Title: Take This Man
Series: The Man, #2
Author: Nona Raines
Published: 2011, Wild Rose Press
Format: Ebook provided for review
Genre: Contemporary erotic romance m/f
The biggest mistake of Elyse Zemanski's life was falling in love with Adam. When a night of sexual fantasy went too far, she was crushed and couldn't leave town fast enough.
The biggest mistake of Adam Vostek's life was letting Elyse go. He'd been afraid of the love she promised and pushed her away—into another man's arms...and bed.
When Elyse returns to Summit to help a friend, Adam wants a second chance to prove he’s worthy—in and out of the bedroom. She claims she's over him, but one look from those smoldering dark eyes, and she throws caution to the wind. Elyse offers him seven days of wild sex, hoping to get him out of her system. Adam's good to go on the sex. But will a week be enough to win back Elyse's love and trust?
A few days ago I reviewed One Good Man, which is book one in the The Man series. Now Take This Man is book two. And things just got kicked up a notch. I wasn’t expecting to like Adam Vostek more than his brother Matthew. In fact, I kind of thought he was a jerk when he made his appearance in book one. Yeah, sure, he had his reasons…whatever. He was a bit of a jerk. But now in this book we get to peel back his layers a bit, and there is really quite a gem of a man there.
This story has a few flashbacks in it, and they really help round out the story. This one is split between Adam’s and Elyse’s point of view. Elyse is Adam’s ex, and she has a pretty good reason to have a dislike of Adam. At one point its said that she could actually hear her heart cracking as it broke, and I can totally believe it. The woman has been through a lot in her relatively young life. She’s in her early 20s, but she definitely has the wisdom of an older woman who has had more experiences. I definitely felt connected to Elyse, even as I wanted to push her to move forward with this situation or that one.
And then there is Jason. There is not a whole lot I can tell you about him without giving up some major spoilers. But I like him. He is funny and intelligent, and he cares a lot about the people in his life. He is quite the character, and I can only imagine that it was fun to write him.
“With her heart beating in her chest, Elyse crossed the street. Her feet slowed, and her eyes remained glued to the truck. It felt surreal. Had her thoughts about Adam somehow conjured him?”
The thing about real true love is that you never ever get over it. Even when love does you wrong and you don’t end up with the person you are supposed to. You still never get over it. That person is always there. They are in the back of your mind, living as a benchmark for every love that will come after them. You think you’ve moved on, you think you can forget them… but you are wrong. You’ll see something the exact shade of their eyes, someone will walk by in a crowd wearing their cologne, you’ll pass their favorite food in the grocery store – and just like that they are right there in the front of your brain. So when you subconsciously place yourself right in their path, you should not really be surprised. And this is what happens in Take This Man.
Much in the way any dramatic and wonderful love story must go, there are misunderstandings galore within these pages. What is it about two people in love? Do they forget all rational means of communication? Sometimes it leads to funny situations, sometimes frustration, and sometimes tears. And in this book you will find all of that.
“By the time he manned up and faced his feelings for her, she was long gone.”
This book has its bits of humor. And there are cameos from some of my favorites from One Good Man. And if you can’t tell by now, I think you should read it. But start with the first book. This book is a great emotional story, and now I am totally geared up for the next book in the series, Her Perfect Man, which I have coming up on a review post for Nona Raines tour in the beginning of November. See you then!
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Nona Raines became hooked on romances when she first picked up "The Flame and the Flower" by Kathleen Woodiwiss (and she's not telling how long ago that was). Romances may have changed since then, but her love for a good love story has not. She's been writing off and on for years, but it was only when she joined the Central New York Romance Writers Association that she finally gained the support and confidence she needed to complete a manuscript.
Nona lives in upstate New York with her many pets and is currently working on her next novel. A former librarian, she enjoys reading books of all genres and discussing them with others. She is thrilled to finally be able to call herself an author and looks forward to hearing from readers.
