Peter Parker Penn.Unlike the superhero his mother named him after, Parker is no good guy.In fact, if there’s a picture in the dictionary under anti-hero, it’s his.Parker’s spent his life trying to get back on the right side of the tracks, but each step he takes forward, he takes two more steps back.To save one, he hurts others. To make this good, he turns that bad.For appearances’ sake, he plays … bad.
For appearances’ sake, he plays the part. He does what people expect him to do—mostly. And at the end of each day, he goes back to his lonely apartment and wishes he was a different person. One who could fix the things he’s broken.
Then Kayla Nash forces her way into his life, and the world as he knows it is irrevocably changed.
Everything he thinks he has right is wrong. And everything he thinks is wrong is oh, so right.
One thing leads to another, and suddenly he’s growing a conscience, and trying to prove to her that he’s as bad as everybody says he is.
Yet she won’t listen.
She’s convinced that she can save him.
Little does she know, Parker isn’t worth saving, and never will be.
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Lani has done it again! This is another fantastic read. This is the second book in the Simple Man series. It can be read as a stand alone. But, you’ll miss out on all the other great reads!
This is Kayla and Parker’s story.
We first met Kayla back in the Freebirds series. She is Dougie’s daughter. James helped raise her after Dougie’s death, along with all the other members of Free. She’s also bestfriends with Janie.
Peter Parker Penn has always been a mystery, like Rafe and others.
I will warn you now. You will be crying at the very start of the book, in the middle, and at the end. Dougie’s letter. OMG the tears were rolling down my face.
I do hope that Joshua gets a book in the baseball series that Lani has. He deserves some happy after everything that he has gone through.
I loved these characters. They are opposite. Kayla has a fascination with holes. The “glory hole” story was so damn funny. She’s happy all the time. She doesn’t always think before she speaks. She will stand up for those she loves, and she shows it in this book.
I love Carmen, but my heart breaks for her also.
“Here, hold my morals. I have some sketchy shit to do.” ~Parker, age 15
“When your boss asks what’s wrong, apparently ‘I need a nap and some dick’ isn’t the answer you should reply with. Who knew?” ~text from Kayla to Janie
I am loving the Simple Man series! Getting to see the kids from Freebirds all grown up and falling in love with the same level of hilarity, suspense, and sweetness that Lani is the master of is indescribably awesome. Kayla and Parker’s story is another double dose of epic. Both characters we know and love (and maaaaybe question a bit) from previous books there was definitely more fangirl squealing from me when I read the blurb. There story has me feeling all kinds of things. I ugly cried (thanks for that Lani) I literally lol’ed, I melted at the sweet heat, and I was on the edge of my seat with the suspense surrounding them.
Kayla grew up to be a woman her father would have been proud of. I loved seeing memories of Dougie throughout her book and seeing how despite how young she was when she lost her father there is so much of him in her. The tight bond she has with Janie took me back to the days of Ember and Cheyenne. They were sisters as much as they were best friends and had me rolling in laughter more than once.
The attraction between Kayla and Parker is immediate, but Parker’s tragic past has him keeping peoples a distance. Parker’s past is absolutely heartbreaking. Finally seeing the full scope of all he has been through broke my heart. Truly a good man despite what he thinks the irresistible pull between Kayla and him soon leads to a romance full of heart and delicious heat. I loved every page!
Kayla captured my heart in Boomtown, and never really let go. I thought of her often, while reading the other books, the other series, and knew, when LLV started writing the Free Kids’ stories, that this one would tear me apart. And I was right. This book ripped me up and put me back together!
Kayla is a young woman, who just doesn’t know who she is, or who she wants to be. Unlike a lot of girls her age, she is out there searching, for her place, her niche. She hasn’t quite found it yet, but she has found what it isn’t!
Parker is a man with a tragic past. Some of that past is his own fault, but some of that tragedy isn’t. One thing is for sure, its enough that it would pull a lesser man down and not let go. And he knows that its too much for Kayla, and he should stay away from her. He just can’t.
I love how amazing this story is! Two people, whose lives are full of tragedy that most people wouldn’t be able to live through, come together. It’s so beautiful! There were plenty of tears in this story, as well as lots of laughs. As always, family plays a huge part in this story, and there is plenty of action, as well as heat, to keep you hooked! I enjoyed visits with previous characters, from several other LLV series, and catching up with their lives. I have to say it, I think this just might be one of my favorite LLV books so far!
Another five star read by the talent that is Lani Lynn Vale , Loved this book like all of this authors books she has her readers feel everything that the characters are going through so be prepared to be on a roller coaster of emotions that you don’t want to get off of . Maybe Don’t wanna can be read as a standalone even though it is next gen from the freebirds series so it focuses on the kids now grown up falling in love but I HIGHLY suggest / recommend that you at least read Boomtown , keys to my cuffs , kinda don’t care , then this one or you can read every magical thing this author has written which again I HIGHLY suggest / recommend you wont regret binge reading them . This starts with a heart brake and my emotions were all over the place through this one it had me in tears , happy , angry , and in need of a fan because the heat coming from my kindle was sizzling . The characters were equally lovable I wanted the couple to find true happiness and that is what they found with one another . We also get to see past and future characters that I can’t wait to read about my heart will be full with what is to come . Your should definitely get this book as soon as possible while getting your one click fingers ready to get more of this authors work so get your kindles charged or light bulbs fresh is you are reading a paperback because you wont want to put any of Lani Lynn Vales books down .
copy provided for honest review
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hero=10 heroine=10 secondary characters=10 Chemistry=10 steam=10
romance=10 humor=8 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