Friday, February 6, 2015

Hope Ignites - Jaci Burton (Jove - Mar 2014)

Series: Hope (Book 2)

When a movie crew asks to film on his cattle ranch, Logan McCormack doesn't expect Desiree Jenkins, the young, sought-after star, to be so open, so down-to-earth, or so intimately interested in him. But the last thing a loner like Logan needs is a distraction like Des, who wouldn't understand what it’s like to live peacefully off the land.

But it’s Logan who doesn't understand. What Des wants is an escape from paparazzi and gossip columns, and she’s found it at Logan's ranch. Now it’s up to her to prove that she’s like any other girl looking to be accepted for who she is. And she’s hoping that it's by this real-life cowboy who has everything it takes -- and more -- to give her the kind of happily ever after that can’t be found in the movies.

Very good book. Logan has rented part of his ranch to a movie studio so they can film on it. He's not really interested in what they are doing until he meets Desiree, the female lead in the movie. He's attracted to her, but their lifestyles are worlds apart and he doesn't plan to get involved with her. But Desiree is just as attracted and has no trouble letting him know about it. 

Logan is a loner. He has his family and a few close friends and that's the way he likes it. He doesn't particularly care if people like him, so he doesn't go out of his way to be nice to people. I enjoyed his first meeting with Des, as he was surprised by how normal she seemed. I liked the way that he thought about his housekeeper Martha when Des invited him to the set. When Des and Colt came to the ranch for a visit, Logan's attraction to her became quite a distraction for him. He was surprised by her straightforward speech about being attracted to him too. Logan doesn't get involved with women, especially women like Des, who he sees as too high maintenance for ranch life. His mother had hated life on the ranch and made no secret of it. When Logan's dad died, she left and never came back. Now he sees all women the same way.

Desiree has been an actress for seven years. Though she likes what she does, sometimes the lifestyle really gets to her. There are times when she would really like to have a place to go where she can really relax, away from photographers, gossip columns and all the trappings of Hollywood. The peace and quiet she finds on Logan's ranch is just what she's looking for. Her attraction to him is just icing on the cake. I liked the way that Desiree is really a nice person under the star surface. She's a really good friend to her costar Colt. She makes friends with Martha and Logan's family members easily, thanks to her childhood as an army brat. She's also not the type to play emotional games, and she lets Logan know that she's attracted to him.

The interactions between Logan and Des are pretty interesting. Physically there is a whole lot of heat that gets generated between them. They have no trouble at all communicating there. Outside the bedroom it can be a little rougher. They have agreed to a no strings relationship, which starts out suiting them both just fine. Logan sees the differences between them as too great for anything else, but Desiree sees far more in common between them. She also sees that his issues with his mother make him completely unwilling to see any potential between them. Logan has a really bad habit of thinking about Des as if she were just like his mother, which makes him treat her really badly. Des sees what he is doing when he does it, and has no trouble calling him out on it.

I loved seeing Des get really involved in life on the ranch and in the town of Hope. She gets along really well with Logan's friends and family and they quickly make her one of them. I really enjoyed the day out she had with the ladies, right down to the dinner and drinking with them that had Logan's brother Luke having to drive her back to the set. She knew she was falling in love with Logan and really wanted to see what may come of it, but Logan kept being an ass about their differences.

Logan was in real trouble and he knew it. Des got to him in ways no other woman had. He can't stop thinking about her and picturing her staying at the ranch, but he's too afraid of making the same mistake his father did. Every time he feels himself getting closer to her, he does something to piss her off and drive her away. The day after the Fourth of July was a prime example. He flat out treated her like dirt and everyone saw it. I liked the way that Des saw it and was sure of why he was doing it, and also didn't let him get away with it. She wasn't going to give up and let him prove his point, and when the day was done she looked him in the eye and told him exactly how she felt about it. Logan spent a lot of time apologizing for being an idiot, but couldn't seem to stop himself from doing it. He let his fears stop him from going after what his heart wanted. His treatment of Des after the wrap party was terrible and he deserved every bit of misery he got from it. I loved the way Luke finally made him see how much of an idiot he was. I loved Logan's "go big" moment at the end, and how he and Des worked things out. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them in later books.

I also enjoyed the secondary story with Des's costar Colt. I loved the friendship and loyalty they had for each other. Des was great support for Colt and encouraged him to go after his own happiness. I also had fun with Logan's feelings of jealousy, knowing that there was really no reason for it. When he finally knew the truth, his own support of Colt was fantastic.

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