Mine For the Week (Wild Love #2), by Erika Kelly
Publish Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by the author and Inkslinger PR
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4 STARS
(Synopsis) From the award-winning author of MINE FOR NOW comes the next sizzling story in her Wild Love series, about a chance meeting that changes the course of two people’s lives.
As the top collegiate shortstop in the country, Ryan O’Donnell’s life is about discipline. But a growing restlessness causes him to bail on his baseball team over spring break to join his buddies at a singles resort. He just needs one week to escape his life, and then he’ll get back on track. But moments after arriving he meets HER, and the world as he knows it changes irrevocably. It should only be a hookup—that’s what spring break’s all about—but one taste of this sexy, vibrant woman isn’t enough. He has to have her. Even if it’s only for a week.
Sophie Valentine—yes, that Valentine—just found out her siblings want to sell off Crazy Hearts—the Peeps of the Valentine’s Day world. Upset, she takes off with her friends on their spring break vacation. She only wanted an escape—she never imagined meeting HIM. But he’s about to start a Major League Baseball career, and she’s launching a fight for her family legacy. They have no future. It’s just…she’s never felt this way for anyone before.
Are they really going to walk away from this kind of connection…this passion?
I feel like I've been waiting forever for the second book in Erika Kelly's Wild Love series, and I'm so glad it's finally here. Ryan was the strong, silent type in book 1, so it was great to get a glimpse inside his head to see why.
Ryan and Sophie found each other at the perfect moment in their lives. They were both under extreme amounts of pressure and needed a break from it badly. Sophie's siblings are pressuring her to sell off a part of her family's company, and she can't bring herself to agree with that decision. Ryan is on the cusp of baseball greatness and he's just not sure if it's absolutely what he wants to do with the next 10 years of his life, despite being strongly encouraged to stay the course by everyone in his life.
These two meet while on spring break in a tropical location and sparks fly. But, it's a bad time for a new relationship for both of them, and neither of them are the casual hook-up type. Despite that, they have a hard time staying away from each other. And Ryan and Sophie have great chemistry when their lives weren't invading their vacation time, so I was all for them giving in to their baser urges.
These two meet while on spring break in a tropical location and sparks fly. But, it's a bad time for a new relationship for both of them, and neither of them are the casual hook-up type. Despite that, they have a hard time staying away from each other. And Ryan and Sophie have great chemistry when their lives weren't invading their vacation time, so I was all for them giving in to their baser urges.
Unlike in most books, these two were prone to talk a lot. There was a lot of communicating going on - at times, it almost felt like too much. Or, rather, I think my problem was with the fact that their conversations were repeated several times with several people. Sophie calls her older sister three or four times, and every single time Sophie tells her she doesn't want to sell part of their family's company. Her sister proceeds to treat Sophie like crap while blaming it on being tired because of just having a baby. Nothing gets resolved.
Sophie repeatedly tells Ryan he has to stop bottling up his thoughts and feelings. He needs to stop being so agreeable and do what he wants. Believe me - it was good advice, even though every time she told him, he humored her for a while, and then blew her off. And Ryan has several convos with both his dad and his coach where they ask him to come home, and he tells them no. Ryan didn't seem to know what he wanted, but he kept calling them to tell them as much.
The times when Ryan and Sophie weren't talking were some of my favorites. They really were great together. And when they weren't internalizing all their troubles or being angry at each other (well, Sophie was mad at Ryan a lot - he was mad at himself a lot), their banter was snarky and cute.
Despite the repetitive dialog, I really did like this book a lot. It was great getting to know where Ryan was coming from and how the situation with his mother and father affected him. It was a completely different experience from his sister, whom we met in book 1. Incidentally, it was also awesome to catch up with her and Dylan at the end of the book. I'm really looking forward to reading Brandon's book next.
Sophie repeatedly tells Ryan he has to stop bottling up his thoughts and feelings. He needs to stop being so agreeable and do what he wants. Believe me - it was good advice, even though every time she told him, he humored her for a while, and then blew her off. And Ryan has several convos with both his dad and his coach where they ask him to come home, and he tells them no. Ryan didn't seem to know what he wanted, but he kept calling them to tell them as much.
The times when Ryan and Sophie weren't talking were some of my favorites. They really were great together. And when they weren't internalizing all their troubles or being angry at each other (well, Sophie was mad at Ryan a lot - he was mad at himself a lot), their banter was snarky and cute.
Despite the repetitive dialog, I really did like this book a lot. It was great getting to know where Ryan was coming from and how the situation with his mother and father affected him. It was a completely different experience from his sister, whom we met in book 1. Incidentally, it was also awesome to catch up with her and Dylan at the end of the book. I'm really looking forward to reading Brandon's book next.
“What’re you thinking about?” she asked.
His attention remained focused on the road. “I’m not.”
“You’re not thinking?”
“Nope.”
“Who doesn’t think? You’re driving along, but you’re not thinking?”
“Nope. I’m just enjoying being with you.”
Warmth flooded her. She looked away from him, letting it spread through her, thick and sweet as caramel. He’d seemed at peace when they’d first started out and she’d told him about the island, the superstitions. She’d even told him about her conversation with her sister. He’d gotten angry at Abby’s attitude, and she’d appreciated his support.
Up ahead she noticed a stand of trees. “Here we go. It’s getting more wooded. We’re close.” She read the information she’d printed out. “Pretty soon we’re going to see a big rock with some graffiti on it, and then we enter a forest.” She leaned into him, their arms brushing, as she reached for the control panel.
“What’re you doing?”
“Resetting the odometer.” She looked for the button. “The path’s exactly two point four miles from the rock.”
He batted her hand away, leaned forward, and hit the button.
“Awesome. I can’t wait.” She gestured to his lap. “You can go in your shorts.”
“That’s okay.”
“Oh, you have to go in. The water has magical properties.”
“So you said.”
“You don’t believe in it?”
He shrugged. “I believe telling people water has magical properties is a great way to get tourists to come out here and spend money. Do they sell it in bottles in roadside kiosks?”
“Well, hello to the itty bitty cynic who lives inside you. Does he come out often? I don’t think I’ve met him before.”
He slowly leveled her a look that said he wasn’t amused.
So she met his with one of her own. “This isn’t a tourist attraction. The islanders actually believe in it.”
“And a tourist guide book told you that?”
“I didn’t buy a tourist guide book.”
“You learned it from an islander?”
“I got it from the Internet.”
And then that serious face blew wide open with laughter. “Okay then.” And that right there was the man she’d fallen for.
And, yep, no doubt about it. She’d fallen for this complicated, moody, sexy man. “You can fester in your cynicism. I choose to believe in magical properties.”
“And what do you hope to get from the magic?”
She quickly turned away from him. “I don’t know.”
“Wait, did you just blush? Are you…embarrassed?”
“Just drive the freaking car. I’m not embarrassed.”
He took his foot off the accelerator, shifting gears. “Not until you tell me what you want the magic for.”
She shoved his thigh. “God, Ryan. I want to eat whatever I want and not gain weight. I want to meet the man of my dreams and drive off into the sunset in a convertible. I want to find my passion and earn a living out of it. What does anyone want?”
And from his very intense expression she had a strong feeling he wanted her.
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