So Tough to Tame by Victoria Dahl

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Dahl has been one of my favorite contemporary writers for quite some time and I've even <gasp> bought a few of her books new in the past few years (much preferring library and used books).  But this latest series has been nothing but infuriating. I had high hopes for this book but it didn't start off well.
Walker Pearce is a real cowboy. Even down to the part where he's sleeping with his boss's wife. Well, he's sort of trying not to, but he's actually just been fired so now he can start sexxxing her up. But the thrill is gone so... maybe he won't now. What the what? This is the hero we're supposed to be impressed with? Maybe the heroine will be somebody better.
Charlotte, Charlie, Allington has had something go wrong her in her life. Something that caused her to come home to Jackson Hole where she was once part of a promising clique of girls. A clique that now delights in looking down on her. And doesn't she feel sorry for herself? Yes, yes she does. Because we get to hear about it through her POV. Nope, not really loving her either.
And unfortunately, the description of Jackson is off as well. I'm sure if you didn't live close by, you would enjoy the description. But actually knowing the town... Meh.
So Charlie is rebuilding a life, Walker is helping her while she helps him. Just not a book that I connected with.
But I love Dahl and I can't wait for her next series. Hoping it's better than this one.

Too Hot to Handle by Victoria Dahl

So much better than the previous book in this series (Close Enough to Touch) but still not up to the level of my favorite Victoria Dahl book. Merry, the heroine of this book, is the best friend of Grace, the heroine from the previous book. She is definitely easier to connect to although she still wasn't completely likeable. A lot of this is personal prejudice about an inexpert people trying to do restoration. If she really loves this ghost town, she should be trying to get an expert in to save it. #Reallifeintruding
Merry is supposedly a "good girl" and Shade, the hero, is supposedly a cad. But, we don't really see either of those qualities in these two. Merry is the one who is trying to keep the relationship light and the worst thing Shane does is hide that he's the actual owner of the ghost town Merry is trying to restore. And he doesn't want it to be fixed. She, on the other hand, is sneaky (the mailbox, trying to get "secret" work done on the town) and vacillates between wanting and not wanting him, then hiding the relationship from her friends.
And on top of all that, the condom use is only... okay. Used in the first encounter and not thereafter.
And yet, I liked the book. A HUGE step up from the last one, as I mentioned before. I think most readers won't have the issues I had with the conservation and therefore will be more willing to suspend disbelief.

Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl

Victoria Dahl is one of my favorite contemporary authors. "Lead Me On" was a great example of using a nontraditional hero (one who is covered with tattoos) and heroine (one who is very attracted to the burly, brawny, biker type. I really need to re-read that book).

This book is the same. Grace Barrett is a makeup artist, one with purple hair (as we are reminded about over and over in most of the advertising for this book.) She's running away from Hollywood and her troubles there. Cole Rawlins is a cowboy who was also part of the Hollywood scene; he also ran.

And that's my trouble with this book. I didn't connect with eithe Cole or Grace. In fact, for three-quarters of the book, I absolutely disliked Grace. We don't get any explanation for her actions until the end. I wondered if I was suffering from not allowing the heroine the same latitude I might give a grumpy hero, something Podcast 31 from Smart Bitches Trashy books discusses. However, I would have given Grace that same latitude had I known her situation earlier in the book. As it was, I only finished the book because it was an ARC from NetGalley.

And I'm glad I did. Victoria Dahl is a skilled wordsmith and writes hot, hot sex scenes (not always to my taste, but I know they're well-written.) Will this book be a favorite? No. Will I continue to read this series and all of Victoria Dahl's future writings? Hell, yes.