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    So Tough to Tame
    So Tough to Tame
    So Tough to Tame
    Ebook337 pages

    So Tough to Tame

    By Victoria Dahl

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A disgraced career woman licks her wounds with her high school crush, a down on his luck cowboy, in this romantic comedy by a USA Today–bestselling author.

    Charlie Allington is supposed to be on the fast track to the top—a small-town girl who was making it big in her career. Instead, she’s reeling from a scandal that’s pretty much burned all her bridges. Now, out of options, she needs a place to lick her wounds and figure out her future. True, working at a ski resort in rugged Jackson Hole, Wyoming, isn’t her dream job. But if there’s one perk to coming back, it’s a certain sexy hometown boy who knows how to make a girl feel welcome.

    Cowboy Walker Pearce never expected a grown-up Charlie to be temptation in tight jeans. She’s smart and successful—way out of league for a man like him. But he’s not about to let that, or his secrets, get in the way of their blazing-hot attraction. Yet when passion turns to something more, will the truth—about both of them—send her out of his life for good . . . or into his arms forever?

    Previously published in 2013.

    Praise for So Tough to Tame

    “I loved this book. . . . It’s a sexy, funny, emotional romp. . . . It’s also really smart, and, without being preachy or obvious, makes the reader ponder gender inequality in a way I haven’t seen in romance before. . . . A comfort read with a dose of sass and smarts; it’s just about perfect.” —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (A+ review)

    “Dahl delivers another sexy story while delving into weighty subjects, making this story deeper and more satisfying than the previous ones. It will delight her fans and attract new readers.” —Booklist
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateApr 10, 2017
    ISBN9781488030963
    So Tough to Tame
    Author

    Victoria Dahl

    Victoria Dahl lives with her family in a small town high in the mountains. Her first novel debuted in 2007, and she’s gone on to write seventeen books and novellas in historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance. Victoria's contemporary romance, Talk Me Down, was nominated for both a RWA Rita Award and the National Readers' Choice Award. Since then, her books have been nominated for two more Rita Awards, and she hit the USA Today Bestseller list with the anthology Midnight Kiss.

    Read more from Victoria Dahl

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    Reviews for So Tough to Tame

    3.5/5

    44 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      3.5 stars.

      So Tough to Tame is the fast-paced and extra steamy third installment of Victoria Dahl's series set in Jackson, WY. Although characters from previous novels are mentioned and there are guest appearances by others, it can be read as a standalone story.

      Charlotte "Charlie" Allington's return to Jackson Hole is precipitated by a cataclysmic scandal involving her previous job. Her brother and an old friend have helped her secure a position in a yet to be opened resort and while she is working hard, Charlie is planning to move on when her professional reputation has been repaired. Needing a little distance from her boss's intense scrutiny, Charlie moves in to the Stud Farm and discovers that Walker Pearce, her long ago crush, is her next door neighbor. The sparks are soon flying between them but misunderstandings and poor communication soon come between them.

      Charlie and Walker are fun, flirty and likable but they come across as superficial for much of the story. Each of them has issues stemming from their childhoods that influence their actions in the present but neither of them is willing to discuss their past or current problems. This leaves the reader with the impression that there is not much depth or substance to their characters. By the time the truth begins to emerge, it is fairly late in the story and the resolution feels rather rushed.

      The storyline with Charlie's career is rather confusing because the back story of how she ended up in Jackson is slow to be revealed. The secondary storyline with her friend/boss Dawn is not only puzzling but rather irritating since there does not seem to be any context for Dawn's actions. Charlie was slow to catch on to how she was being manipulated but she was quick to act when she figured out what was going on behind the scenes and I like how this part of the storyline played out.

      Some of the best scenes in So Tough to Tame involve Rayleen Kisler, the feisty owner of the Stud Farm. Charlie proves to be a pretty good match for the outrageous octogenarian and I laughed out loud at their witty banter. It was great to finally see Rayleen's relationship with Easy make progress.

      Despite a few issues, So Tough to Tame is an easy to read and entertaining romance. The characters are engaging and likable and the sex scenes between Charlie and Walker are scorching hot. An enjoyable addition to Victoria Dahl's Jackson series that fans of contemporary romances are sure to enjoy.
    • 3/5
      Not my favorite of this series. Charlie has come back to Jackson Hole after working for several years in Tahoe. Unfortunately, while she was there she got caught in the middle of some illegal dealings, then discovered that the man she thought she loved was married and setting her up to take the fall. While cleared of any illegal doing, her reputation is toast and the best she can do is working for an old high school classmate. The working conditions aren't great, but at least she has a job.Walker is also dealing with work related issues. He was working at a local dude ranch when the boss's wife went too far in her pursuit of him. He likes women a lot, and is well-known for giving them pleasure, but messing with a married woman didn't feel right. However, the boss took a dim view of the rumors and fired him. He's having a hard time finding a new job because no boss wants to hire a man he can't trust around his woman. It doesn't help that he's got issues that limit the kinds of jobs he can get anyway.When they were in high school, Walker and Charlie were friends, as well as Charlie being Walker's tutor. Charlie had a crush on Walker, but he was the school's hottest guy and she was a nerd. Strangely enough, Walker had a crush on her, but felt that he was too stupid to look at a girl like her. When they meet again as adults there is immediate and overwhelming attraction.This is where it starts to fall apart for me. They can't keep their hands off each other and go at it whenever they are together. Every time one of them starts asking uncomfortable questions or says something they don't want to talk about, the other immediately tries to distract with sex. They appear to be growing closer, with both of them discovering that interest in other people is becoming non-existent. Unfortunately, neither of them is really sharing what is most important.There were things I liked about Charlie. I liked the way she is doing what she needs to do to start over. She is working really hard at the new job, even putting up with the crap that her boss is dishing out. I also loved her relationship with the irascible Rayleen. Instead of being offended by the woman's treatment of men and the hard time she gives Charlie herself, she is completely amused by her. However, as Charlie got closer to Walker, I didn't like that she never told him what she had gone through before she came home. I also didn't like the way that she was constantly nagging at him to apply for jobs other than ranch hand, even though he told her to stop. I wasn't at all surprised that her lack of honesty with him came back to bite her when he did find out.There were also things I liked about Walker. He's is a really nice guy at heart. He may sleep with a lot of women, but he treats them well while he's doing it. He doesn't cheat on them, and is clear that he doesn't do commitment. He also has a fantastic relationship with his brother, who is about as different from Walker as a brother can be. And I really loved seeing him with kids. He never had any trouble relating to kids, even the handicapped ones. I didn't like the way that he was always so down on himself. Yes, he's dyslexic, which caused him great problems at school and with his father. But he refuses to listen to anyone who tries to tell him that he is capable of far more than he believes. I had a hard time believing in a romance between Walker and Charlie because they frequently didn't seem to actually hear what the other one was saying. They also kept their emotions to themselves most of the time. There were a few times when they would open up a little bit, but then would retreat again. It wasn't until near the end, when Charlie's past came up, that they seemed to share some real emotions, and those were negative ones. It did give them each something to think about, and realize that they had decisions to make. I liked the conclusion as both admitted their mistakes, which gave me hope that they could pull off a happy ending after all.The best part of the book was actually what was going on up at the resort. Charlie is actually very good at her job, and she isn't there long before her instincts tell her that there is something funny going on. She's not sure if she should trust herself at first, because of her previous history, but eventually she does investigate. I really loved seeing her figure things out, then have to decide what she's going to do about it. I loved the decision she made and how she made it happen.The epilogue was good, with a nice wrap up to the story lines. I liked seeing where Charlie and Walker's decisions about their futures took them. I also loved the last part with Rayleen. It was sweet and salty, just like her.
    • 3/5
      This story was just so-so. The plot was okay but both the hero and heroine made foolish choices and assumptions. The hero was so self-defeatist and I never really liked him or the heroine. Charlie returns to her hometown after a scandal and old friend Walker helps her get apartment in his building the Stud Farm.
    • 4/5
      My Booklist review:The third installment, after Too Hot to Handle (2013), in Dahl’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, series opens with security specialist Charlie Allington returning to her hometown after being exonerated in an embezzlement scandal at her old job. She finds an apartment at Jackson’s Stud Farm boarding house, across the hall from the guy she lusted after in high school, Walker Pearce. Walker doesn’t seem to have changed much. At 30, he’s still a charmer with girls hanging all over him. As Charlie settles into her new job, which she landed with her brother’s backing, she starts to suspect that everything isn’t on the up-and-up. But she’s distracted by Walker’s lovemaking and steady friendship while she works to shore up his low self-esteem because of his dyslexia. She just knows he can be more than a working cowboy, even if he doesn’t believe her. Dahl delivers another sexy story while delving into weighty subjects, making this story deeper and more satisfying than the previous ones. It will delight her fans and attract new readers.— Pat Henshaw
    • 3/5
      Plenty of steamy and bold sex fills out this fine afternoon read. Charlie and Walker, two old schoolmates, re-connect and then swiftly pounce on one another. Their encounters are fresh and adventurous. Charlie sizzles and sparkles while asserting her deepest desires upon Walker. Walker, a “nice Wyoming boy”, is equally and madly attracted but is more reserved than Charlie. He’s hesitant and too respectful to unleash himself. When Walker does let go, their sex is deliciously raw and highly explosive.I really enjoyed Walker. He is a charmer and old soul. He loves to love women and is a powerful and fabulously talented lover. Charlie is an OK heroine. In the bedroom she’s loads of inspiring fun. Outside of the bedroom her spirited pursuit of Walker is delightfully cheeky. But, as their relationship progressed, I began to tire of her persistent badgering of Walker to believe in himself.The plot surrounding the two is anti-climatic. However, the wealth of truly hot scenes makes this book a pleasant diversion.ARC courtesy of Harlequin via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      Walker and Charlie haven't seen each other since high school but, as they meet up again living in the same building, they have one thing in common. Some bad decisions and a little misplaced trust even made in their past heavily influencing their future (as far as with their jobs.) With an attraction for each other that neither of them are willing to deny, can they work past their own pasts and have a future? It's a story of them getting to know each other and a test of the relationship neither of them realized they had. Charlie...sex on heels (as far as Walker is concerned.) She is a pushy one though. Her past friendship with Walker clouds her view of their relationship. And Walker doesn't have much self-confidence. (Don't get me wrong, he doesn't lack in the "love" dept. He just doesn't see himself as "smart" due to a disability. Have to read it to find out - not giving it all away.) I thought their story was a good one. I got very frustrated with Charlie, at times, not listening to Walker but still didn't put me off enough that I didn't enjoy the book. Although I was completely wrapped up in either character either. (The old lady/landlord sure had me cracking up though!) It wasn't my favorite by Jill Shalvis but still a good read.I received this book in exchange for an honest review from netgalley.

    Book preview

    So Tough to Tame - Victoria Dahl

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