"Since finding out his father had another family on the side, Ian Dare swore to be the upstanding, responsible man his cheating parent had never been. When it comes to his relatives, he gives his all but in relationships he offers the bare minimum. But one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor arouses his dominant and protective instincts and Ian is entranced. He will do anything to possess her...and does. But any future with Riley must include him extending an olive branch to the half-brother who is a constant reminder of the pain he'd rather forget."
So, confession...this is the first Carly Phillips book I've ever read. My bff has been on my ass for years to read her books and I know that I need to get my rear in gear and read some of her other stuff. Recently, another traditionally published author self pubbed a book and it totally fell flat for me. I have nothing to compare this book to as far as Ms. Phillips traditionally published books but my bff swears by her and she tends to be just as picky as I am and frankly, I'm VERY picky. I have to say that I felt like this was a great way for me to meet Ms. Phillips and I jumped at the chance to read and review this book when it was tossed my way. I sure am glad that I did! This was a fantastic book that I really, really, really enjoyed.
(Y'all bear with me on this one, I'm high on cold medicine, so who knows how this will turn out)
Simply put, this is an excellent start to the series. I enjoyed the introduction of Ian and his family, all of them. Even his father, Robert. There is a lot of gold to mine in this family! Ms. Phillips has written a great first book that does not suffer from "first bookitis"at all. Meeting both sides of this family and learning about Ian's sisters and brothers AND his half-siblings was quite eye opening. Riley already had a solid connection with Alex(half-brother) and his father that Ian wasn't crazy about and frankly seemed jealous of.
Ian and Riley are a great couple, in that they complement each other and Riley really pushes Ian's "wanting to control everything" buttons. Loved that! She does not hesitate to push back and even point out to him that he is controlling.(Which he knows he is) She is the first woman to ever challenge him over it and that makes him even more attracted to her!
