'm not typically an angry reader, but the back and forth just put me over the top.) This is a very raw, intense story and while parts of it are not easy to read, it is a love story through and through and we see firsthand just how messy love can be... but also how worth it.

Loving Dallas (Neon Dreams #2)
   by: Caisey Quinn

Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 320 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

In the second novel in bestselling author Caisey Quinn’s Neon Dreams series, a country rock band and its members embark on the rocky road to fame and find love along the way.

Dallas Lark is so close to achieving his dream of making it big in country music that he can taste it. Arriving in Nashville after signing with sexy, successful manager Mandy Lantram, his life goes from tragedy and turmoil to one lucky break after another—except it isn’t really luck because Dallas has sacrificed everything for his career, leaving behind his band, sister, best friend, and high school sweetheart, Robyn, in the pursuit of fame.

Robyn Breeland is a successful marketing coordinator and promotions specialist for a thriving liquor distributor out of Texas. She loves every aspect of her job: coming up with new ideas, traveling, hosting promotional parties and exclusive events—until it brings her face-to-face with the man who broke her heart, prompting her to erect a steel cage around it.

When their paths collide and they’re forced to work together, Dallas and Robyn realize that the old spark they thought they’d extinguished might still be a burning flame.

 

 

When I first saw we were getting Dallas's story next in the Neon Dreams series, I have to admit I was a teensy bit bummed. Not because I don't love the boy, because I do, but because of my own selfish reasons. I didn't want to wait for Dixie and Gavin's resolution! I loved Dixie so much in the first book and I didn't want to see her hurting over how things ended with Gavin. We only get glimpses of the two in this book and I am looking forward to the final book in the series more than ever.

 

With that being said, I absolutely adored Loving Dallas. I knew I would once I got over my pity party that it wasn't Dixie and Gavin's book. :) In retrospect, I think I liked getting Dallas's book second because it was less heavy on the angst and I needed that break between the two stories. Gavin is keeping some pretty big stuff from Dixie and I know these two will have to brave the rain before they get the rainbow. I am such a sucker for second chance romances, so this was definitely a win for me. I loved seeing Dallas and Robyn reconnect and I couldn't have been happier with the way their story played out.

 

Dallas has finally hit it big, but it comes at a cost. He always thought he would be touring and making the magic happen with his band, but things don't work out that way. He still feels guilty for this, even though his sister has reassured him time and time again it is ok and she's happy for him. He is now going out on tour with Jase Wade, who is a big shot country star. I didn't initially like Jase, but he's not the arrogant playboy everyone perceives him to be. Well. He is, but he has a softer side and a list of regrets that he would go back and change if he could. He ends up offering Dallas some really sound advice and I respected him for that.

 

I loved Robyn. She is a successful PR businesswoman and I loved seeing her in action. She doesn't put up with crap and when she hears that Wade may have only requested her on the tour for 'other reasons' she doesn't hesitate in marching right up to him and putting him in his place. Her and Dallas have history and it's pretty intense. They were each other's first love and neither one really wanted things to end. However, Robyn refused to let him give up his dream for her and she knows if she hadn't kept things from him, he would have done just that.

 

The tension between these two is off the charts. I loved that they had history and seeing them reconnect just made my heart flutter. Quinn writes some extremely sexy, steamy scenes and I loved that we didn't have to wait too long for them either.

 

Dallas might start off being solely focused on his career and nothing else, but we definitely get to see him realize that there is more to life than being a big shot musician. Jase Wade is a prime example of how being at the top and having everything isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seeing Dallas come to these realizations really endeared him to me and I just fell head over heels for the guy. I am so ready for Gavin's story next because it's been driving me crazy not knowing what happened in his past!

 

 

 

Leaving Amarillo (Neon Dreams #1)
    by: Caisey Quinn

Publication Date: Mar. 17, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 352 pages
Order Links: Amazon| B&N
My Rating: 5/5 stars

Nashville meets New Adult in Neon Dreams, a dramatic, sexy series from bestselling author Caisey Quinn, about a country band’s rocky road to fame—and the ambition, dreams, and love of the people who make the music.

Dixie Lark hasn’t had it easy. She lost her parents in an accident when she was young and grew up in a ramshackle house on a dirt road in Amarillo with her ailing grandparents and overprotective older brother. Thanks to her grandfather, Dixie learned to play a mean fiddle, inspired by the sounds of the greats—Johnny and June, Waylon, and Hank. Her grandfather’s fiddle changed Dixie’s life forever, giving her an outlet for the turmoil of her broken heart and inspiring a daring dream.

Ten years later, Dixie and her brother, Dallas, are creating the music they love and chasing fame with their hot band, Leaving Amarillo. But Dixie isn’t enjoying the ride. All she can think about is Gavin, the band’s tattooed, tortured drummer who she’s loved since they were kids. She knows he feels the connection between them, but he refuses see her as more than his best friend’s little sister.

Convinced that one night with Gavin will get him out of her system, Dixie devises a plan. She doesn’t know that her brother has forbidden Gavin from making a move on her-a promise he swore he’d always keep . . . a promise that once broken will unexpectedly change the future for Dixie, Gavin and the band.

 

"I play because I have to, because when everything falls apart and the walls of my world try to cave in around me, it's music that holds me up. Right now it's the only thing keeping all the parts of me together."

 

I feel like I can't even breathe right now. This book's essence has invaded my body and it is squeezing the life out of me. I am so wrecked over this one you guys. Seriously. Caisey Quinn has Blown. Me. AWAY. The writing is so gorgeous and vividly descriptive that I couldn't stop highlighting quotes as I went- they were that impactful. I loved everything about this book. The story, the characters, the tension and angst that threatened to consume every part of my soul...

 

I have to start with the prologue. Wow. Talk about an experience. I felt like I was THERE. Maybe it's the absolute music lover in me and the fact that I have been to several outdoor shows where musicians have poured their heart and soul into their playing, but I had chills from reading the prologue.

 

I loved Dixie. I love her honesty and how she really steps up and decides she's going to do something about her love for Gavin once and for all. She was such a vibrant character and I was wrecked for her so many times. She feels so much, has lost so much, and above all wants so much. I loved that about her and I was rooting for her every step of the way. I never wanted her to doubt herself or her talent and I just wanted Gavin to snap out of his 'I want you, but I can't be with you' funk already. Oh, Gavin. I know that he hasn't had the best childhood or has grown up dealing with the easiest of things, and that makes me want to hug him even tighter. He is always watching out for Dixie and Dallas and their relationships are so important to him. They are the two closest people on earth to him, so naturally he's afraid of overstepping his bounds with Dixie. Dallas has made it clear that Gavin is NEVER EVER to go there with her and Gavin doesn't want to destroy their friendship and he doesn't want to hurt her either. However, Dixie is getting hurt either way. She has loved him all her life, so it killed me to see her pine for him while he held himself at arm's length.

 

These two have crazy chemistry though. Gavin is at breaking point when it comes to Dixie and it is taking all of his strength and resolve NOT to let himself go there with her. The sexual tension was so maddening and I felt like I was going to burst from anticipation. (Quinn does build up so very well.) Their scenes together are filled with so much passion and longing... I can't even convey to you all the beauty behind it. They are like a volcano ready to erupt. So much is simmering underneath the surface and you just know when it explodes... it's going to be messy and hot and cause a firestorm.

 

"It's dangerous to love, to allow yourself to be loved. But I dared to fly too close to the flames and I've decided it's better to burn- to have that all-consuming powerful kind of love that scars you for life even if it only lasts a little while, than to play it safe forever."

 

The ending nearly killed me. The band is faced with some pretty impossible choices, especially on the heels of tragedy. It was hard to read, especially knowing everything Dixie desperately wants for her life. Life doesn't always work out the way you dreamed it would, but sometimes broken dreams lead to new ones. I'm eager (and a bit nervous!) to see the direction Quinn takes these characters next, and I can't wait to read a bit more about Dallas, especially since I love second chance romances.

 

I highly recommend picking this one up. I love the story Quinn has created, the musical aspect that surrounds it, and the vibrant characters she has brought to life within.

 

"I love that you can't pin it down, can't control it. Music is free. It's unpredictable and alive. You can't own it or buy it or sell it. Not really. No matter how hard people try. It belongs to no one."

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Amarillo (Neon Dreams #1)

by: Caisey Quinn

New Adult Contemporary Romance

William Morrow

 

Some promises are made to be broken...

Music is my everything.

After my parents died when I was a kid, moving into my grandparents’ ramshackle house on a dirt road in Amarillo seemed like a nightmare. Until I stumbled upon my grandfather’s shed full of instruments. My soul lives between the strings of Oz, my secondhand fiddle, and it soars when I play.

In Houston, I'm a typical college student on my way to becoming a classically trained violinist headed straight for the orchestra pit. But on the road with my band, Leaving Amarillo, I'm free.We have one shot to make it, and I have one shot to live the life I was meant to. Leaving Amarillo got into Austin Music Fest and everything is riding on this next week. This is our moment.

There’s only one problem. I have a secret...One that could destroy everyone I care about.His name is Gavin Garrison and he's our drummer. He's also my brother's best friend, the one who promised he'd never lay a hand on me. He’s the one person I can’t have, and yet he’s the only one I want.

One week.

One hotel room.

I don't know if I can do this.

I just know that I have to.

 

 

For a long time I knew he only saw me as Dallas’s little sister. I used to have frizzy hair and knobby knees and a chest as flat as both boys. But somewhere along the way, I changed. I’m having a hard time convincing myself that he really sees me for who I am now. Maybe he still sees knobby knees, frizzy hair, and freckles on my shoulders.

His eyes narrow and he shakes his head. No. “Don’t. Don’t do that to me. I just told you. You know why.”

I frown involuntarily while swallowing the knot of emotion that’s rising steadily in my throat. “How could I possibly know? You treat me like we’re related most of the time. You put your hands on random waitresses right in front of me. You sleep with anything that moves. Except me. I tell you how I feel and you can’t get rid of me fast enough.”

Suddenly Gavin is a burning man, coming toward me with angry gleaming eyes. He steps into the room, forcing me back against the wall. The door slams heavily behind him, and he braces his arms on either side of my head. I’ve only seen him this worked up when playing his drums. My heart morphs into a hummingbird inside my ribcage. It’s trapped and wants to escape. Desperately.

His words come out with force that would shove me backward if there were anywhere for me to go. “As flattering as your honest opinion of me is, how about you just tell me what the hell you want from me so we can both get on with our lives. You want to hold hands and go steady, Bluebird? Because I gotta say, you’re not as smart as I thought you were if you’re looking for that from me.”

I jerk my chin upward, faking a confidence I don’t have but refusing to let him intimidate me. “Did you sleep with that waitress? I want to know.”

He snorts out a harsh humorless laugh. “No you don’t.”

“I do. Tell me the truth.” I look up into his eyes, praying the answer is no. Something about that specific waitress is really bothering me. Maybe because I saw their initial flirtation or maybe because of what she said to me in the ladies room. I don’t know. I’m well aware of the fact that he’s been with countless women, but somehow this one feels different. More personal. Because this time, he knew how I felt and if he slept with her anyways, then he actively chose her over me. “Please,” I add to my already pathetic plea.

He releases me from my forearm prison and throws both of his hands into his hair. I inhale a much-needed breath and relax just a little. Until he slams a palm against the wall. I flinch, only because it startled me, but I can see in his wounded expression that he believes he scared me. As if I could ever be afraid of him.

“No, okay? No I didn’t sleep with her. There, you happy now?”

“Well you’re obviously not. If you were going to be so upset about it, why didn’t you just go ahead and do her?”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” he says, raising his voice a few decibels shy of shouting. “Which is it? You want me to have screwed her or not?”

I’m all wound up, like the toys from my childhood. The ones with the knobs you turn and turn, winding so tight the spinny thing breaks and falls off. I’m confused and hurt and angry and turned the hell on in a way I can’t even process. The combination is more than I can handle rationally. I take a page from his broody book and let my palm smack the wall behind me. It stings so I clench it shut. The pain distracts me and I blurt out the truth.

“No, I don’t want you to have screwed her. I don’t want you to screw anyone!”

His reaction is wide-eyed shock and disbelief. “Anyone? Christ, you want me to be celibate? Do you hate me or something?”

Licking my lips, I take several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. It almost works. “I want you,” I begin slowly before taking another deep breath. “To not engage in foreplay in front of my face.”

He opens his mouth to respond—most likely to deny that he did that tonight—but I place my trembling fingers against his lips, firmly breaking our ten-year unspoken no-touching rule. I’d like to take a moment to enjoy the soft, full, sensuously masculine mouth of his, but there isn’t time. I need to focus all cylinders of my brain on what I’m trying to say.

“I told you how I feel, what I want. And I get it. You don’t feel the same way. Or you won’t act on your feelings. But that doesn’t mean I can switch mine right off for your convenience. And it doesn’t mean that I’m not jealous, not hurt, and that I don’t hate, hate, being in the presence of any woman who is going to have you in a way that I never will.”

I’m breathing hard, tasting his anxiety and frustration in the air between us. Removing my fingers from his mouth and placing them on mine, I watch him go to war with himself.

His neck loosens, allowing his head to fall forward. Remaining completely still while he inhales the length of my neck, I swallow hard.

“Tell me I’ll never have you that way. Tell me to move on and let this go,” I whisper, needing to hear him say it and terrified that he actually will in equal measure.

“You’re my best friend. Growing up, you were my safe place,” he tells me on a ragged breath that seems to pull the life completely out of both of us. “I don’t want to ruin you, Bluebird.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com.

Website  Goodreads  Facebook  Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Falling for Fate blog tour hosted by InkSlingerPR!

Today I am excited to share my review, as well as a giveaway with you all!

 

Falling for Fate (Second Chance #2)
   by: Caisey Quinn

Publication Date: Sept. 22, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received via InkSlingerPR in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 287 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo
My Rating: 3/5 stars

Fate Buchanan just wants to escape the constraints of her old life. After checking her mother into rehab and catching her fiancé with her maid of honor the night before their wedding, she ran. Angry and hurt, she’s aching to do something reckless.

Dean Maxwell is having one last summer of freedom before taking over his family’s multi-billion dollar medical conglomerate. When he sees a beautiful woman running down the beach alone after dark, he knows it’s not safe. So he does something impulsive.

When their paths cross unexpectedly after a night of unbridled passion, neither of them can forget the memory of the affair they shared. What began as one night is about to become a whole lot more.

Coming Fall 2014

*While part of the Second Chance series, this novel is a standalone.*

 

 

The second book in the Second Chance series came as a bit of a surprise to me, as I thought it would also revolve around the Second Chance Ranch facility we were introduced to in the first book in the series Last Second Chance. While the ranch is mentioned a few times, it wasn't by any means the focal point of the novel. Instead, we are transported from Texas to New York City and we trade the spurs and horses for boardrooms and sexy CEO's in training.

 

The book actually starts with a novella, Falling For You, which I really enjoyed, despite the heartache our main character Fate endures. I liked Fate as a character, but I was confused as to why she was getting married, when it was pretty clear she wasn't over the moon happy like one would expect an engaged woman to be. Trevor is a complete jerk and I didn't like how condescending and how he would push her for sex, when she was clearly not ready for it. He just didn't respect Fate and that really drove me nuts, as she doesn't deserve to be treated that way. After the bottom falls out from beneath her, Fate throws caution to the wind and engages in one seriously hot night with an unnamed stranger on the beach.

 

I really enjoyed our stranger on the beach. He was compassionate and caring and didn't want to see this woman hurting. We get a hint that he is probably a playboy type, but he was exactly what Fate needed to prove to herself that she was desired and wanted and her ex-fiancé is an idiot.

 

However, fear sent Fate running from the delicious stranger and now after a summer of searching for her and not being able to get her out of his head, he finally finds her again.

 

You would think after a summer of searching for this girl and abstaining from sexual conquests with other women, our sexy stranger wouldn't be as hot and cold as he is with her when they finally reconnect. This drove me crazy and it didn't fit with the Dean I met in the novella at all. I actually could not stand his character. Sure, he has his moments, but I thought he wasn't that much better than her ex, Trevor. He doesn't know Fate's history, as she has not divulged that to him, but his constant rejection of her really angered me. I get that he's at war with himself, as he is dealing with an intercompany no dating policy, as well as taking over as CEO for his very overbearing father. That doesn't excuse him from constantly being the one to pull away, especially after she is willing to trust him. I feel like the black sheep, as Dean Maxwell did not make my insides melt to goo or fall on the floor swooning. It bothered me that he would spend so much effort on Fate, only to tell her he doesn't do relationships and that he just wants to get her out of his system. Once he realizes that isn't the case, he wants her to know he's available to meet her needs as much as she wants. Translation: they can be fuck buddies. He was just too back and forth for me and I couldn't get past the duality of his character, as I thought his character was going to go in a completely different direction that it did.

 

The miscommunication and fighting between Fate and Dean was also a problem for me. They are both attracted to one another, but when they first meet back up, Fate is quick to strike and be on the defensive, which leads Dean to do the same. This ends up happening several times to the point where I was over it and didn't even want them to be together. In fact, I was rooting for their friends Keaton and Gwen more than I was them. Keaton can call Dean whipped all he wants, but at least he doesn't run from the fact that he is falling for Fate's friend and co-worker. These two are actually very level-headed and I really enjoyed them together and wanted more of them and their cuteness.

 

Caisey Quinn is an extremely talented writer and I really did enjoy the storyline, despite my issues with Dean's duality. I love forbidden office romances and she certainly knows her way around a sexy, steamy scene. I do like this book had forgiveness and redemption as major themes, and not just with Dean. Dean and his father have a strained, informal relationship so to see some clarity as to why things were that way and how they may change was really a plus.

 

Overall, while this wasn't my favorite of Quinn's novels due to some issues with characterization, I do think Falling for Fate, will be enjoyed by New Adult fans, as the story of forbidden love set in corporate America itself is always a fun one to read.

 

 

 

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com.

Website  Goodreads  Facebook  Twitter

  

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The second book in the Second Chance series by Caisey Quinn has a cover! 

While the series is made up of standalone novels featuring different couples, it does center around a location: The Second Chance Ranch, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility owned by Trace Corbin and Gretchen Gibson from the Kylie Ryans series. Here's what Caisey had to say about the series! 

Caisey: I really love writing this series because with each new novel I get a new story to build around the ranch. The overlap between characters in each book is a lot of fun for me, even though readers don't always catch them. It's almost like a hidden treasure. For instance, Fate's mom appears briefly in Van's story (Last Second Chance), but as the books are released approximately 3-4 months apart, not everyone remembers those details. It's such a treat for me knowing that they're in there! 

Readers have asked if they will see Trace and Kylie in this series and they will! Trace will pop in from time to time and then towards the end of the series they'll both attend a celebratory dinner at the Ranch.

While Last Second Chance was pretty hot, with tortured soul musician Van Ransom, Falling for Fate is a bit on the sweeter side. Though y'all know me, there will still be plenty of steam! Dean and Fate have a chance encounter and then meet again unexpectedly. While they're both young professionals, having very different relationship backgrounds and experiences leaves them a bit out of their league when it comes to one another. 

I am so in love with this cover because my characters meet on the beach and I asked the designer (Regina Wamba of Mae I Design) to give it an ocean water feel. She did such a wonderful job! I hope y'all like it as much as I do!

MORE ABOUT FALLING FOR FATE

Fate Buchanan just wants to escape the constraints of her old life. After checking her mother into rehab and catching her fiancé with her Maid of Honor the night before their wedding, she ran. Angry and hurt, she’s aching to do something reckless. 

Dean Maxwell is having one last summer of freedom before taking over his family’s multi-billion dollar medical conglomerate. When he sees a beautiful woman running down the beach alone after dark he knows it’s not safe. So he does something impulsive. 

When their paths cross unexpectedly after a night of unbridled passion, neither of them can forget the memory of the affair they shared. What began as one night is about to become a whole lot more. 

*Note: While part of the Second Chance series, this novel stands alone. 

Falling for Fate

(Second Chance #2)

Adult Contemporary Romance

Cover Designed by Regina Wamba | Mae I Design

Scheduled Release Date: September 23, 2014

FOR MORE ABOUT THIS RELEASE OR THE AUTHOR

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon 

Caisey loves chatting with readers online so drop her a note at any of the above!

 

Last Second Chance (Second Chance #1)
   by: Caisey Quinn

Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 266 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 5/5 stars

When Stella Jo Chandler gets an offer to work at the Second Chance Ranch celebrity rehab facility right after graduating from Texas A&M, she’s tempted to turn it down. She wants to help real people with real problems, not spoiled celebrities going on vacation for publicity. But growing up on her family’s ranch left her with a love of horses that draws her to the opportunity. How bad can babysitting a bunch of strung out celebrities be?

What she didn’t count on was being roped into a tangled mess with infamous rocker and three-time rehab drop out Van Ransom on her first day. And she sure didn’t expect to feel the overwhelming attraction that pulls her to the man who has more issues than she can count on both hands. Like the hotel rooms and tour buses he’s famous for trashing, the havoc he could wreak on Stella’s heart would be irreparable.

Van isn’t at Second Chance for publicity or because he’s suffering from “exhaustion”. He’s on the brink of destruction, and he needs the kind of help Stella isn’t sure she can give. But without her, he'll lose everything. Because he’s on his last second chance.

 

 

I don't even know if I'm going to be able to form a coherent review, but I'll give it my best shot. Caisey has blown me the heck away in this novel folks. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with the characters, the storyline, and Caisey's naughty sexual deviant behavior! Well, not hers but her characters. You know what I mean! GET IT GIRL.

 

Pacing: We are immediately launched into Stella Jo and Van's lives and they are both struggling with who they are and what they want out of life. I loved the pacing of their relationship, as well as how forbidden it was. Both Van and Stella are dealing with some pretty heavy stuff and even though they both know it's wrong to lean on the other... they just can't stay away.

 

Storyline: Now that Stella Jo has graduated from college, she has some choices to make. She can go back to her parents' ranch or she can actually make a difference at the Second Chance Ranch. After an incident changed her life completely, Stella isn't thrilled about either option. Both bring her face to face with her fears and the one thing she loved to do more than anything in the world: riding horses. She wants to use her degree to help others, but upon realizing Second Chance Ranch is basically a rehab center for celebrities, she's less than enthusiastic about spending time with pampered, spoiled people who think they're entitled because of the amount of money they make and their status. She never in a million years thought she'd find what she needed most in one of those celebrities and things are going to get awfully complicated considering fraternizing with clients is strictly prohibited. Van Ransom, however, isn't to be taken lightly. He is a mess and after landing himself in the hospital once again for drugs. His new record label won't put up with the bullshit and if his band wants a chance at signing he will have to go to rehab and do his time there. If he doesn't comply, he will not only lose his chance at signing with the label, he'll lose his band and his manager too. Meeting Stella Jo is a kick in the balls for Van. She makes him regret all the unsavory, disgusting things he's done in the past and as cliché as it sounds: makes him want to be better. But Van is in a dark place and has a heavy past to overcome. Opening up isn't his forte and it will take quite a bit to work through all the things plaguing him. Stella Jo gives him a reason to try. He is drawn to her and finds himself doing anything to be near her. He's torn between that all-consuming need to have her and his conscience that tells him he's not any good for someone like her. Together, they'll realize that sometimes what you need is the last thing you ever expected to find.

 

Characters: I loved Stella Jo. She is sweet and loving and genuinely wants to make a difference and help others. She is a little spitfire and is determined not to fall for Van's charms. She knows being with him would be wrong, but the more he worms his way into her life, the harder it is to stay away. For the first time ever, Stella feels what it's like to be wanted by another person, to be desired. She sees the hurt in his eyes when she rejects him and sees past the nonchalant, tough guy exterior he puts up. He reminds her of one of the wild horses in the stable- quick to anger, but slow to trust. It boils down to the fact that both of them desperately need the other and whether their emotions will destroy or empower them will be something you have to read to find out!

 

I need to talk about Van. Because good freaking Lord, that man is the sexiest, most sinful, most dangerous man I've experience in awhile. And I loved him. He is in such a dark place and my heart really went out to him, just like Stella's did. He doesn't feel worthy of her or feels as if he deserves someone like her, but he wonders if she can fix the brokenness he feels inside and if she can take away the pain he feels over losing the one person he needed more than anything in the world. He needs someone to be there for him, to be his anchor when the darkness of his addiction threatens to drown him. He doesn't want Stella to witness him losing control and he is afraid of hurting her, but she is persistent- she's not going anywhere and she's ready to fight his demons with him.

 

 He is also deliciously deviant in his sexual relationship with Stella. Riding crop, anyone? WHEW. Caisey has written some steamalicious scenes that will leave you craving more!

 

Final Thoughts: This review doesn't come close to doing this book justice. The raw emotions Van and Stella both feel when they're together will make your heart clench as well as the emotional pain both of them have gone through. Quinn does an amazing job of bringing these characters and their journey to life and you can't help but hope that they both get their second chance and not lose themselves to the darkness.

 

 

LAST SECOND CHANCE TRAILER

TEASER

EXCERPT:

He flashed her a sexy grin and stepped right back into her space. “I don’t want some chick. And you’re not that good at hiding your emotions, beautiful. You snapped on those nurses at lunch and ran out of my room so fast I barely had time to blink. Any particular reason why?” He trailed a finger down her cheek and over her lips. Instead of an answer, a whimper escaped her throat. A painful throbbing began between her thighs, intense and demanding.

His touch deepened the pain. Her policy was no dating people in her workplace. She certainly wasn’t going to date Van Ransom. He’d probably never taken a girl on a proper date in his life. But right now she didn’t care about any of that. She just wanted him to take her up against the back of the barn, hard and fast. She was a country girl at heart after all.

“Stella Jo, you going to answer? Or do I have torture it out of you?”

The way he said her name, the one she was used to hearing drop only from the lips of family members, made her shiver. She let her head loll back to rest on the wall behind her. “Do your worst. I’ve dealt with animals much bigger than you.”

Leaning in until his nose brushed hers, he let out a soft growl. “You sure as hell better be talking about horses, because if you’re talking about Dr. Dickhead or any other man who's put his hands on you in a way you didn’t want, they’re fucking dead.”

She grinned and winked at him. “Guess that’s for me to know, darlin’.” Her breath was still coming too fast, but she was gaining confidence. She was having as much of an effect on him as he was on her. A competitive streak she thought she’d buried rose to the surface. “Speaking of men putting their hands on me, if this is your brand of torture, I’m disappointed.”

Thrusting himself up against her, he growled again. “Baby, my brand of torture involves that riding crop you bent over to pick up. Matter of fact, it involves you being bent over also.”

An audible gasp of surprise escaped her. His threat pulled at something deep inside of her that she didn’t know was there. Something dark and terrifying that she knew she should feel dirty and ashamed of. But she didn’t. Because apparently he wasn’t the only one who was twisted like that.

“Surprised?” he asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

“That you know what a riding crop is? Yeah.” She forced herself to smirk at him so he wouldn't see that she was a trembling mess of desire.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New and Young Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com. 

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