Now or Never

Loved this final book in the San Francisco Thunder series. This book was a very emotional read as we watch Winnie deal with the death of her dad & the final death of her ten year relationship. We also watched as Holden tries to right the wrongs he created in his youth as he comes back to his small hometown to start over. It was sad watching Winnie grieve & also watching Holden be treated like a pariah but it was also interesting to watch the battle of wits & wills between her & Holden as he renovates her family’s cottage. To say their past was rocky is an understatement but what everyone didn’t know was that Holden had always liked Winnie even when he teased her. As the doubt opens up to trust, their hearts start to heal a bit & allows them to see the real person. I think my favourite parts of the book are when Holden explains about her friends grandmothers stolen necklace & Winnie stands with Holden when her brothers Stanley Cup ring turns up missing. Definitely recommend this book & series.

3.5 stars--NOW OR NEVER is the fourth instalment in Victoria Denault’s contemporary, adult SAN FRANCISCO THUNDER romance series. This is thirty year old, home renovator Holden Hendricks, and twenty-nine year old, primary school teacher Winnie Braddock’s story line. NOW OR NEVER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Winnie and Holden) NOW OR NEVER follows the enemies to lovers, acrimonious relationship between thirty year old, home renovator Holden Hendricks, and twenty-nine year old, primary school teacher Winnie Braddock. Years earlier Winnie’s brother Jude’s best friend Holden Hendrick’s made Winnie’s life a living h*ll. Teasing and bullying escalated until the day Winnie punched Holden and broke his nose. Fast forward to present day wherein Holden Hendrick’s has returned to his home town, unwelcome and without forgiveness for sins of the past. When given the opportunity to renovate and repair the Braddock’s family cottage in Maine Holden will come face to face with his past, a past that is unwilling to forgive and forget. Enter Winnifred Braddock, and the woman with whom Holden will fall in love. What ensues is the tempestuous relationship between Holden and Winnie, and the potential fall-out as secrets and the inability to trust continue to push Holden at every turn.

Holden Handricks’ life was destroyed when at the age of ten, his mother died in a freak accident. Angry and grieving, for the next several years, Holden lashed out at everyone and everything, including our story line heroine. Holden’s earlier self-destruction destroyed any chance of turning professional in the game he loved, a game he sacrificed for someone else. Hoping to make amends to everyone back home, the constant rejection was difficult and painful. Winnie Braddock just buried her beloved father and is unable to let go of the grief and pain. Breaking up with her boyfriend of eleven years meant Winnie wanted time alone never thinking she would spend weeks with a man she decreed her mortal enemy. Living side by side Winnie would soon discover that the man with whom she is falling in love is not the same, angry boy whose actions turned her life upside down.

The relationship between Winnie and Holden is acrimonious at best. Their bitter and caustic back and forth is fuelled by Winnie’s inability to trust, and the reminder of a time long ago when Holden did everything to push Winnie’s buttons. Secrets from the past, and Winnie’s issues of trust continue to dog our couple throughout the story. The $ex scenes are passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are reintroduced to Winnie’s brother Jude and his wife Zoey (Scored #1), and their sisters Dixie and Eli (Slammed #2), Sadie and Griffin (When It’s Right #3); as well as a Winnie’s friend and townie Cat’ Holden’s sister Bradie and her son Duke, and a couple of Holden’s friends from the past.

The world building departs from hockey and the San Francisco Thunder. Holden was a rising star in the junior hockey leagues but life choices destroyed any chances for a professional career, a career every knows would have been as successful as Jude’s.

NOW OR NEVER is a story of family and friendship, death and loss, forgiveness and moving forward. The character driven premise is engaging and spirited; the characters are broken, flirty and real; the romance is moving and emotional. NOW OR NEVER reveals the pain of childhood trauma; the regret of sins and bullying; and the second chances for two people hurt by words and loss. On the flip side, I struggled with the heroine’s immature attitude throughout most of the story, sometimes too much childish behaviour is difficult to accept.