Night Owl (Night Owl Trilogy, #1)

by M Pierce

[Cocktails and Books]

I'm going to admit, up front, that this book had me flip flopping between loving it and wanting to toss my Kindle. But here's why, in the end, I ended up really liking the story. Matt may have repulsed me, repeatedly, with his insistence on calling Hannah a slut (I'm thinking he meant it as a sort of term of endearment, but that just rubbed me the wrong way) but as more of the "broken" Matt came out, the more I liked him and in the end fell for him.

Matt was a hot mess. He hid it well, only showing slight quirks you could pass off, for most of the story. We probably saw them in his work relationship rules with Hannah or how fiercely he protected his identity, but we (and Hannah) were willing to overlook those when he was being dirty and dominate in bed. And when he was being dirty and dominate, I often times found it hard to like Matt. But then Matt's world implodes and his true self emerges. A Matt who hugs stuffed manatees and make you want to hug him. It was hard to reconcile the two, but I found myself liking the broken Matt because he wasn't so course and was more loving towards Hannah.
Hannah was a woman who knew how to push limits. She constantly pushed Matt. Broke his rules. But she knew what she wanted and she went after it. And when what she wanted hurt her, she stood her ground. But she's incredibly loyal and when Matt needed her, she went to him. I give her a lot of credit, because Matt had hurt her terribly and she still went to him and helped him try to put his life back together.

To me, this was one of those books that could have gone either way, but Broken Matt saved the story for me. His hugging his stuffed manatee and trying hard to hold onto his sanity drew me in and wouldn't let go. And it's Broken Matt who will have me eagerly awaiting the next book in the trilogy.