3 stars-- Caught Up In RAINE by L.G. O'Connor

So Caught Up In Raine one was going pretty well...until it wasn't. The quick of it is that Jillian is an author and one day after a visit with her aunt she runs into a young man who's not only perfect for her upcoming book cover but is the spitting image of the first love she lost in an accident years earlier. And on a whim she asks him to be her cover model. There's an instant attraction despite the many years separating them and one thing leads to another and, well, naughty things commence!

Alright the good stuff?

I loved the hero, Raine. He's a young guy that has been through hell many times over and yet never gives up. Hard working and solid. He's the kind of guy you could easily fall for and would make a girl go all goofy without even trying. And Jillian was good for the most part, as well. She's suffered many losses in her life and struggles with it something fierce. It was good seeing her live a little and do something unexpected. I liked that she was a writer as well. Always fun :)

And I like them together. There's an 18 year age gap-- he's 24, she's 42. And it could bring an interesting dynamic as they got to know each other and dealt with both their feelings and how society saw them. The age gap was more an issue for her until he put her in his place which I appreciated. They were sweet and steamy in equal turns and brought out the good bits in each other.

Jillian arches a brow at me. "I'm listening."

"Did you just give me the 'mom' look?" I say, frowning.

She narrows her eyes. "That would be impossible, since you already told me I wasn't old enough to be your aunt or your mother. Or are you taking that back?"

The way she says it makes me chuckle. "No. I'm not taking it back. If you were my aunt or my mom, I'd have to protect you from all my horndog friends."

"Was that a backhanded compliment?" she asks as her golden eyes sparkle.

"Actually, it was a front-handed compliment. Will you do me a favor? Stop obsessing over your age. You're an attractive woman, period. If you're thinking men my age won't date you, think again. True, some won't, but I can guarantee you, plenty will. As I recall, I asked you to dinner, didn't I? Now, let's move on." I inish with a wave of my hand.

Her head snaps back and her mouth falls open. "I'm not sure I know how to respond to that."

"Don't. That's the whole point. You don't need to respond to it. Just accept it, and feel good."

The sex scenes were nice but I totally rolled my eyes at his #Supercock and them having full out energetic sex days after he's broken his ribs. Um...no. lol

Now the issue...

This came in towards the end when the author opted to bring in a SERIOUS plot device.

She winds up pregnant since they've not used condoms once and instantly decides she's going to have an abortion and not tell the hero despite knowing he wants kids. She doesn't have one but lets him believe she did which devastates him.

 It felt out of place and just didn't work at all. I lost all respect for the heroine and both her attitude and behavior. Things worked out after a while but it happened so close to the end of the book she was never able to recover in my eyes. She didn't even have a good grovel to try and make things right with him. Meh. So that took this down to a generous 3 stars for me since I left the book feeling less than satisfied. I may edit that down to a 2-2.5. Not sure. I enjoyed the earlier parts of the book so trying to keep that in mind. But at 1am I'm going to bed a very unsatisfied reader despite a HEA :/

Forty-two and widowed, romance writer Jillian Grant believes hospitals equal death. Plagued by loss and convinced more is imminent when her aunt ends up in critical condition after heart surgery; she has come to equate the absence of pain with happiness. When she spots a hot, young landscaper working on the hospital grounds with an eerie resemblance to the male lead in her next novel, she convinces him to pose as her cover model.

Working multiple jobs to put himself through college, twenty-four-year-old Raine MacDonald is no stranger to loss. Behind his handsome face and rockin’ body lies family tragedy and agonizing secrets. When circumstances put him back in the path of his abusive father, fate delivers Jillian as his unwitting savior. Thing is, when he thinks of her, his thoughts are far from platonic.

Despite their age difference, Jillian and Raine discover they’re more alike than they could ever imagine. But torn between facing her own fears and grasping a chance at happiness, Jillian makes a soul-shattering decision that threatens to blow their world apart.

 

Challenges: Pick Your Genre (contemporary) | New to You (author) | Pervy Girl (older heroine) | Goodreads