Worth the Trouble by Jamie Beck Release Date: February 23, 2016 Publisher: Montlake Romance Book #2 in the St. James series Number of Pages: 322 Kindle edition Source: Kindle Unlimited Contemporary Romance M/F Rating: NC-17 Read 1/12/19 to 1/13/19
Cover girl Cat St. James’s picture-perfect life is anything but flawless. Luckily, she’s a master of hiding the truth from the camera. Relying on that skill, she conceals her latest secret from her family while attending her brother’s wedding. Her only trouble now is Hank Mitchell—the soft-spoken carpenter she’d once brushed aside. Seeing him at the reception underscores her private heartache and ignites unwelcome longing, which she promptly drowns in champagne.
Hank is no stranger to sacrifice, having set aside his own ambitions to take care of his family. One thing he won’t forsake is his pride, which Cat already wounded once. But when the maddening beauty’s reckless behavior forces him to rush to her rescue, he sets in motion a series of events that leads Cat to make a business proposal granting him his dream job.
When Cat and Hank mix business with pleasure, promises and secrets unravel, and each must decide if and what they’ll surrender for love.
I adored Hank in the first book of this series, Worth the Wait. Trust me, you will fall head over heels in love with the guy in this one. Yes, he’s stubborn. Yes, he takes too much on himself. But also…yes, he’s a hotty. Yes, he’s a sweetheart. Yes, he has a huge heart.
As much as I wanted to get to know Hank more, in the first book I wasn’t too big of a fan of Cat. I know she was going through a lot, but I didn’t like the way she reacted to the news about her brother and best friend falling in love. She wasn’t being a very good sister or friend. It was great to read that she’s come around and she ended up quite a sympathetic character.
I’m happy to say that I was sucked into this story and felt all the feels just as much as I did with the first book. Sometimes I’m a bit timid reading another book by a new-to-me author that blew me away. I wonder if it was a fluke or if I could have really found another solid writer to add to my list. In this case, so far, I’d say Jamie Beck is being added to my list. She writes amazing chemistry. On top of that, I truly get that empty pit feeling in my stomach when her characters are going through hard times. She really knows how to weave her words together.
One of the things I enjoyed in this story was the relationship between Cat and her siblings. Now that they are all mending fences and David is back in the fold with his brother and sister, it was incredible to see them have each other’s backs. Especially touching was Jackson’s attention to Cat when she revealed her secret although he was obviously going through something of his own. Poor Jackson, I cannot wait to read his story.
Hank’s family, on the other hand, really ticked me off. It’s acknowledged by Hank and others that his family has somewhat taken him for granted. I am thankful that this was pointed out and that Hank was able to see that he’s done more than his share for his family. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from feeling obligated or having guilty feelings when he isn’t there for them. But at least it’s not glossed over. That his sisters could not see the sacrifices he made and was still making with no expectation from any of them really irked me. Some of the confrontations he had with his sisters and others regarding these issues were heart wrenching, but I loved them because they were so true and real.
As I said earlier, I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. I also need to figure out which of this author’s other stories I’d like to dive into because I know I want to read more from her.
All In Good Time 