ONE KING’S WAY (On Dublin Street 6.5) by Samantha Young-a review
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 3, 2015
When he’s not working at the club, Craig Lanaghan looks out for his mother and little sisters. So when it comes to women, all he wants is a good time. But once Rain Alexander walks into his life, there’s no denying that this woman could be worth much more than a one-night stand….
Rain’s lifelong regret is having left her sister Darcy alone years ago with a guardian who turned out to be abusive. So when Darcy’s boyfriend publicly humiliates her in a cruel way, Rain’s overprotective instincts kick in and she follows him to Club 39—where she meets a guy who just might be her perfect match.
The chemistry between Rain and Craig is explosive, but Rain is out for revenge, and refuses to be sidetracked by flirtation. As things between them heat up, she’ll have to make a heartbreaking choice between giving in to the man of her dreams or putting her sister’s happiness first…
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REVIEW: ONE KING’S WAY is the latest adult, contemporary novella from Samantha Young’s On Dublin Street romance series. This is bartender Craig Lanaghan, and online business owner Rain Alexander’s storyline. Craig was first introduced to the reader in the introductory storyline On Dublin Street where he was presented as a manwhore and over-sexed, fun loving male bartender at Club 39 who had attempted to seduce Joss.
Told from first person point of view (Rain) alternating with third person perspective (Craig) ONE KING’S WAY follows the building relationship between Craig and Rain. Rain is on a mission to avenge her sister against a man who posted a sex tape that all but destroyed her sister’s life. While Rain sits and waits at Club 39 for her sister’s ex boyfriend to show, Craig will find himself drawn to the most beautiful woman he has ever seen- a woman right out of a 1940s pin-up calendar. Night after night Rain will return to the bar hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who ruined her sister’s life, but what she doesn’t expect to find is her future happiness with a man who has no ambition to settle down.
ONE KING’S WAY is a bit of a flash back storyline as we get reacquainted with Joss and Braden at Club 39. J & B are still in the early stages of their romance and relationship, and therefore the timeline for ONE KING’S WAY falls somewhere in the past.
The relationship between Craig and Rain is one of immediate attraction but Craig isn’t looking to settle down, and Rain wants nothing to do with a one-night stand, or a friends with benefits relationship. As the storyline progresses, we come to learn that Rain is as a romantic at heart; and Craig is a realist with no lofty ideals for the future. The $ex scenes are provocative and seductive.
The secondary and supporting characters include Braden and Joss, Jo, Alistair, Ellie and Adam, Rain’s sister Darcy, and Darcy’s ex boyfriend Angus. We are also introduced to Craig’s mother, and his sister Maggie who push Craig to go after the one that got away.
ONE KING’S WAY is a short story that gives one of Samantha Young’s many secondary characters a shot at love and a happily ever after. But to be honest, the writing style seemed a bit choppy, as though an editor red-inked too much of the story. The dual conflict resolutions appeared rushed; and because ONE KING’S WAY is a story about compromises, it appears that compromise only went one way. Rain’s need for revenge against the man who destroyed her sister’s life, and the way she goes about ‘seducing her foe’ left me with a bitter taste-there were all kinds of issues with what she was trying to do yet she had no clear ideas or plans. Overall, ONE KING’S WAY is a bit of a disappointment for me; a filler storyline to appease fans who wanted something more.
READING ORDER
On Dublin Street
On Dublin Street Christmas (novella)
Until Fountain Bridge (novella)
Down London Road
Castle Hill (novella)
Before Jamaica Lane
Fall From India Place
Echoes of Scotland Street
Moonlight on Nightingale Way
One King’s Way
Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
