Now of Never

San Francisco Thunder, Book #4

By Victoria Denault

ISBN# 9781538763155

Author’s Website:  http://www.victoriadenault.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

The Braddock family has been devastated by the death of their father, after a hard battle with ALS.  After the funeral, they all head back to their respective homes to try to pick up the pieces and move on with life, like he would want.  However, in the line to get on their plane Winnie and her long-time boyfriend, Ty, get into an argument.  She realizes that she’s only still with him because it’s easier than ending things, but their relationship is well past its expiration date.  She breaks up with him right there in the airport with an audience!  She decides to go back to the family’s summer cottage and stay there indefinitely.  However, she didn’t expect her childhood nemesis, Holden Hendricks, to be camped out in their driveway.  Her brother hired him to do some renovations when he thought the cottage would be empty.

Holden screwed up his life when he was a kid after his mom died.  He lashed out at everybody including Winnie.  His mistakes ruined his chances of making it in the NHL.  When he got out of juvie his own dad wouldn’t even have anything to do with him.

Now he has come back to where it all began to start his own home renovation company and to make something of his life.  He’s trying to build a relationship with his sister and wants to be part of his nephew’s life.  The problem with small towns though is that nobody believes he’s changed and he’s constantly having to prove he’s different, even to his own kin.

Holden doesn’t know what has Winnie so upset, but he hears her drunk crying every night.  He’d do anything to lift her spirits and make it better for her.  But she hates him.

Eventually Winnie and Holden find a way to co-exist in such close proximity.  She even starts to question if she may have misjudged him.  And, when they give in to their passion they never want to go back to the way things were before!  But can a tiger really change its stripes?  Will Holden’s reputation and Winnie’s lack of trust be their undoing?

“If you’re worried about some weird client-contractor rule you’re breaking, keep in mind I didn’t hire you. I didn’t want you here at all.”

His lip quirks up in the corner. “But now you love me.”

I smile back at him. “I’m pretty sure fucking your client is a bigger broken rule than just having them do manual labor for you.”

I have really enjoyed this series so far and this book was no different.  I loved Holden!  He definitely had a shitty childhood and this story just goes to show that you never know what someone is going through to make them act the way they do.  I also was annoyed with how his sister treated him in this book.  The poor guy could not catch a break when all he wanted to do was to right the mistakes he had made.  And, I knew that one of those mistakes he was trying to fix was going to seriously mess things up for him and Winnie!

This book was mainly about Winnie and Holden, but don’t worry we got to see the other Braddock siblings as well.  I absolutely love Jude and how relentlessly his sisters tease him!  Although he does, his fair share of teasing them as well!

“Were you going to tell me you’re coming to visit?”

“Were you going to tell me you’re banging my contractor?”

“No. It’s none of your business,” I say firmly, trying not to sound shocked that he knows. I’m going to have to murder Sadie or Dixie later, whichever one told him. Maybe killing them both would be easiest. “Why are you coming?”

“Why are you banging the contractor?”

I grit my teeth. He’s in one of those snarky moods that he’s been perfecting since he was a preteen. Back then he used to parrot back everything I said on our twelve-hour drives to Maine from Toronto and it would get me so mad I would scream. If he wants to play, I’ll play to win. “Well, where can I start … he’s built like a tank and hung like a horse.”

“Winnie!”

“Not to mention that scruffy beard and the way it feels between my–”

This was another great read and I hope that the series isn’t over now that all of the Braddocks have significant others!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*