Marley Masters runs a successful chain of bikini barista stands, secretly supports her elderly neighbor, Alice, and has rid her life of bad boys.
She even deflected the advances of her new neighbor Joe, the ex-con. Okay. Lie. The lawbreaker is irresistible and relentless.
Hard as Marley tries to fight the attraction and protect her battered heart, Joe proves time and time again that he's playing for keeps.
***
Joseph Kaine struggled his entire life to ditch the family curse. Finally, after a stint in prison, he's ready to walk the straight and narrow.
Marley, his new neighbor, seems the perfect way to fill his lonely days. But that feisty woman is a magnet for trouble, and Joe is nothing if not a man who'll fight to keep his ladies safe.
Can he shake the Kaine legacy, or will an average Joe have to call on his inner thug and play dirty?
Marley Masters works tirelessly at avoiding ex-con Joe Kaine’s attempts at forging a romantic relationship with her. While the sex is amazing, the thought of getting emotionally close to him terrifies her. A bevy of corrupt acquaintances and family members will either bring them together or separate them forever.
Marley Masters owns a chain of bikini attired barista drive-through coffee shops where the hiring criteria for the employees is that they are sexy, sensuous, and look good in practically nothing. Each morning, countless men line up in their cars to lust over the scantily-clad females who fill their orders and fulfill their fantasies. Most of the men who frequent there are harmless, but some aren’t. The vast majority of them are more interested in the view than the coffee, which is substantiated by the size of their tips. On a good day, the baristas could earn a grand in tips, and on a bad day, rarely less than two hundred.
Meanwhile, in her personal life, Marley has been let down, disappointed, and abandoned. She’s been burned so many times that she honestly believes if she trusts and loves a man, all it does is give him the power to hurt her. She relies on her wicked independence and hard-as-nails persona to protect her from future emotional damage. Bad boys have always been Marley’s weakness, and when ex-con Joe Kaine moves in next door to her, it is all she can do to keep from latching on to him and wind up with another heartbreak. But Joe’s brawny physique, stunningly good looks, and manly charm are difficult to ignore.
Krissy Daniels’ AVERAGE JOE is a well-written, well-structured novel with an appropriate balance of characterization, plot and action. Deftly-painted characters are easy to visualize. The plot is multifaceted yet easy to follow. Descriptions are crafted with artfully ordered, well-chosen words and Daniels does an exemplary job at allowing the action to speak for itself—providing substantial intrigue and suspense. Having two protagonists narrate in the first person allows for an intimate portrayal of their thoughts and emotions, creating a strong sense of empathy in the readers. And the number of bad guys in the story—some out to get Marley and others out to get Joe—keeps the narrative moving forward at a good pace. This, along with Marley and Joe’s capricious relationship, keep the story engaging and intriguing.
NOTE: An abundance of explicit language, thoughts, and action is used to describe content of a sexual nature throughout the story. Some readers may find this appealing while others may be offended.
A well-written, well-structured novel, Krissy Daniels’ AVERAGE JOE successfully combines threatening criminal minds with romance and emotional ties to create an action-packed, multi-dimensional adventure.
~Florence Osmund for IndieReader
