There are at least fourteen reasons why we shouldn’t be together. A chance meeting and long-term friendship lead Jillian Caldwell and Richard Sisk into a love story that should never be.Their love affair is an erotic passionate meld of lust and understanding—It’s also cliche.But age is irrelevant when love enters the heart.
Silver Fox
By mishaelliott
“All I want is for him to be here in the flesh, doing all the dirty things he promised in my dreams.”
Silver Fox is the first book I’ve read by Misha Elliott. Yes, I admit the title and cover had me very intrigued. Being in the ‘silver’ stage myself I am totally on board with reading about a #SilverFox and having that nice visual in my head as I do.
Richard is successful in business, but not in love. Accepting that pure determination is not enough to make a relationship work, he’s ready to move forward and cut his losses. He’s not looking for another relationship, he’s just looking. When he sees Jillian, I battle to keep my feelings of lust and longing under control.” He doesn’t know how old she is, but he can see that she’s young and beautiful. Too young…
Jillian has had to grow up faster than most. At a very early age, she had to sacrifice her own needs to care for her younger brother. She had to skip college and experiencing the typical teenage lifestyle in order to be a good role model. She never regretted that decision for a second. But as her brother prepares to go off to college she’s on the verge of empty-nest-syndrome at the tender age of 26. When she ends up at a club alone after being set-up by her brother, she sees him. From the moment I first laid my eyes on Richard Sisk I felt an attraction to him. She gave herself an internal pep-talk and walked right over, rescuing him from an unwanted admirer.
Once the connection was made, neither could stop thinking about the other. While Jillian knew exactly what she wanted, she was reluctant to make the first move. It was clear to her that Richard was fighting their chemistry. So, she did the next best thing, she offered him friendship. Of course, as I was privy to their internal dialogue, I knew exactly how each felt about each other. It was very hard for me to be patient and wait for them to catch up. I wanted to yank them out of the #FriendZone and throw them into the #LoveZone immediately.
I enjoyed this sweet love story, especially the silver fox aspect. I also enjoyed the chapter headings with thought-provoking quotes. And I kid you not, I took Jillian’s ramblings to heart and actually paused my reading to Google coffee bean storage, and then took my beans out of the fridge. I also had to go online to Amazon and purchase an airtight dark container to keep on my countertop before going back to Richard & Jillian. Thanks, Misha Elliott for teaching this old dog a new trick! Another thing I really enjoyed in this story is a character spotlight that had me smiling. I recognized him and had a good giggle-snort when Richard became jealous and #Furious.
I’ll admit that I took one look at the title for this one and was ready to read it. Silver fox. May/December romance. What’s not to love? Richard is one of the most lovable characters that I’ve come across in some time. He’s a bit broken by circumstances and he’s got some anger over the way things have played out in his marriage, but he also has a heart of gold and wants to do the right thing, whatever that may be. Combine that with the salt and pepper hair and beard, and the tatted and toned body and he’s positively swoon-worthy. Enter Jill who was forced to grow up way too soon and is finally trying to live a little for herself. The romance is a bit of a slow build with Richard’s reservations about the age difference and Jill’s hesitance to put herself out there, but these two are just so sweet together that you can’t help but root for them. The conclusion was a little rushed, but considering this pair’s journey, I was ready to see them get their HEA and on the whole, I was happy with it.
This is the first time I have read this author and it won’t be my last. I enjoy the older man/younger woman trope and this slow burn romance didn’t disappoint.
Richard Sisk is 40 and a successful architect and is ending his 20-year loveless marriage. He’s signed the papers and is waiting for the judge to sign off to finalize. His ex-wife was a real piece of work! They tried to make the marriage work for the sake of their now college age daughter, but there was nothing to salvage. He goes out to a club for a drink after the disastrous divorce paper signing. He is being hit on by a much older woman and Jill comes to his rescue. She knows who he is, but he can’t remember where he knows her from.
Jill is 26 and works for an art gallery and loves her job. She has few friends because she has spent the last eight years raising her younger brother when their mom died. Their father had passed away earlier. Jill was days away from turning 18 when she became, mom, dad and sister to her brother. She gave up a lot so her brother would have the love, attention and things that he needed and she doesn’t regret a bit of it. It is tough for her to let go. Her brother is ready to head for college and he gives her the reality talk that she needs to start living her life and let him go. Jill had made plans to go to a club with a friend that ended up not going last minute so her brother said he would go with her only to just drop her off and be her DD. She was taken aback but she was there and went in. Then she sees the man she crushed on when she was 17. He was looking uncomfortable being hit on by an older woman, so she came to his rescue. She thought he was a silver fox and even more handsome then she remembers. They danced and had a great evening that ended too soon. Thus, began the friendship and slow burn romance of Richard and Jill.
What began as a friendship, lust simmered beneath the surface and you could feel the tension building. Richard wanted Jill, but he felt like such a failure in his relationship and he felt that the 14-year age gap was too much. Jill felt the age gap didn’t matter. She wanted to get to know him and the more she learned the more she wanted him. The chemistry between these two is HOT! There are some misunderstandings and definite heartbreaking moments that take months to repair, but oh the journey! The secondary characters are a great supporting cast.
If you like friends to lovers, older man/younger woman romance, then give this slow burner a read!