Publisher: Forever (September 6, 2016) <-- b="" ebook="" release="">
Series: Romancing the Clarksons, 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
By day, Aaron Clarkson suits up, shakes hands, and acts the perfect gentleman. But at night, behind bedroom doors, the tie comes off and the real Aaron comes out to play. Mixing business with pleasure got him fired, so Aaron knows that if he wants to work for the country's most powerful senator, he'll have to keep his eye on the prize. That's easier said than done when he meets the senator's daughter, who's wild, gorgeous, and 100 percent trouble.
Grace Pendleton is the black sheep of her conservative family. Yet while Aaron's presence reminds her of a past she'd rather forget, something in his eyes keeps drawing her in. Maybe it's the way his voice turns her molten. Or maybe it's because deep down inside, the ultra-smooth, polished Aaron Clarkson might be more than even Grace can handle . . .
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More Info:
Reviews of Bailey's Previous Novels:
Too Hot to Handle (#1) -- TBQ
Raw Redemption (#4) -- TBQ
Worked Up (#3) -- TBQ
My Review:
She was forcing him to consider light and shadows when he'd only ever dealt in black and white. And she was the light. Shining bright enough to flay him.
The Clarksons's cross country road trip shenanigans continue, and this time it's Aaron's turn to find himself, and love, along the way. Aaron's story centers around his time in Iowa, where he hopes to convince the presidential candidate that he's the right man for his campaign -- despite the recent scandal from his last position. Aaron's not above using any means necessary to get his way, but he never figured the man he wants to work for would be the father to the curious woman he can't stop thinking about.
Aaron's a very different hero from Bailey's usual. That's not a bad thing, I still ended up loving him. He's still dirty talking and intense in bad (obviously) and cares for his woman dearly, so all is good there. But he's a bit more on the . . . cold side, I suppose, at least at first. He's in politics; he'll say anything to make things work to his advantage.
I really felt for Aaron and his struggle with trying to figure out why Belmont doesn't like him (not true, of course). Also related to this, I NEED BEL'S STORY, DAMMIT!
Ahem. Sorry about that. I mentioned in my review of book 1 how much I love Bel and need his story. I still stand firmly by this. Anyway, back to this particular couple.
"I'm always all right. I make myself all right."
(Oh Grace . . . I so get that line.)
Grace is a unique heroine as well, very free spirited -- Aaron even calls her "hippie", purely as an endearment, I promise. She's very sensitive in many ways, but strong and determined, too. She has a terrible backstory, which comes out in its entirety later in the book. I really liked her way of seeing things, and how she complemented and soothed Aaron -- and he did the same for her, really.
I have to admit, I did have to work a bit harder to get into the flow of this one. It could have been my mood and my general lack of free time lately, but I've heard something similar from a couple of others readers, so maybe it wasn't entirely "just me" this time. I'd say it took until the 30% mark before I consistently got into the grove of the story; after that, it was pretty smooth reading (though life still prevented me from having all the reading time I wanted -- but that's a different story.)
Aaron fell back on his elbows. "Come on, show me what selfish feels like coming from a saint."
Her tongue zigzagged up the underside of his length. "I'm not a saint."
She took Aaron halfway to his root, drawing up slowly with a purr, sending every muscle below his waist into a near-painful contraction. "No holding back, right?" His hands flew to her hair, gripping, tangling. "Come on, baby. That's twice now you've talked about liking me sweaty. So get me there. Make me fucking sweat. Just like I'm going to sweat getting you off tonight." He growled in his throat as both of her fists started pumping him, in time with that mouth. "I'm going to work for your come. You like knowing that? Show me. Suck your way down to my sack and make me feel guilty when you choke a little. But not guilty enough to stop asking for it."
Compared to most of Bailey's novels, this had a slower burn/build up. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily, just more of an observation I thought I'd make note of. It's a Tessa Bailey novel, so of course it's still very sexy and satisfying in the end, but it did take a bit longer for things to really heat up between Aaron and Grace. When they do though . . . *fans self* Oh yes. Bailey still delivers.
"I would like to go on a date with you. I want to run my hands all over your back and into your hair, just because. I want you to sit me on your lap and talk about bears. And your dog. You know, Old Man likes you best, that's why he's ignoring you. He's basically made for you. I would tell you things like that. You could tell me things back. That's a date, right?"
"No, Grace." Aaron crawled across the floor towards her huddled form. "That would be our date. No one would ever duplicate it."
And just for fun:
"Do you like it?"
"I like breakfast. I like John Wayne movies." He licked the cleft in her upper lip. "I want to build a fucking shrine to your pussy. There's a big difference."
I seriously love the Clarksons and their interactions with one another as much as I love the romance and dirty smutty goodness (classic Bailey after all). While I may have liked this one just *slightly* less than 1, overall I still very much enjoyed Aaron and Grace's story, as well as the glimpses into what Peggy and Bel's stories might be like. I cannot wait for Peggy's book (next), but Bel . . .man, I need Bel's story like I need air! I'm confident Bel's going to give me a lot of feels when he gets his HEA, and I'm here for it. I'm soooo here for it.
Aaron's a very different hero from Bailey's usual. That's not a bad thing, I still ended up loving him. He's still dirty talking and intense in bad (obviously) and cares for his woman dearly, so all is good there. But he's a bit more on the . . . cold side, I suppose, at least at first. He's in politics; he'll say anything to make things work to his advantage.
I really felt for Aaron and his struggle with trying to figure out why Belmont doesn't like him (not true, of course). Also related to this, I NEED BEL'S STORY, DAMMIT!
Ahem. Sorry about that. I mentioned in my review of book 1 how much I love Bel and need his story. I still stand firmly by this. Anyway, back to this particular couple.
"I'm always all right. I make myself all right."
(Oh Grace . . . I so get that line.)
Grace is a unique heroine as well, very free spirited -- Aaron even calls her "hippie", purely as an endearment, I promise. She's very sensitive in many ways, but strong and determined, too. She has a terrible backstory, which comes out in its entirety later in the book. I really liked her way of seeing things, and how she complemented and soothed Aaron -- and he did the same for her, really.
I have to admit, I did have to work a bit harder to get into the flow of this one. It could have been my mood and my general lack of free time lately, but I've heard something similar from a couple of others readers, so maybe it wasn't entirely "just me" this time. I'd say it took until the 30% mark before I consistently got into the grove of the story; after that, it was pretty smooth reading (though life still prevented me from having all the reading time I wanted -- but that's a different story.)
Aaron fell back on his elbows. "Come on, show me what selfish feels like coming from a saint."
Her tongue zigzagged up the underside of his length. "I'm not a saint."
She took Aaron halfway to his root, drawing up slowly with a purr, sending every muscle below his waist into a near-painful contraction. "No holding back, right?" His hands flew to her hair, gripping, tangling. "Come on, baby. That's twice now you've talked about liking me sweaty. So get me there. Make me fucking sweat. Just like I'm going to sweat getting you off tonight." He growled in his throat as both of her fists started pumping him, in time with that mouth. "I'm going to work for your come. You like knowing that? Show me. Suck your way down to my sack and make me feel guilty when you choke a little. But not guilty enough to stop asking for it."
Compared to most of Bailey's novels, this had a slower burn/build up. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily, just more of an observation I thought I'd make note of. It's a Tessa Bailey novel, so of course it's still very sexy and satisfying in the end, but it did take a bit longer for things to really heat up between Aaron and Grace. When they do though . . . *fans self* Oh yes. Bailey still delivers.
"I would like to go on a date with you. I want to run my hands all over your back and into your hair, just because. I want you to sit me on your lap and talk about bears. And your dog. You know, Old Man likes you best, that's why he's ignoring you. He's basically made for you. I would tell you things like that. You could tell me things back. That's a date, right?"
"No, Grace." Aaron crawled across the floor towards her huddled form. "That would be our date. No one would ever duplicate it."
And just for fun:
"Do you like it?"
"I like breakfast. I like John Wayne movies." He licked the cleft in her upper lip. "I want to build a fucking shrine to your pussy. There's a big difference."
I seriously love the Clarksons and their interactions with one another as much as I love the romance and dirty smutty goodness (classic Bailey after all). While I may have liked this one just *slightly* less than 1, overall I still very much enjoyed Aaron and Grace's story, as well as the glimpses into what Peggy and Bel's stories might be like. I cannot wait for Peggy's book (next), but Bel . . .man, I need Bel's story like I need air! I'm confident Bel's going to give me a lot of feels when he gets his HEA, and I'm here for it. I'm soooo here for it.
4 STARS!
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I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley.
*Note: The quotes used belong to Tessa Bailey; TBQ's Book Palace does not claim them. Any mistakes or typos in the quotes are my own fault.
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Seriously loving this series. Is it time for Bel's book yet?!? :D
Enjoy!Until Next Time,
*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!
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