Willa – Z. Elizabeth

Synopsis

He’s the last thing she wants…but the only thing she needs.

Willa Peet isn’t interested in love. She’s been there, done that, and has the shattered heart to prove it. Ready to shake the breakup,she heads to Dublin, Ireland. But there’s a problem. A dark-haired, blue-eyed problem with a bad attitude that rivals her own. And he’s not doling out friendly Irish welcomes.

Shane Claymore just wants to race. The death of his father forced him off the Formula One circuit, but he’s only staying in Dublin long enough to sell the Claymore Inn and get things in order for his mother and younger sister. He never expected the sarcastic American girl staying at the inn to make him question everything.

But even as Willa and Shane’s fiery natures draw them together, their pasts threaten to rip them apart. Can Shane give up racing to be with the woman he loves, or will Willa’s quest to resurrect the tough-talking, no-shit-taking girl she used to be destroy any hope of a future together?

5 out of 5 stars!

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My Review

Tessa Bailey has delved into the New Adult genre with Unfixable and it is just as freaking amazing and sexy and sexual and filled with angst as her Line of Duty series, just with less sex scenes and more sexual tension. GOD is there anything this woman cannot do? I would seriously kidnap Tessa if it meant I could get all the info on upcoming books and the sexy men writes about.

Unfixable is about Willa, Ginger’s sister from Protecting What’s His and she has grown up since the dark, Gothic teenager we saw her as in book one. She’s nineteen now, and has split up with Evan – whom we meet in book one too. She thinks she is broken, unfixable and is much better alone, so she pushes people away.

When she wins a photography contest and goes to Dublin for a month, little does she know that one Shane Claymore is going to turn her life upside down, whether she wants him to or not. He will make her feel things and see things and despite trying to push him away, he can see her, all of her and that frightens and blitz her alive at the same time.

But what happens when both their pasts catch up with each other?

I definitely remember Willa as the unsocial teenager from Protecting What’s His and then Evan came along and took no shit from her, made her see things but we find out that she couldn’t put on an appearance any more and lost herself along the way. Dublin is a chance to get over the heartbreak and find herself once again.

She’s always felt she had to put on appearances for Evan and over time its dragged her down, being someone she is not. She doesnt let her feelings show, only to those whom she loves but somewhere along the line shes lost herself and she knows that Evan deserves better than her so she lets him go and heads to Dublin which starts the beginning of the rest of her life.

I really like Willa. He goes to heal herself in Dublin, to take pictures, divulge in the culture and she goes with the intention to not make any friends. You can help but hold your breath along with Willa when she spots the gorgeous Shane waiting to pick her up. You can understand her anger, her frustration, her revolving feelings for this angry Irishman, who harbours so much pain and guilt on top of looking out for his mother and sister and running the pub she is living in for the next month.

I understood everything from Willa. It’s easy to think you are broken, unfixable, to not deserve true happiness because you think you cant give it anyone else, but shes wrong. She helped a ‘broken’ family and in doing so, they showed her love and friendship, something I think, she craved outside of Derek and Ginger – something she didnt know she was missing and in turn, she came out of her shell more. With the insults and sexual tension she and Shane gave off, you know deep down, that Shane can ‘fix her’, that he is just as ‘broken’ but together they can be fixed, together they can make each other so blissfully happy and you know that their hate-to-love relationship is the start of something beautiful – just like Ginger and Derek’s relationship.

AHHHH SHANE. I have no words at all. I cant function how much I adore this Irishman! He’s intense, frighteningly sexy and gorgeous. He’s famous on the Formula One circuit yet he’s harbouring guilt from his past – from his family which in turn makes him demanding and protective, not just with his sister Faith or his mother Kitty, but also with Willa.

He wants to stay away, yet there is this pull that he cant cut away from. He needs to be around her, to touch her and although their initials first meetings didn’t go well, he keeps on trying. Keeps on trying to see the real Willa, not the one who keeps pushing people away and changing subjects when things get too tough.

You watch him fall in love with Willa. You watch his emotion change, you watch the tension between them, know that Willa, unconsciously, is the girl who will change everything for Shane, and its a choice he had to make and once where the outcome will never change for him. You will see what I mean.

Shane is an angry soul. He harbours so much guilt from his past that he cant think of anything else, cant see past it but then beautiful Willa arrives and he;s in a tipple. Just for the few shorts weeks she has turned everything around in his life. She’s made friends with his sister, let her spread her wings from his protective nature, she’s helped with his mentally ill mother Kitty, getting her out of her shell and stepping outside the pub and she’s made him think of his future, of what he truly wants.

And I think we all know what, or who, he truly wants.

I loved the anger, the banter, the sexual tension between Willa and Shane and when it came down to having sex, their chemistry was steaming and you just knew, in that moment, it was just them. It was them and they were falling hard for each other. You knew that Willa found something just like Ginger and it scared her but when she finally admits it to herself, she knows she had to hunt down Shane and tell him. The ending made me cry, just the very last paragraph had me smiling so hard and clutching my chest.

I would love more of this couple, to see past that last page and see what else they have in store for them.

So Tessa, please can I have more Willa and Shane? Pretty please with a yummy man on top 😉

Synopsis

She’s running from the law, and the law wants her bad.

The opportunity was just too damn delicious for Ginger Peet to pass up. The purse full of money she finds—$50,000 to be exact—could give her and her teen sister the new start they need. So she grabs the cash, her gothy sibling, and their life-sized statue of Dolly Parton, and blows outta Nashville in a cloud of dust. Chicago, here we come…

Turns out, Chicago has some pretty hot cops. Hot, intense, naughty-lookin’ cops like Derek Tyler, who looks like he could eat a girl up and leave her begging for more. And more. Tempting as he is, getting involved with the sexy homicide lieutenant next door poses a teensy problem for a gal who’s on the lam. But one thing is certain—Derek’s onto her, and he wants more than just a taste.

And as far as he’s concerned, possession is nine-tenths of the law.

4 /5 stars

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My Reviews

Ginger Peet needs to get her and her 17 year old sister Willia away from their druggy mother. Well, you could say mother but they hardly see her. She has never cared enough for them and also brought men and drugs back whenever she bothered to return. Ginger has practically raised Willa and done everything she could for them to survive.

Spotting her chance to get away from this hell hole, she spots a purse next to her mother full of money. Money that could give her and her sister a second chance and a new life. Deciding to take the money, she and her sister fly out of Nashville and head towards Chicago.

What she doesn’t expect when she gets there is a pretty hot cop. A hot cop who is her neighbour and wants her. Although their first meeting doesn’t go as planned, they both want each other but what happens when he find out about Ginger and her past?

One thing you could say about hot cop Derek is that he doesn’t take no for an answer.

Protecting What’s His is the first book I had read by Tessa Bailey but it certainly won’t be the last as I will HAVE to read her other two books asap!! I had seen someone reading this on Twitter and I was intrigued (They were tweeting dirty talk). So searching it on Goodreads, and reading some of the reviews, it was an instant 1-Click. An alpha male with an extremely dirty mouth? Oh hell yes, I am so reading that! Love me some dirty.

I started it late-ish the other night, went to bed and then it was finished by the time I got home from work. I blitzed through it because I didn’t and couldn’t put it down. I read it on the way to work (sex scenes included and I was then highly strung), on my lunch break and back home again. I couldn’t concentrate for wanting to finish Derek and Ginger’s story. I was obsessed.

Ms. Bailey dragged me into the story. Her writing captivated me. I was laughing, swooning, fanning myself, rooting for everyone, panicking, loving the connection between Ginger and Derek, loving the banter between Ginger and Willa, and also on edge during the last part of the book. I was gasping and hoping that everything would be okay, eagerly wanting to know I was turning the pages at lightning speed. Tears did spring to my eyes more than once.

It’s more than just a sexy book, it had everything in it for you to enjoy!

Ginger is a brilliant character. She’s strong and comes across as confident and comfortable in her sexuality, but deep down she is scared. Scared that she will turn out to be just like her mother and she’s completely vulnerable. All her life she has had to savage to keep her and Willa alive and fed. She’s done everything to survive and this is her chance to start over and start again away from the town that was dragging her down.

She has a guard up which makes her feisty and she doesn’t like to let anyone in in fear of being let down or left behind. The only person that matters is Willa. Being with Derek though, its petrifying to her and she doesn’t want a relationship, she wants it physical but over the course of the book, you see Ginger transform. Albeit it took a while for her barriers to fall but she gets there in the end, and it was lush seeing her happy and carefree. You see her fall in love, deal with pain and heartbreak, be jealous, have amazing sex and end up in a dangerous situation. She’s a strong girl who will give as good as she gets and I just loved her.

Derek! Oh Derek is one sexy, dominating, protective and possessive alpha cop. Uh he made my insides all gooey. I couldn’t get enough of him. He is a bit douchebaggy in the beginning but you can kind of see why that is and Ginger didn’t help but then he pushed her buttons too. Over the course of the book, you see Derek doesn’t like anyone, especially Ginger saying no. He has a verrrry dirty potty mouth that you can’t help but get sucked into and want him to say everything to you. He likes to be in control and you can certainly tell. But then you see his caring side too, his loving side appear.

He can’t get enough of Ginger, needing and wanting her to be his everything. You see different sides to Derek; possessiveness, dominant, caring, loving and scared. You see him there for Ginger, wanting to protect her from her pain and her past. He saves her from a dangerous situation and its touching that he loves her so much. He also has insecurities much like Ginger, but they both know what to do to make them go away and prove just how much they love each other when the other doubts themselves

I loved Willa, the secondary character and Gingers sister. My Jesus, the comments she comes out with could give me a run for my money but you see her grow up and blossom. At first we meet her she is this grungy teenager but over the course of the book, she comes out of her shell – she still has the comments, don’t worry – and we see her fall in love and have a boyfriend in the form of Evan. We don’t see much of him, but what we do, he is pretty awesome and someone who can see straight through Willa. It was great to see Willa happy and with someone who truly loved her.

NOW onto the sex scenes and dirty talk. The things that man says had me quaking, dear god. His mouth is dirty and I loved it! I love it when a man tells you exactly what hes going to do and what he wants. All men should do this, instant turn on! Haha. Derek and Ginger had passion and their connection was pure. It was steamy and hot and raw and it was everything you want from sex, especially with an alpha male like Derek.

I enjoyed the alternative POV’s. Love it when an author does this. You can easily distinguish Ginger and Derek’s voices which is great. I loved knowing reading about their feelings for each other and their personal lives and their insecurities and how much they both wanted one another. Getting inside their heads was the best and the alternating views were perfect.

I can’t tell you what my favourite scene because it’s near the end, but it’s in the motel room, in the shower. So I’m just going to give you some of my favourite quotes to tide you over before you read it 😉

“There’s nothing in you past that could keep me away from you.”
“Tighten those pretty thighs around my waist. I’m going to give it to you rough.”
“Wake up you little cock tease”
“Look at me. You own me. I’m owned.”
“The longer it takes me to get between your thighs, the rougher I’m going to be when I finally get there. Understand?”
“Do you feel that, baby? That’s your man moving inside you.”

So there you have it. You all must take a chance on Protecting What’s His because it will turn you into a gooey mess inside and you will also love the story too! I’m going to be reading Officer Off Limits and His Risk To Take by Tessa Bailey soon and I’m pretty sure I will be a mess once again when I read more dominant alpha males ;).