Kane

I adore second chance romance. The familiarity that the couple has, hidden behind new barriers caused by whatever broke them up. In this second book about the men who work for Cooper Construction, Kane is such a lovable hero. He’s rough and ready, and a member of a motorcycle club. It’s a family connection but one that causes him no end of strife.

He never forgot Mandy, and the love they’d shared.

Amanda is a businesswoman now, and sharp. She has plans and is going places, but she never truly got over Kane. When she shows up on his construction site, their startling chemistry makes sparks fly.

This is dark romance so bad things happen, but Kane and Amanda get their HEA in the end. It’s a rocky, twisty road – excellent plotting is Davis’ strength – but I loved every minute of it.

Kane is the second novel in Jen Davis’ Cooper Construction series and since I absolutely loved the first novel in this series, Brick, I couldn’t wait to read this one, but Brick was a great read and a hard act to follow, and I simply didn’t think this novel was as good, as well-paced, as cohesive, as easy to follow, or as gripping as book one, but despite all that, I give it a 4-star rating.

As the novel opens we first meet Amanda, daughter of the mayor, and the man she is seeing at her father’s insistence, Nathan. Her father wants to run for governor, and Nathan is well-connected, but he’s also rude, ill-tempered, possessive and both verbally and physically abusive, and that’s the first of the triggers I need to warn you about. When Amanda tells her father about the abuse, he brushes it off–Amanda, who has been manipulated by her father for years, is his bargaining chip, and her father doesn’t care what Nathan does to her and long as he has access to Nathan’s connections. Nathan is also sexually abusive, and Amanda’s near-rape is another trigger I need to warn you about.

We soon meet Kane, 13 years in the past, the first of many such time-jumps in this novel. He’s got real goals, a career in finance he’s pursuing in college, andis totally in love with Amanda (Mandy). But Mandy is aware that Kane’s father, Malcolm, is president of the Skulls MC, involved in illegal activities, as are many motorcycle clubs, and Mandy knows that Kane’s father is pushing him to patch in, i.e. join the Skulls MC. Kane hates everything about the MC, and blames it for his messed-up childhood. He hates the way his father treats and cheats on his mother, the way members use and abuse women, and their involvement in criminal activities, and he assures Mandy that the last thing he wants to do is to live that life. Kane’s brother, Scott, is a member of the MC, and when Kane asks for a lift so he can buy an engagement ring for Mandy, Scott agrees to take him there, but en route, Scott has one stop to make–it’s at a drug den, and where there are drugs, there’s violence, and plenty of it. After Kane is injured and unconscious, he wakes up in a hospital with Mandy at his bedside, and what the violence he experienced didn’t do, Mandy does–she breaks up with him, severs all connections with him, tells him not to contact her or try to see her, and leaves Kane heartbroken and alone. What Kane doesn’t know is why she won’t even let him explain, and Ms. Davis takes a good long while to tell us why Mandy is being blackmailed by her own father to end her relationship with Kane, the love of her life, and she too is heartbroken, but feels that the only way to save Kane is to end their relationship.

With his world in shambles, Kane is bitter and alone, and he finally does patch in to the Skulls MC, but still hates everything about it. Meanwhile, Amanda’s father helps bankroll the start-up of Cooper Construction, the company that Amanda’s stepfather started and which she co-owns, and which also employs both Kane, and Brick, who now lives happily with Olivia, the woman he fell in love with in the first novel in the series. But Amanda’s father only gives her half of the money she needs, extracting her promise to be Nathan’s arm candy for the next six months.

Meanwhile, Kane’s father and brother want to do something more illegal and more dangerous than what they have been doing, moving guns for the Russian mob. Due to the death of Sucre de la Cruz in the previous novel, they have a chance to take over the drug trade in their community, and no matter how much Kane tries to talk them out of it, he’s out-voted, and while it’s easy to see that this move isn’t going to go well for the MC or Kane, it’s the secrets and motives behind these decisions that fuel the drama and violence prevalent in the rest of the novel.

While Mandy and Kane try to reconnect and get their second chance at love, neither character is being entirely honest with the other, nor are the other people in their lives being open and honest with them, and through a series of complicated flashbacks, we slowly learn how and why they made and are continuing to make the decisions that have so negatively affected both their lives. Mandy hates her father for manipulating her into an abusive relationship, and for blackmailing her into doing what he wants her to do–but she doesn’t know the half of it, and kudos to Ms. Davis for keeping Mandy and this reader in the dark to the very end.

This is a very violent novel, with many triggers, so be prepared, and the number of flashbacks are many, further complicating things and making the pacing a bit choppy. It was hard not to like Kane and Amanda and their explosive chemistry, although their motivations for why they make the choices they do are confusing and not readily apparent until you are well into their story.

Will Kane finally be able to finally get his long-awaited second chance with Amanda? Will he remain loyal to the MC which came to his aid when Amanda dumped him 13 years earlier? Will Amanda be willing to get back with Kane despite his club affiliation? What about Nathan, who is both violent, jealous, and possessive of Amanda? Will Nathan slink off into the sunset? Will Amanda’s father continue to manipulate her into doing whatever he wants? Will he ever allow her to find happiness with Kane? What will happen when the MC gets into the drug business? These are some of the questions that kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning, and while Ms. Davis is a very good storyteller, some of the answers to these questions are a long time coming, and while I would have preferred fewer flashbacks, it was still an engrossing read, and, if the aforementioned triggers don’t turn your off, I think you’ll find this an exciting read as well, but I do suggest reading Brick, the first novel in this series before reading this one.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Let’s start off by saying that this author is new to us and we have to say that we really enjoying this new series that is turning out to be a awesome series for us.

We really enjoyed the story as it was one of those stories that keeps you on edge the entire time as you never know what is going to happen around the corner.We really loved almost all the character’s in this current story especially all those mysterious hot construction guys .The sick ones well-“I wanted to be planning their deaths right along him!” lol

Kane was my favorite character this time around as he had so many sides to him and always kept you wondering one how he never broke for all he has had to endure and two how could this dark and dangerous man just melt when in the presence of Amanda.

“It was rather sweet!”

One thing about Kane even with all the darkness within him he had lines even he would never cross and that just made him all the more endearing to us.

When you first meet this couple they come off as one of those couples who have one of those love/hate relationships or so you think but, all I saw was a mountain of pain.

I found Kane to be sexy as sin,tall,dark,dangerous,deadly,possessive,
protective yet compassionate,had a conscience even with all the bad deeds he has done,loved the sacrifices he made for the sake of his brothers and family but, most of all you could not help but love the broken man.

“Definitely a man you want at your back!”

Amanda ends up being Kane’s one bright star in his very dark world.Amanda we loved her from the onset of the story from the moment she dropped by the construction site throwing around her sass.We found Amanda to be loving and caring and a little bit of a rebel,was fiery as well as sassy but, we loved the lengths she went to make sure the love of her life was protected and safe and she was willing to walk away from the love of her life just to do that and live only with a half of a heart because she left the other half behind her when she left.

We loved this forbidden romance between Kane and Amanda and the struggles they dealt with trying to navigate two worlds.We loved that once Kane learned what secrets Amanda had been keeping come to light that they were willing to face the consequences and throw caution to the wind and just see where the chips may fall.I loved that they were taking back the life that they should have had together after so many miserable years apart.

We loved this story from cover to cover it was intriguing suspenseful that kept you engrossed and turning the pages the entire time.We love the drama that the story brought and all the betrayals and the secrets that unfolded throughout it.I will say that this story had more then a couple of OMG ! moments that we never saw coming.We loved that Kane was willing to make the sacrifices this time around in order to keep hold of the women he could not longer live without.One thing I found so endearing was that the fact that this couples love stood the test of time and when they reunited it was like all those years between them had never been there in the first place.

The romance between both of Kane and Amanda was precious and sweet but, the heart wants what the heart wants and Amanda wants the tall dark and dangerous broken man and nothing will stand in her way to get him back .Are the consequence of their love worth the risk to both of them?

We loved how the story played out but, rest assured that Kane will use all that is in his arsenal to protect the thing he cannot live without…

Recommended read to all !

Amanda has never stopped wanting Kane, but her father is still controlling her, she never told Kane the truth why she left him and doesn’t know if she ever can, nothing has changed, but her brother tells her it’s time to stop keeping secrets, but she knows she can’t. The problem was, since her brother’s accident she had to see more of him, dealing with everything about the business.
Kane knew Amanda was his one weakness but she threw him away and ripped out his heart years ago, it doesn’t stop the way he feels when his near her, or the confusion when he can see how see feels, but he has to focus on the club and the decisions he’s brothers are making that don’t sit right with him.
Kane hasn’t any idea why Amanda would want to talk to him, but when she does, he never expected her to tell her what she did. The way she looks at him with sorrow in her eyes he wants to take it away like he used to, and when their lips touched, he felt like he was home, he thought they could have what they did, but he needed to know what went wrong.
Everything felt right with Kane, but she knew she had to be honest with him, and she had to deal with everything for them to make it work this time, and not let anything come between them again.
Can they work through the lies and manipulation that keep them apart to get their second chance.

Kane by Jen Davis is book 2 in the Cooper Construction Series. This is the story of Kane and Amanda. I have read the previous book and feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Kane and Amanda were once in love thinking they had everything but then people around them turned them apart with lies and misunderstandings. Now 13 years later they find themselves together with her being one of his bosses..but different people. Neither thought their lives would turn out this way and dance around their feelings and past…until they can’t anymore. Loved this second chance at love.

Oh my!! If you thought Brick’s story was good Kane’s will blow you out of the water! Where do I even start with this review of this excellent book?? This book is a loaded it with drama, betrayal and a bit of danger with action interspersed. Kane and Amanda thought they would be together forever until choices were made and hearts were broken. Now 13 years later Kane is part of an MC and Amanda and her brother own a construction company under their father’s thumb. Once they meet again will all be forgiven and able to move forward? Nothing is as it seems in Kane and Amanda‘s world. They still have to deal with lies and betrayal. Will true love conquers all? This is a fantastic series so far and I can’t wait for the next installment! I highly recommend this book!!

4 stars

Jen Davis’ Kane is a book ripe with drama and angst from cover to cover. As young adults Kane and Mandy thought they’d be together for the long haul. Believing that nothing could tear them apart, Kane was devastated when it was Mandy herself who did the tearing. No explanation, no excuse could explain her sudden departure from his life but he always wondered if there wasn’t more to the story. Now thirteen years later and time has proven it doesn’t heal all wounds and eventually the truth always comes out.

Davis’ characters were multifaceted and complex. I could feel the push and pull of their emotions quite vividly. Although you could feel the love between Kane and Mandy on every page, the book focused very much on the past and not enough on the couple now. The few sexy times were, in fact, sexy but I wished for more to break up the angst and weight of the story. Otherwise, extremely well written and conceived story.

AnnMarie – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

Amazing, suspenseful second chance not only in love but life!

This is what I call romantic suspense! I loved the intrigue, the mystery, the suspense and all the twisted events that lead to Amanda and Kane relationship ended in the first place 13th years ago. But really I don’t want to give anything away. Just read it to unravel this twisted story. Nothing is as obvious as it seems. Two people caught in the web of lies, lies they even didn’t know had such an impact on their lives. Heartbreaking story but in the same time heart-warming showing that true love can conquer all if only given a chance. This is perfect romance story placed in the dark world of lies, betrayal, abuse, crime and violence.

OMG WTF DID I JUST READ!!!!!!!!!! Jen you have knocked it out the park with this one! Another hit and I can’t wait for more. Kane and Amanda are an amazing story that unfolded piece by piece and it was a slow burn not a fast one that had me on the edge of my seat wanting no needing to know what the hell was going to happen next.

Kane is on the job working when he looks up and sees the love of his life in person not a ghost not a dream he has made up but in the flesh. To say that threw him for a loop is an understatement. He can’t believe his eyes and eras but it is her, the one who broke his heart and walked away. The girl who haunts his dreams.

When Amanda is on the job site she sees the last person she ever thought she would see Kane. The love of her life but he is different, it has been over 13 years that she has seen him and he looks different. She knows she has changed but she wants to know how much he has changed and when she finds out he is a member of an MC she wants nothing to do with him. But Kane is determined not to let her go and he will do whatever it takes to get her back and keep her.

This is a must read series so go on and one click it and enjoy the ride!

Could not put it down! Intense and suspenseful – an excellent read! Lots of heat in this second chance romance.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.