Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Series: Jackson Hole #1
Published by Harlequin HQN on 28 August 2012
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Purchase
Can a city girl make it in the wild, wild West?
For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood isn't the land of golden opportunity. It's the land of difficult divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson Hole, Grace thinks she'll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expecting....
Cole Rawlins is a rugged Wyoming cowboy born and bred. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the fascinating big-city girl who moves in across from him. He wants to get close enough to Grace to see past her tough facade, but if he does, she might see the real Cole. The one with a Hollywood history gone bad. As they discover a sizzling attraction, it becomes harder for him to keep his demons at bay-and those fires from long ago may burn them both.
They'll need more than scorching-hot passion to make this opposites-attract affair work. But if they can learn to trust one another enough to reveal their secrets, they just might have a chance at forever.
I loved Close Enough to Touch, both because I found the characters to be so compelling, and because the story was very touching!
My Close Enough to Touch review:
Grace is one of those prickly characters who prefers being angry rather than show anyone that she is vulnerable and maybe a bit fragile. And I fell in love with her from the beginning, because she was a fighter all the way. She fought against having friends, loving other people, Cole, her sexy cowboy neighbor, and just life in general. And while my life has been nothing like hers, I could relate to her, and I just wanted her to find a way to at least be content. Close Enough to Touch is both about the physical touch and the more emotional touch, and Grace was definitely OK with physical touch, as long as she let nobody through the tall and wide walls she had erected around her heart. Down on her luck and almost penniless, she showed up in Jackson Hole to stay for a few weeks in one of her great-aunt Rayleen’s apartments at the stud farm.
Cole seemed to be the complete opposite from Grace, because he was outwardly friendly and smiling, but he was hiding a big heap of hurt inside as well. Thirteen years of hurt, with a nice, big new pile of hurt on top. A cowboy ready to by the ranch where he was working, he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever ride again after a bad accident several months before Close Enough to Touch started. These two characters both intrigued me and each other, and I enjoyed their story very much. It took both of them a very long time to open up to each other emotionally, but their physical chemistry and hotness was off the charts!
Grace was running away from her life in LA, from an ex-boyfriend who might get her in jail, and the jaded Hollywood business as a make-up artist. In Jackson Hole, she knew she had to find a job, and she somehow ended up working as a freelance for the local photographer, who had a contract for an onsite movie gig. The arrival of the production team to the small town affected both Grace and Cole in many ways, and it made their tough façade crack a little bit – turning their steamy relationship into something more distant as they had to deal with their personal demons.
Slowly learning to make some friends, and also trying to get to now her great-aunt, Grace changed quite a bit over the span of the story. However, when push came to show, she was ready to run once more, as fast and as fast as she could. Tender and sweet, Close Enough to Touch made me want to help Grace become her own woman in a way that would permit her to let go of her anger and embrace her strong sense of self in a different way.
Written in third person point of view, past tense, but with a lot of dialogues to help the readers get to know the characters well, Close Enough to Touch was a great story that is the beginning of what I think is an amazing series.
Some of my favorite Close Enough to Touch quotes:
Even the most cynical person could tell he was offering the truth. And his face Hell, that was enough to inspire generosity. It was lovely in a very masculine way. A jaw like steel. Strong nose. And blue eyes that crinkled with warmth fairly often, if the laugh lines were any indication.
She felt lighter as she headed for the faint sounds of music leaking from the saloon next door. “The saloon next door,” she murmured. That was something she’d never said before. Bar, yes. Liquor store, sure. And on one occasion even a strip club. But never a saloon.
The old woman was harmless. Eccentric, but harmless. Even the jokes in town meant nothing, which was why everyone thought they were funny. Obviously nothing was was going on between Rayleen and her young renters, but with the house being part of the old Studd homestead, the jokes were too easy. Too damn perfect.
I loved this series so much and it’s what got me hooked on Victoria Dahl! 😀 Great review! I hope you like the rest of the books too! 😀
I have read the spin-off series, and I loved that, Dahl is one of my favorite authors, and I am always excited to pick up one of her books. Thanks for stopping by, Blessie.
Twitter: ejaygirl77
This is one of my favorite series, though Grace was more of a challenge for me than she was for you:)
Nice review!
I loved Grace, and also, the interactions with her aunt just made me laugh so much 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Jonetta.
I’m always curious when we have characters like that, complex and with a difficult life. I think I tried a book by the author and enjoyed it but I should try more! I also need to verify if it’s this author and not another one.
I absolutely love Victoria Dahl’s stories, Melliane 🙂
Oooh this sounds great! Glad you loved it 🙂
It was really good, Danielle 🙂
Twitter: ailynk
well.. not exactly original but Grace seems like someone I don’t mind reading
I don’t really need something that is completely different from other stories, as long as the characters appeal to me, and the story is well done 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Ailyn.
Twitter: kbaby81
I may be able to relate to her character, because I have been there. Well, still there, somewhat. I’m adding this one to my TBR. Thanks for sharing!
It’s a really good story, Lekeisha! I hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂
I’m so happy Close Enough to Touch touched you as much as it did me, Lex. And I’m thrilled to have enticed you to read a book by one of your favorite authors. 😉 I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to continuing in the series…and, of course, Dahl in general. I just love her writing!
**BIG HUGS**
LOL I am definitely going to read the rest of this series very soon, and I’m glad you read this one before me – it gave me the little kick in the behind I needed to get started 🙂 I agree, Dahl’s writing is so good, she has created some very believable characters.
*BIG HUGS*
Thanks for sharing! It’s great that you really loved this one. Both characters sound great, and I’m curious about what makes them keep people away.
I’m always curious about what exactly made some of the characters I enjoy keep others at arms length!
It’s good to see there was so much character growth in this one. Grace seemed like someone looking to find herself, as well as letting Cole into her life.
Yeah, she had been quite lost for a while, and people she thought she could trust turned out not being trustworthy after all.
I need to read more Victoria Dahl. Taking the Heat was one of my favorite books I read this year, but I still haven’t read any of her other books. I’m glad you enjoyed this.
I really love her books, Quinn, and I have read quite a few so far. Her writing is spot-on, and her female characters are always very well done 🙂
This does sound like a really sweet read! Thanks for sharing, and great review!
It really is, Lisa 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!