What a delightful story! I was afraid when I first
started it that it would be a NA trope fest, but was
delighted to discover that the characters were
multidimensional and realized. It takes quite a talented
author to be able to handle all the potential pitfalls
that could come with this kind of story and still make me
root for the characters in question. I will definitely be
reading more of Mackenzie Crowne's work in the future.
The premise sounds slightly ridiculous. CC was kidnapped
at a young age (a pretty famous kidnapping, we come to
find out, and I wonder if the Madeline McCann case had
any influence here) and has become a bit of an agoraphobe
in the ensuing years. She's a talented artist who rarely
chooses to interact with other human beings and when she
does she often segues into panic attacks.
After an encounter with Tuck that shows her freedom from
these attacks is possible, they agree to have a dating
experiment and our story takes off from there.
At this point, the plot could have gone so many
problematic places. instead, Crowne expertly convinces us
that CC and Tuck are not only believable people but that
their choices and reactions are believable as well. The
conflicts that arise both internally and externally are
probably a bit predictable, but dealt with so efficiently
and well that I found myself swept up completely in this
ridiculously adorable story.
I didn't read the previous story in this series, but I'm
told that Tuck - a professional football player and I
will totally admit that professional athletes are a
preferred trope of mine in romance novels - showed up in
the previous book. He was a bit of a player in that one
and in the beginning of TO WIN HER TRUST and so to see him find
his own center in his relationship with CC is a lovely
bonus to this story.
Overall, I would recommend TO WIN HER TRUST to anyone who
wants a delightful read with characters to root for.
Can she trust this player with her heart?
Ever since experiencing a childhood trauma, reclusive artist
CC Calhoun has
suffered from panic attacks. But when a fateful kiss from
handsome wide
receiver, Kevin “Tuck” Tucker, is enough to stop one of
those episodes cold,
she wonders if guarding her heart has been the right choice.
Will going on a
test date with Tuck open her to trusting someone for the
first time in
years? Or will she wind up being just another notch in the
football player’s
bedpost?
Tuck has a reputation for charming women into bed, but after
his kiss with
CC, he’s left aching for more. When he proposes a second
date, his
attraction to the sexy blonde looks like the makings of true
love—something
he’s never quite believed in—until now. But when Tuck
discovers CC’s
childhood secrets, will the pro athlete be tough enough to
stay by her side—
or will he betray her hard-earned trust?
Kristen, I'm stoked you enjoyed Tuck and CC's story. Tuck was one of those characters who showed up, grinned, captured my heart, and then won't go away until I told his story. Thanks so much for the kind words.