So Tough to Tame

August 5, 2013
In this raunchy romp, Charlotte “Charlie” Allington and Walker Pearce tear up the sheets with red-hot lovemaking. They were friends in high school, and when Charlie comes back to Jackson, Wyo., as an adult, she sets out to show cowboy Walker that she’s no longer a “good girl.” Charlie doesn’t discuss the Las Vegas scandal that destroyed her reputation and brought her home, but her focus on showing off her wild side comes off as aggressive and selfish as well as naïve. Walker has always been an indiscriminate flirt, and there’s no indication why he’s worth Charlie’s high opinion (which she herself undermines by calling him a player), nor why Walker considers her too good for him. The sex is steamy, but the two spend so little time outside the bedroom that it’s hard to see what they have in common.

October 1, 2013
Charlie Allington comes home to Jackson Hole, Wyo., under a cloud of scandal, but with a new job and new lease on life, maybe it's time to have a little fling with her neighbor and old high school crush, cowboy Walker Pearce. A few months ago, Charlie had it all: a high profile job in the securities field, a relationship with her sexy but workaholic boss and a big salary. But it all came crashing down when her boss/boyfriend was indicted and tried to pin his crimes on her. She was cleared, but now she's broke and her reputation is on life support. Dawn, a friend from high school, has reached out and hired her as the securities director of a ski resort she's preparing to open with her husband. At first, the apartment on the property is a bonus, but after a short time, Charlie feels like a prisoner, and she suspects Dawn is spying on her with the security equipment. Dawn gets crazy jealous over her husband, and things at the resort don't seem quite right. Trying to gain a little respite, Charlie moves into an apartment across the hall from Walker Pearce, her favorite bad boy and secret teenage crush. Charlie's not the shy, timid bookworm she was in high school, and she's ready to meet the speculative gleam in Walker's eye. As the two enter into a steamy affair, both have secrets, which become burdensome as the attraction turns to affection. More damaging is the deep-seated lack of confidence where the other is concerned: Charlie's convinced she's a short-lived fling for him, and Walker's convinced he's not smart enough for her. As past mistakes, tarnished credibility and rising doubts push them apart, they must each sift through their own insecurities and find faith in themselves before they can fight for a shared happily-ever-after. The book is both hot and tender, with some sexually explicit love scenes that may surprise readers unfamiliar with the author. Dahl brings her signature potent blend of heated eroticism and emotional punch to another Jackson Hole cowboy story, to great success.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2013
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)