Bruised and bloodied on Boston's mean streets, Chris O'Brien is reeling from the loss of his childhood best friend. But after barely escaping a hit placed on his head, Chris is desperate to live. A chance encounter leads him to the perfect safe haven - the home of a girl from his childhood, Molly Lachlan. Before he has fully considered what it would mean to involve her in his mess, he lets her take him home.
For Molly, letting Chris into her house means also letting him into her life. Danger and desperation are coming off of him like steam, and yet she can't bring herself to turn him away. His bad-boy charm always had a hold on her, but now there's a soulfulness and sorrow in him that she's never seen before. And despite the heart-stopping risk of helping him, she hopes against all reason that he'll stay....
Series: Sons of Steel Row Series #2| Publisher: Tantor Audio | Narrators: Joe Arden, Maxine Mitchell Makena | Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Won | Ratings: 4 Cup
Challenges Read For: Bad Boys of Romance Challenge
Okay,
not going to lie, I went into this book expecting to hate Chris. I was 90% sure
I was going to DNF this one before I even started it because I just couldn’t
see how Chris was going to redeem himself given what he did in the first book.
Then, something unexpected happened; I fell in love with Chris. I kid you not;
the guy I hated ended up melting my heart.
Here’s
what’s going on. After betraying his best friend/blood brother, Chris has hit rock
bottom. So, when Molly, the girl next door, finds him battered and bleeding in
a drugstore and offers to take him home and mend his wounds, he lets her. It’s
the perfect place to hide out but he knows he’s putting her in danger. Molly
knows exactly what gang life can cost a person, yet she’s always been drawn to
Chris and will do whatever she can to help him. Even if that means letting him
into her heart
So
this one wasn’t as gritty as the first one because most of it takes place in
the safety of Molly’s world. There’s a few times when the danger and violence
of Chris’s world bleeds through, but the majority of the time it has a
mainstream feel and I was okay with that.
What
pulled me into the story was Chris. He had so much anguish and regret inside
him over what he did and he knows he’ll never be able to make amends but he’ll
do this best to try. I could feel the constant war he was waging within himself
and, sometimes, his actions surprised me. What I enjoyed about Chris was how
layered he was and it was fun watching him reveal who he really was.
Molly
really wasn’t my cuppa tea. She was too naïve for my liking and some of her actions
were just plain stupid. Honestly, I’m surprised she wasn’t carjacked and
murdered. And she definitely fit that TSTL category.
While
there was an attraction from the start, the actual romance was slow building and
I enjoyed that. They totally had the bad-boy/good-girl thing going on and they
had to figure out how they were going to fit in each other’s lives.
Once
again, this was a dual narration and it worked. Joe Arden’s narration of Chris
was spot on. He had that sexy dangerous sound that had me eager for more. Maxine
Mitchell Makena’s narration made Molly sound more interesting than she really
so and it made her parts easier to listen to.
Overall,
this was a nice continuation to the series. Apparently, the heroes are the
stronger characters and the ones I seem to like more than the heroines in this
series.
Series Alert: While each book could be a standalone, I strongly
advise you to read the series from the start. To fully understand Chris, the
first book must be read.
Sons
of Steel Row Series
Dare
to Lie
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