Friday, April 19, 2019

Book #Review: Riding The Storm ( Westmorelands 5) by Brenda Jackson

Book Title: Riding The Storm ( Westmoreland Book 5)
Author:  Brenda Jackson|WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher: Silhouette/ Harlequin
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, African American Romance
Series/Standalone: Series Book 5
Format: Mass Market, ebook
Cost: $5.99
Pages: 192
How I got it: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: April 11, 2006
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Synopsis:
Women called him the perfect storm because he could sweet-talk any woman into his bed, and regularly did so. Firefighter Storm Westmoreland used lovemaking the way other men used a long, hot shower-to blow off steam. Until a torrid weekend with a too-hot-to-handle virgin left a certain legendary player craving something other than mere physical gratification.

Caught in the eye of the storm, Jayla Cole was no match for the sexy fire chief or the emotional inferno he ignited inside her. But would she be satisfied with the mind-blowing, sex only relationship she shared with Storm, or was starting a family on her own still what she desired more than anything?
back to the world of the Westmoreland's we go. This sprawling family saga has us still within the original six family members getting their stories. This is Storm, a firefighter who recently received a promotion which sends him to New Orleans for a convention; while there he runs into his mentor's daughter Jayla and something about her this weekend is hitting all the right buttons for him. Storm was her first crush, after his rejection Jayla has decided that she doesn't wish to be with men like her father who controlled everything about her young life while raising her after her mother passed.

This is a bit of a second chance romance, or perhaps it's making up for lost time?! Either way, they have a past that allows Storm to try to hide behind his belief that she's still a teenager, but he's more attracted than he's ever been. When Jayla proposes they have a once in a lifetime weekend before she returns home to start a major new project Storm is at first resistant then onboard totally.  They say it's only for the weekend but at the end of it neither can forget the other. Jayla goes home to start working on her project and Storm returns to his life as the love and leave em firefighter, however, he's not as interested in loving them as he used to be and he can't wrap his head around it.

I loved the slow buildup and the reshaping of who they were to each other, as Storm had to learn that she was a grown woman with wants and needs similar to his own. Once he stopped acting like he knew best, he became a great character to root for. Jayla's secret plans meant that she was only looking for a steamy weekend affair, even though she didn't want to let Storm go, what she was working on was super important to her.  I loved that we saw her having a full life with great supportive (although her friends wanted her to see ALL the options like really good friends do ) friends, a career she was proud of and happy with and this one dream she was finally working on.

While Storm comes from a strong family, his life experiences have altered the way he views relationships and women's roles in them. I'm very glad that they both realized that the fundamental changes had to come from the person wanting the change and not from the other. Storm's hardlines were stemmed in his past love affairs and Jayla's stemmed from her relationship with her father and they had to work on their own issues and come to terms with them. I loved that they discussed these issues in a way that let the other know they weren't judging but why this thought mattered to them.

Let's just take a moment to enjoy that their chemistry was off the charts. They were very sexually compatible, and this made Storm see her in a whole new light, let me tell ya'. I guessed the ending only because it's what I wanted to happen. I did love the buildup to that ending and the way in which Storm's family played a part in helping him to get out of his own way.   Seeing some of the other couples that are being formed really made me glad I'm reading the series in order.

I loved the way that New Orleans played a part in their story. And of course, I immediately went looking into river cruises. I can't wait to read Ian's story and see how he falls.
 ★★★★☆
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Happy Reading my loves, 

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