Nothing Like Paris Bend or Break Book 2 edition by Amy Jo Cousins Romance eBooks
Download As PDF : Nothing Like Paris Bend or Break Book 2 edition by Amy Jo Cousins Romance eBooks 
Humble pie wasn’t supposed to taste this sweet.
Jack Tarkington’s life is in the toilet. He was supposed to be spending his junior year studying someplace cool like Paris or Rome. Instead, after taking out his anger on the campus “golden boy”, whose dad ripped off his parents, Jack is facing possible expulsion.
Sure, it’s all his own fault, but coming back to the small Iowa town he thought he’d escaped, after crowing about his admission to a prestigious school, has been a humbling experience.
When he runs into Miguel, Jack braces for backlash over the way he lorded it over his old friend and flame. Instead, Miguel offers him friendship—and a job at his growing farm-to-table store and café.
Against the odds, both guys bond over broken dreams and find common ground in music. But when Jack’s college gives him a second chance, he’s torn between achieving a dream that will take him far from home, and a love that strikes a chord he’ll never find anywhere else.
Warning This book contains a humbled guy who’s on the brink of losing it all, a determined entrepreneur who seems to have it all together, apologies issued through banjo-picking duets, and two lovers who can play each other’s bodies like virtuosos.
Nothing Like Paris Bend or Break Book 2 edition by Amy Jo Cousins Romance eBooks
I bought this book immediately after finishing Off Campus, because I loved that book so much. But this story had some things to overcome in my brain. First, it’s a reunited lovers story, which is one of my least favorite tropes (some people love it!) Second, the main character Jack was a grade-A jerk to Tom in the previous book. Tom called Jack his evil nemesis because Jack was always taunting him. That’s a big character deficit. Third, Jack has a thin hipster/porn mustache, which is almost as bad as his behavior.Jack’s parents lost a lot of money because of Tom’s father’s criminal actions. Jack lost his whole college fund, including a semester abroad in Paris. Then, because of his bullying, he got kicked out of school. The story opens as Jack gets dropped off in his small home town, bitter, angry, and hopeless.
Mike/Miguel was Jack’s best friend and boyfriend in high school. Jack left for college, though, and Mike stayed behind to work on his family’s farm. Now he runs a Farm to Table cafe on Main Street. Mike has a lot of feelings about Jack. He’s mostly pissed that Jack left him, and he also kind of hates Jack for being a stubborn, selfish jerk.
Jack needs a job, and someplace to go so that he doesn’t sit around the house with his alcoholic mother all day. He plays the banjo (how’s that for a quirk?), so Mike hires him to play in the cafe in the afternoons, mainly while high school students hang out and drink coffee.
Mike and Jack spend a lot of time being angry at themselves and each other. It’s hard for them to establish just a friendship, since Mike assumes that Jack will leave him behind again, and Jack is indeed a selfish jerk who doesn’t communicate well with others.
I have to admit that I didn’t like Jack for most of the book. I just couldn’t ignore his behavior from the last book, or blame it on his mother, or see him as some tortured hero. I read this the day after the other book, so his actions were fresh in my mind. I read all the stuff that made Jack the way he was, and it still wasn’t an excuse for me. The book was 76% in when Jack realized that he had been a bully. Better late than never.
In comparison, Mike was almost a boring character. He’s loyal to his family, and a responsible business owner. He looks out for his single-mother employee, and likes giving the high schoolers a safe space. He doesn’t make waves in the small community. He knows that Jack needs him, and he lets himself be used, even though it’s not a great relationship dynamic.
Jack and Mike do not have an easy road to happily ever after. Mike is full of resentment and Jack is full of himself. They kiss angrily. With all that, the author does manage to smooth things out at the end. I believed that Jack realized his mistakes and wanted to change, and I enjoyed reading about him once he let go of his emotional baggage. I also appreciate that he shaved his mustache.
I wonder if I would have liked Jack better if I hadn’t read the other book first? If you like reunited lovers and a messed up hero, try reading this book first, maybe it will be easier for you. As for me, I couldn’t get on board until later.
Rating: B-
This review was originally posted on Red Hot Books at: [...]
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Nothing Like Paris Bend or Break Book 2 edition by Amy Jo Cousins Romance eBooks Reviews
I've had it on my kindle for a while but I had to distance myself from Jack after reading Off Campus (book 1 in the series). Jack is the villain in book 1. A huge jerk and bully to the hero. I was not sure how the author could possibly redeem him. But she did a fabulous job. Jack is still not a warm, fuzzy character. He is smart, sarcastic and defensive. But now I can completely relate to him and see where he's coming from. And he does show tremendous growth by the end of the story. Jack gets suspended from school for his bullying and is forced to go back to his hometown where his dysfunctional family lives and also where his high school love Mike still lives. He and Mike have not seen each other in 3 years and had a bitter ending. This is the story of their second chance. It is also the story of both guys growth into adulthood. A multi-dimensional, very well written read with believable angst. Highly recommended. My only complaint is there were some annoying format issues and I hate the cover.
I put off reading this for ages because I doubted Jack was redeemable after his actions in the first book, and a few reviews on here made me think that was right. (Also to be honest the cover is off putting because that guy looks so obnoxious and bratty) I really had no reason to worry. This might actually be my favourite of the entire series, or close to it. Jack is far more nuanced than you expect, and although he still has major flaws, I really think anyone empathetic can feel for him and see the good in him. There are also some good explanations for why he behaves the way he does apart from just being difficult and immature sometimes. I also think the blurb is really misleading as it makes him sound awful - he never "lorded" anything over Miguel. Miguel is lovely, the romance is lovely, there's great character growth, and a really satisfying conclusion. Don't be put off by the character of Jack - he's perfectly loveable, as is this book.
I liked the one almost as much as Off Campus, and for the first 50% I thought I would even like it better but there's something about the author's writing style in that one that felt funny. Not as good as Off Campus. The sex scenes were not as hot or sexy for example. They were good, just not "as good".
The story was great though. I didn't dislike Jake in Off Campus, because even if he was the nemesis it was clear there was more to him than that, and reading his story afterward was great. Gave a new dimension to both books honestly. I love that Amy Jo Cousins characters are always grey and multifaceted. They screw up, they take bad decisions and they struggle but at heart, they're good people who just got lost along the way.
Even Miguel/Mike, who appear to be composed and sure of himself in the beginning is more than that. He's not just a responsible business owner with a big family. They aren't as obvious but he has his own fears and struggles and it was great to explore them in comparison to Jake's.
Even the conflict and their relationship is grey and depends on the PoV. They see things differently, they understand their situation differently which is very realistic and makes for a compelling read. Miguel thinks Jakes left him behind, Jake thinks Miguel gave up on them and they're both right which makes for a good story and one we get invested in.
And I liked the whole thing with Jake's mom, because that resonates with me. In books, we usually get the violent alcoholic parent, but I had never read about the quiet one. The insidious type. The one you can't really talk about because people don't understand how difficult it is to live with that kind of parent. The whole situation was well portrayed.
In the end, that was a very good book and I'll for sure continue with the series. I just wish the sex scenes had been better. I recommand reading in tandem with Off Campus though, because it adds a very interesting layer to both
I bought this book immediately after finishing Off Campus, because I loved that book so much. But this story had some things to overcome in my brain. First, it’s a reunited lovers story, which is one of my least favorite tropes (some people love it!) Second, the main character Jack was a grade-A jerk to Tom in the previous book. Tom called Jack his evil nemesis because Jack was always taunting him. That’s a big character deficit. Third, Jack has a thin hipster/porn mustache, which is almost as bad as his behavior.
Jack’s parents lost a lot of money because of Tom’s father’s criminal actions. Jack lost his whole college fund, including a semester abroad in Paris. Then, because of his bullying, he got kicked out of school. The story opens as Jack gets dropped off in his small home town, bitter, angry, and hopeless.
Mike/Miguel was Jack’s best friend and boyfriend in high school. Jack left for college, though, and Mike stayed behind to work on his family’s farm. Now he runs a Farm to Table cafe on Main Street. Mike has a lot of feelings about Jack. He’s mostly pissed that Jack left him, and he also kind of hates Jack for being a stubborn, selfish jerk.
Jack needs a job, and someplace to go so that he doesn’t sit around the house with his alcoholic mother all day. He plays the banjo (how’s that for a quirk?), so Mike hires him to play in the cafe in the afternoons, mainly while high school students hang out and drink coffee.
Mike and Jack spend a lot of time being angry at themselves and each other. It’s hard for them to establish just a friendship, since Mike assumes that Jack will leave him behind again, and Jack is indeed a selfish jerk who doesn’t communicate well with others.
I have to admit that I didn’t like Jack for most of the book. I just couldn’t ignore his behavior from the last book, or blame it on his mother, or see him as some tortured hero. I read this the day after the other book, so his actions were fresh in my mind. I read all the stuff that made Jack the way he was, and it still wasn’t an excuse for me. The book was 76% in when Jack realized that he had been a bully. Better late than never.
In comparison, Mike was almost a boring character. He’s loyal to his family, and a responsible business owner. He looks out for his single-mother employee, and likes giving the high schoolers a safe space. He doesn’t make waves in the small community. He knows that Jack needs him, and he lets himself be used, even though it’s not a great relationship dynamic.
Jack and Mike do not have an easy road to happily ever after. Mike is full of resentment and Jack is full of himself. They kiss angrily. With all that, the author does manage to smooth things out at the end. I believed that Jack realized his mistakes and wanted to change, and I enjoyed reading about him once he let go of his emotional baggage. I also appreciate that he shaved his mustache.
I wonder if I would have liked Jack better if I hadn’t read the other book first? If you like reunited lovers and a messed up hero, try reading this book first, maybe it will be easier for you. As for me, I couldn’t get on board until later.
Rating B-
This review was originally posted on Red Hot Books at [...]
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