Laura’s Review of Can’t Shake You (River Bend, #1) by Molly McLain

If you have read and enjoyed A Reason To Breathe by C.P. Smith, Breathe (Colorado Mountain, #4) by Kristen Ashley, and The Look of Love (The Sullivans, #1) by Bella Andre then you will LOVE this book!!!

Basic Summary

Lovers to friends to lovers…could it get any more complicated?

          One thing Carissa Brandt knows:  spontaneity always gets her in trouble.  Still, she’s gone and jumped head first into an impulsive renovation project with her fingers crossed.  When her contractor turns out to be a cheat, it seems her only lifeline is the proffered hand of Josh Hudson—the sexy Marine who left her aching for more than their single night together three years ago.

          Josh has two hard and fast rules: never mix with business with pleasure and don’t look twice at women his friends have dated, much less loved.  It makes life in a small town simple—or it would, if he wasn’t harboring a secret with the potential to destroy his good name and the reputation of a woman he can’t get out of his head.

          When Carissa finds herself in a bind, Josh’s integrity—both personal and professional—won’t let her fail.  Will working together finally extinguish the attraction lingering between them?  Or will the smoldering embers of their passionate rendezvous ignite all over again and set aflame the friendship they cherish the most?

First Impressions

          I am totally pleasantly surprised by this book.  I really love the premise of the story so far, and I absolutely love Josh Hudson!  Right off the bat you can almost feel how hot he is and my heart just goes pitter patter whenever he is around.  I like the point of view of changing throughout the story so it gives you more of a rounded view on the story. 

          The chemistry between Carissa and Josh is very overwhelming even from the very beginning and I like that a certain point you get to go back in time for a little while and see when they first met each other three years prior to when the book takes place. 

          I love small town books because you don’t just get involved with the main character’s lives but the supporting characters as well and this book definitely falls into that category.  Even though I’m only about 25% of the way through I already want to learn more about some of the supporting characters and their lives.

What I Loved

      

        Well I don’t even know where to begin because there was so much that I loved about this story.  I guess the place to start is the best part of the book which is Josh Hudson and the amazingness of this character.  Words cannot describe just how incredibly sexy he is and the love scenes between him and Carissa are very detailed and very steamy and I wouldn't have it any other way!  I definitely have a weakness for a man in uniform and who wouldn't love a hot marine who owns his own business and works with his hands every single day? Then on top of that he tons of beautiful tattoos and they just so happen to be my Achilles heals in real life and in books.   Josh Hudson is one awesome characters and he has me wanting to find out more about River Bend Nebraska immediately! 

          I really like Carissa’s backstory and her reasons for leaving things behind and moving to a new town to start over.  I love that she even though she a fashionable sexy woman she likes to work with her hands and create things of her very own.  I like when female leads aren't these helpless innocent heroines that complain the whole time and expect men to save them.  Carissa is a strong independent woman who has her feet on the ground and has the means to save herself.  I love that she took it upon herself to buy a house, fix it up and then flip it all on her own not waiting till she is married or has a boyfriend to depend on to help. 

          I really enjoyed that there was a lot going on in this story as well, and that there was a little bit of a mystery involved in the plot as well.  It added an element of excitement to the story and I like when stories can keep you on your toes trying to guess who done it. 

Not So Much

          I really enjoyed this story a lot but there were times where I wished there was more depth to the plot and the characters.  It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me why Carissa’s friend Maddie was negative towards Josh, I get that she sees him as a little brother but the way she acted towards him was what a teenager would do not a grown woman who is about to marry into his family.  There was no real explanation for her being so rude all the time. 

          I also wished there was more depth in meeting Carissa’s dad and brother.  You learned a lot about their past and why she kind of split from her family for a while but when they come back on the scene her brother has no lines at all in the book and the father only has a couple.  There should’ve been more scenes involving her family reunion so you don’t just get to know about Carissa you delve more into her brother’s thinking as well as her father. 

          Also I felt that the mystery storyline was kind of anti-climactic.  More attention should have been paid to the vandalism and when everything finally comes to a head it all just happens very quickly and then is swept under the rug like it’s no big deal.  There were no real explanations other than maybe one or two paragraphs devoted to all this crazy stuff happening throughout the book and then nothing.  There was no real follow up and it was never it just all summed up way to fast.  I don’t like when important plots are wrapped up to quickly and are just let go. 

This book was…

Really great!! I really loved the story line, it was very reminiscent of a Kristen Ashley book and since she is one of my favorite authors that are a big compliment from me.    I liked the switching of the point of views and I loved that there were just tons of really great characters in the story.  I really like the start of this book series and I can’t wait to see who the next book is about.  Like I said before I love small town stories because they can lead to tons of funny moments and it gives you opportunity to not just fall in love with the main characters but the all the people that make up the small town as well.

I really like Carissa and Josh starting off this series and the sexual tension between the two was just off the charts.  The sex scenes between the two were freaking awesome and you instantly want more!  I do wish there were more details in the book as far as what Carissa’s apartment looked like, what the flip ended up looking like and more of what Josh’s house was like.  This story could’ve been about fifty pages more to just add more depth to the characters as well as the stories.  All in all though the book was pretty good and definitely a series I want to get more into.  


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