He's the man with the plans
But she's calling the shots
After escaping an abusive marriage, Sonya Rios-Martin is
determined to live an independent life. The generous job offer from Taylor
Williamson will help her do that. But her unexpectedly strong attraction to
model-turned-project-engineer Taylor throws a wrench in her plans. Sonya and
Taylor have to figure out how to build a solid foundation—without re-creating
the cracks from her last devastating relationship.
Good start to the new series. I love the theme of
restoring an old French chateau that was moved to New Jersey. Taylor is
committed to honoring his late father's wish to renovate Bainbridge House, as
are his three brothers and one sister. His sister, Viola, tells Taylor about
her friend, Sonja, an architectural historian, as the perfect person to help
him get it right. Sonja spent four years in an abusive marriage before escaping
and working to regain her independence. Working on the Bainbridge House
restoration will go a long way toward establishing her reputation in her field.
I loved the first meeting between Sonja and Taylor. The
sparks were there from the beginning though both initially tried to ignore them.
Taylor plans to concentrate on the renovations, while Sonja has no intention of
getting involved with another man. Sonja's intelligence and passion for her
work fascinated Taylor, and he knew she was exactly what he needed for the
project. I liked watching them connect over their love of the house and the
friendship that evolved because of it.
It wasn't long before Taylor realized he wanted more than
friendship with Sonja. However, as attracted as he is to her, he doesn't just
want to sleep with her. Taylor craves the kind of loving relationship his
parents had and believes he can have it with Sonja. All he has to do is
convince her. I enjoyed his efforts to do so and appreciated how he was always careful
not to push. That care is what slowly worked its way past Sonja's walls.
I liked seeing Sonja let go of her fears and embrace her
feelings for Taylor. Their connection over the house added an extra layer to
those feelings. Their relationship looked very promising for the future until
Taylor saw something that he misinterpreted and reacted poorly. His words and
actions brought back bad memories of her marriage and drove Sonja away. I ached
for Sonja as she tried to reconcile those memories with her feelings for
Taylor. Conversations with her mother helped her enough to think about what had
happened from another perspective. I liked that Taylor was smart enough to realize
how badly he'd behaved and patient enough to give Sonja the time she needed.
The ending was great, as both Taylor and Sonja shared their fears and feelings
before moving on to their future.
One of the things I liked about this book were the little
details that go into restoring a building like Bainbridge House, from the
foundation to the landscaping. I'd love to see more about some of the treasures
Sonja finds. I loved her suggestions about the farm-to-table for the planned
restaurant. I look forward to the future books with Taylor's siblings, each of
whom has a talent/career that blends well with their plans for the chateau.
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