RAZED - Shiloh Walker
Barnes Brothers , Book 2
Berkley
ISBN: 978-0-425-27390-6
December 2014
Contemporary Romance

Tucson, Arizona - Present Day

Keelie Jessup isn't happy to be going on a blind date, but her friend Anais caught her in a vulnerable moment, so now she's stuck.  At the wedding of her business partner, Zach Barnes, Keelie made out with Zane Barnes, and hasn't been able to put it out of her mind in the three months since.  Before her blind date, though, her friends encourage her to keep an open mind and not go into the date expecting it to fail, which forces Keelie to admit that she often does just that.  Though the date goes worse than she could have expected, it ends with Zane helping her out of a tough situation, and forces Keelie to face the attraction she feels for him.

For three years, Zane has been asking Keelie out with no luck so far, but after helping her out, she surprises him by showing up at the loft he's staying at.  Zane has already quit his job with the intention of pursuing photography full time and moving to Tucson to do so, but for the first time, he has hope that Keelie might be willing to date him.  He knows that she has secrets – he has secrets of his own – and hopes that she'll let him in enough to share.  Zane has waited long enough, both with his career and the woman he loves, and now he plans to do whatever it takes to get what he's been waiting for.

The sequel to WRECKED, featuring Zach Barnes and Abby Applegate, RAZED begins with their wedding, which brings together the very serious oldest Barnes brother, and the woman who almost broke up the relationship between Zach and Abby.  Keelie had convinced herself she was in love with Zach, but after kissing him she realized that her feelings for him were not romantic ones.  Kissing Zane, however, is everything she'd expected to feel for the man she'd believed herself in love with, which scares her.  She has her reasons for holding herself separate from the people in her life, so her interest in Zane causes her to retreat.  After her date goes horribly wrong, though, Zane convinces her to give him a chance, and Keelie starts to think that maybe she can have a real relationship after all.  Zane has been planning to take a chance on a career in photography for a while now, and wants to move to Tucson, in part to be near Keelie.  It's not until his brother's wedding that he begins to believe that maybe he and Keelie have a chance.

Haunted by her past, Keelie has done her best to avoid relationships and getting hurt, but Zane makes her want to try.  Their road to romance isn't exactly a smooth one, but it is definitely both entertaining and heart-warming. We also get to know the Barnes brothers a little better in this second book in the series, and I can't wait to read more about them.  Whether you've read the first book or not, RAZED is a novel you won't want to miss.

Jennifer Bishop