Moonlight on Nightingale Way (On Dublin Street, #6)

by Samantha Young

Logan from Echoes of Scotland Street is back with his own smoldering story, as the New York Times bestselling On Dublin Street series returns…

Logan spent two years paying for the mistakes he made. Now, he’s ready to start over. He has a great apartment, a good job, and plenty of women to distract him from his past. And one woman who is driving him to distraction…

Grace escaped her manipulative family by moving to a new city. Her new life, made to suit her own needs, is almost perfect. All she needs to do is find her Mr. Right—or at least figure out a way to ignore her irresistible yet annoying womanizer of a neighbor.

Grace is determined to have nothing to do with Logan until a life-changing surprise slowly begins turning the wild heartbreaker into exactly the kind of strong, stable man she’s been searching for. Only just when she begins to give into his charms, her own messy past threatens to derail everything they’ve worked to build…

• ISBN10: 0451475615
• ISBN13: 9780451475619
• Publish Date: 2 June 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Berkley
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451475619

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

Moonlight is the last in the On Dublin Street series. As a final story, it was a wonderful tale of Shannon’s brother, Logan MacLeod, recently released from prison. Logan went to jail for beating up Shannon’s ex-friend after he attacked Shannon. We know what a good man he is for what he has done to support Shannon over the years, but two years in prison has Logan doubting his self-worth. It is new neighbor Grace who helps remind Logan what a good man he truly is.

Moonlight on Nightingale Way started just like Alice Clayton’s Wallbanger. Thin walls make for angry neighbors. Grace is kept up all night with her next door neighbor’s all-night sexcapades. Grace finally confronts her neighbor, Logan, about his recent conquest leaving her knickers to dry on their landing banister, and we have a prejudices growing from our initial introduction. Grace sees Logan as an annoying man-whore and Logan see her as a judgment prude. From here, the story goes its separate way from Wallbanger.

After several non-friendly confrontations between the two, Grace is approached by a nosy-body neighbor who shares the information that Logan is an ex-con and that no one is safe in the building. Regardless of their personal confrontations, Grace staunchly backs Logan against the neighbor unaware that Logan and Shannon have overheard this disclosure. This becomes a turning point in their relationship.

When Logan is confronted by a young girl declaring herself to be Logan’s daughter, it is Grace who steps up as the voice of reason to help Logan and young Maia negotiate this giant change in both their lives. It has been a long time for Logan since he has felt worthy of anyone’s kindness, and he can’t imagine that someone as giving and selfless as Grace actually exists let alone would help someone with his past.

Almost overnight, Grace and Logan’s relationship changes from adversaries to friends. The addition of Maia creates almost a family dynamic between the three of them which complicates things further. Maia and Grace are bonding which each other as well as Logan and neither are prepared when they find out that Logan is still pursuing outside activities. Even after all the wonderful changes in his life, Logan still harbors the deep belief that he is unworthy of all the good that has come his way. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Logan is destroying the relationships that he so desperately wants because he still feels undeserving.

After doing everything possible to keep Grace in the friend-zone and squashing any idea of romantic ideas that Grace and Maia are harboring, Logan realizes that in protecting himself, he is pushing Grace towards other men and the idea of her walking out of his and Maia’s lives is equally distressing. While Logan might have finally come to his senses, the damage has been done and it might be too late for him to change his mind and grab for his happily ever after with his beautiful, frustrating neighbor.

Logan will have to work hard to convince himself and Grace that he deserves another opportunity to create the family he actually deserves.

THOUGHTS:
I have read several end of series stories that have left me waving good-bye and feeling that I’ve had enough. I will truly be sorry to walk away from this series. I enjoyed the characters presented here and although the time jump in Fall from India Place seemed awkward at first, it also allowed us to have a good look at what comes after the HEA. As the series continued, our original couples, Joss & Braden, Adam & Ellie, Jo & Cam and Nate & Olivia, all had their own families and we got a taste of their ups and downs through the years. It is not often that we get to enjoy a series and see that HEA’s actually continue past the epilogue.

Logan was a great selection for the ending of the series. We met Logan briefly in Echoes of Scotland Street, where we learn how Logan went to prison for avenging his sister Shannon after she was beaten up by her boyfriend. After two years trying to survive in prison, he only saw himself as damaged and unworthy. Shannon comments that until Grace, Shannon hadn’t seen Logan smile or laugh since before he went in. Logan admits that from the moment he saw how beautiful Grace was, he desired her, but after seeing how warm and kind she was, he no longer felt worthy of her.

I love my damaged heroes but in this case, Logan was his own worst enemy. Instead of simply appreciating the affection of a woman who he felt unworthy of, Logan did everything he could to destroy it.

It was a great story and sadly the ending of a wonderful series.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

[Rowena]

Holly: I was a bit wary going into this book based on the description. Logan as a major player didn’t really work for me based on his actions in the previous book. I’m glad to report that was a small portion of the plot, rather than the main focus. It was more about Grace’s perception of him than his actual actions.

Rowena: I was actually pretty excited for Logan’s book because I wanted to see how Samantha Young tackled the whole ex-con thing where Logan was concerned. I think she did a pretty good job of it. All of her other heroes in this series were pretty stand up guys and Logan was too…until he wasn’t. He went to prison for beating the shit out of someone so bad that he sent the guy to the hospital and put him into a coma. I liked seeing Logan’s life on the outside.

Holly: Yeah, I like that Logan struggled with his actions. He went to prison for a good reason. Though he admitted he was wrong to have done what he did, he couldn’t really regret it. I liked seeing his life on the outside, too. It was easy to understand his struggles to go back to a normal way of life with a record.

Grace was frustrating at first, always jumping to conclusions and thinking the worst of everyone. But I never really disliked her. I did get a couple good laughs out of her anger at Logan’s noisy nighttime activities.

Rowena: I loved Logan and Grace’s arguments before they were really anything. First the thong then the noise and when she finally blows up? I laughed and laughed and laughed. Their story was too freaking cute. I was surprised that she went along with Logan and crap, what’s the daughter’s name? so quickly. I was thinking the exact same thing that both Aidan and the girl best friend were thinking. Are you nuts?

Holly: Okay. I reread the book so I could refresh my memory. I change what I said earlier. Grace didn’t irritate me in the beginning. I just ended up snickering over their fights about how loud Logan was in bed and his “dates” leaving their thongs in the hallway and puke on her doorstep. That was hilarious.

I was surprised when Grace agreed to go with Maia and Logan, too, but I thought it fit the person she was. Especially the kinship she felt with Maia based on the way she herself was raised. I loved that she’d made her own family and Chloe and Aiden were quick to point out she was insane.

Speaking of, they really made a great family. I loved that Aiden was the first person she went to for everything, and that Chloe was constantly threatening to make heads roll on Grace’s behalf.

It was good to see the other On Dublin Street couples again, but I admit to having mixed feelings about the chapters from their POVs at the end of the book. I know she’s wrapping up the series, but I kind of feel like she was just throwing readers a bone. It didn’t feel organic to the story, you know?

Rowena: I really loved that the way that Grace made her own family as she grew up. The family she chose for herself were heaps better then the family she was born into. I would have liked to see some kind of interaction with her Mom, to see just how bad the Mom was but in the end, I was okay that it didn’t happen. Based on her interaction with her Dad, I could use my imagination to figure out how the Mom was.

I really liked the romance between Grace and Logan. I loved that Grace was so wrong about what Logan was feeling for her and when Logan drops the act and just goes after Grace? swoon

Holly: I loved it when he went after her, too. I loved even more that she made him work for it and didn’t just let him back in. He really hurt and humiliated her.

What did you think about Maia wanting Grace and Logan to be together. It was kind of cute, but it was also kind of immature.

Rowena: I thought he was such an idiot for saying that, especially when I knew that he more than liked her.

I enjoyed getting to know Maia, even when I wanted to smack her upside her head for acting like a bratty kid about Logan and Grace so much as looking or going on dates with other people. I mean, I understood and even sympathized with her on certain things. She had a really shitty childhood and she was really brave for striking out and trying to find Logan on her own but I guess it was realistic that she would be bratty sometimes because she is a teenager.

More than anything, I liked Maia. I liked the family unit that she made for herself with Logan and Grace. I loved seeing them fall into a pattern. Going to school and work, coming home and having dinner together and I felt bad for her when that was nipped in the bud because Logan and Grace couldn’t keep it in their pants but I liked the growth we saw in her character from the first time she came into the story until the end.

Holly: I liked how she grew over the course of the novel, too. It did take major guts for her to search out Logan. It showed strength and maturity for her to recognize the situation with her mother as unsalvageable. It just seemed kind of weird to me that she acted out to get Grace an Logan together. I would have thought she wouldn’t want them to be together, especially since she was just getting to know Logan. I didn’t dislike her or anything, it just struck me as odd when she acted out about them.

What did you think of the little slice-of-life chapters we got from the heroines of the other books at the end of this one. On the one hand, it was a nice way to end the series and I liked seeing all the couples together. On the other, this was Logan and Grace’s book, not the whole crew’s book.

Rowena: ​Hmm, I didn’t think about that when I was reading the book but you’re right. It IS weird. You’d think she’d want Logan to herself for a little bit then again, I thought she imprinted on Grace first. At first, she was wary of Logan, maybe even a little scared so maybe that’s why she wanted Grace and Logan together, to make sure Grace stayed with her? Still, she did act bratty.

The little slice of life chapters at the end didn’t bother me since it was…at the end. Had they been peppered throughout the story and took away from Logan and Grace’s book or somehow forced into the story, I would have taken issue with them but I loved getting those chapters. It was like a nice farewell montage.​

Holly: Overall I thought this was a great read and an excellent end to the series. Young went out on a high note. I’m sorry to say goodbye to these characters. I’ve come to think of them as friends I got to spend a few hours with.

I’m going to give it 4 out of 5.

Rowena: Same. I really liked how everything wrapped up from Logan and Grace’s romance, to the other couples and the series as a whole. I’m going to miss these guys.

Grade: 4.25 out of 5

[kimbacaffeinate]

Coffee dates with Moonlight on Nightingale Way

• First Date: Ooo we begin with wicked banter and snark. I am dancing a little I love these hater begins, it leads to heat. Logan is drop dead gorgeous and I've been waiting for his story. Since I have known him since Echoes of Scotland Street, I am willing to ignore his man-whore ways on our first date. I know what lies beneath and I am not talking about his killer abs. Logan is starting over and life looks good. He has a good paying job, has paid for his mistakes and it totally making up for lost time with all sorts of extracurricular activity. All of which has cast him in a bad light with his sexy, uptight neighbor Grace. Grace is normally soft spoken but her new neighbor has her verbally sparing with him. I am hooked folks. Hooked! These two are destine to dance and it is going to be wicked.


• Second Date: Life is about to throw Logan a curve-ball and somehow Grace finds herself assisting him and the more Logan steps up the harder Grace falls. I will not tell you what the curveball is because well, spoilers’ darling. I will tell you it is sweet, complicated, and wonderful. If I had a soft spot for Logan before I am a puddle on the floor at this point. I love the friendship that begins to develop between Logan and Grace. It feels natural and allows them to really see the other. The complication adds interest, awe moments and stole my heart. We get some heat and it was deliciously hot.


• Third date: Fear, the past, and emotional scars have these two tip toeing around their feelings. Trust is a major factor and we have to go through some growing pains. I loved the reasons Logan stepped back and totally respect them but dang if I was not reaching for truffles and flipping pages hoping things worked out. I want to pause in my date to mention I love that this relationship is slow building and that friends and family are weaved into the tale. I love these characters and never want my date to end.

 

Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Cocktails and Books]

BookBud's Thoughts

A sexy, fun read that will satisfy all your book needs. From heart ache to sweet words of love and second chances at trust.

Logan is what we in the book world like to call a manwhore. And just like in most books there is a reason behind it. But what was different about Logan was that he wanted to change his Manwhore ways, but not for a women. He wanted to settle down for a girl that stole his heart the minute he laid eyes on her.

Grace is a wonderful heroine. I loved her from the first page. She is strong, independent and knows what she wants. But she came about all of that from a past that leaves her wondering if she is worth anyone’s love.

When Grace and Logan meet you just know what is coming. Or do you? I loved seeing the relationship grow from dislike to honest to goodness friendship and then growing into something else. You see the growth in Logan and Grace. Grace holds on to her guns when it comes to Logan though. That was priceless. She made him prove to her that he was trustworthy of her heart. I think that spoke volumes of the heroine that was Grace.

There were other characters in the book that left me crying tears of heart ache and tears of joy. It was good to see that having a teenager in the book isn’t always easy.

This is only the second book that I have read by Samantha Young. I am about to go and read the whole Dublin series because there were a lot of characters in the book that I can tell were from that specific series. But that did not deter from Grace and Logan. But just left me more curious about the other characters.

So with that being said, I am on my way to read some more by Samantha Young.

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books.