Early Review ~ Getting Rough ~ C.L. Parker

Getting Rough by C.L. Parker
Monkey Business Trio #2
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER B2B, New Release 2016, Blogger Shame
Goodreads

Synopsis
Hotshot San Diego sports agent Shaw Matthews and his sexy professional adversary Cassidy Whalen have gone head-to-heard in the boardroom--and the bedroom. Now Shaw has scored a big promotion--but only because Cassidy turned it down and ran off. There are many things he wants when it comes to Cassidy--just not her pity. So Shaw rushes to a small town in Maine to retrieve his dignity--and maybe the woman he's hungry to claim once more.

Cassidy has pushed herself to the max to realize her career dreams--until a family crisis brings her home. But Shaw isn't letting Cassidy go that easily. Neither is gorgeous heartthrob Casey Michaels, the childhood sweetheart she left behind--and who now wants to win her back. As the rivalry between the two alpha males intensifies, and Shaw's seductive moves reach a whole new level of heat, Cassidy has to make a choice. And this time, it's for the highest stakes of all.

Getting Rough picks up where Playing Dirty left off and although there wasn't quite as much contention between Cassidy and Shaw in this installment, it was still a good read.

Cassidy has gone home to Maine to take care of things following her mother's accident. And boy is she surprised when she finds Shaw at the bed-and-breakfast where she grew up. Shaw, for this part, has come across the country so he can give Cassidy a piece of his mind over how things ended in their contest to win a highly sought after football star. Yeah Shaw, you keep telling yourself that. Things between Cassidy and Shaw are still not but Cassidy being home means they have to deal with her ex...Casey. That led to some fun testosterone-filled scenes.

One of the reasons I liked Playing Dirty was that the competitive natures of both Cassidy and Shaw fueled their contentious behavior toward one another but underneath that, I could see the respect and attraction. Thin line between love and hate, and all that... In Getting Rough, Cassidy and Shaw, spending time away from work and the city, and being with family and close friends makes them very introspective. They each learn a lot about themselves and each other. And it has them thinking about where the feelings they're discovering are going.

Getting Rough has a more serious undertone but there is still a lot of humor as well. I missed Cassidy and Shaw's friends from San Diego but enjoyed meeting Cassidy's parents, and Casey and his parents, as well as Mia, a guest at the bed-and-breakfast. There were a few instances of worry over things and I also felt there were a few plot threads with resolutions reached too easily. But overall, I'm still hooked on this series and look forward to reading Coming Clean.