Series: Calamity Montana, #3
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Release Date: July 15th, 2021
Add to Goodreads | Amazon.in (Available on KU)
For years, her mentor—and investor—helped make her dreams come true. Until his unexpected death put her fate in his grandson’s hands. A brazen billionaire, he seems intent on ruining Kerrigan’s life.
But if Pierce Sullivan thinks she’ll go down without a fight, he’s sorely mistaken. Pushed to the extreme, she drives to his ritzy mountain lodge to force the arrogant You Can Call Me Mr. Sullivan to hear her out.
No sooner does she arrive than a snowstorm traps her with Pierce. Stranded together for days, she’s in for the battle of her life. Pierce is nearly irresistible by candlelight. Without his suits and fancy cars, he’s almost human.
Except only a fool would let down her guard. And Kerrigan can’t risk her future. Not when she doesn’t know if he’s out to pilfer her dreams . . . or to steal her heart.
“This kiss was the best of my damn life. Until the next. And the next. Something about this woman made me feel that it would only get better. Kiss after kiss, she’d put the past to shame.”
At the end of The Bluff, we got a hint of Kerrigan and Pierce’s drama and to finally have their entire story in my hands was a special treat. Like with all the other books in the Calamity Montana series, the characters and their relationship was so nicely crafted. Devney Perry, writing as Willa Nash, has a knack for writing great small town romances with wonderful characters. And it’s never just about the two leads, the supporting characters contribute a lot to the story as well and just the right amount. It’s what makes these stories so immersive and as always, I didn’t want this one to end!
Kerrigan Hale is from one of the oldest Calamity families and she’s well known and liked all through town. She’s been buying houses and property all across town, fixing them up and flipping them. And she’s been getting help from a friend and mentor. But things have been a little low of late and then when her mentor dies in a plane crash, Kerrigan’s whole life is turned upside down. Especially when she comes face to face with the grandson of her mentor. Pierce Sullivan isn’t enjoying this, but he’s dealing with his own trauma and struggles and he doesn’t have the time to pander to Kerrigan and the relationship she had with his grandfather. They butt heads, but he lays down the law and forces Kerrigan to confront him at every turn. Which ends with them stranded in a cabin during a nasty snow storm. And then suddenly everything starts to change.
“You really don’t think much of me, do you?”
“On the contrary, Ms. Hale. I think about you far too much.”
I’ve loved Kerrigan from the moment we met her in The Bribe. She was always the woman who had everything under control and who was determined to make the most of the life she’s given. Kerrigan doesn’t want to work for her family business because she wants to make something of herself. Her ambitions and her dreams are not to sell cars, but that’s something that her family will never understand or even try to wrap their heads around. Kerrigan is a tough woman and I love how independent, strong and passionate she is. Even when her whole world is falling apart, Kerrigan stands her ground and she gives it back to Pierce. She’s not going to sit back and let things just happen, Kerrigan is going to do whatever it takes to fix everything and she’ll do it alone if she must.
Pierce is an interesting character! The amount of trauma this man is carrying would make you feel bad for him. But at the same time, right from the start, you want to punch him. I enjoyed watching Pierce be put in his place, which is clearly something he’s not used to. And his relationship with Nellie was definitely something that made him seem even more human. While Pierce might seem buttoned up and a rule following kind of guy, there’s so much more to him. And we see that happen slowly, but I loved how he didn’t just drop his walls because he was attracted to Kerrigan. He held onto his resolve and what he believes in, making sure that she’s not aware of the effect she has on him. Brace for all the angst in Pierce’s life, because the guy has been through SO MUCH.
“My attraction to Kerrigan ran to the marrow, proving what I’d suspected the day we’d met. Kerrigan Hale was a dangerous woman.”
Their chemistry is incredible. I liked that while they both were definitely drawn to each other in every way possible, they didn’t act on it. Kerrigan could have used her feminie wiles to win over Pierce and he could have seduced her into some kind of trap. But they kept it professional and worked through it with all the sexual tension that you could cut with a steak knife. And when they’re stranded in a cabin during a storm, their relationship takes such an interesting turn. One more night becomes their tagline and every night spent together is so hot. But their time in the cabin is about so much more than the sex and I love how Pierce finally let his walls down and gives Kerrigan a peek into his messy life and why he is the way he is.
Like with the two previous couples, Kerrigan and Pierce have to work at their relationship and to make it work. I loved how they gave each other the strength to move forward and to stand up for what they believe in. I loved that they were each other’s shoulders to lean on through the good and the bad. I fell so hard in love with these two and their deep love, and it’ll happen with you too!
The Brazen is an incredible enemies-to-lovers, stuck together, forced proximity romance about two deeply wounded characters getting a second chance to fix their hearts.
Thanks to Willa Nash and Valentine PR for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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