Where I Need to Be by Jamie Hollins Blog Tour

When heroin stole James Foley’s wife and destroyed his marriage, he poured all his energy into raising his young son and running his auto garage. There’s no room in his life for anything else until Megan McKenna walks into his shop. He finds it impossible to resist the sexy school teacher.

After an ugly divorce, Megan lost her home, her job, and a big chunk of her self-respect. With her posh lifestyle now a memory, she starts over by indulging in an unexpected fling with a hard-bodied mechanic.

What begins as something casual turns into something meaningful. But how can their relationship survive when it’s built on half-truths?

James and Megan soon discover that being honest with themselves is just as important as being honest with each other. Only then will their relationship fire on all cylinders.

Book 3
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Even over the wailing guitar of an old Chevelle song, James had no trouble hearing a deep rumbling and god-awful clanking outside the closed bay doors. After dusting off his hands on a shop rag, he turned down the radio in time to hear a car door slam shut.

It was half past eight o’clock on a Friday night. The shop was officially closed. He had half a mind to stay put and let whomever was out there figure that out on their own.

But when he heard the distinct clacking of high heels across his front parking lot, he changed his mind. Not because he knew it was a woman. More because he was hopeful it was one particular woman.

Reaching the front office door, he peered outside to see Megan McKenna scribbling furiously across a scrap of paper. Even in the partial darkness, he could see she was concentrating hard, biting her lower lip as she wrote the note. Something about her biting her lip sent all his blood rushing below his belt.

Jesus, he felt like he was in high school again. He had no idea what type of spell this woman had cast over him, but he found himself thinking about her too often. And looking at her now, he really didn’t have to wonder why that was.

She was fucking gorgeous.

She had the most gloriously long legs he’d ever seen, made even longer by her black patent leather heels. The remnants of the day’s light made Megan’s red cardigan and matching shirt glow above her tight black skirt. He was starting to think he was getting a thing for cardigans too.

Before he started to drool on the glass, he quickly unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. Megan looked up, startled.

“Oh, my gosh,” she breathed. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

That was true, but he liked the way her cheeks got all flushed.

She smiled. “I wasn’t sure what time you closed. When I saw the times on the door, I was going to leave my keys with a note in your drop box. I parked my car over there.” She turned and pointed to her Accord. It was kind of hard to miss. “I was on my way home from work and something broke, so I drove straight here.”

She sounded exhausted.

“What exactly happened to it?” he asked, stepping from the doorway and walking toward the car.

“I had just pulled out of the parking lot and made it about a block before I hit a pothole, and I heard this really loud bang followed by a high-pitched scraping sound. I couldn’t see anything out the back window, and it seemed like all my gauges were okay, so I continued driving.” She stopped beside where he knelt to look under the back of the car. “Within two blocks there was another awful sound, then all of sudden my car sounded like a helicopter.”

James knew even before he looked at it what had happened. “Your muffler fell off.”

Megan sighed. “Is that bad?”

He looked up at her from where he stooped on the pavement—trying not to check out her legs—and nodded. He stood up, dusting off his hands on his thighs. “I’m gonna have to order you a new muffler. I can probably have it here by Tuesday.”

His eyes got caught on where she was biting her lower lip again. “How much is that going to cost me?”

He pulled his gaze away from her lips and saw the worry in her expression. “You’re looking at anywhere between two hundred to two fifty for parts and labor.”

She looked back at her car and sighed. “I guess there’s no way around it, so go ahead. Do you need me to fill out any paperwork?”

“No. But I’ll need your keys.”

She dropped her keys into his grease-stained hands. “Thanks, Mr. Foley. Just give me a call whenever it’s done.”

She heaved her purse up her shoulder before giving him a tired smile and wave. James was too busy watching her walk away when he suddenly realized that she planned to walk home by herself.

“Megan,” he yelled. When she turned toward him, he asked, “How far is your place from here?”

“Oh, it’s just a few blocks. No biggie.”

She had just started to turn back toward the sidewalk when he had a completely stupid idea.

“I was about ready to head home for the night. How about I give you a ride?”

She regarded him for a moment before saying, “You know, after the day I’ve had, I think I’ll take you up on that.”

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary – ☆☆☆☆
Megan McKenna thought she had the perfect life, that is, until she walks in on her husband with another woman. Now that the divorce is over, she is putting her life back together, has a job teaching second grade starting the coming school year, and she just got accepted as a roommate. And hopefully the guy at Foley's Garage can fix the car she bought since it has a lot of problems.

James Foley has worked as a mechanic for as long as he can remember. He bought the garage from his dad when he was ready to retire and business is good. When Megan Dempsey shows up with a deadbeat car, he can't believe her rich husband would let her drive anything like that. So he will fix what needs fixing on her car and tell her what can wait and maybe he can learn her story.

As James and Megan get to know each other better and the attraction grows, they try the casual dating but both want more without pushing the other.

Can Megan make James see that she wants him and she is not trying to hide him from her family? Will James be ready for more of a relationship with Megan? Will they tell Cade, James' son, about them dating? Can they make a second time for them both work out?

I have loved this series and I thought The Best Part of Me (book 1) with Ewan and Quinn was my favorite but after reading this one, I think Megan and James is now my top favorite.

So if you are looking for a great series with love, heartbreak, laughter, and family, then this series is for you, so sit back and enjoy!


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a fantastic conclusion to a great series. In the first two books, Megan was this sister/cousin who moved away, built a perfect life for herself, and did everything right. In this book, Megan is still living away from her family but she finds herself rebuilding her life after a nasty divorce – a divorce she can’t quite bring herself to tell her family about. And no one is more surprised than Megan when the former ice princess finds herself falling for James, a single dad and local mechanic.

This is possibly a more reflective story than the first two. The author has captured the relief, fear, and self-loathing that anyone who has been through a divorce will immediately recognise. Both James and Megan bring baggage to a new relationship, but there is also joy in this story as Megan discovers her inner strength and creates a new and independent life for herself. I loved watching Megan go a little wild as she explored her freedom – Megan on the back of James’ bike, Megan at a rock concert, Megan hosting Thanksgiving for the staff at a tattoo shop – she’s an inspiring female lead and I really loved her.

Both James and Megan are wary of relationships. James’ priority is his son and Megan is focused on building a life for herself. But these two are brilliant together. There are a couple of seriously sexy scenes in this story but it is probably lower heat than the first two. I enjoyed the believable hook-up to happily ever after storyline and I really enjoyed the slow, sweet romance between Megan and James.

Readers need to read Megan’s brother Sean’s story in book two before starting this one. I was only able to understand Megan’s overwhelming fear of disappointing her parents because I’d seen Sean’s interactions with their parents in the first book. Sean’s perception of Megan’s life and Megan’s reality are miles apart and I really enjoyed the way the author explores sibling and parent/child relationships across these two books.

For me, the only thing that let this story down was the sickly sweet series epilogue at the end. These ‘few years later’ scenes are now expected at the end of any m/f romance series but I hated seeing such interesting characters (especially Darcy from the second book) forced into a bland, suburban, and domestic happily ever after.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

James and Megan are both starting over in a way. James had a rough start to his family. Despite having an amazing child, a son, he is still hurting over the fact that his wife turned to drugs and wasn't able to kick the habit.

Megan is a teacher who has never really struggled for anything. However, now that she finds herself on her own, without money, without a husband, and seeing what truly makes her happy, she is a little gun shy when it comes to relationships.

This was just an okay story for me. I liked that the characters weren't super young. I also liked that the characters had baggage and knew how to have adult conversations.

Overall, this was a sweet story and it was a quick read.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third in the series, and whilst you could read it as a standalone (in my opinion) there are references to the previous couples, particularly towards the end of the book.

In this installment the focus is on Megan McKenna, who we met very briefly before, and who is married to a hot shot in Chicago. However, we very soon learn that is no longer the case, and she has fallen on hard times. She is inevitably struggling with her new normal, in as much as it was unexpected, but she is clearly a well-educated and self-sufficient woman.

James owns his own garage, and has worked on Megan's car before, so he is a little surprised to find her driving a beaten up old car. Until he finds out about the divorce... thanks to her ex-husband coming into the garage at the same time. She is, however, completely out of his league.

Fate has other ideas, and we get to experience a budding relationship, from both sides, as both struggle to deny the attraction, and remain casual. It is at times funny, but mostly rather sad, that two lovely people have been so damaged by spouses in the past that they are so reserved. As in many situations, communication would have saved a lot of heart ache, but that is what romance readers thrive on... and a good dose of hot and steamy passion – which these two are not shy of either!

The epilogue is both satisfying and leads one to think of what comes next too – which is both perfect and infuriating (in a good way!).

A satisfying and chemistry laden romance, with some great side characters such as Abel and Callie, and a brilliantly named guy called Poe!

Also Available in the McKenna Series

Book 1
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our The Best Part of Me post.

Book 2
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Not in My Wildest Dreams Blog Tour.

Jamie Hollins was born and raised in rural Northeast Ohio. After graduate school, she embarked on a perilous career in Human Resources where she met plenty of real life characters. When she’s not writing or chasing after her toddler, she enjoys reading and golfing. Jamie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and their dog, Winston.

Connect with Jamie

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Where I Need to Be (McKenna #3) by Jamie Hollins to read and review for this tour.

Not in My Wildest Dreams by Jamie Hollins Blog Tour

It really sucks to be in love with someone who sees you as nothing more than a friend. Darcy Owens knows this from personal experience. From the moment she met Sean McKenna as a shy ten-year-old, he’s owned her heart. So when he asks for her help with an important construction project, she can’t say no.

Building a boutique hotel on Boston’s waterfront is a career-making opportunity, and Sean needs Darcy’s interior design expertise. She’s incredibly talented, and there is no one he trusts more. He knows he can always count on his childhood friend, but doesn’t know why he’s thinking about her tight skirts and blue eyes instead of tight deadlines and blueprints.

When Sean and Darcy’s excitement about their work turns into an entirely different kind of excitement, it’s a sexy surprise. But they soon realize that building a new relationship is more challenging than building a new hotel, especially when life-long habits and old insecurities create cracks in the foundation.

Book 2
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Mallory dug her hand into the mug and pulled out the next question. Her eyes scanned the paper and she laughed.

“What is your preferred shape when shaving your pubic hair?”

Quinn spit her beer back into her glass, almost choking on it. “Darcy!”

“You first, Quinn,” Darcy smiled.

Quinn’s eyes were as big as saucers, the whites totally surrounding her light gray irises.

“Pass!”

“Figures,” Darcy teased. “Okay, I’ll go first again. I try to keep it mostly in a little triangle shape. But I trim it pretty short so it doesn’t get too out of control down there.”

Quinn was turning three shades of purple. Mallory and Jessi both laughed hysterically, covering their faces with their hands.

“You are shameless!” Quinn yelled, looking like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Who’s shameless?”

All heads turned to see Ewan and Sean McKenna walk through the front door. Darcy’s smile froze on her face as she stared at the two cousins who looked absolutely nothing alike. One was dark and one was fair. Both were tall, fit, and drop-dead gorgeous. Ewan was a usual suspect on the weekends. Sean, however, was not.

Damn, I’m not drunk enough to handle this.

“Darcy’s shameless,” Quinn said, now with a little grin on her face.

“Of course she is,” Sean said, smiling his million-dollar smile. “She’s Darcy.”

Nope. Definitely not drunk enough to deal with Sean McKenna.

That smile was one of Sean’s many highly effective and deadly weapons in his arsenal against the opposite sex. It had been eighteen years, and Darcy’s breath still caught every time she laid eyes on him. Strong, sculpted shoulders and a chest that narrowed into a lean and muscled abdomen.

No matter what he had on, his body looked amazing. Long, toned legs, shapely ass. His list of sexy and virile attributes could go on and on.

Combine that list with his sunny blond hair and his nonstop sense of humor, and he was a one-man woman-eater. And she didn’t mean that as an innuendo, although she could guess it was fairly accurate if the rumors served him right.

He had the confidence and charisma to charm Mother Teresa’s panties off. He was just that good.

Not that Darcy knew what it was like for Sean to charm her panties off, even though she’d been dreaming about it ever since she’d met him on her first day of school in Ballagh, a sleepy village south of Boston. She’d seen all his tricks and moves. But only because she’d helplessly watched him work them on other girls.

Sean had been the reason several lucky girls had given up their hymens. Ironically, he was and remained to be the reason she still had hers.

Call it sad. Call it impossible. Call it an abomination. Darcy was a twenty-eight-year-old virgin. It was hard to have a physical relationship when all she did was compare other men to Sean. She didn’t mean to do it. She just did.

And if that didn’t fucking split her heart in two, the fact that he considered her one of his best friends did the trick. No guy ever fucked his best gal pal. It was in the guy code of conduct or something.

Ewan pushed by his cousin, bent down, and gave Quinn a hard kiss on the lips before whispering something in her ear that made her giggle. His smile for his girlfriend was warm and made promises that told Darcy she’d likely need to sleep with the TV on. Not that they were ever loud when the darkly handsome and brooding Ewan was getting it on with her roommate. But Darcy didn’t want to risk hearing anything.

Quinn smiled up at him. “We’re almost done.”

“Done with what?” Sean asked, pulling up a chair to the table.

“We’re playing Dirty Dozen.” Mallory’s words were slightly slurred.

Sean looked over at her and raised his brows. “Dirty Dozen? Sounds scandalous. Do tell.”

Darcy noticed the way Sean’s eyes lit up. He would be the only guy she knew who would use a word like scandalous.

“We have to answer twelve questions,” Jessi answered him. “The naughtier the better.”

“Jesus,” Ewan muttered, shaking his head as he started toward the living room to watch TV.

“Naughty questions, huh?” Sean replied. “And why haven’t I been invited to join in on the fun before?”

“Because you don’t have a vagina,” Darcy deadpanned.

Sean twisted his lips at her and raised a brow.

“I have intimate knowledge of vaginas. That should count for something.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. Before she could tell Sean that no dicks were allowed at their Girls’ Night In, Jessi chimed in. “Of course you can play with us. It‘ll be fun to get a guy’s perspective.”

With the exception of Quinn, Darcy’s friends didn’t know about her feelings for Sean. Jessi and Mallory, no doubt, thought he was the hottest thing since Tabasco.

Pretty much everyone did.

Her friends had met him a few times over the years through parties someone or other had thrown. Sean very rarely ever came down to Providence, where Darcy had just finished her graduate degree and Quinn was still trudging through hers. He lived in Boston, where he had earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees, and was now partner in a general contracting firm.

“Okay, hit me,” Sean invited. “What’s this shameless question of Darcy’s?”

“What shape do you shave your pubic hair?” Darcy challenged. She should have known that he wouldn’t even bat an eye.

“Great question,” he immediately answered. “Personally, I just trim my pubes. However, if you want to know my preference for how a woman should shave hers—”

“We don’t,” Darcy quickly said.

“Yes, we do!” both Mallory and Jessi yelled at the same time.

Sean smiled at them both before continuing. “It’s gotta be tidy down there. Shaved is okay, but waxed is better. And it needs to have some shape. I think it’s unnatural for a woman to be completely bare. I personally prefer something I like to call the Martini Glass, right above the—” He stopped suddenly and frowned. “I should illustrate. Can I get a pen and paper?”

“No!” Darcy cut in.

Sean shrugged, clearly loving how uncomfortable she was.

“My turn to ask a question.” He reached in to pull out a piece of paper. Sean smiled as he read it to himself before turning that blinding grin on the rest of the table.

“God, this is a great game,” he laughed. “Okay, the question is: When, where, how, and to whom did you lose your virginity?”

All the blood seemed to drain from Darcy’s head.

She’d been surprised that this question hadn’t come up the first few times they’d played the Dirty Dozen. It wasn’t that she was trying to keep her virginity a secret. She just never talked about it. Why the hell did it have to come up now, when Sean was here, for Christ’s sake?

Fuck, she was nowhere near drunk enough for this.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Child abuse

Sean is your typical clueless guy. He is constantly surrounded by beautiful women, but they all lack a key feature – depth. He loves his group of friends and his brother, Ewan. In fact, he's very happy when Quinn joins the group, but it makes his life seem even less fulfilled.

Darcy is amazing. She's funny, feisty, brash, smart, and gifted. She has been in love with Sean forever and despite those feelings, they've been able to have a great friendship. But when she grows closer to Quinn, she wants what Ewan and Quinn have. She's tired of having someone not invested in her. With a past like hers, she has hidden scars that run deep.

Sean and Darcy set out to work on a great project together – Sean using his skills and Darcy hers. When their relationship becomes more than a friendship, Sean has a difficult time navigating these uncharted waters. Essentially, he's a mess and ends up hurting Darcy needlessly. My heart really went out to her because she was trying to give him an out. I can understand the whole thing from her perspective.

This was a great story with a complex relationship that developed very organically. I can't wait to see what comes next!


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars of wild dreams

This is the second in the series, and although it features a different couple, it does follow on directly from the first book – which is also an excellent read – so I recommend that you read them in order.

We met Darcy in The Best Part of Me, and she and Quinn are now living together in Providence whilst they finish their studies and set up their respective businesses. Ewan is still in Ballagh running the pub, and meeting with Quinn whenever they have time. Darcy's long time best friend is Sean, Ewan's cousin. She has been in love with him since he defended her on her first day at his school, aged 10, but he has never seen her as anything other than a friend.

But now Sean's business has a chance at a new hotel project and needs an interior designer, and he just knows that Darcy is the person for the role. She is perfect for the job and impresses everyone with her skills, and makes Sean see her in a completely new light. Told from both points of view, we get to witness his confusion at the feelings he has, as she is paid attention by other men. As things heat up, can they both be at the same place emotionally as well as physically, or not, and if not where will it leave their friendship? Read on and find out.

I really enjoyed the hotel business elements too, and the English connection. We also got to see how Quinn and Ewan's relationship is developing, and more of the McKenna clan. Megan, Sean's 'perfect' sister, makes a couple of appearances too.

Very enjoyable read, and a hint as to what might be coming next – I am looking forward to reading that too. Thank you, Ms. Hollins.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars

This second story is a much more mature and polished addition to the McKenna series. Sean is a contractor running a growing construction business and Darcy, his childhood friend, is the interior designer on his most recent project. This time round, both leads are definitely adults and much of the action focuses on their professional lives.

Darcy is a complicated character. I’m not sure she’s entirely the same character we met in book one, but I love the confident small business owner much more than the brash and gossipy version of the same character in the first book. Beneath her beautiful shoes and fabulous wardrobe, Darcy hides a dark history and low self-confidence. She feels real and relevant. I absolutely love her.

Sean is also more serious than he seemed in the first book. He is an ambitious career man trying to build his business without losing sight of himself and his priorities. He values Darcy’s friendship, but working with her, he finds himself noticing her as a woman for the first time. Sean struggles with a playboy reputation and a lack of sensitivity, but he is completely loveable.

These two are perfect together. They are playful and silly together and this is a true friends-to-lover story. The conflict feels real and the connection between them is special. I much preferred this story to the first one. While familiar characters reappear here, this has none of the new adult feel that I struggled with in book one. The female relationships that annoyed me first time round are missing here and instead, we see a more mature and supportive relationship between Darcy and Quinn.

I really enjoyed this story and I’m looking forward to the next book.


Mary – ☆☆☆☆
Darcy Owens had a horrible childhood, until she came to live with her grandmother at the age of 10. On the first day of school she meets Sean McKenna. And for Darcy, it was love at first sight. For Sean, it was just another friend. Forward 20 years into the future and Darcy is one of Sean's closest friends. But she has loved him from day one and still does.

Sean McKenna has the ultimate manwhore vibe going. He sleeps around and doesn't care who knows or sees. He is bold, self-assured in his job, and confident. But when it comes to his personal life, he is scared to death of screwing it up and making someone else unhappy.

When Darcy finally spills the beans and tells Sean she loves him, he is speechless, can't understand what she is saying, and it takes him a few days to process it. She tries to tell him she didn't mean it and they end up doing the deed. She gets mad thinking he regrets it, but he doesn't know how he feels.

Can Sean and Darcy figure out what they want? Will they end up hurting each other in the process? This story is funny at times and it will even break your heart sometimes. I loved Darcy, she was a spit-fire and didn't take shit from anyone. But Sean was a different kind of hero, being unsure some of the time made me love him even more.

This is the second book for me from this author and I am loving this series. I can't wait for Sean's sister, Megan's story, Where I Need to Be, due to release late spring 2017.

Also Available in the McKenna Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our The Best Part of Me post.

Jamie Hollins was born and raised in rural Northeast Ohio. After graduate school, she embarked on a perilous career in Human Resources where she met plenty of real life characters. When she’s not writing or chasing after her toddler, she enjoys reading and golfing. Jamie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and their dog, Winston.

Connect with Jamie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the Not in My Wildest Dreams Blog Tour HERE.

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Not in My Wildest Dreams (McKenna #2) by Jamie Hollins to read and review for this tour.

The Best Part of Me by Jamie Hollins

He’s content to stay in the shadows…

Ewan McKenna’s days and nights are filled with drink orders, beer kegs, and noisy bar customers. Now that he’s put his tumultuous past behind him, he’s more than happy to live a solitary existence running his family’s pub. After years of walking the line between good and bad, Ewan now needs control and order to rest peacefully at night. What he doesn’t need is the fiery, intriguing woman who’s found her way into his thoughts and his bed.

She’s ready to step back into the light…

Spending the summer getting her hands dirty in her aunt’s garden in a tiny town outside Boston is exactly what Quinn Adler needs. She’s ready to shake off the grief of losing the people who meant the most to her and to start feeling again. What she doesn’t expect is to find a man who sets all her senses on fire. When the pieces seem to be nearly in place for a bright future, everything falls apart.

Will Quinn’s love be bright enough to cut through the darkness of Ewan’s past?

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Ewan is kind of a jerk. He's self-involved, gruff, very rough around the edges, and he doesn't really take into consideration anyone's feelings but his own. He had a checkered past and he tries now to keep on the straight and narrow. However, that also means that he is on the radar of his once employer, whom he is trying to keep away from.

Quinn is naive, smart, witty, and doesn't really take crap from anyone. While their meeting was one of coincidence, she sees past his exterior – she sees beneath the facade that he tries so hard to hide behind. I like that she was taking time for herself. She has a tragic history, as of recent and is simply trying to heal.

When these two get together, they have major chemistry. However, with all love stories, there is angst and miscommunication, fear and love. Quinn and Ewan have to figure out if what they have is worth the fight they know they will have to wage.

I think that these characters come together well – it's not an insta-love relationship and they both work at it. I can't wait to see what book two has to offer.


Mary – ☆☆☆☆
Ewan McKenna is the bad boy in this story and he believes he doesn't deserve anything good in his life. So he runs his uncle’s pub, takes a lover when the need arises, but nothing serious in the relationship department.

Quinn Adler has been through a really bad year. After her parents were killed, she quit school and grieved. After help from a therapist, she is now spending the summer with her aunt in a small town south of Boston. Quinn was going to college for landscape design and she loved working in the dirt and with all types of flowers and trees. So while at her aunt's house she is going to redo the backyard, to give her aunt a beautiful oasis right out her back door.

When Quinn meets Ewan, there is a connection that neither wants to acknowledge or wants to pursue. But the pull between them is so strong that they can't stay away from each other.

Can Quinn break through Ewan's barrier and show him he is worth being loved? Will his past destroy a future they might have? Will Quinn go back to school and finish her degree?

I really enjoyed this story, it kept me wanting more until the end. This is a first for me from this author and I can't wait to read the next one with Sean and Darcy. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
The attraction between Ewan, a brooding bartender, and Quinn, a grieving garden designer, is hot. I enjoyed learning about Quinn’s profession and both characters have interesting back stories. I’m not sure either Quinn or Ewan fully came to life for me, but their romance is sweet.

There are a couple of steaming hot sex scenes in this story. Both Ewan and Quinn struggle with romantic relationships and both have very complicated histories. There might have been a little too much angst and a little too much brooding for my tastes.

The angst in this story is offset by Ewan and Quinn’s friends and family members. As a grad student, Quinn is almost young enough to pull off the cutesy, sorority-style friendships, but the girl talk did my head in by the end of the book. Ewan’s family is easier to like. I enjoyed his relationship with his cousin and I liked his aunt and uncle. All of the secondary characters help to reduce the intensity of the romance and I appreciated the lighter interludes.

Every now and then I run into books with Irish-American characters and settings that are more Irish than anything I’ve experienced in Ireland. I don’t quite get it and I’m pretty sure it would come across as racist if any other group of Americans was stereotyped so completely. Here, Ewan’s family runs an Irish bar, they’re entangled with the Irish mob, they drink Irish whiskey, and they speak with Irish accents. Ewan himself is an easy caricature of a brooding Irishman. To a UK reader, it’s all a little bit odd.

This is a sweet, simple romance. I enjoyed parts of it, but it never fully captured my imagination. I’m interested enough to see how this series progresses – Sean and Darcy’s story should be interesting.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the first in a series – and I loved it and was very happy that I had the second book in the series also lined up on my reading list.

We meet the McKenna family – from Ewan's point of view. He works for his uncle and considers his cousin, Sean, a younger brother. Ewan is a man who has chosen a simple life, running a pub for his uncle. He uses up aggression by fighting, usually with someone taking bets.

Quinn is recovering from the loss of her parents, in the most tragic of circumstances. Unable to take Pittsburgh anymore, so she goes to her aunt's for a while. Keeping herself busy landscaping the gardens, she gets a chance to heal. An unexpected encounter with Ewan in a dark alleyway starts an attraction that affects them far more than either of them expected.

As the dark in Ewan's past rears its ugly head, and Quinn finds herself falling for him, even when she knows it is hopeless, things get very complicated – but also very good! There was a real feeling of community developing, with Darcy and Sean being great side characters and adding some much needed humour when things got difficult. Darcy also turns into a good friend, something that Quinn had forgotten she once had.

A really good mix of romance, intense attraction, and steamy action. Throw in family and a dark past, and the reader is in for a treat. The story leaves us in the perfect place for book two.

Jamie Hollins was born and raised in rural Northeast Ohio. After graduate school, she embarked on a perilous career in Human Resources where she met plenty of real life characters. When she’s not writing or chasing after her toddler, she enjoys reading and golfing. Jamie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and their dog, Winston.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Best Part of Me (McKenna #1) by Jamie Hollins to read and review.