He’s the man she left behind, but never forgot…Laurel Moore might have had to leave her prized job as an assistant chef in one of NYC’s swankiest restaurants to take care of her brother and mother after her father’s death, but she’s not giving up on her dream. Nope. She’s going to turn her father’s debt-ridden, greasy spoon bar and restaurant into a destination gastropub that will bring life … will bring life back to her small, struggling town. Laurel faces resistance on all sides, but it’s running into her first love, reformed bad boy Jonah Gardiner, that really throws her off her stride. Worse, he’s more tempting than ever.
Spurred on by Laurel’s rejection a decade ago, Jonah cleaned up his act and became an academic and psychologist, who helps everyone understand their feelings except himself. He can think of a million reasons why he and Laurel need to stay at arms’ length, but when she shares her new recipes with him, it seems like foreplay. And that’s just the beginning…
Can he and Laurel seize a second chance or will she destroy the peace he’s worked so hard for?
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This is a great contemporary romance with excellent characters and real world issues. This story is a highly emotional read with people that make you want the best for them. There are many secondary characters and side stories in this one. Johan and Laurel are the main characters. Theirs is a second chance story. Both have parents and siblings with issues including broken families and alcoholism.
Laurel is fighting to maintain the family bar and make changes to become profitable again without losing the regular customers. Jonah wants Laurel back in his life, but frequenting the bar across the street to see Laurel is tough for someone who struggled with alcoholism. Lots of feel good side stories here, including the successes of those in the kitchen who really are on Laurel’s side and Jonah reuniting with family he hasn’t seen in ages.
This is a really good read and I hope to read more of these.
Forget Me from new to me author Kimberley Ash, is a seductive second chance romance. The two main characters, chef and bar owner Laurel Moore, and psychologist Jonah Gardiner, had a hot and heavy affair about ten years ago. They rekindle their relationship when Laurel moves back into town after her father’s passing. With little help from her alcoholic brother and depressed mother, the family’s debt riddled bar/restaurant becomes Laurel’s responsibility. Jonah used to be the town’s bad boy who hung out in Laurel’s father’s bar. With Laurel back in his life, he is able to conquer the demons of his past.
I liked this story and the secondary characters added a lot of interest the plot. The baggage that Laurel and Jonah have to deal with was intense at times. They are a hot couple, both in and out of the bedroom. The abrupt ending was very disappointing. This is the second book from the Van Allen Brothers series and it can be read as a standalone. Overall, a solid second chance romance with good character development.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
An incredibly realistic and emotionally charged second chance romance.
After Laurel’s father passes away, Laurel returns home to run her father’s bar. She didn’t except to see Jonah again. Jonah was the bad boy that Laurel was warned to stay away from. But, Laurel couldn’t resist Jonah and they ended up having a secret relationship one summer.
Laurel made the decision to leave her family and Jonah when she felt she was being pulled into the same destructive lifestyle that Jonah and her father both shared. She followed her dream of becoming a chef. Jonah cleaned his act up after Laurel left. He went to school to become a phycologist. Now that Laurel is back in town and they are both responsible adults, maybe they can pick up where they left off.
This book pulled me in from the start. I enjoyed seeing Laurel and Jonah discover love again. The scenes were very realistic. The author described addiction and what it can do, to the person and everyone close to them, very well in this book. Be warned this is an emotional story, but well worth the tears you might shed.
A second chance romance based around a bar and well more. If you have read the fist book in this series Forgive me you know a wee bit about the half brothers in this series Lucas is in the first book and Jonah is featured in this book. Each brother has their own book and yes different mother. Life growing up was not easy for Jonah especially since he went to school with his half brother who happened to be the golden boy. Jonah is tattoo’d and frankly hot as heck. We have Laurel who has come back home to help get her family bar and pub back in order after the death of her father. Sadly her father drank himself to death and while he did that he also almost took the bar down with him. Now it will be up to “Chef Laurel” to turn the bar into not just that but a place that will play the bills and bring in the customers. But remember life is not just about work and 10 years ago she left Jonah because he was to much like her dad…now he is completely the opposite will they reconnect on a whole new level? And what happens when the third brother comes home? I can not wait to read Matthias book next.