Rating: 3.5 Stars
Published: February 21, 2023
Pages: 594
Genre: Romance
I decided to read this book which is the second book in the Knockemout series because my review of the first book, ‘Things We Never Got Over’ is my most read blog post ever on this website. The funny thing is although it was an entertaining read I didn’t really love the book. It was okay but I had several issues with the story (you can go read my review of it if you already haven’t). Anyway, I thought to give the author a try again by reading the second book and these are my thoughts.
This book although the second book in the series can be read as a standalone novel. It follows Nash, Knockemout’s police chief and Lina, an old friend of his brother, Knox. Nash is recovering from a near-death situation that has plunged him into a dark place while Lina is temporarily visiting Knockemout to see Knox who gives her a free apartment to stay making her next door neighbor to Nash. They are both no doubt attracted to each other from day one but when Nash suffers a panic attack and Lina helps stabilize him, things get intense. However, Lina has a secret and most importantly doesn’t do serious relationships, so this makes her resist the temptation in front of her, but does she have the will power to hold Nash off? This small-town romance story explores themes such as the impact of trauma, vulnerability, trust, resilience, healing, the power of community, and love.
I actually enjoyed this story more than the first book. I think this may be because I liked Nash and Lina’s characters more plus, I found myself laughing several times not just at their banter but at several interactions they had with other characters. There was also the familiarity I felt with the town and its main actors from the first book which made the experience feel like I knew them. Finally, the crime/thriller “ish” parts which added some more texture to the story also made for good reading. However, like the first book, this book was too long. Like it’s a romances story for goodness’ sake, what are we doing reading almost 600 pages. I think there were parts of the story that didn’t add anything to it and shouldn’t have been there. There were also one too many spicy scenes (well if you like those you will have your fill) which were a bit distracting and sometimes outright unrealistic to me. Lots of swearing as well but if this made the characters’ voices more authentic then, that’s okay. It was just a lot. Halfway into the book I was sure this was going to be 4 stars rating from me but as the story refused to end, I knew it would lose 0.5 stars for the length.
I would still recommend this book to romance story lovers however, if long stories are not your thing, you may get frustrated at some point. I will be reading the last book in this series soon because I am curious about the main characters in that story and how they will end up together so look out for my review of that one.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
The Author:
Lucy is a Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Kindle Store bestseller of romantic comedies and contemporary romance. She grew up in rural Pennsylvania with a lot of time on her hands and a big imagination. She was the oldest of three in a book-obsessed household. Dinners were often spent in silence while family members had their noses buried in books. A passion for writing took hold at five when she taught her brother to write his name on the bathroom door.
She started writing (on paper) in the second grade, first about pilgrims on the Mayflower and over the years graduated to essays, articles, blogs, and finally books. “Pretend You’re Mine” was her runaway hit and she’s been writing full-time ever since.
Non-romance-writing jobs have included event planner, bartender, newspaper lackey, and yoga instructor.
Lucy and Mr. Lucy, enjoy spending time with their 1.7 million nieces and nephews and laying on beaches with umbrella drinks.
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