Seduce the teacher.Meet the cousin.Make a deal.Steal the painting.Andrea Anderson has no clue of the thoughts churning around in the dark and dangerous ex-con’s head as he enters her classroom. In fact, she’s momentarily lost for words. Not in her entire teaching career has she had a student who looked quite like Stu Cross. A widow at just twenty-eight, love is something Andie hasn’t considered a … is something Andie hasn’t considered a part of her life for a very long time. However, when lingering touches turn to whispered words and hot, searching stares, she begins to wonder if maybe she should take a leap of faith.
But Stu is in her class for a reason, and it has nothing to do with love. He’s there to burrow his way into her life and repay a debt, otherwise his family will suffer. Andie is the first person to show him true kindness since he left prison, and though he doesn’t want to mislead her, he doesn’t have another choice.
Before long, Stu can’t tell whether or not he’s acting anymore, and his feelings for Andie could throw all of his carefully crafted plans into complete and utter disarray.
Thief of Hearts is a contemporary romance and can be read as a complete standalone.
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What a great story of crime, redemption, family and love!
When ex-con Stu walks into Andie’s class she is gob smacked by everything about him. As some of his learning disabilities arise, she’s determined to help him. He has a talent that needs to be tapped into and she sees a promising future for him.
’Well, wasn’t this just wonderful. The resident classroom bad boy fancied me. Some days the world really did have a sense of humour. It was like Fred suddenly having a hard-on for Velma when there were a hundred Daphnes he could be shagging.’
Unfortunately, Stu has a hidden agenda. All his flirting, dirty talk and sexy come-ons is just to get close enough to pull her into his shady dealings. And she fell for every line he fed her. As if that weren’t enough, that’s when things really get interesting!
I loved Andie’s sweet personality and the gentle nature that led her to wanting to help those around her. She had married young and was widowed young as well. The pain from her loss was a huge part of who she was. But as she gets to know Stu better, she’s honest with herself that what she feels for him is so much more than she’s ever felt before. That’s always an important point for me when the hero or heroine has been married previously. She still struggled with it, but she comes to a place of insight that was not only believable, but beautiful.
While we don’t get Stu’s point of view except in the epilogue, and I did miss having it, it wasn’t hard to determine how he felt. His actions, and often times even his words, were more than enough to know that he was jealous and possessive of Andie.
”Every day you’re deeper under my skin, and I have not clue how deep I am under yours.”
When he messes up big time, his grovel, while not great, was honest. He was in pain and he knew he had hurt Andie and the best thing he could do was to give her space. The fact he doesn’t leave it at that and begins to pursue her was amazing!
This has a lot going on within the story. I don’t want to spoiler it but there’s a bit of drama and suspense here that had me constantly waiting for the bottom to drop out on everyone involved. The resolution was a bit anticlimactic…until it wasn’t. And then I was laughing because I knew something didn’t add up along the way and when we get the final picture, yeah…laughing with delight at how this author twisted this story up just a bit.
The chemistry between Stu and Andie was extreme and holy heck…Stu is such a dirty talker! Andie seemed like such a good girl, teacher that she is, but she ate it up! (No pun intended! Get yer head outta the gutter!)
I started this series when it first began but have not kept up with the novellas or anything else from this book onward. So glad I finally went back and caught up with it. They can each be read as a standalone and I can’t recommend them enough.
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“Sometimes it’s the ones who don’t look like they need help that need it most.”
I was unsure at first about this story because Andrea seemed a little mousey and not what I was use to from this author. But as the story unfolded, I saw that Andrea and Stu were each other’s better half. Stu helped Andrea move on and see there was more to her life than just getting up and going to work, and Andrea showed Stu the potential he had inside…so much more than just being an ex-con. “If you go around living your life indifferent to new experiences, you’re going to have a grey life. Wouldn’t you prefer it to be a rainbow?”
I absolutely loved this story, this series, and this author! Highly recommend!
I love these Cross brothers! I also love me a dirty talkin’ Stu. The UK slang in Cosway books crack me up. I want to run around and call everyone nutters! Ha!
This is another great story in the series. I like that there’s not a lot of angst, has great characters and it was fun to read. The ending was fabulous!! I always enjoy her books and I’m really looking forward to Trevor’s book. Yay awesome book!!
I loved this book and have have enjoyed this series from the very first book. I am looking forward to reading about the rest of the Cross brothers. I definitely recommend this book series and this author.
Favorite Quotes:
Well wasn’t this just wonderful. The resident classroom bad boy fancied me. Some days the world really did have a sense of humour. It was like Fred suddenly having a hard-on for Velma when there were a hundred Daphnes he could be shagging.
Well, no offence, but you dress like a lesbian. And not one of those stylish Lesbos with the biker jackets and choppy bobs, but the plain-Jane ones who wear baggy chinos and checked shirts.
Believe me when I say nobody wants Alfie loose in the kitchen. He might be a genius with a paintbrush, but my cousin could manage to burn a ham sandwich.
People can rarely tell. I’m more Rock Hudson gay than Liberace gay… That’s a laugh. You’re more Oscar Wilde gay and we all know it.
People like you give people like me a soft place to fall. Otherwise we’d just be cold and hard. That’s how I was before I met you.
My cousin was a man made of glass, naturally sensitive, and always so close to shattering. It sounded like a bad thing but it was why I loved him. It was what made him so unique.
My Review:
Packed with quirky, endearing, and diverse characters, all lovingly described in a most vivid and amusing manner – Thief of Hearts was a diamond read! I am new to Ms. Cosway’s singular works, although I have read a few of her collaborations with Penny Reid – who is one of my all-time favorites. I will now be tracking Ms. Cosway like a bloodhound. I quickly fell into the rabbit hole with this story and did not want to come back out. I have to love an author who tosses out a Scooby Doo reference as a serious metaphor. I loved her characters, whether they were primary, secondary, and just in a background scene. They were colorful, varied, and uniquely fascinating – from a Goth rocker with Tourette’s who tended to burst forth with random obscenities, to her fragile artist cousin. The story was relevant, intriguing with a caper or two, amusing with clever banter and bickering, well-paced, and touchingly observant. It was also sweet with hits of steam. Ms. Cosway provided a delicious treat – the likes of which I hope to indulge in again and again