The Winner Takes It All by Jennifer Dawson

Description:For two stubborn people…

Corporate mogul Shane Donovan sees the ultra-cool, collected Cecilia Riley as an ice queen—even if he can’t deny that, on the surface, she’s a work of perfection his body can’t ignore. Forced to spend two weeks in the same house for his sister’s upcoming wedding, Shane senses that deep down Cecilia mirrors his need. And he’s determined to draw her into a sexy game that will melt away her reserve…

Losing is not an option…

Career-driven Cecilia Riley has just enough free time in her schedule to head out of town for her brother’s wedding. But her agenda is thrown for a loop by the presence of Shane. Though his over-confident attitude leaves a lot to be desired, his insanely hot body has kept Cecilia up nights. Unsure what game Shane is playing, Cecilia takes the bait, bent on resisting him at all costs.

But as Shane and Cecilia discover, temptation follows no rules…

Review: Even though this was the second book in the series, I read it after reading the third one. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I still think James and Gracie are my favorite couple but I did enjoy seeing Shane and Cecilia get together. Essentially, they were forced to spend time together because their siblings are getting married, i.e. Shane’s sister Maddie was marrying Cecilia’s brother Mitch. Which at first, seems a little weird but then I remember that my grandmother and her sister married two brothers. Weird family tidbit.

Both Shane and Cecilia shared similar traits which caused them to clash at times. They were both power-hungry and workaholics. Their devotion to their jobs reminded me of Julie James’s characters and really made me want to reread her work. Overall, I found I liked Shane better than Cecilia. His drive came from providing for his family while hers was for her father’s approval. I addition, it really bothered me that Cecilia was engaged for most of the book. Even if she didn’t love the guy and it was an arranged marriage, it made her relationship with Shane seem too much like cheating. While striving for parental approval can be driving force, I felt that Cecilia should have given up on her father sooner, especially with how horrible some of his actions were. That being said, I was a huge fan of the ending and how Cecilia eventually learned to twist the game to benefit her. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite book in the series but I did like how it tied together the first and third books.

Like the other Jennifer Dawson books I’ve read, I’m always pleasantly surprised at how sensual they are. The relationship between Cecilia and Shane was extremely steamy and it was clear their desire for each other was there from the start. On top of the attraction, I liked how much Shane cared for Cecilia and noticed the little things. It was interesting to watch Cecilia slowly unravel when she was in Revival and became her natural self. The theme of Dawson’s books seem to be finding yourself.  Finally, Cecilia’s friendship with Grace totally set up the next book!

Rating: 3 out of 5. 

Published by SomewhereLostInBooks

I’m Melisa! I’m an avid reader. I love romance novels and decided, hey, why not write about what I love and hate about the genre. And my favorite books. And when I get to meet authors. And all round why romance novels are awesome. Expect a lot of fan-girling, laughter, and some tears. View all posts by SomewhereLostInBooks