REVIEW: Betting the Bad Boy by Sugar Jamison

Betting the Bad Boy by Sugar Jamison: When Duke King is forced back to the town he grew up in due to his aunt’s hospitalization, he’s *ahem* unhappy to say the least considering he and his brothers were the town drunk’s outcast sons. But once he sees Grace, the girl he loved and the girl who led to him being imprisoned for several years, his month in Destiny is made a whole lot more interesting.
Grace always believed Duke would hate her for what happened, but that is nothing compared to his anger at her for not telling him about his thirteen year old son. Duke will do anything to be in his son’s life, and when Grace makes a bet, he lives in their house for a month and proves his ability as a dad and she’ll move with their son to where Duke is, Duke jumps at the chance.
But living together only lights the sparks between them once more. And as Duke gets to know his son, he finds a place he belongs. Maybe forgiveness and love can be found once more between Grace and Duke.

She reached up and brushed a kiss across his lips, which was a mistake. This was exactly how it had happened the first time, in this very park. She’d reached up to kiss him and he was a goner.

I enjoyed Betting the Bad Boy, especially because I love the forced to live together trope. But Duke was angry, bossy, not completely pleasant to know, and still completely in love with all that Grace is despite his anger. And Grace, while not as fleshed out as Duke, was a good match for Duke in her softness and stubborn strength.
Their son isn’t the most pleasant fella, but what thirteen year old is. Even being angry about his new reality, he was funny and I liked seeing this family mix and mend. Also, Duke’s brothers are awesome and I definitely need to read their stories next.
At times, Grace definitely felt a little annoying and odd. Her actions, which Duke liked, confused me since it didn’t make sense for this angry, confused couple. But it worked in an odd way since Duke just wasn’t going to be the sexual aggressor, it had to be Grace in her desire for the man she loved.
While the writing isn’t the smoothest, for a second chance fan, I definitely recommend the Jamison’s Betting the Bad Boy. An interesting story that took some routes I didn’t expect.
 

Book Info:

February 2, 2016 | Swerve | Destiny #2

Ten years ago, Duke King knew that getting involved with Grace Truman would only bring trouble into his already hard life. After all, the son of the town drunk has no business falling for the judge’s daughter…a passion that led to disaster and ended with Duke serving a ten year prison sentence. Duke never wanted to return to Destiny, especially now that he’s built a multimillion dollar custom car empire with his brothers. But when his sick aunt calls him home, he must face his past and discover a secret that instantly changes his life.

Grace never thought she would see Duke again, especially after years of silence. But when Duke comes storming back into her life, looking hotter than ever, and determined to get to know the son he never knew he had, she realizes that maybe she’d been wrong about him so many years ago. So Grace decides to make Duke a bet. If he can stay in the house with them for the next thirty days and prove he’ll be a good father, she’ll agree to letting him be part of his son’s life. If not, he’d better be prepared for a fight.

Going from single guy to family man isn’t going to be easy for Duke, especially with the still sexy, now fiery, Grace clouding his every thought. Can Duke be the man he never thought he could be or will his old bad boy ways be too much to conquer?