They were always taught that family was about more than blood, but when step-siblings Sophie Ellis and Logan Castle meet for the first time, their attraction is instantaneous. Forever trying to keep each other at arm's length, they discover that sometimes the best laid plans fall apart, when lovers fall together.
He's everything she's ever fantasized about, and everything she can never have.
She's all he's ever wanted, but never hoped to have.
Trying so hard to be his stepsister, she can't shake the attraction she feels.
He decides it's best to leave, but when circumstances see them reunite, and he discovers their initial attraction is still there after all the intervening years, he can't help himself. He has to have her.
Running scared, she cuts all ties.
Left behind, his bitterness grows.
When again circumstances force her back into his arms, her past comes back to haunt her.
He's determined to make her pay for leaving him.
Desires are forbidden. Loyalties are tested. Hearts are broken. And in the end, is love strong enough to conquer all?
4.5 Stars!
Review by Lisa Kane
Sophie Ellis' mom is about to remarry. Her dad died a while ago and she's found love again with Harry. He's divorced and has a son, Logan, who's 18 and about to start college. Their first meeting is at the wedding. They make eye contact before they know who the other is, and feel an attraction. Of course the champagne that the waiter, (a school mate of Sophie's named Taylor ) keeps plying her with doesn't hurt.
The guy was every girl's dream-dark brooding good looks and if she'd guessed correctly, his body was well maintained. She felt herself drift into daydreams as she avoided his hot stare.
But once they find out that they are now related by marriage they both feel guilty for their feelings. Harry picks up on their attraction right away and lets Logan know he better not be acting on his feelings. The two of them have a poor relationship anyway and this doesn't help.
Figures that the first girl that caught his eye turned out to be his new sister. Shit and double shit. And if he remembered the conversation he'd had with his father about Sophie, she was only sixteen, too.
But they are tempted to cross the imaginary taboo lines.
"What? Sneak around behind everybody's back? No, Logan. I could never do that. I'm sorry. I think it's better if we accept our relationship for what it is. I'm your sister. You're my brother. That's it."
Logan eventually moves out of the family home and into a dorm. But on Sophie's 18th birthday, Logan admits to himself and his father how he really feels about her and has every intention of admitting it to her. But after a birthday dinner, fate has other plans for him. Tragedy strikes and Sophie is devastated. Logan is her only family now and he won't let her down.
"You're all I've got left, Logan. You're the only family I have."
He could never ask for more-not now.
Seven years go by. Years that are filled with Tuesday phone calls between them, catching up on their week. Years filled with texts and infrequent visits. Sophie is plagued with nightmares and calls Logan in the middle of the night. He is there for her each and every time. She's been with Taylor (the champagne waiter from the wedding, who Logan dubbed "Champagne Chimp" for years. But it's not Taylor that she looks to for reassurance that things will be okay when she has her panic attacks. Logan is her brother and he is her touchstone in life.
The unthinkable happens with Taylor and once again Sophie is devastated.
"I would let you finish up, but I don't think any amount of soap is going to get you clean, Taylor."
Who does she run to-yep right into Logan's arms. She decides to stay in the town he lives in now and contemplates starting her design business from there. Logan has always been a manwhore, he can't and doesn't want to commit. (of course the fact that he has never gotten over Sophie has a lot to do with it.)
One night when he's sexually frustrated over Sophie he needs relief and finds it in between the legs of a bimbo, Bethany. Sophie walks in, sees them having sex on the dining room table and is both repulsed, and fascinated. Not to mention turned on beyond belief.
Sophie found herself craning her neck for a proper look at Logan, and was shocked at the revival of desire she felt. Was she sick? This was Logan. He was her brother.
Strangely enough this leads to Sophie and Logan finally giving into their feelings for each other. But this is short lived and Sophie's habitual Flight or Fight reflex kicks in and she leaves. Over a year goes by with no communication between them. Logan tried over and over to get her to answer his calls and texts but she wouldn't budge.
A friend of Logan's is building a hotel and Logan is the architect. Guess who's firm will be handling the decorating? When these two meet face to face for the first time in a long time, Logan is angry and wants her to pay for hurting him. These parts were full of angst and I loved them. There has been so much miscommunication and missed opportunities between these two over the years that their game of tit for tat and trying to outdo the other to force reactions took this story from good to great. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
"Does it make you feel dirty when you get wet for your stepbrother? Does it? Does it make you feel nasty when you remember the things we did to each other just now?"
The secondary characters flavor this delicious soup in a colorful, interesting way. I would love to see Serena and Alex get their own stories. Plus it would be an added bonus to have more Logan and Sophie!
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