When a book grabs you and you can't put it down you know it is a good book! I finished it in one day. Work kept trying to get in the way, but I read at every break, lunch... I have read several books by Erin McCarthy and have always enjoyed them. But this book I have to say is one of my very favorites. I think I fell in love with strong, sexy Jason Michael Tucker. He has always been there for Elle. Watching their relationship unfold was beautiful. Getting glimpses of characters from Dream Maker & Heart Breaker was an added bonus! The Nashville Nights series is one not to be missed!!!!

“I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.”

Elle and Jason were high school sweethearts who broke up when her family moved to Nashville. He lives in Kentucky 2 hours away and they have remained friends, though he would like more. Elle was kind of clueless as to how Jason really felt and did a poor job of not taking him for granted. When one thing leads to another one morning, Elle handles the situation poorly. Her constant pushing him away got old for a bit. Yes, she had a bad childhood. Yes, she moved away from her hometown because no one stepped in to stop the abuse. However, she was not a 17-year-old girl any more and needed to face up to her fears, not run from them at every turn. She took Jason for granted and then, when reality intruded, she found herself in a predicament. Sometimes when you push people away - they actually go away. She was immature and selfish throughout the first half of this book and I found it hard to like her. It is the sign of a good author when you find yourself still reading even when you do not like one of the main characters. I liked Jason and was pleased when he started to live for himself. He was definitely confused and tried to do the right thing, but found himself fighting for what he wanted at the right time. Both he and Elle needed to work on their communication skills and not hide their feelings. It was like two teenagers trying to find their way through a first love, and not two grown adults working their way back to each other. I did like the ending. I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review and am grateful for the opportunity.

Sometimes I want to read a book that is epic- full of drama, mystery, emotion, big ideas. But there are times when I enjoy a quiet book about ordinary people trying to navigate unusual circumstances in their lives. This was such a book, and I enjoyed every page.
It was, as are all this author's books I've read, beautifully written. The story takes over, almost like a movie in your head, and the author disappears behind the characters she has created. No, I didn't reread passages, marveling at the literary genius. But for my purposes this is better. I just want an interesting story that is well told, with realistic characters who behave on ways consistent with the personalities the author has given them.
In this tale I wasn't really enameled with Elle - but she was perfectly drawn for the way this plot unfolded. And Tucker was a rarity in this type of book: a normal nice guy with a big heart who always tries to do the right thing despite difficult circumstances.
I especially enjoyed the way the plot didn't devolve into a neat but trite ending the way it could have. Both main characters have a lot of growing and compromising to accomplish before they realize what will make their ever after a happy one.
This was a lovely book that I know I'll read again.

I've read the other two books and I consider this standalone but if you had read the other two books then this seems to be like "coming home". I really think there was chemistry and respect between the two main characters and that they needed a push towards true love. It's quite an adventure.

This was such a good book. Elle and Tucker had grown up together in a small town in Kentucky. They both loved each other as teenagers, but Elle moved to Nashville when she was around 17. Her father was a drunk and beat her mother. She did not have good memories of her hometown, except for Jason Michael Tucker or Tucker as she called him. They have kept in touch over the years and are still best friends. Tucker is divorced and Elle always calls him when she has bad dates, which are all bad. I loved how they both were trying to work their ways back to each other without even realizing it. Tucker is such a great beat and is always there for Elle. He would do anything for her. She has always been the wild child but depends on Tucker even though she thinks of herself as being independent. As adults, they go through so many obstacles together which makes them stronger. When Elle goes to see Tucker and finds out there is a woman in his bed (since Elle had told him to leave her alone) it not only broke Elle's heart, but mine too. I think this is what finally made Elle wake up to her true feelings for Tucker. It was such a great love story. I strongly encourage you to read the book. I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

I thought this book had the perfect amount of angst and romance though at times both characters were a bit dense. Still loved it though!

This is a well-written story. However, I didn't personally like it as well as the last book in the series. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the characters. I liked Tucker okay, but I didn't care much for Elle. And I got frustrated with both of them more than once. On the flip side, that frustration speaks to the strong level of character development and plot--if those things weren't done well, then I wouldn't have felt anything for these characters. With that being said, I would definitely recommend this book to others; just because I didn't care for these characters doesn't mean someone else wouldn't adore them, like I adored Shane and Avery in Dream Maker.

I've enjoyed this series yet this book fell somewhat short for me. I felt like it could have been better.

Elle is sister to Jolene and living in Nashville never wanting to return to Starkey and the dark past they lived there. Elle seems to ramble from one bad man choice to another, then when she needs the ego boost she calls Tucker. Tuck has been her forever friend and always there for her. Elle has a little crisis (just doing what girls do-cry) and Tucker is so worried he makes the drive to Nashville to make sure she's ok. One thing leads to another and the next morning they have sex. The one and only time. Predictably she ends up pregnant. Also predictably after sleeping with Tucker that morning, she has a date that night. That's Tucker's sign he needs to move on and he returns home to Starkey, his job as Sheriff and starts to date a nice local girl. Then Elle shows up on his doorstep late one night and gives him the news. Meanwhile girlfriend is asleep in his bed. So he puts Elle on the couch for the night. What the hell? Seriously? Tucker has always loved Elle, even though he never told her. He promises to work things out and be supportive etc. Tucker then has to tell the girlfriend that his gal pal is pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, Elle is torn, Tucker is still dating girlfriend and this story just spirals. Jolene weighs in like the airhead she isn't. Chance isn't much better and we hear not a peep from Shane. Elle is a serious control freak, determined never to return to her hometown, but does realize she's in love with Tuck and wants him in her life, same goes for Tucker. They jump the broom without telling anyone and are still living apart when Elle comes up with a plan, they discuss and even though Tucker has just been offered his dream promotion, he's okay with doing what Elle suggests. These two are so far from center it's ridiculous. There's some drama with Tucker and it looks like Elle might be getting her head on straight. Read the book.

Here's my take on this one, the characters lacked the depth that the author developed in the previous two books. The story felt rushed and frankly hard to believe. There wasn't a rhyme or reason to the storyline, there was very little backstory and the plots far too thin. As far as Tucker sleeping with his girlfriend after Elle tells him she's pregnant? Right....as if!! Not on my watch.

I'm sorry to say this book just didn't measure up to the first two in the series. Disappointing at best.

**arc from NetGalley and Publisher in exchange for a fair review***

This is book 3 in the series but my first. It can easily be read as a standalone.

SPOILERS IN REVIEW

Jason Michael Tucker, Tucker to his friends, is a deputy for the sheriff’s department of the small town he grew up in. He’s also Elle’s best friend for more than 10 years. They dated briefly in high school before she moved to Nashville, and he’s been in love with her since.

Elle is a make-up/hair stylist to the country music world stars. Her brother and sister have made it big, but she’s still floundering trying to find her way. Her dating history is not good. She picks losers, and lots of them. Tucker gets to listen to all her sob stories. She calls Tucker after a particularly upsetting date, and she’s crying, which she doesn’t do. Tucker immediately takes off to go comfort her - 4 hours away! They have sex, he goes home, and they don’t speak for 6 weeks until she discovers she’s pregnant and goes to tell him.

I had a real problem with Elle’s selfishness with Tucker. He gave and gave, she took and never gave back. This wasn’t a friendship but a one-sided relationship with Tucker settling for the scraps she gave him. He was still trying to self-sacrifice at the end. Sad.

I felt bad for Misty. She truly cared about Tucker. Tucker liked her, but wasn’t in love with her, but was trying to make it work because he knew he could never have the woman he really wanted. If I were Misty, and realized when I saw the two of them together that I would never be number one, I would have done bodily harm. She was waaaay too nice in my opinion. Elle didn’t give two hoots about Misty’s feelings and didn’t waste any time moving in when she found out they broke up.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

In this third in McCarthy’s Nashville Nights series, the heroine Elle is the sister of the Nashville superstar, Jolene, and hotshot record producer, Shane, who were the protagonists of the first two books. Elle has a terrible date who is really nasty to her so she calls her old friend from the small Kentucky town where she grew up, Jason Michael Tucker. Tucker has always loved Elle so he rushes to Nashville to comfort her.

In this sweet friends-to-lover romance, Elle and Tucker have to figure out their new relationship and if they can find a way to mesh their lives when he’s a small-town deputy sheriff and she’s a Nashville hairdresser to the stars.

I had read one of the earlier books in the series and didn’t like this one quite as much. Elle is a bit irritating and immature so it was hard to see what Tucker saw in her. Add in a night of passion and the inevitable results that they need to confront and you have a rather enjoyable romance, mostly because Tucker is such a good guy. I was pulling for him to find his HEA and if Elle was his choice, then I wanted to find out how it worked out for them.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

**Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review**

Love Taker is the third book in the Nashville Nights series and it is about a second chance at love.

Elle Hart lives in Nashville, is a hairdresser to the stars and she is the sister of recording star Jolene Hart. She has always felt like while she enjoys men, relationships with them are more work than they are worth and her latest foray's into dating prove to be epic fails. The one person she always has to turn to is Tucker, or more specifically Jason Michael Tucker, her high school boyfriend and best friend.

Tucker is a sheriff's deputy in Elle and Tucker's hometown in Kentucky. Tucker has never had a desire to live anywhere else and he's happy with his job and living the dream he set out for himself. The only thing missing is a woman to call his own, but the one he really wants doesn't feel the same way, or so he thinks.

When Elle has a particularly bad date, she does what she always does and calls Tucker to talk it though. When he ends up showing up at her house, multiple hours away, at 4 a.m., things heat up between them as he tries to comfort her. Will their sleeping together cause a rift in the friendship or will it somehow bring the two of them closer together?

This book was a good addition to the other two in the series and while the characters from the other two books appear in this story, you can easily read it as a standalone. It was a sweet story of friends who turn into lovers and I'd recommend it.

After the steamy drama of Heart Breaker and the tenderness of Dream Maker, I felt let down by the immaturity and self-absorption guiding sister Elle's story. With the first two books, Erin McCarthy did a phenomenal job mixing romance and the Nashville music scenE. The music industry isn't a part of this story; what's left instead was a at times tepid NA friends-to-lovers.

While sibling Jolene and Shane are now music hotshots in Nashville, Elle is unhappy and drifting, discontent with her single status and feeling vaguely bored with life as a hairstylist. In steps her childhood friend and one time high school sweetheart, Tucker. A police officer and genuine country boy, Tucker is as grounded and steady as Elle is cynical and impulsive. The problem is, despite Tucker constantly musing to himself about how wonderful Elle is and how much he's always cared about her, it's hard to believe shallow butterfly Elle is truly deserving of his love and devotion.

I also struggled with the fact that real life issues forced Tucker and Elle together, rather than being brought together by love for each other. While there is an epilogue, it didn't suggest that Elle and Tucker had fully matured or overcome their many issues yet.

Elle and Tucker were high school sweethearts but when she moved away they ended up being long distance friends. Tucker has always been there for her but Elle takes him for granted. One night, after a tearful phone call to Tucker about another bad date, he shows up to comfort her and things get out of hand. Now they have to decide how to make a long distance relationship work. Sweet hot romance

Quick Summary: Short and sweet with a touch of sass

Rating: 2/5
Recommend: +/-
Status: M
Chemistry/Intensity: Yes
Conflict/Drama: Yes
Humor/Wit: Yes
Family Dysfunction: Yes
HEA: Yes

This book is all about Elle and Tucker and their second chance at love. While I have written reviews before stating I'm not into second chance romances the last few have been great and this is no exception to that. It didn't feel like a second chance romance. It all flowed seamlessly and with little angst.

It was good to "see" Shane and Ashley as well as Jolene and Chance again. Hopefully we'll get another (maybe River gets a book) to see what's in store for Jolene and Chance in 8 weeks time.

Elle Hart is a hairdresser/ make-up artist. Her sister Jolene is a Nashville superstar (the star of [book:Heart Breaker|27405143]), her brother Shane is a record producer (the star of [book:Dream Maker|27876316]). With both Jolene and Shane happily paired off Elle is feeling like a big loser, when her latest date goes sideways and he makes some hurtful comments she takes it more to heart than normal and ends up crying down the phone to her best friend Jason Michael Tucker.

Tucker is a policeman back in Elle's home town in Kentucky. He has been in love with Elle since they were children but once she left town with her family and moved to Nashville he knew they had no future. She loves the big city and the bright lights, he loves the small town they grew up in, serving friends and family as a police officer. Elle swore she would never return to the town which knew her father was beating her mother but did nothing to help.

I think the book blurb makes it pretty obvious what happens, but just in case I won't spoil it for others. But when circumstances change can Elle and Tucker reach a compromise?

This was a sweet, sexy friends to lovers romance. I hadn't read either of the two preceding books and although those character appear in this book I didn't have any difficulty reading this as a stand-alone. I read quite a few of Erin McCarthy's Fast Track series but kind of gave up with [book:Full Throttle|17213121] which I felt was jumping on the FSoG bandwagon, a wagon I detest anyway and which every author who had a long running series seemed to be jumping on a couple of years ago. Anyway, this book has opened my eyes to a new series and encouraged me to revisit the final book in the Fast Track series.

Recommended if you like southern drawls, sexy policemen and friends who just might be lovers.

This book was adorable! It was steamy, sweet, and sexy! The chemistry between the two main characters was flammable!

Book 3 in the series featuring the sister of Jolene and Shane from books one and two.

I enjoyed this romance. Tucker and Elle dated when they were 17 although they never had sex. Then Elle and her family moved to Nashville but Tucker and Elle have always remained friends. He married young but it didn't work out, his wife was unfaithful. Elle keeps having disappointing dates, after the latest date upsets her, she calls Tucker and he's that worried about her, he drives to Nashville to comfort her. These two love each other as friends but after spending the night together platonically, Elle wakes to Tucker kissing her which leads to sex. Elle feels a bit awkward afterwards as she doesn't want it to ruin their friendship. Once Tucker is back home, she rings him and tells him she has a date that night, Tucker is hurt by this news so then decides to go and ask out a waitress called Misty who he has known a while.

Fast forward six weeks and Elle hasn't heard from Tucker but she has just found out she is pregnant and arrives at Tucker's home to tell him but his girlfriend Misty is there. Elle is obviously upset to find he has a girlfriend but I felt sorry for Misty, she's a nice girl and I felt Elle didn't seem to consider her feelings and then not long after when they split up, she doesn't seem to spare a thought for Misty which didn't sit well with me and is the reason I dropped a star.

Elle and Tucker continue to live apart, meeting up on occasions but they're both confused by what they feel. They love one another as friends but it soon becomes clear they're falling for one another. I liked Tucker, I liked how he was alpha at times. Elle annoyed me sometimes but she redeemed herself towards the end. The sex scenes were well written and I believed in their love.

This has been the best book of the series. I didn't really care for book one, I liked book two and gave that 4 stars. This was very nearly a 5 star read for me apart from I didn't like the fact Tucker had a girlfriend and she was sweet, so I couldn't give it 5 stars but it was an enjoyable read., I've always enjoyed this authors writing style.

ARC provided by Netgalley

Erin McCarthy knows her stuff. Love this friends to lovers tale... you had dynamic characters who have history and a burning long time desire for each other... but never explored.

Pretty-boy musicians are a fixture of the Nashville country scene—and Elle Hart, hairdresser to the stars, is beginning to think that they’re all total pricks. Elle’s dating choices have been a disaster, but at least she has Tucker. Though he’s easy on the eyes, no one would ever accuse Jason Michael Tucker of being a pretty boy. The humble and handsome sheriff's deputy from Elle’s hometown has always been there to comfort her—until the evening their friendship unexpectedly leads to the best sex Elle has ever had.

Tucker has been lusting after Elle since they were an item as teens, but he knows that their wild night of passion is a one-time thing. He’s an old friend, nothing more, and they’re too different to become a couple just because they’ve knocked boots. After all, she hates being back in their hometown, and he’s not so fond of the big city. But when Elle comes to Tucker with news that changes everything, he must help her come to grips with her traumatic past—or risk losing her forever.

Tucker and Elle had dated in High School. They really liked each other but when her family moved from their small town of Starkey, Kentucky to Nashville they became just friends. They’d remained friends although Tucker really wanted more. He was always there for Elle but one night when she had just gotten home from a date - one who had verbally hurt her – Tucker drove the four hours to Elle’s place to comfort her. One thing led to another and soon they were sleeping with each other.

Tucker’s elated until Elle tells him she has a date that night. She assumed he’d want to keep their friendship tight and he’d assumed this meant a huge step in “together” direction. He finally realizes that Elle won’t ever want him for more than friendship so he starts to date. He likes the woman he’s dating and is thinking of taking things further when Elle shows up to tell him she’s pregnant. Now that time has passed Elle realizes she feels more for Tucker than she thought but now Tucker isn’t sure he wants to go that route with a woman who hadn’t ever seen him for who he was.

This was a cute story. I liked the friendship between Tuck and Elle even though it had its ups and downs. Even though they each reacted differently to her pregnancy than I thought they would they were both happy about it. A portion of the story focused on Elle and her family and how they’d grown up in the Starkey and how that affected their lives. I liked that bit of background that we got on her and her family. I wish would could have gotten the same bit of in depth background on Tucker but that didn’t happen.

The end of the story seemed a bit abrupt to me. Decisions had been made between Elle and Tucker and their future – and this was done so that they could make a clean start together. Tucker wasn’t a Nashville kind of guy and Elle absolutely did not want to move back to Starkey. After a particular incident, that all changed and Elle made the decision for both of them to stay in Starkey. It seemed rushed and not so well thought out on her part – more of a highly emotional decision. I know that it was supposed to be the big gesture from her to Tucker but it rang false to me – especially after how adamant Elle had been to stay out of Starkey. IDK, it was sweet on one hand but on the other it just didn’t make sense to me.

The story was sweet and cute for the most part and I always enjoy a good contemporary from McCarthy. If you’re looking for a story with not too much angst then this would be a good one to pick up.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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