Friday, February 13, 2015

Review: Give It All by Cara Mckenna


Give It All (Desert Dogs #2) by Cara McKenna
Publication Date: February 3rd 2014 by Signet
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the book:

A hot new Desert Dogs novel from the author of  Lay It Down

Keep your friends close—and your enemies closer....

Bar owner Raina Harper can’t say for sure what Duncan Welch is to her. With her small Nevada town under siege by a ruthless casino development and still reeling from a spate of murders, she knows that trusting the public face of the corporate invaders is risky to say the least. Though, damn, it’s one fine-looking face.…

Duncan may be a mercenary when it comes to getting the job done, but he’s no villain. In fact, the calculating fixer soon finds himself in the bad guys’ crosshairs, framed and facing professional ruin. To clear his name, he’ll need help from Raina and her roughneck motorcycle club, the Desert Dogs. Gaining their trust won’t be easy, and the molten sexual tension between Raina and Duncan only makes things more complicated—especially since Miah Church, Raina’s friend and ex-lover, would sooner strangle Duncan than shake his hand.

One thing’s certain, though: If they don’t deal with their incendiary attraction soon, the whole damn town might go up in flames.…

My Thoughts:
Give It All was a perfectly imperfect romance, an unlikely pairing that I fell head over heels for! Cara McKenna’s writing was beautiful, profound, and hot as hell!

Duncan Welch came to Fortuity representing Sunnyside Corporation in their efforts to bring a large casino into the little town, basically overtaking any of the small businesses currently established. One of those businesses is Benji’s bar, a longtime fixture.  Needless to say, Duncan isn’t very popular with the locals, but that doesn’t stop the palpable attraction between the bar’s owner, Raina Harper, and Duncan.

Accusations and threats bring Duncan in danger, and after helping the Desert Dogs crew, Vince, Raina, Miah, and Casey, they feel obliged to watch out for Duncan bringing him and Raina closer, and making it impossible to fight their magnetic pull. 

At first glance, Raina and Duncan don’t make sense together at all, they seemed so completely opposite. Duncan was urban, and so very civilized whereas Raina was coarse and wild. In fact, I was disappointed when I found out that Give It All would be a romance between them instead of Raina and Miah.  I should’ve known better than to doubt Ms. McKenna’s plans.  Duncan and Raina were like two halves of one whole.

Duncan was the picture of controlled perfection: rich, impeccably dressed, and groomed, but since setting foot in Fortuity he’s been slowly disassembling.  I loved watching his slow unraveling, getting to what made him, and his vulnerable heart tick. In the midst of his coming undone, Duncan finds something precious and unexpected in his relationship with Raina:

Perfection, with this all-wrong woman, in this all-wrong place, at this all-wrong moment of his unraveling life.

Their romance was so HOT!! Ms. McKenna is a master at writing slow building, explosive tension.  I was squirming with lust and need while reading!

Give It All had me completely cracking up in parts.  Much of it was due to Duncan. I loved his snarky, stuffy comebacks:

“I wasn’t offering, merely informing you.”
“Very forceful, Mr. Welch. Are you one of those well dressed, domineering, kinky millionaires I’ve heard about?  Should I get the handcuffs?”
“A gag wouldn’t go astray.”

“Boys’ll be boys,” Ducky said, sounding defensive. Duncan muttered, “Spoken like the proud father of a future date rapist.”

“Do you know what the sexiest thing is about you, Duncan?” Confused, he frowned. “My pocket squares?”

I can’t wait for the next installment of the Desert Dogs series, but I have to say I’m a little worried about Casey’s vision involving one of the team.  I’m hoping for a romance for Miah.  That boy needs some loving after seeing Raina move on with someone else. Also, what’s in store for Casey, and will it include Abilene?  

I wasn’t expecting to love Give It All as much as I did.  I had my heart set on romance between Miah and Raina, but I was happily surprised to fall so hard for Duncan and Raina. They seemed completely unmatched, but somehow fit so perfectly together.  I’ve come to adore Cara McKenna’s writing, how it touches down deep and makes me feel.  It’s gorgeous without being overwhelming or distracting. 


4.5 Suns




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