ARC Review: Hard To Handle by Jessica Lemmon

Hard to Handle (Love in the Balance #2)Hard to Handle by Jessica Lemmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Synopsis:

ONCE BURNED 
Sadie Howard never dates a guy more than once-but Fate has other plans for her when it comes to Aiden Downey, the one that got away. Aiden loved her, left her, and broke her heart. Yet suddenly she’s bumping into him at every turn, driven to distraction by his wicked grin and rock-hard body. Now she can’t resist finishing what they started-as long as she doesn’t let herself fall in love . . . 
TWICE AS TEMPTING 
Aiden Downey threw away the best thing he ever had when he let Sadie go, and now he’s determined to win back the woman he’s always wanted. Sadie agrees to let him into her life-and her bed-as long as there are no strings attached. But Aiden’s not about to make the same mistake again. Can he convince her to take a second chance on a once-in-a-lifetime love?

My Review

4 Pleasant Surprise Stars

This wasn’t just lust. There was more. There’d always been more. 

Let me start out by saying I am not usually a reader of “sweet” romances. I like my romances with a kick, preferably a dirty one. But every now and then, a girl needs some sweet, and I got the perfect dose of it with this book.

I went into this with zero expectations, having never read a book by Jessica Lemmon before. After finishing, I can definitely say I will not hesitate in picking up any of her future books. I fell in like with this book. No, it wasn’t quite ‘sing the book’s praises from the rooftop’ love, but I liked it a whole hell of a lot.

So you read the book blurb, and you might be expecting Aiden to be some type of heart-breaking, womanizing, man-whore, right? No? Odd…I did. Maybe because that seems to be all I read lately. Aiden was NOT that. I LOVED Aiden. He was the perfect combination of sexy as hell, sweet and yet also endearingly vulnerable. My heart broke for everything that he went through. I really loved that the reason he left Sadie a year ago was not your typical commitment phobe issues.


When she’d first met Aiden, hot-handed, dead-sexy-smile, two-hundred-pounds-of-delicious-golden-muscle Aiden, he’d been to hell and back. Now he’d been to hell and back, and returned for one more round trip with frequent flyer miles. And he was still clawing his way out of the depths.

He recognized right away the mistake he made and now that he has another chance, he’s determined to show Sadie that she needs to take another chance on him.


He had so many things to say. Like how sorry he was, how he’d do anything to take back the day he’d lost her for good. How he wanted her with an intensity time and space hadn’t been able to erase.

Sadie was tough, quirky and sassy. I love heroines like her. When Aiden left her a year ago, he left her with a broken heart. She’s determined not to let any other man in again, especially the sex on a stick Aiden. So what happens when Aiden starts chipping away at all her hard built walls?

I loved how Aiden pursued Sadie. He wasn’t pushy, domineering, or high handed. He simply wore his heart on his sleeve and made no attempts to hide it from her.


Love wasn’t hard for him. Love was simple. Love was yes, followed by a hundred more yeses. What was so damn complicated about that?

But don’t get me wrong, while this book was sweet, it still had some steam. And Aiden definitely delivered on that end as well.

This book was just what I needed. It was sweet, with a side of steamy, and a fantastic hero.

We were also introduced to Aiden’s brothers, the broody millionaire Landon and the angry, grieving Evan. I hope that we will be getting their stories next, because the set up already has me intrigued.

This book, while part of a series, can be easily read as a standalone.

**ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

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