This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by Allison. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Long Contemporary category.
The summary:
Cedar Ridge, Colorado, is famous for crisp mountain air, clear blue skies, and pine-scented breezes. And it’s the last place Lily Danville wants to be. But she needs a job, and there’s an opening at the hottest resort in her hometown. What has her concerned is the other hot property in Cedar Ridge: Aidan Kincaid-firefighter, rescue worker, and heartbreaker. She never could resist that devastating smile . . .
The Kincaid brothers are as rough and rugged as the Rocky Mountains they call home. Aidan has always done things his own way, by his own rules. And never has he regretted anything more than letting Lily walk out of his life ten years ago. If anyone has ever been in need of rescuing, she has. What she needs more than anything are long hikes, slow dances, and sizzling kisses. But that can only happen if he can get her to give Cedar Ridge-and this bad boy-a second chance…
Here is Allison's review:
I had trouble writing this review. I first read Second Chance Summer when it first came out (summer of 2015) and had vague memories of enjoying it, but I blow through so many books when I’m at the beach that the details don’t really stick with me. I signed up to review it because I already owned the book and had a sense that I’d enjoyed it, and would therefore enjoy reading it again.
Alas, I was wrong.
This time around, I noticed all the things that irritated me without remembering what I had liked about it the first time. This is obviously an issue for a review that’s aimed at people reading the book for the first time, so I’m going to dig deep and try to recall the positive parts about it.
The good: The hero, Aidan, comes off like an alpha male but is actually willing to apologize for his mistakes and learn from them. He has a close relationship with his family. He isn’t afraid to be the first to say, “I love you.” The heroine, Lily, is a tough cookie and a survivor and constantly pushes herself to be better. She, too, is willing to take advice and apologize when she’s made a mistake. I really liked that the HEA wasn’t a sudden engagement or marriage, but just an epilogue that shows them still happily dating three months later. There’s a clear sense that they’ll end up married with a few adorably stubborn kids, but this book wasn’t in a rush to get there.
The bad: Aidan’s family is moderately dysfunctional and has a bad reputation around town. They all have issues respecting boundaries and constantly interfere in each other’s lives. Aidan also has some issues respecting Lily’s boundaries and likes to claim that he knows what’s best for everybody, which is his excuse for meddling. He gets this from his mother. However, his insistence on barging in got really annoying and
I was seriously wondering how on earth any woman could stand him for more than a couple of nights. (Just to be clear: both Aidan and Lily are good about establishing consent when they make love. Earlier, however, she’s saying, “This is a bad idea” and he kisses her again to convince her.)
Also, Lily likes to hike out to the cliff where her sister died. Aidan and his brothers keep a constant watch on her via the monitors. They also keep a constant eye on Aidan’s sister-in-law, Penny. The guys defended this as “just keeping everyone safe” but it felt like a control issue to me.
Finally, Lily and Aidan have history from ten years ago, and are both already in love with each other. This means that we end up seeing them get close to each other but not actually fall in love. I know that “Second Chance” romances are a big hit with a lot of people – I, myself, have loved a few – but this one felt like a cheat because we don’t get to see them fall in love. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what they loved about each other. Sure, the sex was hot and they shared a passion for the outdoors, but all the reasons to fall in love seemed rooted in the past. I got no sense of how they would cohabit or parent or do anything together, long term.
Final Grade: This is a tough one. I really liked the book the first time… say, B+ or A- levels of liking it. This time I got really irritated with most of the characters: a C+ at best. I’m going to average the two grades and call it a B.
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Isn’t it funny how a reread can change your opinion.
“I was seriously wondering how on earth any woman could stand him for more than a couple of nights.”
You nailed it right there! I found Aiden’s meddling and his video stalking of Lily repugnant, but soldiered on to the end of the book. I found Aiden’s family creepy, but I personally like boundaries.
I tried to read the second book in the series and DNF’d it when it looked like Jill Shalvis’ trademark hard surface sexy times were imminent with a woman who is barely in remission from a life-threatening illness.
Just finished it. The video stalking didn’t bother me much but the author’s tendency to overstate then restate killed me. I repeatedly yelled “yes. I get it!” Example: Dead Man’s Cliff is where her sister died ( not a spoiler), you don’t need to remind the reader every 8 pages.
B-