Hard Crush (Back to You, #1)

by Mira Lyn Kelly

[Eve1972]

 
 
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
This was a pretty decent read. Nothing revolutionary about the plot but it was a very well written book. The pace was perfect. It was a fairly quick read and the story while a little on the predictable side was nonetheless engaging and kept me turning the pages. Last, it was all wrapped up in a sweet ending.


~HERO~
HANK...I don't have anything bad to say about him. He was a sexy geek with glasses. He was a sweet guy. He appeared to be a bit of a manwhore in the ten years this couple was apart (shocking I know - roll eyes). I struggled a little with his not bothering to look up the heroine the ten years apart but then proclaiming he always loved her. But you know, it was what it was. Like I said, he was a decent hero.


~HEROINE~
ABBY...I liked her slightly less than Hank. I don't like heroines that make decisions for the hero thinking they are doing the best for HIM. That said, I understood her reasoning and how her past affected her present. Plus, it wasn't like Hank fought very hard. Her waffling back and forth annoyed me a bit. But she also put herself out there a couple times, so I couldn't hate her too much. I do wish authors would stop with the whole "heroine moved on but only had mediocre sex and bad dates while pining for the hero. While our hero goes on to f-ck everything that walks including supermodels. (Again I was shocked -- sarcasm).


 

~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
There was a good cast of secondary characters in this one. None play HUGE rolls, but all of them added to the story. I was intrigued by a couple friends of Hank's and by Wilson (Abby's friend and co-worker). I loved Helen as well. 


~HEAT LEVEL~
Medium. There was some nice heat to this one and the frequency of the sex scenes felt organic to the story. This couple also had some good on page chemistry.


~ANGST LEVEL~
Low. I didn't find this particularly angsty. There was a lot of pushing away by the heroine and Hank's job caused some issues. There was a tiny bit of OW drama. Hank goes on a date with an OW, but nothing happens. There was also a tiny bit of OM drama in the form of a co-worker of Abby's. Neither bothered me overly much.


~IN THE END~
I liked it. Did it blow me away? No. There was nothing new with this story that I haven't read a million times in other books. But it was a sweet well written story with minimal angst. It had (fairly) likable main characters. A good cast of interesting secondary characters and it left me with a smile on my face. Therefore yours truly is giving this one a solid thumb and a half up.