I picked up Roark: An Enemies To Lovers Romance by Aarti V Raman from the Kindle Unlimited Library.
The Blurb:
The last time they met, it was nothing short of World War Three.
Jacob Roark Jensen left his cowboy roots behind when he became a hotshot Hollywood scriptwriter.
He also left behind his best friend – tomboy and ugly duckling KC – who never ventured beyond the borders of the vast sprawling Bitterwater Ranch.
Unfortunately, Roark has to come back to the one place he’s sworn to forget: Texas.
And to KC, who’s turned into a lovely swan.
To make matters worse, he is KC’s new boss!
KC Brent knows Roark hates her for being a homebody.
But she has traumas she isn’t willing to share with anyone. Especially not her childhood love, who has brought his gorgeous girlfriend with him.
But he won’t stop kissing KC. Or making her want him beyond reason.
In fact, he even announces their pretend engagement, once he realizes her life is in danger.
What happens when the real reason for Roark’s homecoming is revealed? And KC realizes that the man she loves has been keeping secrets from her?
Roark is a sweet and steamy enemies-to-lovers romance with a heart as big as Texas.
The story:
Jacob Roark Jensen Junior, Roark, was twelve when he came to Bitterwater Ranch in Texas after losing his parents and elder brother to a terrible tragedy and his sister to their great aunt who did not want to keep him. He was twenty four when he left Bitterwater and has never been back for more than two weeks. Now, at 32, he is a screenwriter in Hollywood.
KC Brent was eight when she was brought to Bitterwater by Jacob Roark Jensen, after she lost her mother to a brutal accident, seventeen years ago. She is not proud of her past and has spent all her time running away from her mother’s abuse in childhood. At Bittersweet, the housekeeper is her mother, father and big brother all rolled into one. She is an automotive engineer and helps at the farm as well. Now, she is 25, and knows that she is here on sufferance.
She was brutally shattered with Roark’s brutal words when she had gone to LA and also when he had come one year back at his grandfather’s funeral. He had then said that he had nothing to do with the ranch and now he is back and that is unsettling.
He had been wanted, loved. And she had never been. Not till she came here.
My take:
I loved the setting of the book, the big ranch and also the fact that KC is an automobile engineer. And she is strong. Her childhood made me cry and also defined her nature. The characters are flawed and that makes them real. The story has twists and turns and that kept me guessing. The mafia angle adds a bit of dangerous spark to the story. The descriptions are detailed.
I loved the book and would love to read more about the other characters of the story.