It’s review time again!

*****

Grace King knows two things for certain: she loves working at her grandmother’s café and she loves the hunky town sheriff. She always has. As she bakes him sweet treats, Grace fantasizes about helping him work up an appetite all night long. But whenever she thinks she’s finally getting somewhere, he whips out some excuse to escape. Growing up, he never looked twice at her. Now Grace won’t rest until she has Jax’s undivided attention.

Jaxson Anderson can’t deny that his best friend’s kid sister is the sexiest woman in Mirabelle, Florida. Unwilling to burden Grace with his painful past, Jax keeps the sassy blonde at arm’s length. Yet one heated kiss crumbles all of his carefully built defenses. But when a town secret surfaces, threatening to destroy everything they believe in, can the man who defended Grace from bullies as a child protect her now?

Undeniable is Richard’s follow up to Undone, which tells the story of Grace’s brother (and Jax’s best friend) Brendan and his wife Paige.  As with a lot of series, this one can technically stand on its own but I think that you might miss some of the nuances not having read the previous book.  BUT having said that, if you want to start here you’ll be fine.  I haven’t read Undone (yet) and I thought this one was fantastic.

Readers are given a great mix of suspense and romance with Jax and Grace’s story.  Jax, as a sheriff’s deputy, is investigating break-ins around town and of course the culprits cross paths with Grace at some point.  You can probably figure it out somewhat easily but even so it is well-developed and interesting.  Richard does a great job of keeping it simple and to the point – she doesn’t throw in a lot of twists and turns – making it realistic and believable.

The biggest part, though, revolves around Grace’s long-standing love for Jax and whether he will ever admit, and give in, to his feelings for her.  The emotional damage done by Jax’s abusive parents is the main thing holding him back.  Even though he had people in his life that loved and supported him, it is extremely hard to let go of those feelings of worthlessness that come from years of having his own father tell him he’s nothing.  Jax screws up so many times with Grace but knowing what his life was like you can definitely understand why he would feel the way he does.

Grace is pretty well adjusted, especially for someone who has spent a lot of her life being called a bastard.  She has never known who her father is and always wondered why he wouldn’t want to know her.  She’s also spent almost all of her life loving Jax and she’s tired of waiting for him to love her back so she takes matters into her own hands.  Things are definitely rocky for the two but she handles it like a trooper.

Richard does an amazing job of giving us realistic characters with realistic problems and reactions – they are so believable that I hurt and celebrated right along with them.  And as much as I absolutely LOVED these two, my favorite part is that the story is about so much more than them.  They have a fantastic group of friends and family who have genuine love and support for one another.  They all have their own problems and they are guaranteed to have heart-breaking stories when given their own books.  I’m looking forward to each and every one.

Undeniable gives readers rich characters, quirky small-town charm, and heartfelt highs and lows, with just that perfect touch of mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat.