In a small town, rumor is everything… Life came easy to him.Town playboy Aidric Jones has it all: money, women, a life without responsibility. Until his house burns down and a daughter he doesn’t know lands on his doorstep. No one expects him to step up, to grow up, but he finds disappointment is different when someone is counting on him. And everyone is whispering… Growing up on the wrong side … whispering…
Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks everyone knew Olivia Buckley was going to end up pregnant and stuck in River City with a deadbeat boyfriend. Now she’s a single mom working for her parent’s construction company, unable to escape a reputation she hates. She’s fighting like hell to make a life for herself and her son, to prove everyone wrong.
They’re two people with nothing in common except a falling down house, two angry kids, and a town full of rumors–but maybe that’s enough
They’ll give them something to talk about…
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Rusty Nail is the second book in the River Street Bar Series. And, even though it is the second book you can read this book as a standalone. Although, I did love the first book “Fireball” too and recommend that you read both the first book and this book.
This time it is Aidric Jones and Olivia (Ollie) Buckley’s story. I fell in love with Aidric. He is the Mayor’s brother (she was in the first book). He is also known as a playboy in their town. When a daughter lands on his doorstep he steps up to the plate and takes it seriously about raising her. And, after his place burns down he hires a contractor to rebuild/remodel his place. The contractor happens to be a single mom that has worked hard on trying to escape the reputation of becoming pregnant early on. She has had to fight to make a living and support herself and her son.
I loved reading this book. The Aidric and Ollie’s characters are easily relatable. The kids Kendra and Theo are cute. A very enjoyable book to read! 4.5 stars for Rusty Nail and I can’t wait for more from this author!
Regardless of the circumstances, becoming a parent changes things. It changes your priorities, your decisions, your goals. Ollie became a mother way too young. Before, her only goal was to get away from River City. After, she just wanted to be the best mom she could be. Even though she had the support of her parents, she wanted to do it as much on her own as she possibly could. And she did very well.
Aidric found out he had a daughter through tragic circumstances. And suddenly he has a half grown, pre-teen daughter, who is grieving, and has been uprooted from everything she knows. He is determined to be a good dad, but isn’t sure how to do it. But he knows they need a home, and he has one that needs some work. He hires Ollie’s company to do the renovations. There is an instant attraction between Aidric and Ollie, and their kids become best friends.
There is a lot of tension in this book, both sexual and otherwise. There is a lot of small town gossip, that causes a lot of hurt. There is also a lot of miscommunication that leads to problems. I enjoyed this book, and the slow build up of their relationship. This was a fun book, that really shows how kids can change your life, for the better, even when you aren’t expecting them!
5 Star review Rusty Nail (River Street Bar Series#2) by Nazarea Andrews
This was a new author to me and I have absolutely no idea why that is. What a great read; I will certainly be checking out her other books as soon as time permits.
Aidric Jones is a man of wealth, a playboy who wants for nothing, until a fire destroys his house and he suddenly finds himself the father of a daughter he knew nothing about.
The story was strong and I really enjoyed Ms. Andrews style of writing. Her characters drew me in and in truth I became so invested I really didn’t want the book to end.
Olivia Buckley is a single mum, who runs her own construction company and Aidric hires her to rebuild and remodel his home. Her son and his daughter become friends and through that friendship a strong foundation is built.
Aidric and Olivia could not be any more different, Olivia has struggled all through her life having been born on the wrong side of the tracks. Always struggling to prove her worth to those around her.
When fate brings these four together, friendships are formed not only between the children but also the adults. I enjoyed the development of Aidric and Ollie’s relationship. Rusty Nail is a story of hope, overcoming the odds, miss-communication and is a sweet romantic story interlaced with deep emotional situations which will hit you right in the heart.
I particularly enjoyed watching the relationship between Aidric and his daughter develop as he tries to help her through her grieving and of course this struggles as he had no idea how to be a father, but I loved his determination to overcome and be there for her.
This is the second book in this series and I am really enjoying it. Nazarea has given us some great characters to fall in love with and become invested in.
Adriac Jones is the towns playboy, the fireman that everyone loves with his charm. The life he knows and loves is turned upside down when he finds out he has an 11 year old daughter that needs him. I really loved how he stepped up to look after her, despite the low expectations of everyone around him. The bond he formed with her was beautiful to watch blossom and grow. She really made the eternal Peter Pan grow up and he grew up unto a fine man.
Olivia Buckley is a single mum of an eleven year boy. She runs a construction company and is hired by Adriac to renovate his house after fire damage. Soon as these two meet oh hell the sparks were flying with all the sexual tension building up between them. The friendship that bloomed between their children was so sweet to watch (think they need to start saving for their wedding now)
Both Olivia and Adriac have so much going on in their lives and the foundations of their relationship are so strong, they feed each other strength and the encouragement they give each other is so natural and great to watch.
In a small town like River City, everyone knows everyone else’s business- and if they don’t, they make up a story that suits them instead. Gossips constantly wag their tongues, completely content in their own superiority without regard for the feelings of the person who is the subject of their cruel remarks, and innocent children are held responsible for the sins of the parent in their eyes. This is the life that Olivia has been living since high school, and Aidric is about to get a taste of it as well.
Olivia is struggling to keep the family construction business in the black, but she is determined to overcome the small minded opinions of the people in town to make a real life for herself and her 11 year old son Theo who is her whole world. She may have made a mistake back in high school, but she is not some flighty, irresponsible bubblehead and that one night led to the best part of her life. When Aidric Jones reaches out to her for a quote to rebuild his house after a fire, it couldn’t come at a better time for her financially. Add in that Aid has always been one of the few people who treats her like an actual human being and she cannot say no to the sexiest man in town.
Growing up, Aid lived in the shadow of his siblings at times, so he became the carefree one who did what he wanted when he wanted and earned himself quite a reputation as a manwhore. Now that lifestyle just gave him a serious reality check in the form of an 11 year old daughter that he never knew anything about because her mother didn’t trust him to be responsible enough to be in her life. Now he is all that Kendra has left in the world after losing her mother and both grandparents in the span of a year, and he will not turn away from her. Rebuilding the Jones house becomes more important to him than ever to give his daughter a proper home, and Olivia is just the person to make that happen. He just doesn’t expect her to also become his lifeline when it comes to dealing with the unexpected ups and downs of becoming a parent overnight.
Theo and Kendra were wonderful characters in this story as they formed a bond of their own almost immediately upon meeting. Kendra is terrified that she is going to lose someone else from her life since that has been constant reality lately, and even at 11 years old, Theo has a fiercely protective nature. He protects her from the bullying of one particularly nasty little girl whose parents divorced after her mother allegedly slept with Aid (not one of his finer moments if it’s true), and he helps Kendra cope with a completely new family that has been dropped into her lap.
The Jones family may be River City royalty of sorts, but they could also be the poster children for dysfunction at times too. Natalie, Aidric’s older sister, is the mayor and one of my least favorite people in this series so far. She likes to think she is the all powerful wizard (or witch?) behind the curtain, but she often sticks her nose in where it isn’t wanted and her “help” only makes things worse. Her kids have varying levels of trust issues and complexes as a result of her choices, so how she thinks she is the best person to raise Kendra confuses me- and Aidric. Fortunately he sets her in her place, and thanks to the age gap between Aid and Natalie, he is able to turn to Dempsey and Charlie, 2 of Nat’s kids who are close in age to him, for some help.
Olivia quickly becomes more than a sounding board for him too, and he realizes that he doesn’t just want a quick bit of fun with her. The close bond being forged between Theo and Kendra adds another layer of complexity to the possibilities of a relationship between them, but he is determined to explore what could be if Olivia can just get over her fear of letting a man get close enough to her to hurt her again. He and Ollie definitely have chemistry, and the kids are good for a few giggles with some matchmaking attempts of their own. It’s not an easy ride with the eyes of the whole town on them, but all in all, I really enjoyed Rusty Nail and flew through the pages once I picked it up!
Nazarea Andrews has crafted a great romantic novel about second chances!
Rusty Nail is the second novel in the River Bar Series, and this book is about Aidric (which by the way, I love his name) and Olivia. Life has been very different for each of them. Aidric has lived what looks like a pretty easy life. He has money, women, and can pretty much do what he wants. Olivia was the smart girl in high school with plans to leave her small town behind. Unfortunately, she wasn’t expecting to be pregnant her senior year. As adult, her life is one of responsibilities, being a single mother and trying to keep her family’s construction business afloat. They each know of each other, but don’t really know one another. Fate is getting ready to step in to change that.
Aidric has had the rug completely pulled out from under him. He has gone from a life of no responsibilities to a life full of them now…with the discovery that he has an 11-year-old daughter, and she is coming to live with him, after her mother’s death. Some men may run from that, but he isn’t like most men. He dives headfirst into fatherhood. That takes guts, and it is in no way an easy task as he soon finds out. His daughter, Kendra, is dealing with nightmares and fear that she will be abandoned by him. He has hired Olivia to help him rebuild his home that burned, but she quickly becomes a huge support for him because she knows exactly what it’s like to be a single parent.
Olivia is a woman to be admired. In the face of challenge, she rises to the occasion refusing to give up. She can’t because she has a son, Theo, to raise. She is also trying to keep her father’s construction company in business which is now hers. She has sacrificed so much for her son. It’s nice when she and Aidric become friends, and in a sense become a team in raising their children. Unlike most books, it isn’t the man questioning the relationship, it’s Olivia. But, I could understand, she has never really had a man to lean on, nor has she ever felt for another man what she feels for Aidric. I just kept hoping she would give him a chance to prove himself.
Rusty Nail is a slow-burning romance, but I felt like it worked for this book. Both have responsibilities outside of themselves, so it wouldn’t work for them to throw caution to the wind and jump into a relationship. As with the first book in the series, this one is a romance with depth and emotion. One thing that struck me was that Andrews not only gave a voice to Olivia and Aidric, but she gave a voice to the kids, Kendra and Theo. I thought that was a brilliant move on her part. They were a driving force in the story so it was important for them to be able to tell their part of the story as well. As a bonus, I got to catch up with characters from the first book. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series!!!!
Book 2 in the River Street Bar series, I haven’t read book 1 but I think I should have, even though this can be read as a standalone, I feel I’m missing out on some of the things and the characters from book 1, so will definitely go back and read this.
Aidric is the mayor’s brother, works as a firefighter, been a playboy all his life and has never been looking for a relationship, he’s happy and carefree the way he is, but his family are everything to him, and that’s enough for him. Until life throws him a curve-ball he wasn’t expecting, a daughter he knew nothing about and who has lost her whole world and has nothing but him. He embraces his new role with everything he has, determined to be a good dad to Kendra. He plans to renovate the old family home for them to live in and uses a local firm now owned by a woman he knew from school, Olivia.
Olivia herself has had a rough time of it, working hard through school and had plans, but one night of passion left her pregnant with no father on the scene. She’s done her best for her son and worked hard, but the little town they live in, River City, is full of little town rumors, and her life has been filled with those as the one that got pregnant in school, and has been unable to move past this, hating River City for it. But she has taken over the family business from her Dad and made a good job of it, and enjoys it. She takes on the renovation of Aidric’s house, who she’s had a secret crush on since he stood up for her one time just after she had her baby. Now they are both single parents and she’s there to offer Aidric all sorts of help and advice, whilst slowly their friendship develops into something more.
I loved the characters, Aidric just likes keeping to himself, but there is more to him than meets the eye, kind, caring with a dry sense of humor, I liked him and he tried his best for Kendra. Ollie is strong and sassy, her world revolving around her son, never having been in a relationship at all, is unsure and very frightened of it all going wrong with Aidric.
This is a very slow burn, but I enjoyed the story and the character building, both their kids are great characters that added to the reading enjoyment and I would definitely read more from this series.
I LOVE THIS SERIES!! Nazarea Andrews is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Rusty Nail is well written with characters I can relate to. Aidric and Olivia were so perfectly broken in their own ways and it was amazing to watch them grow as people. I adore the fact that this is more than dual POVs! Giving the children a voice in the story was just icing on the cake for me. This is an amazing story!! FIVE STARS!!
Although this is the second book in this series, Rusty Nail by Nazarea Andrews, is a standalone, no need to read Fireball which is the first book in the series.
This was a slow burner of a romance between wealthy playboy Aidric Jones and single mom, Olivia Buckley. These two meet when a fire destroys Aidric home. He hires Olivia’s dad’s construction company to fix his house. Aidric has recently become a father to a daughter he never knew he had.
Their kids become friends and in the process so do Olivia and Aidric.
These two couldn’t be more different. They shouldn’t work but the do. The story development was mostly about how these four came together and formed a new family unit. It was a cute romantic story but had some strong emotional overtones to it.
Well worth a read.