Can't Let Go by Gena Showalter [Review]

Can't Let Go (The Original Heartbreakers #5) by Gena Showalter
Format: ebook
Source: provided through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: August 28, 2017

The Original Heartbreakers
0.5. The One You Want
1. The Closer You Come 
2. The Hotter You Burn
3. The Harder You Fall
4. Can't Hardly Breathe
5. Can't Let Go - Paperback | Kindle
6. Can't Get Enough

Gena Showalter
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Synopsis (Goodreads):

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter is back with a sizzling Original Heartbreakers tale about an icy war vet and the only woman capable of melting him...

With trust issues a mile long, Ryanne Wade has sworn off men. Then Jude Laurent walks into her bar, and all bets are off. The former army ranger has suffered unimaginably, first being maimed in battle then losing his wife and daughters to a drunk driver. Making the brooding widower smile is priority one. Resisting him? Impossible.

For Jude, Ryanne is off-limits. And yet the beautiful bartender who serves alcohol to potential motorists tempts him like no other. When a rival bar threatens her livelihood—and her life—he can't turn away. She triggers something in him he thought long buried, and he's determined to protect her, whatever the cost.

As their already scorching attraction continues to heat, the damaged soldier knows he must let go of his past to hold on to his future…or risk losing the second chance he desperately needs.

Thoughts on Can't Let Go: It's time to watch Ryanne and Jude take their tumble into romance. I have to say, a bar owner/bartender making time with a man who lost his family to a drunk driver is not an easy couple to picture together. Jude's carrying around a boatload of pain and he's not looking to give it up any time soon.

Yep, it takes time for Jude to unbend. Time and a few deadly threats against Ryanne. And a lot of soul searching.

Meanwhile, Ryanne is equally as determined to not give up her dreams for a man. Mostly because her mom gave her some serious trust issues. Her mom was...interesting. I think that's all I'm going to say about her.

Ryanne's determined to see her plan to travel the world through and Jude's determined to hold onto his pain for as long as he can. It takes a lot of tension-filled encounters before they're both in the same headspace and ready for more.

I REALLY like these couples. All of the Originals have their issues and watching them work around them is a treat.