Where to begin...

This is the story of a second chance at love between Skye, the middle daughter of a man who should have never been allowed to be in charge of a pet for an hour, much less procreate, and Mitch, the boy next door and her first love, whom she

Spoiler

agreed to marry, only to break it off without explanation the next day since her father forced her to marry someone close to his age or he'd hurt Mitch's farm

.

I did not like Skye from the beginning and although I tried, she really did not help at all and only frustrated more the more I read, until I got completely fed up with her. Let me explain why...

She returned to live with her father after her husband's death, and continues to act as his hostess and good little girl, despite all he's done, still hoping that he'll magically change one day and learn how to love her, despite all evidence that this will never happen. I suppose that could be excused, given the trauma of her mother's death,

Spoiler

accompanied by a suicide note to her bemoaning how he didn't love her so she killed herself

, but she is a grown ass woman with a child of her own, so that excuse grew thin after a while.

Enter younger sister, Izzy, the free spirited one of the bunch, who always attracted the opposite sex. That includes T.J., the man her father is pushing on Skye as potential husband #2, who

Spoiler

asks Skye out on a date and hits on Izzy during the same visit - what a winner that guy is, winner at multitasking and full of morals! Dear Sky gets her panties in a twist when Izzy cautions her to be careful with him since he already hit on her. After hearing that warning, the best way forward Skye could see was getting in a pissing contest with Izzy to prove to her that "she's not all that" and that "it could happen that a man could want her instead of Izzy", and starts to date him, while at the same time behaving like a five year old and twisting all of Izzy's warnings into digs that reveal what a huge ball of insecurities she really is

.

My patience level was nearing zero at that point, but I persevered, hoping that things would improve soon.

Unfortunately they don't, and the last straw was that she was perfectly happy to repeat the same mistakes,

Spoiler

reacting to the latest of her father's attempts at intimidation by devising the best way to hurt Mitch enough so that their relationship could never be revived again, (for his own good of course) without even considering to spend half that brain power to actually think of a proper plan, or, I don't know, consult with the people who love her, Mitch included

.



I finished the book feeling no warm and fuzzies, but annoyance instead and the conclusion that she really did not deserve Mitch, who had his own moments of intense stupidity that included

Spoiler

his decision to side with their "evil half-brother" who wants to ruin them all, only to back out on it before he actually did anything but feel bad about the whole thing

, or at least she didn't deserve his quick forgiveness in the end.

The series continues with Izzy's story in [b:Straight from the Hip|6329073|Straight from the Hip (Lone Star Sisters, #3)|Susan Mallery|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390878310s/6329073.jpg|6514706], but I don't know if I'll ever get to it...

Previous book reviews:
✦ Under Her Skin (Lone Star Sisters, #1) ~ ★★★ (21/07/17)

I accidentally read this one first, but that really didn't make a difference in the series.

I really wanted to like this book, because I liked Mitch and Erin so much. But I did not like Skye. She was so weak and flighty. I also feel like the plot was weak and left a lot to be desired. I read Hot on Her Heels after this and felt the same way about that book. It was better than Lip Service, but not by much. The women are just so weak and wavery, despite the fact that they are supposed to be "strong, Titan women." I don't know why the girls are so weak and the guys actually interesting, but it just felt really juvenile.

Mitch returns home injured from the war and runs right into Skye, his love from 9 yrs ago turned him down to stay in good graces with her dad. They end up fighting every time they run into each other, feelings turn around and they are right back where they left off 9 years ago. Good emotional story for both characters

3.5 stars

I was really in the mood to read a romance novel, so I went to the book store and picked one up that sounded interesting. I had heard of Susan Mallery before as a romance novelist, but haven't read any of her work.

This was a pretty good book. I love stories about couples that knew each other/date previously, lost touch for whatever reason, and then get back together. I just find it so sweet and makes me think that if you're meant to be with someone, somehow it will happen. Yes, I understand it's just fiction, but it still gives me a little hope for all those people out there!

Skye has an interesting lifestyle; she's very wealthy and lives at home with her dad, sister and young daughter after her husband died. Despite being very wealthy and not needing to work, she starts a non-profit foundation for feeding hungry children. She leads a very different lifestyle from what her father wants for her. And to sum it up, he's a jerk. He just wants to bully his kids and everyone he knows into doing what he wants. While this is all going on, there's a little something else with a long-lost family member, but I can't divulge to much without spoilers!

On the other hand, Mitch is an injured Navy veteran who has a big chip on his shoulder and he doesn't care who he hurts when he comes home, especially Skye. But he soon realizes that there's more to life than being angry all the time. It's really interesting to watch him and Skye interact with each other. We watch as they both let go of anger and learn to trust each other and while it's sometimes heartbreaking, it's fun to watch!

Pagesofcomfort.blogspot.com

Lip Service

The only part of this book I liked was the ongoing battle with Garth. I wish I could get my time back for reading this.