Heather's review from Smut MattersI really struggled to get into this one. I'd pick it up, read about half a page, put it down and wander away. Repeat. I don't know what the problem was. But then, about 15% of the way through it, there was a scene involving Lachlan and Kayla and a rugby match, and I was hooked. I can't explain it. After that, I was obsessed with this book. 
 I think it was Kayla in the beginning. There was something about her I wasn't connecting with, but after that rugby scene I just loved her and Lachlan both. This book was longer than an average romance, and it really allowed the relationship between Lachlan and Kayla to really deepen and develop in a way I don't see very often. And, wow, did it ever. I've never read anything by Karina Halle before, and I don't know how I've missed her. If her other books are anything like this, I'll be a mess. 
 Kayla was interesting. She was just a pretty regular girl. Early twenties, no traumatic back story, stuck in a job she doesn't really like and where she doesn't feel appreciated. She has a few good girlfriends, Steph and Nicola, who are starting to pair off and have kids, and she's feeling a bit left out. She's recently declared her vagina a "no men allowed" zone and sworn off sex and dating. No real reason, she's just doesn't want to sleep with "another guy who wouldn't know a woman's clit if it slapped him in the face. Hell, I'm sure when I jerk my hips it literally is slapping him in the the face, and yet they pretend like it doesn't exist." 
 Lachlan on the other hand, has some deep-seated trauma in his background. He's content to just casually date, and has no intention of letting anyone get close. His two cousins, Bram and Linden, are the men who have paired up with Steph and Nicola, so when he comes to San Francisco from Edinburgh, hes bound to cross paths with Kayla. 
 And boy howdy, do they cross paths. The chemistry is there from the begining, but Lachlan's desire to remain a loner and Kayla's determination to be celibate mean that they don't do anything about it. In fact, they don't do anything about it for a long time. This story is a slow burn, so if you prefer the sexytimes to get going right from the beginning, this book may not be for you. Once they get started, though, their feelings grow quickly, compounded by the fact that they don't have a lot of time together before he goes back to Edinburgh. He's a rugby player and has to get back for the start of the season, so staying in San Francisco isn't an option. Kayla is already pretty unhappy in her job, but her elderly mom lives alone and isn't well, so moving to Edinburgh isn't an option for her. Since this is a romance, I knew it would end with an HEA, but I didn't see how we were going to get there for a while. Lachlan is so deeply unhappy when the book opens, he has a lot of work to do on himself before he can be good for himself, much less for someone else. 
 Lachlan is a great guy, but so scared of getting hurt again that he refuses to let anyone know that. He did his best to push everyone away. Deep down, he doesn't think anyone could love him, or that he deserves it. When he starts to feel someone getting too close, he pushes them away before they can walk away from him. He does a great job pushing Kayla away in the beginning, and from what we've see of Kayla up to that point that takes some real doing. She doesn't take no for an answer when she decides she wants something, though, and she wants Lachlan, celibacy vow be damned. She keeps chipping away at Lachlan, and eventually she gets through to him. He sees what they have in common, not the differences in their lives. They grew up in vastly different ways, but right now, they're both lonely. They both want something they don't think they're ever going to get. Lachlan has isolated himself, while Kayla hasn't and is just starting to realize she wants something more than just the random hook-ups she's been indulging in. 
 There wasn't a lot of outside drama here. Once these two got together, they really just had to deal with their own demons. Lachlan, especially. Lachlan had a really terrible childhood, and he's never gotten past it. It led to an equally terrible young adulthood, which just compounded the problem. He won't see anyone about his issues, so they just fester and grow until they burst out, usually in self-destructive ways. Kayla has to decide for herself how much of her life she's willing to give to Lachlan's issues, how much she's willing to not know day to day if she'll wake up to the Lachlan who loves her or the Lachlan who's given into his demons again. 
 There's a lot to love in this book. Lachlan, Kayla, rugby, family, friendship, dogs. Yes, there are dogs. There are so many dogs. And they're not just plot moppets. The dogs have almost as much personality and character as everyone else. In the author notes, Karina Halle mentioned that Tom Hardy was the inspiration for Lachlan, so I'm going to end this review by leaving this here for you.... 
 (photo from a fantastic Distractify article about the gloriousness of Tom Hardy & his dog on the red carpet)