Synopsis

Cam DeSantis’ life is a hot, steaming pile. How else would you describe losing your husband, your job, and your money all at once? Desperate times call for desperate measures, so when salvation comes in the form of one intolerable a-hole, who just happens to be the starting quarterback for the vaunted NY Titans, she has no choice but to accept his offer as a live-in nanny slash teacher for his eight year old nephew. Now all she has to do is find a safe place in her mind to hide whenever she feels the need to throat punch him into tomorrow…which is often.

Calvin Shaw has zero interest in women. Wait, wait––let me rephrase that. He loves women, he just doesn’t want anything to do with ‘um. Not since his wife, presently ex-wife, got knocked up by the guy she was cheating on him with. Problem is…there’s one living in his house. And he doesn’t know what’s worse, that he promised to be civil, or that he’s attracted to her.

*The protagonist of this stand alone novel has a propensity for profanity and sexual shenanigans. You’ve been warned.*

P. Dangelico ez alkalommal egy lassan épülő, olykor megmosolyogtató, máskor igencsak szívbemarkoló kötetet hozott el nekünk. Nagyon tetszett!  

Camilla DeSantis élete három éve a feje tetejére állt. Elvesztette a férjét, a házát, a pénzét és végül most elvesztette az egyetlen dolgot, amit szeretett és maradt neki, a tanítónői munkáját is. Így találja magát újra a szülei házában, egy pincérnői állással, egy beszennyezett névvel, és elutasított állásjelentkezések sorával.

Aztán egyik nap megtalálja őt egy olyan állásajánlat, ami szinte túl szép, hogy igaz legyen. Egy 8 éves kisfiú magánoktatását kellene vállalnia, bentlakással, szemet elkerekítően sok pénzért, valaki házában, akiről egyelőre nem tudhat semmit. Hamar fény derül rá, hogy a titokzatos munkaadó nem más, mint Calvin Shaw, a híres NFL játékos, azonban sajnos az első benyomás enyhén szólva is katasztrofálisan sikerül, így a sok ostromlás után végül mégis elfogadott munka, -amely papíron olyan jól festett-, első perctől nagy kihívások elé állítja a lányt…

A karakterek bár kicsit lassan, de igazán a szívemhez nőttek. Tetszett, hogy Camilla kiállt magért, hogy ennyire öntudatos, ugyanakkor kedves és odaadó volt. Calvin, -ne szépítsük- a legtöbbször egy faragatlan ősember szintjén volt, de a végére őt is megkedveltem, és az ő karakterének lassú kibontakozása volt a könyv kulcsa. A legjobb barátnőt, Amber-t, pedig imádtam! 🙂

Számomra picit túl lassú volt a történet folyása, és Calvin unokaöccsének szálját sem érzetem igazán kereknek, viszont maga a történet nagyon tetszett! Az írónő olykor egy pici humort is csempészett a sorok közé, és forró jelenetekből ez alakalommal sem volt hiány.

Dangelico stílusa ismét kiváló volt, és örülök, hogy az előző köteteitől egy kicsit eltérő műfajban is megmutatta a tehetségét. Jó kis kikapcsolódás volt, őszintén ajánlom! 🙂

My Review in English

This time P. Dangelico brought us a slow-building story that sometimes made me smile sometimes squeezed my heart. I loved it!

Three years ago Camilla DeSantis’s life went upside down. She lost her husband, her house, her money and now she lost the only thing she loved and left for her, her teaching job. This is how she finds herself in her parents’ house again, with a waitress job, with a sullied name and several rejected job applications.

Then one day a kind of job offer finds her that almost seems too good to be true. She needs to teach an 8-year-old boy privately, for an amount of money that makes her eyes widen. But this position requires to live on the property, in someone’s house that she can know nothing about yet. It soon reveals that the mysterious employer is none other than Calvin Shaw, the famous NFL player, but unfortunately Camilla’s first impression about him is equals with a catastrophe. So the job that firstly seemed so good on paper, and that she accepted after a long persuasion, becomes really challenging for her from the very first moment…

The characters – though a little bit slowly – have found their way into my heart. I liked that Camilla stood up for herself, that she was so self-conscious yet so kind and caring. Calvin – let’s not sugarcoat it – mostly was an uncouth caveman but I became to like him too and I think the slow development of his character was the essence of the story. I also truly loved Amber, Cam’s best friend! 🙂

I love slow-burning love stories but this felt a little too slow for me, and I also didn’t find the plot of Calvin’s nephew complete enough, although the story itself was really great! I loved that we got some glimpse of the author’s sense of humor and that there were some really hot scenes in this book, too.

P. Dangelico’s writing was amazing once again and I am glad that she tried something new with this book and that it was a little different than her previous stories. It was a great relaxing read and I truly recommend it. 🙂

My Favorite Quotes From the Book

“He’s my anchor and I cling to him because I am lost in a sea of bliss. So lost I may never be found again.”

“Grief is uniquely tailored for every individual. For me, it lies beneath the noise of everyday life, cropping up at unexpected moments. And I’m not talking a gentle nudge either, more like a blindsiding slap across the face…”

“All my life I’ve felt like something was dragging me down. But when I’m with you, that
weight’s gone.”

“Doesn’t matter everything south of the border is dead. My cooch is broken.”
Snorting, Amber replies. “Your cooch is not broken. It’s just… taking a nap, waiting for a hot as fudge babymaker to come along.”

“No thanks. Any kids that man manages to spawn will be mini Shreks.
“Grumpy and cute?”
“Yup.”
“I like Shrek.”
With a huff, I grumble, “So do I”

“There are moments in life where you don’t get a do-over, where the true nature of your character is revealed. You either step up to the plate or lose your chance forever. These moments shape a life. These moments earn you the right to say to yourself ‘at least I got the important stuff right.”

4.5 – Slow-burning- Stars