Book Review: Saving a Legend by Sarah Robinson

One of my favorite parts of the first book in this series was the family. I was hooked by the Kavanagh family dynamic and wanted more. This second book didn’t disappoint.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
After he gets out of jail, a fighter falls in love with a struggling flower shop owner. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Bad Boy Comes Home
Kieran got into some trouble a few years ago that landed him in jail. Now he’s out, and though he’s committed to staying out of trouble, he also has no idea what he wants to do with his life. He takes a construction job for his brother, but in the scheme of things, he feels lost. It doesn’t help that he’s also dealing with having missed out on a big chunk of time he could have spent with his family.

Kids as Love Catalysts
While doing court-ordered community service, he meets Shea, an autistic girl being raised by her sister Fiona, who also happens to be the flower shop owner that Kieran is attracted to at first sight. Fiona can only focus on making ends meet and taking care of her sister, so she doesn’t have time to date. But the attraction is mutual, and she’s able to let her guard down when she sees how good Kieran is with Shea.

Like Real Life
Everything about this book felt real, including the fact that nothing felt easy. Fiona’s struggles with her sister were genuine, and I appreciated that the author did her research into the subject of autism. Kieran’s struggles are also real, and at one point, he gets into trouble again while on probation (though his intentions are good), and there was no deus ex machina that magically appeared to save him from the consequences.

Irish Families
The Kavanagh family makes me happy. They have struggles and arguments and life isn’t perfect, but they’re strong and know they can rely on each other, even when things get rough. I loved how welcoming the mother was and how open the family was to Fiona and Shea. Some of the subject matter was rough, but the solidarity and support of the family was part of what made the story one of hope.

The Romance Factor
I’m all about that strong alpha male who doesn’t want to see the woman he loves upset, and Kieran and Fiona’s relationship was pretty much that. He’s supportive of her and wants to help her in any way he can. Okay, so he doesn’t tell her from the beginning he was in jail, but that plays more into him trying to get his life back on track than him trying to hurt her. 4/5

The Steam Factor
Though not overly frequent, the sexy times were pretty explicit, including some dirty talk. 4/5

Final Thoughts
There are still a couple brothers to get through, including Kieran’s twin, who seems a little over the top when it comes to women. I’m so excited to read more about this family. If I was on the fence to start with, I’m definitely all in after reading this one.

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt

I realized recently that I’m reading faster than I can kick my reviews out, but I’m thinking that things might slow down with fall getting ready to happen. And let me tell you, I’m super excited about fall. Pumpkin spice, cooler weather, and a holiday season that I’m actually looking forward to this year (which doesn’t happen every year because I’m moody).

One-Sentence Synopsis
A well raised lady tries to fight her attraction to her fiance’s brother, a known scoundrel. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
Hero was committed to being the well bred lady she was raised to be, which made her unladylike descent into lust that much better. It’s a little painful to watch her inner conflict, but it feels genuine.

I like the references to future books and I liked seeing Phoebe as a younger woman, though seeing the progression of her sight loss was a little sad. There were also cameos of the Ghost of St. Giles, who becomes a pretty big part of several future books.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm
I wasn’t sure if I could get onboard with this duo after their first meeting involved Hero catching Griffin mounting up on another woman. Not my favorite meet-cute ever, but it worked out okay.

I really do not like Hero’s brother Maximus. I didn’t like him in Phoebe’s story either, which makes me kind of apathetic about reading the book where he’s the hero. Nothing about him says hero to me. He’s definitely more of a douche.

The Romance Factor
The historical version of the reformed bad boy and the good girl may be even better than the contemporary version of the trope. So much angst! 4/5

The Steam Factor
The steamy scenes were enhanced by the possibility they were going to get found out. I thought it might be difficult to read about a woman having an affair when she was engaged to be married, but since it was arranged and her fiance was awful, it worked for the story. 5/5

Final Thoughts
Besides not knowing how Maximus and Charming Mickey are going to make likeable heroes, I’m totally invested in the Maiden Lane world. In fact, I had to stop myself from grabbing the rest of the series at the library, partially because I have a huge reading list right now and partially because I don’t want to be that jerk who keeps others from enjoying the series.