Blog Tour Review & Excerpt:Second Chance Charmer by Brighton Walsh

Second Chance Charmer by Brighton Walsh
Publication Date: March 19^th, 2018
 Genre: Contemporary Romance

Willow Haven’s content. Okay, that’s a lie, but she has tried her damndest. Trouble is, it never sticks. Second oldest in a family her town was named after, she’s always felt the pressure. From the townspeople, from her sisters, but most of all from her daddy—the original Good Old Boy and Havenbrook’s reigning mayor. The only time she didn’t feel that stress had been those blissful months spent in the arms of the resident bad boy. The same one who broke her heart beyond repair when he left without a word.

Life hasn’t come easy for Finn Thomas. He’s had to claw and fight for everything he’s ever had—and truth be told, it hasn’t been much. He spent the first eighteen years of his life living so far from the wrong side of the tracks, he couldn’t even see them through his trailer window. The only thing that ever came easy for him and made his sorry ass happy was the one girl he loved with all his heart. And the one thing he had no choice but to leave behind.

When an opportunity arises to return to his tiny, southern hometown and open the first bar in a formerly dry county, he jumps at the chance. That won’t win him points with the mayor, who’s hell bent on making Finn’s life a nightmare for sullying his namesake. Too bad for Mayor Haven, Finn’s got his sights set on more than just the town, and this time he won’t be scared off quite so easily.

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For more information about Second Chance Charmer visit: http://www.brightonwalsh.com/books/second-chance-charmer/

Excerpt:

Without any conscious thought, Willow’s fingers started tracing the lines of ink on Finn’s skin, and all she could do was watch. He was so solid and warm under her fingertips, his puffs of air growing faster and faster against her neck, then her cheek, then her lips.

And even though it’d been a long time, she knew what was coming a split second before he pressed his mouth against hers. Her sound of protest was lost in the space between their mouths as he swiped his tongue against her lips. And then there was nothing but Finn and his sinful mouth and his body flush against hers. He swept his tongue inside her mouth, and Lord, had he always tasted this good? Had he always kissed this good?

Never breaking away from her mouth, he walked them until Willow’s back was pressed against the wall, and then he just sort of…settled in. His hips held hers against the wall, the length of his erection pressing into her, proving this wasn’t at all one-sided as his hand continued its maddening path along her hip. But then—Lord, then he slipped his thumb under the waistband of her shorts until there was nothing between his rough fingertip and the part of her body forever marked as his. If it were possible, the soft caresses had her melting even further into him.

He kissed her like he was a starving man feasting on his first meal in a month. She’d forgotten how he’d always put his whole body into it, the heat and solidness of him pressing against her, making her feel safe and secure. Finn groaned into her mouth as he deepened the kiss even more, and all she could do was clutch him, one hand fisting the front of his shirt and the other pressed against his side where her tree was eternally imprinted.

“You feel so damn good,” Finn said against her lips.

Willow murmured her agreement into his mouth because there was no denying it. Her body was on fire, her nipples hard points pressing against his chest, her skin lit up from the inside out. And then Finn’s thumb, rubbing maddeningly against her tattoo, slipped to the right until he was as close to the Promised Land as he’d been in a long time. He didn’t try to push it any further, just ran his thumb back and forth right above where she was wet and ready for him until she thought she’d die.

What I thought about Second Chance Charmer

Willow Haven has her hands full with trying to satisfy her father's standards of work in the mayor's office.  She doesn't need the guy that left her ten years ago without an explanation back in her town. When Finn and his twin brother Drew show up as co-owners of the new bar in town, it's not an easy time for her, and her anger is well-placed on Finn as he attempts to charm her back into his life.

Finn definitely knows how to put on the charm and I totally loved the first part of the book as he tries to win a spot back in her good graces. There is still a spark between them and he just has to convince Willow that she should give him another chance.  She tries to stick to her guns, but she falls prey to Finn's attempts to get her back and the course of true love will not be derailed.

Things are looking good for Finn and Willow until Mayor Haven is back in town.  He hasn't forgotten his last interaction with Finn and neither does Finn.  If only they could both keep the details of ten years ago away from Willow... but that just doesn't happen, causing quite a bit of conflict toward the end of the book.

I liked these characters.  Finn and Willow and their respective siblings are very likable. Even though I thought Willow deserved to give Finn a hard time after what he did to her, they also had too much chemistry to stay apart.  On the romance level, this worked very well.  Finn knew exactly how to use his words to melt Willow's resolve and that was very sexy.  

I did have a bit of a problem with things slowing down a bit too much once they gave into their passion. There weren't many surprises in the plot for me, this is one trope I've seen before and it wasn't too hard to see where things were going to end up. I also found myself wishing that some of the love scenes had faded to black instead of giving the reader detail after detail.  Your mileage may vary as they say.  

Overall, this is a solid contemporary romance with likable characters including a smooth talking Finn and a good girl who needs to finally stand up to her daddy, all wrapped up in a sweet second chance love story.  It left me wanting more about some of the other characters in the story, like Finn's brother Drew, and Willow's sister Rory. 

An ARC was provided for review.

Meet Brighton:

Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with her first love: writing. When she’s not pounding away at the keyboard, she’s probably either reading or shopping—maybe even both at once. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children, and, yes, she considers forty degrees to be hoodie weather. Her home is the setting for frequent dance parties, Lego battles, and more laughter than she thought possible.

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