Michelle thought she’d found the love of her life, but they ended up fighting all the time. So she broke up with Steve, and now it’s time to move on. The only problem is she still has to live with him. They’re still roommates for a few more months. So he’s around all the time–with his hot body and his crooked smile and infuriating (sexy) attitude. She wants to learn to live without him, but he … learn to live without him, but he wants to work things out. And the passion and intimacy she shared with him won’t go away just because she wants it to.
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I love this whole series. Noelle Adams is
my favorite romance writer. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
I enjoy Noelle Adams’ books and this one did not disappoint.
Was boring
Two people drowning under the expectations and pressures of family.
Steve and Michelle are a perfect example of two people in an intimate relationship, yet still hid their essential selves from each other. Society, friends, our jobs, and in most cases family, are the worst at pushing their expectations onto us, especially if we let them, and for both Steve and Michelle, it was parental pressure to it’s extreme. As secondary characters, they argued their way through The Loft series book one, and I was looking forward to finding out what their deal was.
Michelle never seemed to gain the complete approval of her parents, and after the most basic of mistakes at college, she was forced to give up her dream career, and into one considered worthwhile by her father; or lose their financial backing. She tried so hard to live up to their expectations, that she didn’t even know her true self, even in the bedroom, much to her own frustration! Plus Steve seemed to have this plan about settling down that he was pushing her towards. Trouble is, she just didn’t want to settle.
Steve loved Michelle, so absolutely and completely that he’d always tried to be good and gentle around, and with Michelle. She seemed to like being treated like a princess, and even with all of the frustrating arguments, he hung in there, especially with his father breathing down his neck to just man up, get Michelle to marry him and start a family.
I felt so bad for both of them. Family had set them up to fail, yet they both loved each other so much. Noelle Adams’ absolutely nailed their love, their frustration, and the pressure on both of them, in her writing. I could just feel it, and I just wanted them to work, but they hid so much from each other that it was tragic and seemed doomed to fail.
As always, I absolutely one-click anything that Noelle Adams writes and I am never disappointed. If you feel like reading something that’s high on romance and intense emotions, yet contains a hot man hiding his alpha side, and who just wants to lay a swat on his girlfriends’ naked backside at the right moment, then this book is for you (and me!) 4.5 Stars
Michelle and Steve drove me crazy with all the fighting in the first Loft book, Living With Her One-Night Stand. It was kinda heartbreaking to see these 2 trying to live a “normal” life as roommates after breaking up, especially when they seemed to be PERFECT for each other. This story was beautifully written to show Michelle’s growth on the road to becoming “herself”, I just wish she would have been wore vocal with Steve prior, instead of always “fighting” with him. Steve – is there really a man that can be that patient?!?!
This was a great vacation read. These two have become my favorite couple from Noelle Adams!
Reread review:
Oh my gosh! I’d forgotten how much I loved Steve! He had all the alphaness I love but had to hold himself back. I loved it! This also had some really great angst and is much higher than most books by this author. This couple had a lot to work through and rereading it again was such a great experience. I don’t remember loving Michelle and Steve or this book as much as I did. Wish I could up my star rating!
Original review:
Wow, I absolutely loved this book! The relationship between Michelle and Steve was pretty close to what you’d actually see in real life and the way they worked through their issues was perfection, in my opinion.
Michelle has always been the good girl. She’s obeyed all the rules and followed the directions her parents dictated. When she enters into a relationship with Steve she finds herself struggling against him as he pushes her toward being the person she no longer wants to be. It’s time she learn who she really is and stop living a life based on what others expect of her. Steve and Michelle spent more time arguing than anything and when things became too much she broke up with him. Now she’s having to share an apartment with him and all his handsomeness as well as trying to pull away so she can go after her own dreams.
Steve is deeply, desperately in love with Michelle. He never understood exactly why she broke up with him but he’s hoping he can eventually have her as his own again. When one hot night together ends with a permanent separation he’s devastated. But he finally gets it and because he loves her, he has to let her go.
I loved Steve and his constant and deep adoration for Michelle. He was an old fashioned type of guy and thought he had found his forever girl in her. My heart hurt for him so much. I wanted him to get his HEA but it didn’t look like that was ever going to happen and that made my heart hurt even more. Yeah, the angst in this one is a bit on the mid to high side. Steve was also a bit different than your usual alpha heroes. While he was still alpha, he had to tamp it down. He also was just so freaking nice even when he wanted to punch someone in the face for looking at his girl. I loved him!
Michelle was a mess but I understood why and cheered her on as she took steps to right what she felt was wrong about herself. This is definitely a story of the heroine learning who she is and I appreciated all the ways she went about doing so. I also liked the fact that their separation was not about lack of love but a need to grow emotionally.
This is a fast paced read with some really awesome secondary characters. The heat is pretty steamy when these two come together. I loved how it mirrored the changes Michelle was making in her life. So yeah, I really enjoyed just about everything in this book. Waiting on the next book in the series now!