REVIEW: Too Wild to Tame (Romancing the Clarksons #2)

Too Wild to Tame (Romancing the Clarksons #2), by Tessa Bailey
Publish Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Forever Romance
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) 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 . . .

Going into Too Wild to Tame, I still wasn't sure what I thought about Aaron Clarkson. My impression of him in Too Hot to Handle wasn't quite favorable. Honestly, he seemed like a big jerk, unable to care about anyone but himself. He certainly didn't care much for any of his siblings. Who would've guessed that I'd love Aaron and Grace even more than Rita and Jasper? 

Grace is a bit of an odd duck. After surviving a traumatic experience when she was younger, she has decided to march to the beat of her own drum, despite the fact that her father is a powerful senator. Her wild and untamed approach at life fascinates Aaron who always tries to live by the book. 

Aaron has his eyes on the prize. He's ready to get back to work strategizing for Grace's father, which, admittedly, he's really good at. But, Aaron has his own scandal he's trying to overcome from his not-so-distant past, plus he's got this drama-filled family road trip to deal with. When he meets Grace in the woods in the middle of the night, she fascinates him. Suddenly, he can't get his mind off this gorgeous free spirit, which is the last thing he should be thinking about now.

I love how much Aaron surprised me. I'm glad that Tessa Bailey allowed us 300 or so pages to get inside his head, because there was way more to this aloof, cold man than what I had thought. There's a reason for the volatility with his brother Belmont and the separateness he's kept between he and his two sisters. The weight that Aaron carries with him every day saddened me. He kinda of hates himself for the things he's done and the things he's contemplating. And he doesn't want to taint the sweetness that is Grace.

Everything was insane. 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. 

Aaron and Grace together were such a delight. Grace brought out this whole other side to Aaron that was just so fun to see. And who knew that under all that cold, hard gruffness lurked the heart of a blazing hot sex god? Grace brought out all the emotions in Aaron that he thought he had suppressed for good, and watching him rediscover the, while watching Grace become who she has always wanted to be, but was never allowed, made this such a fantastic book.

Tessa Bailey has been teasing us with Belmont and Sage's story for two books now. There was a lot more in Too Wild to Tame, but their book will be last in the series (of course). Next up is Peggy and her mysterious second-chance romance. I can't wait!