Can't Resist Series by Violet Duke- Trilogy Boxed Set (#1, 2, 3) and Reviews!

Nice Girl to Love: Trilogy Boxed Set (#1 Resisting, #2 Falling, #3 Choosing) (Can’t Resist)

BOOK #1: THE ONE SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE COULD KEEP...

Abby Bartlett is the quintessential nice girl. Between teaching, volunteering, completing her PhD, and helping her best friend raise his daughter, Abby never gets the chance to be anything but nice. That is, until the all-wrong-for-her man she's only ever known from afar starts daring her to simply take that chance for herself. His sage advice? Try something wild and fast. Preferably him.

An unbridled, hotshot attorney with a not-so-little black book, Connor Sullivan has earned himself quite the bad boy reputation. But in his defense, he's a very conscientious one. He knows far too well that sometimes in life, love isn't enough...or worse, not even a factor at all. To avoid that misery--and repel the drama--Connor has a firm 'nothing over a month' rule. Who knew a nice girl would be the one to make him want to break all his rules?

My Review: 

Resisting the Bad Boy by Violet Duke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Abbey is finishing up her PhD and getting ready to really start her career. She has been a big part of her best friend Brian's life and has helped raise his daughter after her friend and Brian's wife dies at a young age after a battle with Huntington's Disease. Abbey has always enjoyed Brian's brother Connor from afar, but suddenly they find themselves meeting again and facing a really strong attraction. Abbey is looking for something wild and fast, and Connor has a very strict one-month rule. After a month together they are both in pretty deep, but or various reasons feel that they have to adhere to the rule.

I was hooked fast and engaged in this story throughout. Abbey is an easy character to relate to and empathize with quickly. She is smart, kind, and has been through a lot. Abbey has devoted her life to helping her best friend raise his child during and after a long tough battle with his wife's illness. Connor is pretty arrogant, but it is tough to be irritated with his cockiness because he does good deeds for pretty much everyone on a very regular basis. The chemistry between he and Abbey is very intense and seeing the ways that they make each others lives better the more time they spend together was very touching. There is plenty of angst in this book, and I was riding the emotional roller coaster right along with these characters. It was really hard watching both of them do things for reasons that were good but were ultimately causing them a lot of pain. This book ends in a way that makes it impossible not to immediately seek the next in the series, which I will be doing right now!

*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review

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BOOK #2: THE ONE SHE NEVER HOPED SHE COULD HAVE...

Abby is well aware that everyone thinks she's in love with her best friend Brian. He is, after all, the type of man a nice girl should be with--the polar opposite of the bad boy--the kind of guy who didn't let his wife's decade-long illness stop him from showering her with a lifetime of love every second until her dying day. But everyone's wrong; she couldn't possibly be in love with him. Because she's never once allowed herself that option.

It's taken a while but Brian Sullivan has finally come to terms with surviving the woman he spent half his life loving, a third of it losing. Truth is though, he wouldn't have 'survived' any of it really had it not been for Abby--sweet, incredible Abby--the woman he's never once had to picture his life without, never realized he couldn't truly live without. Until now. Now that he's finally able to love her the way she deserves, the way he knows she wants to be loved...by his brother. Who's giving him exactly one chance to speak now or forever hold his peace.

My Review: 

Falling for the Good Guy by Violet Duke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Abbey and Connor's month has ended, and a surprise development has occurred in the time Abbey is grieving the loss of her relationship with Connor. Brian declares that he has had feelings for her that go beyond the scope of their friendship and he would like to see if they can take their relationship further. Abbey is shocked and it is tough for her to determine if her deep love for Brian can go beyond friendship while she is still hung up on his brother. Abbey has always felt like part of Brian's family, and her relationship with his daughter Skylar makes everything more complicated since she would love take her mother role with her even further. Brian is ready to try and move forward 6 years after the loss of his wife, and his feelings for Abbey are much stronger than he has giving himself permission to realize. Connor has agreed to step aside so that Abbey can decide for herself who is right for her.

Holy angst! I picked this up immediately after reading the first book in the series, and I must say that as a reader, I found it difficult to separate out what Abbey wanted from what I wanted. There are all kinds of tough emotional and situations going on here, and the only thing that helps is the respect and kindness the characters show each other even throughout some heart-wrenching situations. I don't want to spoil anything, but these choices Abbey faces are TOUGH! I can't wait to read the next in the series.

* An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.
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BOOK #3: A DECISION SHE NEVER DREAMED SHE'D HAVE TO MAKE...

In the third book of the NYT & USA Today bestselling trilogy, Abby must decide once and for all between the two brothers -- between the bad boy wanting to start a life with her and the good guy fighting for the life they've already built.

My Review:

Choosing the Right Man by Violet Duke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Connor has given Brian a chance to express his feelings to Abbey and Abbey a chance to explore her feelings for Brian. He is now back to make it clear that he is not out of the picture, and if Abbey wants him he will be hers. Abbey faces the toughest choice of her life and struggles not to hurt herself or the people she loves the most.

This is definitely one of those books that had me feeling along with the characters. It is also a story where there are multiple people that are easy to care about and not a good solution to any of it. Basically, any choice she makes is right, and any choice she makes is wrong. My emotions were all over the place, but luckily I was guided through this wonderful story and it resolved in a way that I felt really good about. Wonderful series! I cannot wait to read the next book.


* An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review

Note: This is NOT a standalone. This is the first book in a three-book serial.

This three-book serial is part of the CAN'T RESIST series. Books #1-3 (Abby's story) must be read in order. While Books #4-6 are separate standalones, it is recommended that they be read after the trilogy. Books #1-3 are also available as a bundled boxed set.

THE CAN'T RESIST SERIES:
BOOK 1: Resisting the Bad Boy*
BOOK 2: Falling for the Good Guy*
BOOK 3: Choosing the Right Man*
BOOK 4: Finding the Right Girl
BOOK 5: Keeping the Rebound Fling – Coming 2015
BOOK 6: Having the Real Thing – Coming 2015

*Also available as a three-book bundle in the Nice Girl trilogy boxed set

BUY LINKS

Nice Girl to Love: Trilogy Boxed Set (#1 Resisting, #2 Falling, #3 Choosing) (Can’t Resist)

Amazon US

Amazon UK

B&N

iBooks

AUTHOR BIO

 

NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her NYT and USA Today bestselling books have been Top 10 bestsellers on Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble, and featured on IndieReader and GalleyCat as breakout hits. When she's not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling reno projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking 'special edition' dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. She lives in Hawai'i with her two cute kids (daughter Violet & son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.

AUTHOR WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA

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PRAISE FOR VIOLET DUKE:

"Emotionally charged with wonderful characters! Violet Duke made me laugh and cry in this incredible romance. One of the best I've read this year!" -- NYT Bestselling Author J.S. Scott

"A sexy, emotional treat!" -- NYT Bestselling Author Lexi Ryan

"A unique series that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. I couldn't put these books down!" -- NYT Bestselling Author Carly Phillips 

Excerpt 

He didn’t want Abby to have any illusions about him. “The last woman I dated isn’t taking the end of our one month well. But it is completely over, I assure you. I’m not dating her or anyone else right now, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t. Wondering, that is. I know you wouldn’t be asking me for a month if you were.”

He was utterly curious as to why, how she was so sure of such a thing.

At his questioning look, she shrugged. “You strike me as a monogamish kind of guy. Plus, I don’t believe you’d go through the hassle of enforcing a rule if you weren’t going to be man enough to honor it yourself.”

There was a good chance he was going to start needing this woman as a valium for his soul. She saw a glimmer of good in even his worst qualities, and didn’t hesitate to call him on the rest. But never without recrimination. If it was possible, she seemed to just like him for being him.

“Hey,” she said, concern latent in her voice. “You okay? You looked a little worried there for a second. Is it your case? Did you want to talk about it?”

She had to stop. He couldn’t take much more of her innate niceness; he didn’t deserve it, didn’t have the first clue what to do with it. “Oddly enough, I do want to talk about my case with you. Hell, I want to share my whole day with you. Which is why I need to do this.” So quickly it surprised even him, he swooped onto the couch and lowered his mouth down to hers.

Just one taste.

He just wanted one little taste before his hunger got out of control. Before he started craving things he couldn’t truly have.

Like a nice girl he had no business wanting.

He stopped himself mere seconds before his lips made contact though...shut his eyes and took a steadying breath. Then another. And then finally backed away.

Christ, that was close.

But just when he’d gotten a handle on his roiling emotions, just when he thought he could be the good guy for a change, he felt two gentle hands smooth over the sides of his face.

And he was lost.