Wednesday, 26 April 2017

Review & Excerpt ~ The Playboy Bachelor (The Bachelors of Arizona #2) by Rachel Van Dyken

THE PLAYBOY BACHELOR 
by Rachel Van Dyken
The Bachelors of Arizona, #2
April 11, 2017
Forever
eBook: $4.99 USD

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2o5XmKC


Book Description:

She's no Sleeping Beauty. And he's definitely no prince . . . 

Margot McCleery could have lived her whole life without seeing Bentley Wellington again—her ex-best friend and the poster boy for Hot, Rich Man-Whores everywhere. But Margot's whiskey-augmented grandmother "buys" Bentley at a charity bachelor auction, and now suddenly he's at her door. Impossibly charming. Impossibly sexy. And still a complete and utter jackass.

Bentley's just been coerced by his grandfather to spend the next thirty days charming and romancing the reclusive red-haired beauty who hates him. The woman he abandoned when she needed him the most. Bentley knows just as much about romance as he knows about love—nothing. But the more time he spends with Margot, the more he realizes that "just friends" will never be enough. Now all he has to do is convince her to trust him with her heart . . .

Buy Links:

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2om2Lgi


Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***


“Are you there, God? It’s me, Margot.”


Awwww Rachel Van Dyken certainly delivered with The Playboy Bachelor. This was a book that held me rapt from the very beginning and gave me one of my favourite heroine’s in Margot. This was a second chance romance of sorts, one of my faves and was chock full of love, angst, swoony moments and a hero that never knew what he wanted until it was gone.

Both Margot and Bentley are from influential and wealthy families and as children were inseparable. Bentley and Margot were best friends, where one went the other wouldn’t be far behind and even though these two were complete opposites, together they just clicked. These two had never crossed the “friend zone” and our book worm Margot was just a witness to the menagerie of women that graced Bentley’s arm. Neither of these two wanted to ruin what they had so they treasured what they did until life ripped them apart. Now their paths are to cross once again thanks to their meddling grandparents and though the past is a distant memory, emotional wounds run deep and are unforgettable.


“Just because one holds battle scars doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful…Survival always is.”


There is a fine line between love and hate and while Margot most certainly hated Bentley, underneath that anger and ire was the love that she had always had for him. Their past was thwart with tragedy and misunderstanding and the biggest hurdle for these two would always be to listen to the other before making blanket judgements.


“I’ll always be the guy you fucked in order to stop being sad. And you’ll always be the girl I wanted too much to have.”


The banter between these two was hilarious at times and while some honest and horrible truths escaped their mouths in anger the intense chemistry that these two had was never far behind. These two bounced off each other in the best and worst ways and often their battle of barbs became a battle of the past but Rachel Van Dyken never kept that undercurrent of chemistry that sizzled between them far from the reader.


“…we tend to push away those we love the most for fear that the other shoe is going to one day drop, and they’ll see us for what we really are. Weak. Scared. Insecure.”


I loved Bentley, even though he was the most eligible bachelor and had different arm candy most nights this was all a front for the one that got away. No-one had measured up to his best friend and no-one ever would. He cursed his grandfather’s interference but when push came to shove the feelings that were always there only got stronger as soon as he was in Margot’s presence once again. Underneath that bravado was a man that suffered immensely, a man that had taken the world upon his shoulders and yet never knew his place within it.


“But that doesn’t change the fact that you think so little of me…when I think the world of you.”


Margot was a recluse, an author and a woman who had suffered more hurt than she knew what to do with. Underneath her unapproachable façade was a woman that was desperate to live again, to see daylight, to be a normal person but who was too afraid to take it. Margot was stronger than she gave herself credit for and if anyone deserved a happy ever after it was her.


“Because Bentley had done the impossible. He made a half...feel like a whole.”


I loved the way that these two come together, how they work through their past and embrace their present. It wasn’t pretty, it was raw, honest and real with some brutal truths and tear inducing battles. But life isn’t always a bunch of roses, mistakes are made, but the heart wants who the heart wants and these two hearts were always destined to beat as one. Loved this one, painful at times, poignant, hilarious, swoon worthy and emotional. Fantastic read.


“If he died. Would the world even notice?”


Excerpt:

“I’m writing a kissing scene!” she blurted, mentally kicking herself for screaming it in his face. “And the guy’s a complete jackass. Since my only experience with jackasses is you…” Her voice was shaky, just like her body. Could he tell how much she wanted him? How much she hated that her response was this—raw. “I-I figured you were the only one who could show me what it’s like.” Good one, Margot. Do you really have to sound so…desperate?
“What what’s like?”
“A kiss. From a jackass.”
“Got the jackass part.” He treaded water and then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her deeper into the pool until they were on the opposite end, his body pressed against hers. At least his eyes were still locked on her face. “And you’ve never been kissed?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not by someone like—”
“If you keep insulting me, this kiss won’t ever happen, Red.”
“Don’t call me that,” Margot whispered. Was she so weak that she’d forgive his abandonment for one kiss? “Please?”
“This kiss.” His calculated gaze didn’t make her feel any better about the situation. “How long does it need to be? How deep? Where do you want my hands?”
Margot’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not how kisses work! You can’t just map out the kiss. That takes all the romance out of it!”
“Oh, so you want romance?”
“Yes! No! I mean. I didn’t say that!” Her face flamed, and she sagged in defeat. Admitting she wanted romance kind of felt like she was on the losing end of the little battles they’d been having, like she was giving him an in. And if he got in, he’d only hurt her again.
“I was joking,” he said, just before his lips brushed hers. His tongue slid across her bottom lip and then sucked it for a few seconds before he slid it into her mouth and deepened the kiss.
Her lips softened beneath his gentle coaxing, and his hard thighs pressed against hers as a deep hunger awakened within her.
Oh, this was bad.
So bad.
And very, very good at the same time.


THE BACHELORS OF ARIZONA SERIES

The Bachelor Auction, #1
The Playboy Bachelor, #2

Series Page on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2nLI77V

About the Author:


Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult, Regency, and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor. She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband, son, and their snoring boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers!

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