REVIEW: His Kind of Trouble by Terri L. Austin

His Kind of Trouble by Terri L. Austin: Monica had a run in with then bad boy Cal at her father’s wedding. Their steamy moment was interrupted by her sister, Allie, but they never forgot one another. Five years later, they meet again while Cal is in town to visit his mother.

Monica had been a wild child, but was determined not to be that way anymore. Instead she hides her true self, attempting to make Allie happy. It only makes her miserable. She hates her job, hates that Allie doesn’t seem to trust her, hates the house she lives in but never bothered to decorate. Years after her mother’s death, she’s also still carrying around guilt that she felt better that her mother had died instead of suffering. Being with Cal makes her feel like her old self again–her true self–and that scares her. She never wants to be out of control again.

“There’s not one personal item in this God-awful house. Why are you hiding?” Monica shoved at his chest with both hands, but he didn’t move. Wouldn’t move, not until he had an answer.
“Why are you doing this? I’m not hiding. This is me. This is the real me.” She sounded desperate, as if she were trying to convince herself as well as him.

Cal misses the Monica he met that day in the garden. He recognizes that she’s trying to be someone she really isn’t, and hates that it’s causing her to such unhappiness. Cal isn’t without his own set of issues. His father thinks he’s worthless, his mother’s not emotionally dependable. He had to sit and watch as the only person who was ever truly there for him–his nanny–died, and he had to do it by himself because his mother couldn’t bring herself to be there for them. He never stays in one place long, always bouncing from place to place so he wouldn’t get attached to anything or anyone. Monica is the only one who realizes why he never sticks around.

“You think if you keep moving, never settling in one place, nothing can hurt you. So you wander around without

any purpose, without putting any thought into your life at all. And you throw money at people in order to feel better about it. Except it doesn’t work, Cal. Because you can’t outrun all the shit you feel inside, all the isolation and pain.”

Monica and Cal are the only people who recognize the pain each other is in. I thought it was a little odd that Allie, with all the hovering she did over Monica, couldn’t recognize how much her sister was hurting. I also thought there was no real resolution of Cal’s anger towards his mother, Pix. They had a brief conversation where his admits that she let him and Babcock, his nanny, down, but she never reveals exactly why she wasn’t there when they needed her.

This is the second book in the series, and although it can be read as a stand alone, I wonder if I would have understand Allie’s distrust of Monica more if I had read the first book. It wasn’t enough to take away from the story, but I did feel like I was missing some of the backstory of their relationship.

His Kind of Trouble is about two lost people discovering who they truly are with the help of one another. It was a good read, and I recommend giving it a try.

Book Info:

Publication: November 3, 2015 | Sourcebooks Casablanca | Beauty and the Brit #2

Monica Campbell may have a history as a wild child, but she’s changed her ways. She’s responsible, and most importantly, she’s sworn off bad boys. That is, until filthy rich Cal Hughes shows up with his sexy British accent and killer smile.

Cal remembers every steamy moment he shared with Monica years ago, but he barely recognizes the straight-laced woman she has become. Determined to lure her into dropping the prim and proper act, Cal uses every trick he knows to remind her of who she used to be back when she was his.