Not all people need a second chance at love. Some need a second chance at life.To Violet Foster, the past ten years have been a continual replay of an ill-fated night in high school. Without warning, she went from Downriver’s sweetheart to unintentional adult film star, her most intimate moments shared with the world in ten-second loops. She’s lost friends, been forced to change career plans, and … change career plans, and had to stop dating because of that one indiscretion. The last thing she wants is to return to the scene of the crime, but with her grandma’s health failing, she doesn’t have a choice.
Easton Cole is a walking, talking bad-boy cliché in blue mechanic coveralls. He’s always known his trailer-park-kid shadow would follow him into adulthood, but building his auto repair shop into a successful business means he has a chance to change that image. People in Downriver have long memories and getting them to forget his past is an uphill battle. The last thing he needs is the trouble Violet could bring. She’s a lightning rod for gossip, with a reputation that precedes her. So what if he’s been crushing on her practically since puberty?
Violet’s only planning on staying a month, even if the good memories of Downriver have started to overpower the bad, and Easton is dead set on making new ones…together. But the internet is forever, so there’s no chance of Violet having a future unblemished by her past. And when the stain of her damaged reputation resurfaces, Violet knows it could destroy everything around her…including Easton.
“A bad boy with a heart of gold and a woman living with a life-altering mistake gives this second-chance romance enough tension to chew on. Every page had me aching for Easton and Violet!” – Kelly Siskind, author of NEW ORLEANS RUSH
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#2019TopReads
If you like … small town with a side of redemption AND second time to go for it romances … THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU #TRUST
*sigh* THIS STORY … it was just so incredibly heartwarming and easy and relatable and lovable and all the #feels … EVERY SINGLE ONE!
One of the many great things about this book is its setting. Kristin Harte created a true small town. This was a town of people that everyone knew everything and no one ever forgot! Like population 20 kinda town … and it was glorious and easy and honestly did not even feel like fiction! Violet’s dilemma from high school was incredibly spot on for this type of town. From the actual dilemma to the aftermath and beyond. Every single aspect was spot on! And I don’t even know how to not love Easton. That man was just incredible, as a boy and as a man!
I cannot say this enough …. WELL DONE! I look forward to reading more of Downriver. I know Gracie is next and it’s gonna rock, but I wouldn’t mind reading a Dahlia journey soon! LOL
I am going to start by saying that I had some mixed feelings with this book. On one hand, I really liked the characters, but I wish that they would have been stronger. The defining moment in Violets life was hellacious … there is no getting away from that. But she continued to allow that moment to define her and the only way to protect herself was to run away. But, I can’t say how any other character would have handled it, just my own opinion.
I am not going to get into the defining moment, because I believe that readers need to experience the book to be able to understand the character better. Easton is actually a very sweet character, but he kind of reminds me of a fixer … someone that has to have something to fix … but maybe in regards to Violet, it is more like someone to protect and defend. Neither defines the other, but together are they only whole.
So … I did like the book, but I didn’t like some of the decisions that were made by the characters. Not the defining moment … that was youthful decisions and everyone knows that kids can’t think straight and right to save their lives! But what they did after this. Now, saying that, I will still give credit where credit is deserved. Violet’s character is still a strong character. What happened could have broken her in a fundamental way, but she continued and she thrived.
Overall, I liked the story and the characters. They both had strength, but in different ways, even if I thought they should have showed that more. The storyline is interesting and I really felt for Violet, especially after learning more about how the present is still being handled by some characters, and boy does someone need to shove a boot up someone else’s back door for their actions … a throat punch will not suffice! So, great opening for a new series and happy reading!
GODS…. I LOVED Pop The Clutch
Violet & Easton were AWESOME!!!
I adored their story, hard as it was at times, but hell, this pair were made for each other!!
A great supporting cast of characters that intrigued me and made me want to know so much more about them….
I’m desperately looking forward to more in this series!!
My first read from Kristin Harte and I was not disappointed!!!
This is my first book by Kristin Harte that I’ve read and I have to say I throughly enjoyed it. Pop the Clutch is Easton and Violet’s story In the Second Gear Series. A sad but romantic story about how we can have a second chance and how it’s easier with someone having your back. A passionate and emotional story, gripping from page one till the end. A must read.
Is there anything sexier than a man who displays vulnerability, is a gentleman, but is also still a man. Easton Cole runs his own business, fixes cars, takes care of his family, loves his mother, but also holds doors, cares about the feelings of the woman he’s with and is vulnerable enough to be himself without being a macho jerk about it. To sum up…Easton Cole is the perfect book boyfriend in every way!!! Pop the Clutch is an excellent book, but Easton makes it even better. I have a major BB hangover which I’m sure I’ll be riding for days!!!
Although we hear this again and again, it’s a story like this that hammers it home in a very real way. It’s a cruel lesson to learn while still in your youth, doing nothing more than what most of the adult population is doing behind closed doors, but because you were caught on camera and that video was shared not only among your peers, but also was leaked out for the world to see, your private life is no longer private. Your life, your world forever changes. You find out very quickly who your friends are, whom you can trust, and where you can and cannot hide.
Yes, the internet lasts forever, this is a hard lesson to learn for any youth, but even more so when it wasn’t your choice to make. Violet made a mistake, one she has been running from since her senior year of high school. It isn’t until her grandmother, the woman who raised her, needs her back home. The one place she hasn’t returned to since she graduated, that Violet faces some of those dark ghosts. She has been able to outrun a lot of her past through various means, but returning to a small town where she grew up and people will recognize her is agonizingly tough.
Easton Cole grew up on the wrong side of town, and once his father picked up and abandoned their family, Easton made a promise never to be like him. Staying close to his mother and sister and building a successful business Easton is a far cry from the boy who grew up in poverty. He always had a crush on Violet, long before her fall from grace, so when she arrives back in town looking lost and alone, he remembers all too well that feeling, the looks he and his family received when standing in the welfare lines, and decides to extend a friendship branch.
It isn’t long before Violet and Easton develop into something more, but will it be enough to extend beyond the time Violet is in town taking care of her grandmother? She’s been gone for almost a decade and Violet never expected to be back home for more than a short time, she also never expected someone like Easton in her life either. He makes being back home feel comfortable, but she also knows it’s a facade. It would be so easy to stay and let him take care of her, it would also be so easy to run once again and forget being with him ever happened. At least she keeps telling herself that. How does she return to normal when she’s torn in two?
I felt bad for Violet with her having something that awful follow her around constantly. I don’t blame her for leaving. I loved that she and Easton had crushes on each other without knowing. It makes it that much sweeter later. It broke my heart for her that stupid small town losers just couldn’t grow up and let the past be the past. This book really kept my interest with a good storyline and characters that you couldn’t help but love.
Let me just say I’m a huge FAN of this author no matter which genre or pen name she writes under, her work is out of this realm. I was enthralled with Easton and Violet. Come on now, with a name like Easton who knows how to get under the hood and work his hands what more do you want? The chemistry between these two characters are so convincing that I felt like I was actually in the book and that I was actually Violet. This book had true life examples that happen and the feel of a real small town vibe. You know where everyone knows everything and everyone and in everyone’s business. Being an automotive technician wife this book felt like home to me. I could really relate to some/most of the relationship going on. Heck all of the relationship I need to kidding myself and you. Violet is a chef and a pastry chef at that. Now I’m not saying I’m a pastry chef but I can hold my own in that department. So again, I can relate. I had an issue happen to me and I again can relate. This book spoke to me on so many levels. I highly recommend this book. I know I’m bias but trust me I would tell the truth. I’m not unto selling you onto anything but I assure you once you start you would not want to put down. Now the new word of the day that I made up for this is GEARMASIC. I made it up so it means orgasmic organism by gears influence. Let me tell ya once I’m in that garage and he messing with those gears Janet Jackson’s song “Anytime Anyplace” is playing in my head and I’m ready hot and heavy…see GEARMASIC! GET THIS BOOK!
3.5 Stars
For me this book was slow moving at times.
Violet ran from her past for 9+ years. Now back at home she has to deal with things that her younger self ran from.
Easton has never forgotten Violet. When he finds her back in town he knows he has to take a chance. Can friends become more?
I wanted to know what Violet went through that night when Easton picked her up. I felt for Violet at what she was dealing with. But for me, I felt she needed to learn to deal with things instead of running.
This was the first book I have read by this author. I am interested to see what happens in the next book.
Second chance romance that packs an emotional punch. A terrific storyline encompassing characters with haunting pasts and how it defines their lives. Easton and Violet deserve a future and happiness but will the past dictate their course of action? There were parts and behaviors I did not particularly like while others I loved. All that aside this was a well written story that will keep fans of romance, second chances and love turning the pages and wanting more. Cannot wait for the next book.
Pop The Clutch by Kristen Harte is a fantastic read. You have a angst, drama, passion,love, working thru the landmine that is your past and yes, the family and friends.
Violet and Easton have known each other since high school. Easton had a crush on her back then and she thought he was handsome. Violet made a youthful mistake which someone capitalized on , to Violet’s detriment. Her senior year of high school was made hellish and as soon as school was over, she got herself out of there.
When the story fast forwarded 10 years later, we find out why Violet is finally back and how she and Easton meet up. The chemistry between them is sensational. The plot is phenomenal, the characters (main and secondary) really are fleshed out and keep the reader engaged. There are several twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. The book ends on a HFN ending and will follow up with a book 2 with different characters that were secondary characters from book 1. What a great read and full of feels and heart.
My Rating: 4.5 stars *******