She’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect.The moment he sees her walking down the aisle towards him, he knows that she’s the one.Then she passes him, … one.
Then she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry.
A man that wasn’t him.
A man that he knows with one hundred percent certainty isn’t good enough for her.
It seems that her father isn’t the only one who’s having a hard time giving her away. Rafe only wishes he knew why.
Everything about Janie sparks protective instincts he doesn’t feel for anyone, not even his own fiancé.
What he feels for the bride, however, isn’t merely a simple attraction. He knows that something is there just beneath the surface…if only he could reach it.
It has to be something huge, too, otherwise he wouldn’t be drinking whiskey straight from the flask in a church pew and wondering how many years he would do in prison if he shot the groom in front of about a hundred witnesses—half of those being cops.
He was good…but not that good.
A near-death experience cost Rafe almost six months of his memory, but right now he can’t help but feel like a huge mistake is being made on both of their parts. One that’s going to cost him everything.
Then she says I do.
Author note: I, Lani Lynn Vale, solemnly swear that there is NO CHEATING in this book…but looks are deceiving. So hang with me.
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Avid readers of Lani Lynn Vale’s books are no stranger to Rafe Luis, at least in the fact that his job is extremely dangerous, not many characters know anything about him, and he’s a man of few words.
But anything personal…anything about his past, Rafe keeps that information close to the vest, not allowing anyone to get close to him because he doesn’t want anyone to have any power over him, which makes it even more interesting that a girl who is almost 20 years younger can bring this mysterious and broody man to his knees.
Rafe has so many scars from his past that have followed him to his present, so while he’s a covert operative for quite a few government agencies, he also has his own agenda, which puts him in the middle of a maelstrom of danger and deceit, costing him time to build things with Janie and time to make things right with his sister.
Janie may be almost two decades younger than Rafe, but she has always known what she wants, and while she’s dealt with Rafe’s hot and cold demeanor since her teens, nothing has changed her mind or her heart when it comes to the man who owns every part of her.
Janie’s a great heroine; she’s compassionate, hardworking, and intelligent, and while she does make mistakes and jeopardize what she could have with Rafe, I can’t blame her for her actions and reactions to the things that happen, but I do wish she would have been more honest with Rafe because that would have made both of their lives easier, but the fact that they endured so much and still maintained their feelings for one another says a lot about the connection they formed early on, even when Janie was off-limits.
While some readers may take issue with Rafe and Janie’s age difference and the fact that he noticed her when she was only a young girl, I never saw him as a ‘dirty old man’ because he stayed away from her for many years, keeping his distance and allowing her to grow up. He never crossed the line with Janie; he would never do anything to jeopardize her life or her connection to her family. But that didn’t mean that what they felt about each other went away; in fact, it continued to build even when they spent significant amount of time apart, and so while the push and pull between them did get a bit frustrating, especially with the few plot twists that Lani Lynn Vale throws at them, it does illustrate the strong and independent people they are and what they’re willing to do to protect those they love while also getting what they want and need.
4 Poison Apples
We’ve been waiting for it, looking forward to it. This is the beginning of the stories of the Free Kids. We finally get to see where their lives lead them! But no pressure!
Rafe is an outcast. He lives in the shadows, moving in and out of peoples lives, without a trace. He trusts no one, even those he should be holding closest. But Janie, even from a young age, left an impression. That impression changed over time, as she grew up.
Janie was introduced to us in the first Free book, Boomtown. She was a force to be reckoned with, even at that age. She certainly made an impression on me! As we watched her grow up throughout the Free books, we saw her strong personality develop. She would have had to become a strong woman to be able to hold her own with the Free guys!
This book took characters we were already familiar with, and loved, and put them together. Then you sit back, and wait for the explosion! Because you know there will be one! Rafe is quite a bit older than Janie, and tries to keep his distance because of that. But Janie is strong willed enough that she will bide her time, and do what she has to do to get what she wants.
As much as I loved seeing the kids all grown up, I also loved seeing the much loved characters from previous books at a different stage of their life. I loved seeing James get all “he-man”, Daddy go crazy trying to protect Janie! I can just imagine how the rest of the guys will be!
I loved this book for so many reasons. The familiar characters, the crazy bad guys, the strong alpha males, the strong willed females, and the plot twists that come out of left field all combine to create a book that will definitely earn its place on my re-read list!
When it comes to starting a new series, Lani Lynn Vale does not play around!
OMG!!! That is all that I can say about this book. I have loved Janie since she was first introduced and Rafe has always been one of my favorite mystery men through her books. But boy do the Free guys give him such crap.
For anyone that has not read Lani Lynn Vale, Janie is the daughter of James from Freebirds series and Rafe is the brother of Raven from the Uncertain Saints series. You do not have to read the other books in order to know what is going on (Lani does a great job with backstories!), but I would definitely recommend reading them.
Rafe has always intrigued me. He appears to be a complete loner and only cares about this sister. But there is such intensity to him and no one really knows what makes him tick of what is going on with him. I knew that there was some back story that would be heartbreaking (and it was!) for him, but I wasn’t expecting the history that came out.
KINDA DON’T CARE starts with a little bit of how these two characters have been thrown in each other’s way and then moves onto the events of HAIL MARY where Rafe helps Dante and Cobie. And his subsequent memory loss.
I am not going to get too much into the book because that would be giving away spoilers and this book needs to be read to be experienced the way that it should. For those who are worried about cheating … trust in the Lani!
I loved this story. I knew that there were going to be secrets that came up during the telling of it. I already liked the characters, but they firmly entrenched themselves with me. Janie is just flipping hilarious and when Rafe lets go, he is pretty entertaining himself. 🙂
My thoughts on the book: FREAKING AMAZING! LLV has kicked off her new Simple Man’s series with a home freaking run in my opinion. She took me through a rollercoaster ride that kept me enthralled and entertained from the beginning to the end.
eARC through Enticing Journey Book Promotions
JANIE AND RAFE!!! EEEEEEEEP! <—- literally me when I saw the blurb. Obviously I’ve been dying to read Kinda Don’t Care since then. Rafe has been a mystery I’ve been wanting to solve for quite sometime and Janie is someone I’ve loved since I first discovered Lani Lynn Vale years ago. So grown up Janie + Mysterious Rafe= EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED. My overreactive fangirl imagination hyped this book up to mythical levels in my mind, I was expecting greatness, I was given even more than I expected. Lani Lynn Vale yet again delivers a book that can’t be topped (at least until she writes another one anyway). I’m holding myself back because similar to some other books *cough* ghost *cough* I can’t tell you WHY I love Kinda Don’t Care as much as I do. This is one of those read it, experience it, fall completely in love with it, kind of books. There is SO MUCH we learn from this book and I’m not going to spoil that for anyone. #sorrynotsorry. What I can say is these two are freaking perfect together. Janie had grown into a woman that makes everyone proud. She’s smart, brave, funny, and kind. I flove grown up Janie! Rafe is even more than I expected and I loved every bit of him!
I keep saying it and I’ll always say it LANI LYNN VALE IS A TRUE TALENT , everything she writes just is a instant five star read and will have a place on my bookshelf . Love the fact that she has started a next gen series from one of my favorite series and I can’t wait to whats to come next . This can be read as a standalone but I do recommend that you read at least read the Freebirds series and the Hail raisers but while you’re at it you should definitely get EVERY . ONE . OF . THIS . AUTHORS . BOOKS like now . Kinda don’t care had all I love in a romance made me feel everything that the characters go through plus we get every kind of emotion you can think of and the characters are equally likable while also seeing some from past books . The couple were perfect for one another once they were introduced and we felt the sexual connection between them I could’t wait to get my greedy hands on it . With hot chemistry , hilarious banter , steamy sex scenes , ball busting heroine and smoldering hero you get a recipe from one of the charts story .
copy provided for honest review
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hero=10 heroine=10 secondary characters=10 Chemistry=10 steam=7
romance=6 humor=6 darkness level=4 action=4 mystery=4
enjoyment=10 angst=3 story line=10 Story ending=10
character development=10 pacing=10
cover=10 stars=5
would I recommend this book=yes
would I re read this book=yes
would I read future books by this author= yes yes yes YEEEEEEESSSSS
If you read one author that you have never read before it should be Lani Lynn Vale! Elizabeth @ White Hot Reads
When deciding to read this book the cover caught my eye… Then the blurb just knocked me over. Now I have added all of Lani Lynn Vale’s books to my TBR!!! THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING, and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!
Rafe and Janie are generations apart… meaning he is mush older than her. He has been in love with her for years and for her there has never been anyone else. Due to an accident and things in his past a web is weaved and he cannot remember her or their love. Now she is about to marry another… he can’t sit there and watch this, and he doesn’t. He walks out.
Everything that unfolds following this will keep your head spinning and make you fall in love with the bad boy (who is not so bad)!!!