2017 RITA® Nominated in the Contemporary Romance: Short category!He wasn’t good for her. He never would be.At eighteen, Stevie Case finally surrendered to her attraction to bad boy Ethan Rafters, sharing one night with him before she graduated and he skipped town on a one-way road to destruction. Years later, Stevie has hit back life’s curveballs and is no stranger to hard work, but when she … stranger to hard work, but when she finds herself working for Ethan, who’s turned his life around, her world shatters not only because their chemistry is still fierce and undeniable but because fate separated them before she could tell him he has a son.
Ethan desperately wants to be a good father and a partner yet he believes he’ll never be normal. The chaos that defines his life has destroyed his relationships, yet Stevie’s acceptance of his flaws tempts him with a life he thought impossible.
Dare he risk Stevie’s life of hard-fought stability for his own chance at happiness?
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This is the first book by Madeline Ash that I’ve read. It’s a sweet second chance romance that will have you occasionally “aww”-ing. Stevie and Ethan are two totally unconventional people. That unconventionality has made their lives difficult. They crushed on each other in high school, but were two very different people and knew that there was no way they would ever act on their attraction. The inaction ended the night of Ethan’s farewell party, three weeks before his high school graduation.
Fast forward eight years. Stevie has a seven-year-old son whose father has no idea he even exists. That’s totally Stevie’s fault and she will bear that guilt forever. She had every intention of telling him she just couldn’t ever seem to find the right time. The decision was taken out of her hands when she got word that he died. Now Stevie is on a long deserved holiday with her son, Zach, only to make ends meet, she has to work some while in Byron Bay. That’s when her world comes tumbling down around her.
Ethan has never thought about a family, he knows he’s not cut out for one. He’s not like “normal” people. He’s got ADHD and there’s never been anyone who can put up with his idiosyncrasies. Stevie was the only one who seemed not to be bothered by them, but then she hadn’t really experienced them in full force. He didn’t stick around to let her. He’s about to take on a big project in Sydney and so has to get his house ready in Byron Bay to be rented out while he’s gone. It seems like fate decided to give him a second chance when Stevie’s name came up in a Google search as a likely painter.
And so the wheels of Fate, or Google, set in motion the rest of the story. As is often the case, the child steals the show. Zach is no exception to this rule. He is a precocious seven-year-old who clearly has the adults in his realm wrapped around his little finger, but not in a bad way. The characters are believable; the story is sweet and fun. Best of all, you gain insights into how ADHD affects the lives of those who struggle with it.
How dare you
As if I don’t have enough things to worry about. Duh, with my family history I can’t ever lose myself in alcohol or drugs cause I’d probably never be found again. And of course, there’s the fact that some of us go crazy in our twenties. Now, because my brain is different I’m more likely to get divorced as well. And yeah already knew the brain interferes with holding down a job. That’s where brain training comes in. Focus step by step, is it three times or six times around to clean a plate? Find out. Store it til it becomes routine and you don’t think about it. Patterns don’t allow the ADHD room to maneuver. And it’s called circular thinking because at some point we always come back to our original thought. It just takes a while. But seriously, just cause our brains fire more neurons in an hour than most people do all day doesn’t mean there is something wrong with us. We aren’t crazy. ADHD doesn’t mean I can’t have friends or love. It doesn’t even really define me. It makes my life harder sometimes but I deal. And I wanted to kick Ethan in the head and say stop with the self loathing. I can do a repetitive task for hours, day, years and never get bored. I have a radio that plays songs constantly in my head, most of them I love. Find the good in whatever situation you are in, or at least the parts that don’t suck. Cling to those parts because those are what will spur you on to tomorrow. Wallowing in the can’t just sticks you somewhere you don’t want to be.
An interesting story and interesting characters, but I struggled with it. I think the son character, although I appreciated where the author was going with his character, just annoyed me too much.
Outstanding great read. It is certainly worth reading. You’ll enjoy this book very much. This book should be at the top of your list. I loved the way the characters worked through their issues for a happily ever after ending.
An enjoyable read.
A totally different and compelling book.
This was good! I’ll be reading more of Madelaine Ash’s works.
Informative about people being labeled at a young age and the difficulty trying to escape those labels. A good life lesson for anyone dealing with attentiond deficit disorder. Plus, it is romantic and interesting.
good
Helpful to understand adhd
Good read
Very predicable
This story touches me
Sydney was a smart woman who happy not being girlie. Ethan is that guy that got through by his wits, he left before she found she was pregnant. But they had a son together. Ethan didn’t know, she was raising him alone. They got a holiday in Bryon Bay. Guess who was there. He finally gets to meet his son.
Second chance romance between single mom and hot former bad boy, precocious secret child, beautiful beaches. Adds up to a delicious read with a bit of angst.
You most read the sex parts for conversations that go with the story
Series books are enjoying a renaissance these days, appearing so swiftly and so often that they’re becoming same-old-same-old. However, Ms. Ash’s ‘Rags-To-Riches’ offerings prove you can write a series that relates interesting characters without making them seem redundant. This book stands alone quite well, yet still made me want to read about the other characters in the series.
Slow
The storyline was about something that is so real and what a lot of people are dealing with, ADHD. It gave you a real view it.
Informative about ADHD and its devastating effects! I have a grandson with mild ADHD so it really helps me to understand what he has gone through in his 20 odd years. The underlying romance included was a great refreshment among all the RAW SEX books which try to pass themselves off as ‘Romances’ in this era of the world.
Many twists and turns but ended good.