- June 27 edit -Buddy (pun intended) reread with Irene for the nth time because... well... JOOOOE!!! Nuff said.
Original review
I am in love with this book! I think this is my 2nd favorite KA book (Lady Luck still takes top spot). Joe Callahan is definitely up there as my #1 KA hero (tied with maybe 3 others). But I have never felt happier for a fictional couple more than Vi and Joe (and Creed and Sylvie). Gah! It's so hard to pick favourites amongst KA's characters!
I truly love a story with a happy ending, but nothing beats a HEA when the two main characters have gone through hell and have risen from it to find their way into their second chance at happiness. I felt soooo sad for Vi, having lost her awesome husband and having his killer still on the loose and stalking her. And then she meets Joe and her world was rocked, only Joe wasn't on the same page as her. He really was such an ass in the beginning and I felt so hurt for Vi. And then tragedy strikes again and that finally shook Joe's senses and he realizes how he f*cked up with Vi and he's determined to turn things around and make her see that they were meant to be.
I loved how much the importance of the family unit was interspersed throughout the whole book. Vi and her girls, Kate and Keira, were such a solid and loyal unit.I was sorry to see Sam go so early, seeing how much he loved his sister and neices. But I loved how instantly welcoming the Bianchis were to Vi and the girls, and I loved how it played out between Vi's in-laws and Joe. And my gosh! I am as in-awe at Benny as Kate and Keira! I just found out that book# 5 in The Burg series is about him and Frankie and I CANNOT wait to read about them. I instantly liked Frankie too, what with her sassy attitude. I am such a sucker for heroes and heroines who've been hurt so bad in the past that they feel like they have nothing more to give, and then THE ONE comes along and they're able to get past that pent-up hurt. Aaaaaahhhh!!! Never fails to tug my heart.
5*!!!