Vaughn and River were the high school sweethearts everyone expected to fail. And they did. But not because of any shortage of love. Oh no. The town bad boy and the bubbly class president had that in spades. What they didn’t have was the truth—or the ability to defeat the forces that kept them apart. Vaughn never left River completely, however, because the night he left town for good, they conceived a child. Now Vaughn has returned to earn back his family—and River’s love—any way he can.
Thrown Down Synopsis:
He has one last chance to deserve the girl of his dreams…
Overachiever River Purcell was never supposed to be a struggling single mom, working double shifts just to make ends meet. Nor was she supposed to be abandoned by her high school sweetheart, breaking her heart into a thousand jagged pieces. Now Vaughn De Matteo is back in town, his sights set on her…and River is in danger of drowning a second time.
No one believed Hook’s resident bad boy was good enough for River. Not even Vaughn himself. But he’ll fight like hell to win back the woman he never stopped loving, to keep the daughter he never expected, and convince himself he’s worth their love in the process––even if he has to rely on their fierce and undeniable sexual chemistry.
But even as River’s body arches under his hungered touch, the demons of the past lurk in the shadows. Waiting for Vaughn to repeat his mistakes one last time…
EXCERPT:
Forty-nine months and three days.
That was how long it had been since he’d seen her.
Vaughn swayed to the right, his shoulder slamming up against the wall. Then he kind of just hung there, counting forward and backward from one to ten. Not helping. Not helping. His stomach pitched at the sight of River walking through the drunks, like a nurse walking among the wounded on a battlefield. She could still knock his lights out on sight. Not that he’d doubted it for a second. But God, if it were possible, she’d grown even more beautiful over the last forty-nine months. Her blond hair was tied up in a ponytail, a pencil stuck through the base, in a way he remembered well enough to make his throat go raw. In a short black skirt and fitted white T-shirt, River tried to look the part of indifferent barmaid, but didn’t pull it off.
Not by a stretch.
Eyes Vaughn knew were just a shade darker than cornflower blue flitted to each table, and her fingers tugged on the skirt’s hem self-consciously every time she approached a new one. When she fumbled with the notepad, recovering with a nervous laugh, a choked sound left Vaughn. “Riv,” he whispered.
She looked up so fast, he might as well have shouted. The sudden impact of having River’s focus on him after such an extended period of time without it released a rushing sound between his ears, blocking out the sad lounge act…and apparently someone asking if he needed a table. Because when Vaughn snapped back to reality, a man he towered over by at least a foot was in his face. Snapping his fingers.
“I wouldn’t…” Vaughn shook his head to clear it, experiencing a resurgence of anger, this time for having his attention diverted from where he needed it to be. On River.
“I wouldn’t advise snapping your fingers in my face again.”
“Why’s that, huh?”
A toss of blond hair snagged Vaughn’s gaze as his angelic ex-girlfriend zigzagged through the crowd, drawing more than just his notice. Ah no, quite the opposite. She was putting on an unwitting show for every man in the room, attracting lecherous looks by virtue of being her beautiful self, light in a dark tunnel, same way she’d always been.
Finger snapped in front of his face. Again. “This is my place and I asked you a question.”
“This is your place?” Vaughn asked. God, one hour back in Jersey and already his accent had thickened from water to oil. “You hired River Purcell to clean up tables?”
“That’s right.”
Vaughn plowed a fist into the underside of the man’s jaw, watching him fall backward onto the sticky concrete floor with detachment that slowly morphed into satisfaction. So much for calm, he thought, shaking out his right hand.
Review:
Ever since reading book one in the series, Crashed Out , I’ve been anxious for River and Vaughn’s book–and rooting for Vaughn, even though I hadn’t even met him yet, really. River wasn’t my favorite person throughout much of Crashed, so I knew she had her work cut out for her in this one.
Fortunately, she did a decent job of pulling it off. Though I still didn’t agree with all of her choices, she was definitely a more sympathetic character in her own book and she did much to atone for prior actions. Vaughn too made some great strides–because his earlier actions (which we see through flashbacks) left much to be desired as well. In all, this was a well done second chance at romance, and I enjoyed reading it very much.
My only complaint (and it’s a “complaint again”–I can’t believe it!) is that the sex and dirty talk got to be a bit much (!) I know, I know–but it was actually distracting at times. And his nickname of “doll” for her was not my favorite. (And he was “buck” at one point, which was just…wrong.) I actually skimmed through at least two scenes to get back to the actual story faster–though I’m willing to go with the “it’s not you, book, it’s me” theory here, because it’s been a busy few weeks school-wise and I’m feeling the crunch. So it’s entirely possible that no one else might feel this way and it really is all me.
Still, I’m anxious to see where this series is going next. Duke of all-the-newly-unmarried-sisters clearly needs his own story, even if it might cut into his cute babysitting scenes… 😉
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
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About Tessa:
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.
Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.
She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.