Right Kind of Wrong by Chelsea Fine Series: Finding Fate #3
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Published on 2014-09-02
Genres: Coming of Age, Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
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Sometimes wrong can feel oh so right . . .
Jenna Lacombe needs complete control, whether it’s in the streets . . . or between the sheets. So when she sets out on a solo road trip to visit her family in New Orleans, she’s beyond annoyed that the infuriatingly sexy Jack Oliver wants to hitch a ride with her. Ever since they shared a wild night together last year, he’s been trying to strip away her defenses one by one. He claims he’s just coming along to keep her safe-but what’s not safe for her is prolonged exposure to the tattooed hottie.
Jack can’t get Jenna out from under his skin. She makes him feel alive again after his old life nearly destroyed him-and losing her is not an option. Now Jack’s troubles are catching up to him, and he’s forced to return to his hometown in Louisiana. But when his secrets put them both in harm’s way, Jenna will have to figure out how far she’s willing to let love in . . . and how much she already has.
“Love isn’t an obedient whim. It’s an unruly force. And it answers to no one.”
This is the third book in Chelsea Fine’s Finding Fate series. Each of the books are standalones that very loosely link together, and they are fun, witty NA reads with great, chemistry-filled romance.
Jenna is the best friend of Pixie from book 1 – Best Kind of Broken – and she is not your average NA heroine…
With my endless tattoos and piercings, and my tendency to dress like a punk rocker, I look like Amy Lee and Lara Croft had a half-Creole baby and gave her too much eyeliner for her birthday.
Jenna is also a control freak. After watching her mother and grandmother struggle through life, she has a strict plan for her life, and it does not include a man. Especially Jack. Jack is a good friend of Jenna’s, and a year ago they spent a wild and intense night together – one that changed them both. But while Jack recognises the shift between them and has tried to take things further with Jenna, she pushes him away, keeping him strictly in the friend zone so that she can concentrate on her life plan. Jack has been accepting of this, and neither of them even speak of their night together anymore. But when family emergencies call them both home, Jack invites himself along on Jenna’s week-long road trip – much to her disgust – and with the two of them in such close proximity, they are finally forced them to confront what is between them, so stand back and watch the fireworks!
I love a good road trip book, and I love the set up in this one! They are already friends, but the underlying UST keeps things very heated, and Jack’s easy going teasing plays off nicely against Jenna’s aggression.
“I’d rather listen to polka than to a scorned woman screaming about how all men are no good.”
With a sugar-sweet tone, I say, “Too close to home?”
He smiles sharply. “You tell me.”
I love Jack! He’s big, muscled, and heavily tattooed, but he’s a sweetheart! He loves Jenna, and wants her in his life, and he is endlessly patient with her! But he’s also not afraid to put himself out there and call her out on her crap.
“Not again. I’m not hashing this out again.”
“You never hashed anything out in the first place. I did,” he says. “You know exactly where I stand, but I have yet to hear a single real thing come out of your mouth as far as you and I are concerned.”
And then there’s Jenna. I have conflicted feelings about Jenna. I initially really liked her as a character, but the way she pushes Jack away, determined to stick to her ‘plan’ and be “independent” despite her obvious love for him made me want to smack her. I can deal with this sort of behaviour for a little while, but it goes on and on, and I got really irritated with her. She knows how Jack feels, she acknowledges how she feels, but she still keeps pushing him away!
The chemistry between them is electric, and neither of them are able to resist it, and OMG, it’s hot! Hot and passionate, with lots of emotion. It’s just the ‘more’ that is the issue, and seeing them both so miserable without each other broke my heart. Well, seeing Jack miserable broke my heart – he’s so committed to Jenna, willing to do anything for her, and patiently wait for her because he loves her so much…
I’m just a bloody guy in a bathroom waiting for the girl of my dreams to realize that she’s in love with me.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted. And she won’t let me love her.
Seeing Jenna miserable made me want to smack her again because it was all her stupid fault.
I’m racing in circles – fleeing a storm of my own making – while Jack waits patiently, ready to catch me when I collapse of exhaustion.
*sigh*
But it’s not all relationship drama. Jack’s trip home is to help his younger brother, who has gotten himself into a world of trouble, and as Jack’s past is revealed, it takes the story in a completely different direction to what I was expecting. It’s twisty and dramatic, and shows us even more of Jack’s awesomeness, and with Jenna there by his side, it only serves to bring the two of them closer together.
I love Chelsea Fine’s writing, so I was quickly in the zone with this one. The story moves at a great pace, with lots of laughs, angsty moments with the brewing romance, and the banter is great. I would have liked to have seen the relationship resolution earlier than when it happened – the unnecessary dragging out just annoyed me and made me dislike Jenna. The girl needed a slap. But still, when it came, it was absolutely beautiful!
I love this series, and while this book wasn’t my favourite, I’m still happy that I read it. I enjoyed the story, and there is even a brief check in with the couples from the previous books, and I loved seeing them all happy and loved-up. I’m not sure whether there will be any more, but I’ll definitely be grabbing for the next book if it’s published.
3.5 stars.
Opening my car door, I slide into the driver’s seat, turn to put the key in the ignition and—
“Ahh!” Jumping back, I thwack my open palm against the gigantic body of pure muscle seated in the passenger seat. “Dammit, Jack! You scared me!”
“Good morning.” He grins.
“What are you doing in my car?” I snap, throwing him some serious stink eye.
“I’m going with you to Louisiana.” He nods to a large duffle bag in the backseat.
I blink. “Uh, no you’re not.”
“Uh, yes I am.”
“Like hell.”
He crinkles his brow. “I’ve never understood that phrase. But okay. I’ll go with you ‘like hell,’ whatever that means.”
“Get out of my car.” I point to the door.
“Oh, Jenna.” He clucks his tongue. “This will be good for both of us. Listen.” He casually leans against the passenger window and pierces me with his gray eyes. “For reasons beyond my control, I need to go back home. And for reasons beyond your control, so do you. And since our ‘homes’ are right next door to one another, I figured we’d carpool to Louisiana and you can just drop me off at Little Vail on your way to New Orleans.”
He gives me that little-boy smile of his and it’s all I can do not to lean forward and soak it in. I hate me.
“I don’t see how that’s good for me,” I say. “At all.”
He shrugs. “You get some company on the road.”
I nod with a clenched jaw. “And you get a free ride.”
His smile grows and I instantly realize that was the wrong thing to say.
“Precisely,” he says.
I can’t afford to spend any excessive time with Jack. Not just because we fight, but because of what happened last year. It was one crazy night when we were both drunk, and we never spoke of it after the fact, but our “friendship” has been tense ever since.
“Well, I don’t need any company,” I say, shaking my head.
“Sure you do,” he says easily. “Everyone needs company.”
“Not me. So get out.”
He grins. “No.”
God I hate him. But not really.
God I hate that I don’t hate him.
I jut my chin and stare him over. “Fine. If you won’t remove yourself…” Exiting the car, I stomp around the hood to his door, yank it open, and wrap my hands around his bicep. Then I start pulling.
He doesn’t budge. Like, he literally doesn’t move an inch as I tug at his oversized arm and grunt like I’m trying to move a massive piece of hardwood furniture and not a human being.
His eyes dance as he watches my struggle. “What’s your plan here, Jenna? Haul me out of the car and leave me in the street?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound friendly at all,” he says, flicking the lever to recline to seat a bit so he looks even more relaxed than before.
“I wasn’t trying to be friendly,” I grit out.
“Clearly.”
I try pulling him out again, to no avail. He’s giant and solid, and honestly, just touching him is turning me on.
I drop my hands and glower at him. “You can’t just tell me that you’re coming along on my road trip.”
He cocks his head. “Would you feel better if I asked?”
“Not especially.”
“Jenna.” He leans forward and his gaze bores through me, down into the deepest parts of my being. “Will you please let me join you on your trip to Louisiana?”
For a moment, I’m lost in his eyes, debating with myself. I don’t trust myself around Jack. Not at all. But I did spend half the night tossing in my sleep with nightmares about traveling alone so maybe having Jack tag along might not be so bad after all. Maybe.
Pulling back, I straighten my shoulders and relent, like usual when it comes to Jack.
“Fine,” I huff out as I stomp back to my side of the car in climb in. “But no talking,” I say, hoping I haven’t just made a huge mistake.
He grins and I turn away.
Surely I can manage to keep my panties on around Jack for a few days…right?
About Chelsea Fine
Chelsea lives in Phoenix, Arizona where she spends most of her time writing stories, painting murals, and avoiding housework at all costs. She’s ridiculously bad at doing dishes and claims to be allergic to laundry. Her obsessions include: superheroes, coffee, sleeping-in, and crazy socks. She lives with her husband and two children, who graciously tolerate her inability to resist teenage drama on TV and her complete lack of skill in the kitchen.
Stephanie
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I really liked the first book, second one not so much. I hope I like this one better than the previous one :)