Defensive Heart by Dorothy F. Shaw

Defensive Heart: 
The Donnellys Book 2
By: Dorothy F. Shaw
Publisher: Samhain
Published: September 8, 2015
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Content: M/F, Oral Sex
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Scorching
Reviewer: Marchelle
Date: September 8, 2015

 

Uptown girl, tattooed bad boy. Think you know which one is wild? You’d be wrong.

Greenwich Village is home to successful artist Jimmy Donnelly, and the world is his playground. A broken heart in college left him with zero interest in being tied down. But when he meets a sexy, quick-witted Manhattan attorney, he reconsiders his bad boy ways.

Sonja Martin’s life is filled with work, an ex-husband who refuses to stay gone, and a teenage daughter who won’t follow the rules. Jimmy, with his myriad of tattoos and piercings, looks more like one of her clients than a potential lover. But when every argument between them feels more like foreplay, she can’t seem to stay out of his bed.

The heat burns through whatever defenses Sonja thought she had. And Jimmy finds his every fantasy fulfilled—and exceeded—by a woman whose fire burns as bright as her fiercely guarded vulnerability.

But his case for breaking her out of her self-imposed mold might just be dismissed. And he’ll lose the best thing he’s ever found.

Ok so after reading the first book in this series, I was seriously hooked on Jimmy and hoping the second book would be his story. Lucky for me, Miss Shaw did not disappoint. This book totally exceeded my expectations (and they were pretty high to begin with).

Jimmy is tattoed, pierced and an artist. He is pretty much the trifecta of a hot, bad boy. The thing is, he’s not really a bad boy. He’s sweet and just plain adorable, but only with Sonja. He enjoys getting her worked up in all the best physical ways, but isn’t afraid to push her emotional buttons as well. She’s cold to him, without really wanting to be. It just makes him work that much harder to crack her ice.

Sonja is a criminal lawyer who works too much. She wants to let Jimmy in but continues to find ways to convince herself it won’t work - he’s too young, he’s too demanding, she’s not looking for a relationship, etc. Her teenage daughter is a handful. Her rebellious nature creates problems between Sonja and her ex-husband, who incidentally is a real piece of work. All of these things, in Sonja’s mind, are reasons she cannot allow Jimmy to be anything more than a bed buddy.

There are so many amazing parts to this story. I love that Jimmy never really gives up on her. No matter how much she pushes him away, he keeps coming back with a new way to break through her wall. He is determined to be a part of her life. I love how he relates to her daughter and quickly becomes someone she feels comfortable and safe with. What woman doesn’t want a guy as sexy as Jimmy who treats her daughter like something precious to be cared for and protected? Major swoon-worthy! Every time Sonja pushed him away, I found myself wanting to yell in frustration.

This book grabbed me and sucked me right in. I stayed up most of the night reading and reluctantly put it down to go to work. Still, I found every chance I could to continue reading it while I was there. While this book stands on its own, if you haven’t read the first book in the series, you should. Ryan’s story was great and there are several glimpses of Jimmy that made me crave more of him. There is no hint in this book of which Donnelly we’ll meet next, but I have no doubt it will be amazing. Until then I will read Jimmy’s story again and try to be patient.