USA Today best-selling author—and our very own romance columnist—Christie Ridgway returns readers to Blue Arrow Lake in Can’t Fight This Feeling, the third book in her Cabin Fever series. Former soldier and current landscaper Brett Walker is content with his bachelor life in the mountain resort town where his family has lived for generations. His past involvement with spoiled rich girls, however, has left him with a scarred heart, and he no longer believes in love. Therefore, he fights his attraction to beautiful heiress Angelica Rodriguez, unwilling to believe she’s any different than the other snooty women who frequent Blue Arrow Lake.
Angelica is equally drawn to the handsome, tough Brett, but she’s baffled when he kisses her, and then avoids her for days. He’s the first man she’s ever really lusted for, and she’s clueless as to whether he dislikes her as much as he seems to desire her. But Angelica has bigger problems than her confusion over Brett because her father, a hedge fund manager in Los Angeles, has been arrested for financial misdeeds. She quickly learns that he drained her personal savings, and she’s now without funds. Within a very short time, her situation becomes desperate.
Brett’s determination to stay far away from the enticing Angelica goes up in smoke when he overhears her tell his sister that she’s been sleeping in her car. Every protective instinct he has kicks in, and before Angelica knows what’s happening, she finds herself wrapped up in the generous Walker family circle. Angelica is an only child with distant, uncaring parent, and the big, bustling Walker family is everything she’s always longed for.
Blue Arrow Lake feels like home to Angelica, and she desperately wants to stay. But her financial circumstances and uncertainty about Brett’s feelings make her question whether she can remain in the welcoming town. As she struggles to reach a decision, only Brett can keep her anchored—but will he be able to forget the pain of the past and claim a future with her?
There is so much to like about this latest novel from Ridgway. Brett and Angelica’s struggle to reach beyond their emotional scars and trust each other is heartwarming and powerful. The heat between them is volcanic, the romance tender, their need to protect each other endearing. The story has everything romance readers love—a broodingly handsome hero, a beautiful and smart heroine, lots of hot sex, many heart-meltingly sweet moments and a wonderful ending.
Lois Dyer writes from Port Orchard, Washington
