Series: Heartbreaker Bay #6
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: September 25th 2018
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Publisher
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Who needs mistletoe?*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
Most people wouldn't think of a bad Santa case as the perfect Christmas gift. Then again, Molly Malone, office manager at Hunt Investigations, isn't most people, and she could really use a distraction from the fantasies she's been having since spending the night with her very secret crush, Lucas Knight. Nothing happened, not that Lucas knows that — but Molly just wants to enjoy being a little naughty for once...
Whiskey and pain meds for almost-healed bullet wounds don't mix. Lucas needs to remember that next time he's shot on the job, which may be sooner rather than later if Molly's brother, Joe, finds out about them. Lucas can't believe he's drawing a blank on his (supposedly) passionate tryst with Molly, who's the hottest, smartest, strongest woman he's ever known. Strong enough to kick his butt if she discovers he's been assigned to babysit her on her first case. And hot enough to melt his cold heart this Christmas.
**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.
What a fun story! We finally learn what happened to Molly, and that made me insanely happy. All the books I’ve read so far in this series have been amazing and I’m glad to say this one was as well.
In Hot Winter Nights we get to see Molly and Lucas work together to uncover the mystery of one bad Santa, while struggling to keep things professional between them. As expected, things don’t go exactly according to their plans, and pesky feelings start developing between the two.
Molly was such a great character. Finding out what exactly happened to her surely explains a lot, not only on her part, but also on her brother’s part. I got to finally understand why Joe was so overprotective of her, but also why Molly was a bit cold towards men and tried to keep every guy at arm’s length. I liked reading about her fears regarding Lucas and starting a new relationship, given her past boyfriends, because it helped me understand her a lot more. I will admit that I struggled a little bit with how her need for independence at times made her be a little too proud, and not show weakness, but in the end it made sense. She’s a young woman who is still struggling with her injuries and she’s not ready to let people get close to her. It’s especially hard for her given her athletic ambitions when she was a teenager. I respected her for wanting to follow her heart, and the fact that she had Lucas to back her up was a great thing. I also loved the fact that she was stubborn enough to do her own thing, no matter what everyone was telling her.
Lucas was such a darling. The book starts off with Lucas waking up with no memory of the night before, and let me tell you, that’s the first moment I fell for him. He is hilarious, he has a fantastic family, and he’s the type of guy you want at your back. He’s also a wounded man, one who isn’t willing to let anyone near him because he fears that one day he’ll get hurt again or he’ll hurt that person, so he tries really hard to resist Molly. I loved seeing him with his family. It was kind of funny seeing such a strong man, an ex DEA agent, be completely petrified by the idea of being set up by the women in his family on a date.
The mystery element was also very interesting. The book is pretty fast paced and I really enjoyed reading it. I also enjoyed seeing glimpses of the other couples, some of which I knew about, some that I didn’t quite know from before. I adored the epilogue. It was perfect for Molly and Lucas, and I can't wait to see tiny glimpses into their future in the next books.
All in all, a great installment in the series, perfect for the winter season. I am very excited to see what the future holds for this series.
It took Lucas Knight longer than it should have to realize he had a woman in his bed, but to be fair, he had a bitch of a hangover. Even worse than that, last night was a blur, prompting him to take quick stock. One, there was a bundle of sweet, soft curves against him. Two, his head was currently threatening to secede from the United States Of Lucas. And three, his side hurt like … well, like he’d been shot.
It’d been two weeks since he’d gotten caught in some crossfire on the job and he hadn’t yet been cleared for more than light duty – something he’d obviously managed to ignore last night given that he was palming a nice, warm, feminine ass.
Think, man.
Straining his brain, he remembered taking a pain med before going to O’Riley’s Pub to meet up with some friends. A client had been there, someone he’d recently helped save from a multi-million dollar corporate espionage. The guy had ordered shots to toast to Lucas and … shit. Knowing better than to mix pain meds and alcohol, he’d hesitated, but everyone had been waiting on him, glasses hoisted in the air. Thinking just one shot couldn’t hurt anything, he’d knocked back the drink.
Clearly, he’d been wrong and it’d been enough to mess him up big time, something he hadn’t been in years, not since his brother Josh had been killed. Shoving that away for another time – or never -- Lucas cracked open one eye, but when his retina was stabbed by a streak of sunlight glaring in through the window, he immediately slammed it shut it again. Taking a deep breath, he told himself to suck it up and opened both eyes this time, learning two additional facts.
He was naked and completely uncovered.
And the woman snugged up at his side was rolled up in his comforter like a burrito.
What. The. Hell.
ABOUT JILL SHALVISAll in all, a great installment in the series, perfect for the winter season. I am very excited to see what the future holds for this series.
EXCERPT
It took Lucas Knight longer than it should have to realize he had a woman in his bed, but to be fair, he had a bitch of a hangover. Even worse than that, last night was a blur, prompting him to take quick stock. One, there was a bundle of sweet, soft curves against him. Two, his head was currently threatening to secede from the United States Of Lucas. And three, his side hurt like … well, like he’d been shot.
It’d been two weeks since he’d gotten caught in some crossfire on the job and he hadn’t yet been cleared for more than light duty – something he’d obviously managed to ignore last night given that he was palming a nice, warm, feminine ass.
Think, man.
Straining his brain, he remembered taking a pain med before going to O’Riley’s Pub to meet up with some friends. A client had been there, someone he’d recently helped save from a multi-million dollar corporate espionage. The guy had ordered shots to toast to Lucas and … shit. Knowing better than to mix pain meds and alcohol, he’d hesitated, but everyone had been waiting on him, glasses hoisted in the air. Thinking just one shot couldn’t hurt anything, he’d knocked back the drink.
Clearly, he’d been wrong and it’d been enough to mess him up big time, something he hadn’t been in years, not since his brother Josh had been killed. Shoving that away for another time – or never -- Lucas cracked open one eye, but when his retina was stabbed by a streak of sunlight glaring in through the window, he immediately slammed it shut it again. Taking a deep breath, he told himself to suck it up and opened both eyes this time, learning two additional facts.
He was naked and completely uncovered.
And the woman snugged up at his side was rolled up in his comforter like a burrito.
What. The. Hell.
BUY LINKS for Hot Winter Nights
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2OEgags
IndieBound: https://bit.ly/2NVDppc
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2NCSGs5
Books-A-Million: https://bit.ly/2NothpS
iBooks: https://apple.co/2G3I0zj
GooglePlay: https://tinyurl.com/y94r2c6f
Connect with Jill
Website: http://jillshalvis.com/
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