Tour Review: Rusty Nailed by Alice Clayton

Rusty Nailed by Alice Clayton
Release Date: June 24, 2014
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 320
Series: Cocktail #2
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

In this sequel to Wallbanger, the second book in the Cocktail series, fan favorites Caroline and Simon negotiate the rollercoaster of their new relationship while house-sitting in San Francisco.

Playing house was never so much fun—or so confusing. With her boss on her honeymoon, Caroline’s working crazy long hours to keep the interior design company running—especially since she’s also the lead designer for the renovation of a gorgeous old hotel on Sausalito. So with her hotshot photographer boyfriend gallivanting all over the world for his job, she and Simon are heavy-duty into “absence makes the heart grow fonder” mode. Neither has any complaints about the great reunion sex, though! Then Simon decides he’s tired of so much travelling, and he’s suddenly home more. A lot more. And wanting Caroline home more, too. Though their friends’ romantic lives provide plenty of welcome distraction, eventually Caroline and Simon have to sort their relationship out. Neither wants “out of sight, out of mind,” but can they create their own happy mid-ground cliché?

USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton delivers another delicious, frothy cocktail of a book, shaking up her characters, stirring in laugh-out-loud humor, and serving sizzling romance straight up!

My Thoughts:
First of all I must say that I love how this book is a continuation of Caroline and Simon’s story from Wallbanger. Alice Clayton has done that before in a romance series (the Redhead books), but most authors don't. Rusty Nailed is exactly what you would expect from a sequel to Wallbanger: charming, swoony, and, of course, hilarious.

A great thing about this book is that it’s very much about the romance and about Caroline and Simon growing and changing as a couple, but it’s also about their personal journeys. It’s about Simon facing his past, and about Caroline working towards her future with her job. On the romance side of things, I enjoyed so much that it’s a book about the “next stage” of a romance. In most romances we don’t get to see a committed (and very much in love) couple, so it was really awesome to see these characters trying to figure out what life together means: to see them figure out who they are as an “us”.

I also appreciated how Alice Clayton managed to write a couple going through things without completely tearing them apart or bringing cheating into the mix (at least in the case of the main couple). It would have been so easy to create unnecessary drama and tear Caroline and Simon apart, but that's not what happened here at all. Of course there are issues and some drama, because it wouldn’t be interesting without it, but I thought the book was a fair representation of both a couple's growing pains and their successes.

Overall, this was an amazing second chapter in Simon and Caroline’s story. I highly recommend this book to fans of Wallbanger, and I recommend both titles to adult romance fans who appreciate character depth and wit in their sexy books. I would also be remiss not to mention Clive, who is an absolutely amazing cat character. Seriously, this cat is epic, and his interactions with his humans? Priceless.

The Cover:
Not sure about the pastel, but overall it's okay.

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository