Down London Road
On Dublin Street Book 2
Samantha Young

Contemporary romance set in Scotland. Book 2 in a series of standalones.

Blurb:

A woman used to taking charge is about to meet a man who’ll make her lose control in this novel from the New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street.

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly.

But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.

Then Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to uncover all of Jo’s secrets…even if it means taking apart her defenses piece by piece.

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Johanna “Jo” has been dating men looking for financial security rather than attraction. She takes care of her drunk mother and her 14-year-old brother, Cole. As she does with her family, she puts the men’s needs ahead of her own, showing them a personality she thinks they want instead of the real Jo. She is immediately physically attracted to Cameron, the tattooed graphic artist out of a job, but tries to ignore it.

This is a slow burn, friends first type of romance, as both of them are in relationships at the start of the novel. We have to endure a somewhat graphic but short sex scene with Jo’s current man at the start of the book. This is not the man she ends up with I surmise. It isn’t cheating, but I’m never a fan. And also, it’s bad sex. 😂

This was very good. 5 stars as I would read it again. I’m not sure I will like the next one because the guy is a slut, but I’m going to give it a shot. I’m going back to Tijan’s Crew series for a bit though.

I loved Jo’s character – snarky and strong but weak inside, growing throughout the novel. It made sense for her, and I never hated her. I loved seeing her tackling that damn inner voice that said she was nothing that her abusive parents gifted her.

Cam was very good as well. We don’t get to hear his inner thoughts, but we can see him fighting his own demons.

Cole, the 14-year-old brother, was so cute. He was very believable, with his grunts, but you could tell he really loved his sister.

The pacing was very good. It’s a fast, enjoyable read, and the sex scenes were very hot.

Contains many graphic sex scenes, foul language, flashbacks to physical abuse, and current verbal abuse from the drunk mother.

1st person past tense all from Jo.

I found 4 errors, which is excellent.

384 pages. $7.99 on Amazon.