Construction tip #1: Never anger a hot-tempered woman who knows how to wield a sledgehammer. And right now, Jill Sadler is spitting mad. Her company is competing on the wildly popular show Texas Dream Home, and she intends to give it her all. The opposition: We Nail It Contractors, helmed by the man who once married her…and walked out twenty-four hours later. Jill can’t let Cal Reynolds take this … take this round. Not when she has her foster sisters and years of righteous resentment spurring her on.
Winning the contest would do wonders for Cal’s firm. Getting under Jill’s skin is just a bonus. She paints him as a villain, though Cal had no choice but to leave. Yet being around Jill again—fiery on the outside, vulnerable and warm underneath—is setting off sparks that can’t be blamed on faulty wiring. And the only way to fix the Jill-size hole in his heart is to risk everything and see if this love is built to last…
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I adore the The Wildes of Birch Bay series, so was very eager to read more from the author, the begining of a new series and excited to receive an advanced copy from the author for an honest review. While the Birch Bay series dealt with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and how it affects not only the person afflicted with it, but also the family members, in this book, the main character has anger management issues, from past hurts by people who were suppose to love her and guilt. AS in all the author’s books, the characters are richly developed. After Blu Johnson, lost her husband and three children in a car wreck, she started fostering girls at her farm, Bluebonnet Farms, teaching them construction along the way. The first three girls were Jill Sanders, Heather and Trenton. As they reached adulthood, they went their separate ways, but eventually came back to Red Oak Falls and created a construction company, Bluebonnet Construction. They have filled a niche, building small hide-a-ways for woman, but they want to expand. However, every larger job they bid for seems to go to We Nail It Constructors, owned by Jill’s ex. They were only married for 24 hours, before he left her in Vegas and she took off for Hollywood. Since she came back, she has refused to speak to him, burning with a hatred, that one can only feel for someone they also love. Blu entered them in a reality show, Texas Dream Home and now they are competing against We Nail It. Can these two get over their anger with each other, knocking down the walls around their hearts and reclaim the love they still have? There’s even a ghost in the story. What more can you ask for?
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Another good start to a new series
Cal and Jill were hotheaded teens that got married in Las Vegas and divorced within 24 hours. Cal went back to Texas to take over his Uncle’s construction company and Jill went to LA to pursue acting. After six years Jill comes back to Texas and starts a construction company with her two other foster sisters that specializes in “She-sheds”. After six years back, she is still angry with the ex and won’t talk to him. Her foster mother entered her company in a TV renovation show. Of course, they are completing against Cal’s company. I enjoyed the character development of both Cal and Jill and the other folks, who you know will be in future books. What kept this from being a five star is that both Cal and Jill have some serious anger and abandonment issues that keep getting between them. They seem to get over it without much work. I really felt that they needed some counseling to be able to get past their issues successfully.
I really enjoyed Hardheaded by Kim Law, the first book in her series, Deep in the Heart series. Think HGTV meets Texas as Jill Sadler competes on the wildly popular show Texas Dream Home against another team led by Cal Reynolds, a man who married her and left her twenty-four hours later. This second chance love story is about two stubborn people, both having made mistakes in the past and hopefully learning from them.
I truly loved reading this book and had trouble putting this book down. Ms. Law wrote a wonderful story, with lots of humor, charm and smexy. She drew me in and did not let go until I turned the last page. I highly recommend this book to other readers and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Hardheaded is the first book in the Deep in the Heart series. It is a second chance love story, a love that got away. Jill and Cal were married, for a whole 24 hours before he left. Now years later, they are competing against each other. Sparks are flying and not all of them are good. Will they be able to make it to the end of the competition? Will they be able to overcome the past? This story was enjoyable to read, and I definitely recommend it.
A new series from Kim Law, Deep in the Heart, starts with Hardheaded. Love the premise of the book: two competing construction crews on a reality TV show. Nothing new, right? Except that the hero and heroine of this story are ex’s. Enter Jill Sadler and Calhoun Reynolds. At its heart, I’d have to say the story is from the “female” construction crew perspective which makes the storyline fun, IMHO. There is a lot of backstory to cover, telling us all about how “the girls” grew up, their struggles, etc. It also introduces us to their adopted home town. I would think the rest of the series will be about Jill’s foster sisters.
Jill and Cal are the focus of Headheaded and they have some fun head-to-head run ins! Loved how they tried to one-up the other on the show. Made for some interesting scenes. Jill had some very big self-esteem issues to work through and to me, so did Cal. It wasn’t until about halfway that I felt they actually started to deal with them and made the story interesting. I especially loved the scenes inside the house Cal’s company is renovating (on the show) but you’ll have to read it yourself to enjoy – no spoilers from me.
The story about Jill’s family is pretty special and I loved ‘Aunt Blu’…she is just as I’d imagine a well-meaning southern, nosy ‘aunt’ would be. And definitely has a mind of her own! I’m hoping that the next book, which won’t have to set up a backstory, will bring us the “heart” of the story at a much quicker pace. I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Take a stubborn woman, a tough Alpha man, throw in some personal history, add some head to head competition & stand back! Jill Sadler is one third of Bluebonnet Construction. Along with her foster sisters Heather & Trenton, Jill has moved back to the town she grew up in. They accidentally gained a reputation for building she-sheds, a tiny house mets man cave idea. They want to start getting bigger & more important jobs so Aunt Blu, their foster mother, enters them into a contest remodeling a house. One the first day of filming, Jill finds out her competition is her ex-husband. The one she’d been married to for less than 24 hours & has stubbornly refused to talk to since. How’s she going to survive this?
Calhoun “Cal” Reynolds is the owner of We Nail It Contractors & is Jill’s ex-husband. When the producers of the reality show asked him to be part of the show, he wasn’t sure whether to agree or not. He was tired of Jill ignoring him so he decided to do it. He didn’t realize how it was going to make him feel though. Can he get through to Jill? Does he want to?
Hardheaded is a tale of two people that have to learn to compromise, listen & see the other persons side. Cal & Jill’s marriage didn’t last because they were both immature, didn’t listen & thought everything had to be their way. The characters in the story are well developed & each add dimension to the story. They are unpredictable too. Cal’s interactions with his cat Lily & with the ghost Mrs. W are hilarious! The picture of this sexy, rugged Alpha male conversing with a cat or believing in ghosts is unexpected. Kim Law develops characters that elicit reactions from you whether good or bad. I can’t wait to see what she gives us for Heather or Trenton’s stories!