Kristie J’s review of Work Me Up (Riggs Brothers, Book 3) by Julie Kriss
Contemporary Romance published by Five Door Creative 29 Aug 18
I’ve said it once that I love books by Julie Kriss. I’ve said twice I love books by Julie Kriss. I’ve said thrice I love books by Julie Kriss. I’m sure I’ve said that four, five, and six times – or at least thought it. And with her newest release of the Riggs Brothers books, I’m saying it again.
The hero of this book is Ryan Riggs. He’s the second oldest of the Riggs brothers, but he’s actually the result of an affair and is only a half-brother to the others. But like his brothers, he’s also lived on the wrong side of the tracks. His mother left him with the poor excuse of a father that the others had. But Ryan had something else that could have taken him out of his rather dead-end life and that was baseball. He was talented and got a pretty good contract with a minor league club with the hopes of making it to the big leagues, but that petered out when he was suspended for punching a fellow player and then hurting his pitching arm. When the book opens, he’s kind of in a state of transition. He knows his baseball career is about to come crashing down on him and he’s kind of made plans to work at the family garage, but for the moment he’s still living in Detroit and he needs a nanny for his son. It seems he was quite the player when he was a younger man and had a son he didn’t know about that he’s now raising.
Turns out the nanny he’s thinking of employing he has a past with – they shared a night of passion some years ago. But both of them are determined to look past that and work together for the sake of Dylan, their son. But it was an unforgettable night for Kate, our heroine. And though she manages not to let him know, she still has a real case of the hots for Ryan. And it turns out he still has them for Kate. What are these two to do?
This book is shorter than some of Ms. Kriss’ others at only 195 pages, but that doesn’t mean I still didn’t enjoy it. I did. Ryan has done a lot of growing up and he’s not the bad boy of baseball any longer. I like the new and improved Ryan, not that I knew the old one, of course. But this Ryan puts his son ahead of his own needs and that’s appealing.
Kate is at kind of a crossroads. She’s 27 but still not entirely sure what she wants to do with her life. She agrees to be Dylan’s nanny first because she still has some mighty fine memories of his papa, but it’s also a time filler. The job doesn’t pay much at all since Ryan is “between jobs,” but Kate has a small trust fund she can fall back on.
Eventually Ryan moves back home to take on the role of car mechanic. I love a good car mechanic. Kate has done a great job with Dylan and Ryan has growing feelings for Kate, so he asks her to move with him.
One of the things I most appreciate about this series is the growing bond between the brothers. They pretty much raised themselves and as such didn’t get into the whole brotherly love thing. But with each book, the roots are really starting to grow between them.
As with ALL her books, I highly recommend this newest Julie Kriss book.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Everyone knows Ryan Riggs—everyone who follows minor league baseball, that is. He’s the player with the hair-trigger temper, the bad shoulder, and the smoking hot looks. He’s also a single dad in need of a nanny—which makes him my new boss.
Simple. Except for one thing: We had a one-night stand five years ago.
We’re trying to be professional. But it was one of the best nights of my life, and the more I work with him, the more I’m thinking about a repeat.
He’s battling his demons, and I might be the only one who can help him win.
He’s impossible.
He’s unforgettable.
He’s unwinnable.
Looks like I have my work cut out for me.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
