I just can't finish this. Too much of the same I think. ( )

This felt more real than a lot of other contemporaries, and it was a lovely, warm read. The characters were true, and their story was simple yet compelling. ( )

4.5 stars.

Taking the Heat is another scorching hot installment in Victoria Dahl's fabulous Jackson: Girls' Night Out series. In this outing, newcomer Gabe MacKenzie is paired up with Veronica Chandler and their romance is a delightful blend of light-hearted banter and fiery sex scenes.

Veronica Chandler's dream of living in New York was not everything she hoped it would be so she returned to Jackson where she writes an advice column for the local paper. Although her column is well received, she feels like a huge fraud handing out advice when her own life is such a mess. She lives in fear that everyone will see the insecurities and inexperience she keeps carefully hidden. Her insecurities stem from her emotionally distant father and the long term bullying she endured from her ex-stepbrother. But it is her lack of experience with relationships that makes her feel completely inadequate when it comes to dispensing romantic advice. It is not until Veronica decides to take her own advice that she begins to become more self confident and find the courage to stand up for herself.

Gabe absolutely loves everything about Wyoming, but his time in Jackson is limited due to family obligations. Despite his enjoyment of rock climbing and other outdoor activities, he has never regretted becoming a librarian and he is still very enthusiastic about his career. He is not looking for a romance but he is very intrigued by Veronica and he cannot seem to stay away from her. Gabe is a really great guy but he also likes to take care of people so he has a tendency to keep unpleasant things to himself. Which turns out to be a bit of problem in his burgeoning relationship with Veronica.

The romance between Veronica and Gabe is so much fun to watch unfold. Although Veronica wants to rush headlong into a physical relationship, Gabe insists on taking things slow. Their scenes are full of sexual tension and mercy, it is amazing that Gabe is able to resist Veronica as long as he does!

However, there is much more to Gabe and Veronica's relationship than witty dialogue, sexy flirting and naughty love scenes. With Gabe, Veronica does not hide who she is and she is completely honest with him about her past which is not exactly all sunshine and roses. Gabe has a lot of excuses for not coming clean about his future plans and while he is a great listener, he deflects the conversation away from anything too personal about himself. It is only a matter of time before everything blows up in his face and when it does, Veronica's reaction is much worse than he expected.

Taking the Heat is another fast paced and engaging romance by Victoria Dahl. Veronica and Gabe are fabulously developed characters with realistic flaws and issues to overcome. Their sex scenes are deliciously naughty and sizzling hot. It is another non-traditional but completely satisfying love story that old and new fan of the Jackson: Girls' Night Out series are going to love. ( )

Victoria Dahl is an author that I have read a couple of times in the past. Her writing I enjoyed. Found it to be sultry, sensitive and comedic. She takes deep subjects and writes her interpretations on paper. Her stories are actually quite good. I received an ARC of Taking the Heat in exchange for an honest review. Veronica allowed others perceptions of her to shape who she became. As an adult she was still trying to prove herself to people who didn't even matter. Gabe is determined to show himself and his family he is more than what they want for him. Perception plays a big part in this story. However what neither realized is that in order to become who you were meant to be, you have to allow your heart to guide you. This is a really awesome story with a beautiful underlying message. ( )

3.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Veronica couldn't wait to escape her small town after years of being bullied in high school but the big city of New York, wasn't all she dreamed it would be. After a couple years she admits defeat and comes back home, to an apartment and job her dad has all arranged for her. Lately, she has felt like she's been taking the saying "fake it until you make it" too far and has lost sight of who she really is. When the hot new librarian in town, Gabe, brings her a desperately needed drink, she starts to think he may be able to fill her other desperate needs, too.

Taking the Heat is third in the Jackson: Girls' Night Out series and if you have read the other previous books you will remember Veronica; she is befriended by the other heroines of the books and makes fleeting appearances. The hallmark of this series so far has been strong and self-assured women but as Veronica is around ten years younger (27yrs old) than the other women, she hasn't quite had the life experience to gain her confidence and her story deals more with finding her footing in life. Veronica lost her mother when she was younger to cancer and her father was the epitome of gruff, "buck up ", and don't let them know your weaknesses. When her father remarried, her step-brother took out his displeasure on her and verbally and emotionally bullied her at home and school. These instances left scars and has ever since had Veronica doubting her own worth. It takes meeting Gabe and his forthrightness in telling her he likes her wackiness, for her to be able to spread her wings.

Gabe, as I mentioned, is the new librarian in town, he is self-assured, laid-back, and dangerously intrigued by Veronica as he gets to know her better. He also has his own set of family problems, his dad expects him to move back to New York City and run the family business. Gabe feels completely stifled in the city and loves the great outdoors of Jackson, Wyoming where he can indulge in his favorite past time of rock climbing but he feels he owes it to his father, so after this year of freedom in Jackson, he plans on moving back to New York. Gabe and Veronica both have their family issues, which are one of the aspects of Dahl's writing that I love so much, our characters don't exist in a vacuum, and they have layers and depths. The story shows and explains the building bricks of our characters, which creates a richer experience.

Veronica and Gabe have the humorous, witty, sexual banter, and general top notch dialogue that you would expect from a Dahl novel but I did feel they were missing the deeper emotional connection I felt from the previous couples. It's no secret that Dahl's books tend to feature more than the average intimate scene and they way she writes them, I'm definitely not going to complain but in this book, I felt like the focus was too much on this aspect. This could be because I didn’t feel the couple's emotional connection so it started to feel like empty/filler sex scenes. Veronica admits to Gabe she is a virgin and instead of the growing sexual attraction mixed with emotional building up, the focus was a lot on her virginity and losing it instead of their actual joining because of a growing closeness.

Their eventual issues with their perspective families come to ahead and while we don't get direct happily ever afters, you'll feel good about where the characters look to be headed. Gabe and Veronica's relationship issues get wrapped up somewhat easily and again, you'll be left feeling good about where they seem to be headed even if there isn't a nice finished bow on top. Dahl writes some of the best contemporary romance out there right now, I just think compared to the other stories in the series, this one fell a bit short on the emotional connection aspect. However, if you want a heroine learning to accept herself and shine and a bearded good guy librarian who when together make true on their dirty talk, look no further. In fact, go back and read the previous books in the series, Fanning the Flames; Looking For Trouble; and Flirting With Disaster. This series is chalk full of issues that will hit you right in the feels, amazing heroines, and their steamy escapades with their hot heroes.
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