Farrah Miller and Cody “Casper” Butler have a longstanding relationship that both refuse to discuss. It isn’t romantic. It may not even be classified as a friendship. Casper’s been saving Farrah from herself for longer than he’d care to admit, watching silently as she drowned herself in alcohol and bad decisions. Then, when she finally got her act together, he left. He told himself he was … told himself he was giving her time to sort herself out. He tried to give her space.
But getting shot in the chest can change a man’s perspective, and Casper’s done waiting.
When he shows up on her doorstep one night, everything changes.
He’s the man who’s seen her at her very worst.
She’s his weakness.
He runs when things get hard.
She never lets anyone see below the surface and is terrified of being abandoned.
Casper knows it’s a long shot, that there’s a good chance she’ll never drop her guard for him- but he has to try. Because a life with Farrah is exactly what he wants…
Even if he has to fight her for it.
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First let me say I don’t usually like the young 20 something romances and tend to want to read about more mature characters. I have read the first two books in this series and in preparation for this third book I went back and re-read book 2 Craving Redemption and absolutely loved it. It was better second time around for me. Book 1 was so good that I remembered most all of the details from it and the characters. Even not liking the YA genre much, I freaking loved this book. Could not put it down. I was so drawn into Casper and Farrah’s struggles as well as the secondary characters. I really did not like Farrah much from the previous book but before the end of the book I was definitely team Farrah. I guess one thing that made me feel like I wasn’t reading YA most of the time is because Casper came across like he had lived through so much and he had. Farrah’s screwed up life was heart breaking and I wondered how she came out as good as she did, but then I realized when you have a support system like Casper, Callie and Grandma Rose you have to rise up because they sure aren’t going to let you sink. It sounds so corny but I felt the “love” in this book. As they all struggled through their personal and joint dramas I could still feel the love. I hated Slider, the club prez and estranged father of Farrah, because he came across as a hard hearted SOB who abandoned his daughter to a life of abuse. But then Slider slid into my heart before the book was finished and my heart hurt for him. I could go on and on about this book but suffice it to say it was a book that didn’t just engage me, it drug me into the lives and feelings of the characters, made me smile and made me cry. I really hate to see this series end and hope that at least a spin off of the club children will continue. Looks like I’m going to have to become a follower of the YA/NA romances like this one. I realized, IMO, it’s all about the quality of the story written by the author and not necessarily about the age of the characters. There is a HEA and no cheating. This author’s books just keep getting better and better and she’s definitely one I will be following for new releases.
So going into Craving Absolution, the 3rd book in The Aces series, I really thought I was going to have a problem with Farrah. She was a flaky mess in the last book, so just knew she would be the problem, but I was wrong . I loved Farrah. Felt bad for Farrah. It was Cody I had the problem with in this book. Dang if I didn’t wanna slap the crap out of him. He was such a little baby, running and shutting down every time things got hard. He kept telling Farrah how he loved her, and how he was always gonna be there for her, she could depend on him. Breaking down all her walls. Then every time she really needed him, he wasn’t there for her. And I don’t mean he was down the street and she needed him, and he just didn’t know, I mean he walks out on her, or throws her past in her face, or sides with someone else over her. Hell even Grams had a couple come to Jesus moments with him. Cody really needed to Man the f up.
Farrah has had such a hard life, I just wanted a hero for her to show her that she was worth loving, and be strong for her. What I got was a jerk that turned his back on her so much that their whole relationship was her waiting for him to leave her. And one of the times she needs him the most, she is so sick with appendicitis while pregnant puking her guts out (He doesn’t know she is pregnant because when she told him she needed to talk to him, he told her later and went to the club and stayed there all night, cause once again he was having a hard time with something and was shutting down) So he walks in seeing her laying against the toilet puking til the point where she can’t talk or lift her head, and instead of asking if she is ok, he figures she went back to her old partying ways. He calls her a druggie, tells her he is done with her crap and walks out again. She has to crawl to her cell and call Gram. He almost costed her and the baby their lives. Does he learn his lesson then, Hell no. What I expected was a sexy kick butt biker, rough around the edges, but loves his woman, what I got was a little boy trying to play like he was a grown man.
I didn’t really want Farrah to forgive Cody so easily, and I had a really hard time with their relationship. Some of it was good, but then Cody would act like a jerk and tick me off, so I couldn’t get real invested in their love. Cody gave me whiplash the way he flipped from nice guy to self absorbed prick. I was just done with all the unnecessary drama that Cody caused. I did enjoy Farrah and the other parts of the story that it was still a 3 star read for me. I loved Gram and Lily in this book, and Slider even redeemed himself a little in my eyes, although I still don’t care much for him, since he cheated on his wife with a club whore and got her pregnant when his wife couldn’t have children. I hate cheaters! Cam was adorable, and brave. The parts with little Will and Farrah were too cute for words. Over all an okay read. I didn’t hate Cody, but I sure didn’t like him. I hope the next one is better.