New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter is back with a sizzling Original Heartbreakers tale about an icy war vet and the only woman capable of melting him… With trust issues a mile long, Ryanne Wade has sworn off men. Then Jude Laurent walks into her bar, and all bets are off. The former army ranger has suffered unimaginably, first being maimed in battle then losing his wife and … wife and daughters to a drunk driver. Making the brooding widower smile is priority one. Resisting him? Impossible.
For Jude, Ryanne is off-limits. And yet the beautiful bartender who serves alcohol to potential motorists tempts him like no other. When a rival bar threatens her livelihood–and her life–he can’t turn away. She triggers something in him he thought long buried, and he’s determined to protect her, whatever the cost.
As their already scorching attraction continues to heat, the damaged soldier knows he must let go of his past to hold on to his future…or risk losing the second chance he desperately needs.
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I’ll be honest at first I didn’t think I’d like it. The characters just weren’t coming together for me but the more I read, the more into it I got. A little funny, very hot, and have Kleenex near by.
Ryanne owns a bar, full of life, and gorgeous. She is saving money to travel the world and leaves for Rome in a couple of months. She doesn’t trust men until she meets Jude. Jude is a sad man. He lost his leg in the army and his wife and twin girls to a drunk driver. He stays away from women but Ryanne draws him to her. He fights it like crazy at first but finally gives in. Only to repeatedly mess up.
A mob boss moves in next door and starts threatening Ryanne. Jude adds all kinds of security to her bar but the man is persistent and tries every way to destroy her business. The more danger Ryanne is in, the more Jude fears losing her.
Jude has to find a way to fight his fear before he pushes her away for good. But once that man starts fighting for his woman, nothing and no one will stand in his way, not even Rayanne.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for netgalley *
GOSH I THINK THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CONTMEPORARY SERIES!!! Gena puts sad and sweet in these books.
I’m sad this is the last audiobook, because Savannah Richards is moving up to one of the top of my list for favorite narrators. I just wished she narrated more.
Every book in this series is filled with characters with complicated pasts and Jude and Ryanne where no different. Jude’s story touched me more than most though. Losing his twins and wife to a drunk driver severely messed him up and I couldn’t imagine how he’d overcome that to find love. Ryanne was humourous, sassy, and gave Jude a run for his money. I greatly enjoyed their love story.
Can’t Let Go by Gena Showalter is a brilliant romance. She creates characters that steal your heart, then wreck it. This couple fought so many obstacles that they deserved their HEA. This is a series you’ll love to follow.
Predictable
This series is one that I’ve loved and adored. I’ve been devouring the audio books one after another falling in love with the town, the characters, and the stories. But this one was disappointing. The only reason I finished this book was; because of the narrator Savannah Richards. Her voice is like a lure and she captured me even though I was so perturbed with everything that happened. If I had had the actual book in my hand I would’ve thrown it into the sea.
I feel like I read something totally different then everyone else and so with that, I’m going to be ranting. You have been warned.
We have Ryanne who is an independent strong women. She knows what she wants and yet she lets Jude into her life even after he emotionally hurts her over and over again. One time I can see forgiving, but multiple times no way.
Then we have Jude a former Army Ranger who is suffering from PTSD and the death of his family, wife and twin daughters.
I wanted to like both characters, but I ended up yelling at them and rolling my eyes. Jude comes off as a prick and Ryanne well she is kinda cool, so I didn’t dislike her, but was upset with how she had goals, new her mind, yet she changed them and accepted Jude. She did try to get him to live again, she gave her all into getting him out of his funk, but he gave nothing or as little as possible. It was sad to see this type of relationship.
Their romance wasn’t a romance. It was teenage hormonal lust. My god they sleep together, only because they can’t resit the attraction anymore. Jude doesn’t like her as a person or what she represents. The author tried to label their romance and she mentioned it as friends with benefits, but it wasn’t even that. It’s teenage lust… They didn’t even date. Didn’t do the little get to know you things people do. It was sexual tension and sex. Nothing more. As for the sex well it’s scorching hot and the sexual tension was of the charts, but you can’t have a relationship based on that alone.
I was also so upset with how Jude treated Ryanne. I was upset that she kept letting him back into her life. Why did she give her verginity to this man? Ya, he’s sexy as sin, but he doesn’t respect her as a person. As for their first time and her first time having sex, she goes on and on as to how it was the best sex of her life. Well duh, you haven’t been with anyone else.
Another thing that upset me was when Jude got a vasectomy, it’s a big life altering decision that would affect his future. He did this at the begging of the book all so he could sleep with Ryanne without fear of having kids anymore. He want’s to get her out of his system. He’s afraid and doesn’t battle his fears. He lets them rule his decisions. Well the joke was on him in the end. Their little get-together even though they still used a condom and she’s on the pill; which it should have been imposable, made the imposable.
Last. Marriage. He didn’t ask; because he loves her, not for the company, not because he cares about her in anyway, only because of the baby does he ask. He can’t even talk or say the word baby. Neither one has said I LOVE YOU. Such a frustrating moment. Ahhh….
These two shouldn’t have been together. I rolled my eyes so much. I got frustrated a lot. I just can’t rave about this book, because it had to many button pushing issues for me.
The only thing I liked was the little bit of conflict with the mob boss who causes trouble at Ryanne’s bar.
Unfortunately, Can’t Let Go was not the book for me. If the blurb intrigues you, I urge you to give it a shot. Just because it did not work for me does not mean it won’t for you.
Audio: Savannah Richards continues to amaze me. Even though I disliked this book I adored the audio. Her voice is a lure and enchanting. She brings the characters to life. I highly recommend the audiobooks for The Original Heartbreakers series.
Audio Narration: 4 Stars
Book Rated: 1 Star
I love all her books