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As the second book in the Bakery Sister series, I started out not being one of Nicole's biggest fans (based on book one). What's not to love. Yet, in this book, you see the very sensitive core of who she is trying to protect. Into this mix, walks Hawkins, a former NFL player who gave up his career to raise his daughter after his wife died of cancer.
I needed a good escape read, to really feel a part of a story, and once again Mallery delivered. While Nicole has a tough exterior, she comes off to Hawk as a hard sell. Along the way, they hurt each other horribly (adding to the tension of the novel), poking at old injuries, and forcing one another to wake up to the stupid things they've been blind to in their lives.I really liked this Mallery novel. I have read many of her other books, and loved several others, but this story was really engaging and made me care a great deal about all characters involved. I realize that I usually only write reviews when I really like something, and I suppose that in this case, this fits the bill. In book one, Sweet Talk, Nicole comes across as cold, abrasive, and unforgiving.
Used to getting his way, Hawk finds that he has to win over Nicole and get to know her. What more could you want out of a good romance. After feeling abandoned by both parents, a twin who went off to travel the world as a famous pianist, and a husband that she caught in bed with the younger sister she had been forced to raise, you start to see why Nicole acts the way she does. He's big, brawny, and a dedicated father.
He does some dumb things but they finally realize they are actually in love. This one makes you laugh, cry, and get mad. I'm reading this book for the third time. Mallery writes the best (next to Rachel Gibson) for sexy, funny and touching books. Keep 'em coming, Susan. This is, by far, Mallery's best book. I don't know if I just like sexy athletes or both Hawk's and Nicole's humor.
They were each so different, so unique, but still there was love between them. I enjoyed reading about the three sisters and their bakery.
Nicole in the first book was really evil and bitter, although still funny and sarcastic at the same time. Mallery must have this think with always needing a perfect character. That tactic was a little over used. I'd really rate this a 4.5, but I couldn't give it a full 5 stars. But all in all, the book was funny and cute, and I really liked Nicole and Hawk together. But since the 3rd book about Jesse takes place 5 years later you get a little update on all the sisters then. It was fun to watch their relationship from the very first chapter and on.
She's reluctant to enter a relationship after catching her loser husband in bed with her younger sister, but when she meets retired NFL pro Hawk she doesn't stand a chance. And the other slightly annoying part was that all the Keyes sister became pregnant at the same time out of wedlock ( which then push the realization of love faster for the guy they love who doesn't want kids). I really liked his character but he just seemed a little too mature for an 18 year old. They have a fun chemistry throughout the book. And in this book the high school star quarterback, Raoul, whom Nicole takes in her home to take care of, comes across as a little too perfect.
This was my favorite book out of this series. In the first book Claire was too close to perfect for being human. If you're wanting to get an update on Claire and Wyatt in this book, you'll be sadly searching for nothing much than tiny bits of barely anything. In this book, she's not so mean. There's humor, drama, and love.
Brittany is a product of her environment, entitled and spoiled and selfish, but with some redeeming qualities. He's a tough guy, knows his own worth and his own attraction, and it never enters his head that he can't get around a woman like Nicole. You like him, probably fall in love with him, and even understand him.Nicole is still Nicole, hard on the outside, still a little mixed up and needing love on the inside.
Perhaps she has begun to realize the person she can be when she has the ability to make choices of her own. She presents a challenge, one he feels he is up to handling, and he does. The sizzling romance between Hawk and Nicole was cute.
Okay, I have to say, Hawk is hot, and drawn very well in this book. Also, for a woman who complained so much about being responsible for everything since she was a child, it was a little weird that Nicole ended up with Rauol and Sheila and more responsibility. They fall in love, but to prove that he understands who Nicole is, Hawk gives himself several tasks which he must complete in order to overcome the gaff he made when he proposed publicly.
She is angry with her sister Jesse, who she believes has done the unforgiveable in regard to Nicole's ex-husband.Raoul, the high school quarterback who is homeless and tries to steal five dozen doughnuts for his team, appears to be the most mature of the whole cast of characters, and very loveable. This book could have gone in several different directions, but I like the way it went, with the exception of the baby.
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