REVIEW: Last Chance Book Club by Hope Ramsay

In Last Chance Book Club by Hope Ramsay, Savannah White has decided to move to Last Chance, South Carolina with her twelve year old son, Todd. She spent wonderful summers there as a child and hopes the fresh air will do him some good. She hasn’t told anyone of her plans to move from Baltimore, yet, knowing her mother and her ex-husband will protest, even though her ex hasn’t visited Todd in months. Savannah told them she was going there for her uncle’s funeral and to check in on her Aunt Miriam, which is true, but she also hopes to make a new beginning in Last Chance for her son and herself. She secretly wants to renovate the old movie theater The Kismet that her grandfather left to her but is saddened by its deterioration over the years. She also didn’t expect her “kissing cousin” Dash would be staying at her aunt’s house. They were arch enemies growing up, both of them vying for her grandfather’s attention and each of them with a big chip on their shoulder.

“He looked like the God of DIY wearing a pair of faded jeans, a tool belt, and not much more. Sweat darkened the band of his ball cap and the waistband of his jeans. It ran in glistening rivulets down his craggy cheeks and across his shoulders. A more masculine sight Savannah had not seen in many years.”

Some things never change and they find themselves bickering like they did as children. Dash keeps stepping in trying to help keep her mouthy preteen son in line and giving her advice about the renovation. Savannah is furious at him for interfering but is just as mad at herself for her sudden attraction to him. The more she fights her feelings, the more she wants Dash. She knows they are probably wrong for each other in every way possible and doesn’t want the ladies at the book club or the ladies auxiliary gossiping, but she finally gives in to temptation. Just when they think they could have everything they want, vandalism at The Kismet and interference from her ex threaten to turn their lives upside down.

“She had turned into a ravishing beauty. How had that happened? How had his perception of her altered so much?”

Dash Randall is currently staying with his Aunt Mariam after being kicked out of a major league baseball career and recently winning the battle with alcoholism. He had a rough time growing up in Texas and was sent to live with family in South Carolina when he was about twelve. His time growing up in Last Chance helped him get on the right track for a career in baseball but his addictions soon took over while on the road. Now that he’s cleaned himself up, he wants to give back to the community that means so much to him. Dash is actively helping the youth sports programs and has helped out a local business financially but hopes to settle down eventually. What he is not expecting is to come face-to-face with Savannah, or “princess” as he’s always called her, and he certainly didn’t expect to find her so enticing. He’s been trying to give up on a crush he’s had on a local beauty for years and Savannah might just be the way to move forward. However, she triggers something in him that’s similar to the addictions he’s battled and before he knows it, he’s hooked on everything about her.

If you like a good enemies-to-lovers romance then you will fall in love with Hope Ramsay’s book. She did a great job creating an interesting and realistic small town full of southern charm and intriguing characters. Savannah is the quintessential beautiful single mom full of love but with a no nonsense attitude. She’s still holding on to the traditions her grandmother and aunt taught her in the kitchen and in raising her son. Dash is a heartthrob in his stetson and cowboy boots with a mischievous smile and a heart of pure gold. You can’t help being drawn in to their situation and hope after everything they have been through in the past that they get their HEA.

Book Info

Release date: March 26, 2013 | Series: Last Chance (Book 1)