Title: Hard Cover
Author: Jamie K Schmidt
Publisher/Year:  Random House Publishing 11/21/17
Length:   232 Pages

Overview

He can read her like a book. But will he give her a happy ending?

Dawn: I’d do anything to keep my bookstore. It’s a safe place for all women, somewhere to let their freak flags fly. I call it sex-positive. The menfolk call it smut. That’s how I met Rory Parker, the local billionaire trying to shut me down on behalf of the “moral majority.” He walked in with an offer I couldn’t refuse . . . except I did. Now Rory wants to play dirty. Well, he picked the wrong bookseller. Let’s see how much support he still has after people get a load of the little movie I recorded of the two of us going at it like wild animals in my shop.

Rory: I could care less how Dawn Nolan makes her money. The only thing I care about is how much she’s making. Her bookstore isn’t the kind of upscale attraction my investors want in this sleepy little tourist trap, so it’s got to go. But when Dawn personally finds out how I treat bad girls who misbehave, she seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Now I just need to destroy the copies of that video she’s threatening to post—as soon as I stop watching it. The trouble is, when I’m with her, all I want to do is get started on the sequel.

My Thoughts

First off i need to thank the folks at NetGalley for getting me an ARC to read prior to November.  I love getting books early!

I usually have a big crash of emotions when i’m done with a book that’s not part of a series but that’s ok this time around since our author did a really good job of giving us a story that’s got legs and then wrapping it up well.

What’s interesting to me is the summary – it doesn’t really give us a true sense of what the story is by any means – just bits that kind of tie back to one scene or another, but i think that for me, it’s not always about the description that gets me hooked.

We have 2 leading characters who are not nearly as different as they appear to be, both of them having their own family stresses and life struggles, but when they are able to come together, well there’s something that’s really great that can come out of it.

Dawn and Rory knew each other in high school but never hung in the same crowd.  Dawn was always trying to be a bit of a rebel while Rory was living up to the expectations of his wealthy established family.  When their paths cross years later when Rory is trying to buy out the story that Dawn owns, you have to expect that it’ll get nuts.

From the get go – there’s clear chemistry between them – there’s no doubt that they are attracted to each other, but the question becomes then if it’s a one night stand type thing, or if there’s a possibility that real feelings can come together and then what will that mean since they both keep trying to fight it soo hard.

Add to that the fact that Dawn’s got issue with her family – they don’t approve of anything that she does (or do they and she’s just fighting it?).  Then there’s Rory – he’s always trying to prove his worth to his father and live the best life possible since his sister is in a coma because of a drug overdose.

So you can imagine how all that nonsense will lead to some really steamy scenes once these two let their guards down long enough.  And as expected in this genre – just when they think that things are finally going well, someone comes in between them, someone almost dies, and they are now split on opposite sides of the country.  Will they ever find a happy way to be together or was it just meant to be something short lived?  That’s what you’ll have to find out if you read it.  Great story overall though – so enjoy!