Under the Covers

The Texan Quartet, Book Three

by Claire Boston

What if the one time you didn’t want love was when you truly needed it?

Forced to flee her abusive ex, alone with no support, Elle is determined to rebuild her life and protect her five-year-old son. Not one to take the easy road, she opens a bookshop café, but opening day almost ends in disaster. In the midst of this chaos, the last thing she needs is a man as charming as George Jones getting in her way.

George has always been a sucker for a damsel in distress, and Elle ticks all the boxes. But Elle’s not interested in being rescued by anyone, especially not him. She knows her taste in men can’t be trusted, but fighting George’s charisma is harder than she expected. And George, who is not one to ignore an itch, has found there’s something about Elle that’s got under his skin.

When Elle’s ex turns up to cause trouble, George must overcome his boyish flirtatiousness if he’s to convince Elle to trust herself and let him into her life. But can Elle put her past behind her before it overwhelms her present?

Perfect for fans of Nora Roberts, Liane Moriarty, Jojo Moyes and Jane Green.

I somehow missed Book Two in this series (surprised?) but I did get to read the first one, What Goes On Tour, and at the time I said I hoped there would be another because I wanted to see more of George.  And boy did Boston delivery.

George is great.  He’s amazingly understanding and cares a lot about people.  He’s a great fit as a band manager and some of the traits that work for that also work well in his personal relationships.  He’s good at paying attention, about helping out when needed, and he’s a fixer … the only problem is that Elle doesn’t want any help.  At all.  She’s just gotten out of an abusive relationship with a controlling man and having someone step in to direct her life immediately causes issues.  Good thing that George is a fast learner and patient.  He makes a few mistakes along the way, a lot of that because Elle is still skittish, but he figures things out and proves to be great hero material.

There isn’t a lot of suspense or danger, although Elle’s ex does make a few appearances, causing trouble – mainly we focus on the growth of Elle & George’s relationship.  They work their way thru the relationship minefield that her past (and his personality) have created and it’s done very well.  In real life I think that Elle might have needed a little more time, but the interactions between the two are believable.  It’s a journey of steps for them and readers will be happy to be there for every single one.

(If you haven’t read the rest of The Texan Quartet, you’ll be fine.  I was a little afraid that missing Book 2 would be an issue for me but Boston does a great job of keeping you in the loop – telling you who’s who and the important parts of their stories.  And now I’m so curious about Imogen’s story that I’m adding it to my TBR pile.  And I’ll definitely keep my eye out for Book 4.)