Review: The Return of the Rebel by Jennifer Faye

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemp Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Presents

Publication Date: 7/1/14

Format: eARC

Pages: 256

Source: Author

Rating: 3.5 stars

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The guy from the wrong side of the tracks...

Being promoted should be a dream come true, only it means working closely with Cleo's childhood crush, Jax Monroe. Jax may no longer be the rebel she remembers, but he still gets her heart racing like no other.

Jax cares too much about Cleo to let her get too close--but keeping his distance is proving impossible! As Jax reveals the extent of what he's been through, will Cleo show him that some things are too precious to put off until tomorrow?

My Review

The Return of the Rebel is the third book of Jennifer Faye's that I've read, and I have to say it's my favorite. We have our heroine Cleo, who fell in love with town bad boy Jax Monroe, as a young teen. With him being five years older and her brother's best friend, that was obviously a no-go. Jax's family issues prompted him to leave town as soon as he could, to make a better life in a new place. Cleo moved on, but never forgot her first crush. When fate lands the two together again, Cleo soon learns that Jax never forgot her or her brother either. But Jax has trouble on his hands, with him being the key witness in a big case that has him laying low in Las Vegas. Jax also has a secret, a big secret that has him convinced that he can never lead a full life and give Cleo the life she deserves. It's up to Cleo to stop Jax from walking away from her again.

There was so much to like about The Return of the Rebel. It was a sweet romance, focused on the emotional rather than the physical. When things do become heated, it's of the closed-door variety, which I knew to expect. My favorite aspect, though, was the longing between the characters. Cleo has loved Jax since she was a girl, and when they reconnect, those feelings spark right back up. Now that Jax sees Cleo as a woman, he can't deny his attraction either. An old promise to Cleo's brother has him hesitant to act, as do his issues with being considered the town bad boy. What really gripped me was Jax's health crisis, one that has him questioning whether he does or will ever have a life to offer Cleo. Good stuff.

If you're looking for a sweet heartwarming story that's a really fast read, I do recommend The Return of the Rebel.

Favorite Quotes

  "If you were mine, I'd never look at another woman as long as I lived."

  Her gaze met his. Her heart once again went thump-thump. "Seriously? You'd really only have eyes for me?"

  "You're the most beautiful woman in the world." His thumb stroked her cheek, followed her jawline and rubbed over her bottom lip. His gaze never left hers.

About Jennifer Faye

In another life, Jennifer Faye was a statistician. She still has a love for numbers, formulas and spreadsheets, but when she was presented with the opportunity to follow her lifelong passion to spend her days writing and pursuing her dream of becoming a Harlequin author, she couldn't pass it up. These days when she's not writing, Jennifer enjoys reading, fine needlework, quilting, tweeting and cheering on the Pittsburgh Penguins. She lives in Pennsylvania with her amazingly patient husband, two remarkably talented daughters and their two very spoiled furbabies otherwise known as cats, but shh...don't tell them they're not human.

Jennifer loves to hear from readers—you can contact her via her

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