Review: Sold to the Highest Bidder by Donna Alward (Second Chances #4)

Title: Sold to the Highest Bidder

         Second Chances #4

Author: Donna Alward

Release Date: July 14, 2017

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Category: Contemporary Romance

Type: Digital

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Blurb: 

Going...going... SOLD to the Highest Bidder!

There’s nothing Ella won’t do to make her ex finally sign the divorce papers – even buy him off the bachelor auction block. Two thousand dollars is a small price to pay to have him out of her life forever. But Devin’s insisting she get what she paid for - 48 hours of his ‘services.' And that’s long enough for both of them to be reminded of why they got married in the first place.

Still, they’ve both changed over the years, and have different dreams and plans. Perhaps this reunion is simply the goodbye they never really had.

Until one night changes everything, and they have to decide if they can take the biggest gamble of all…a second chance.

 By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age.

If you are under the age of 18, please exit this site.

Favorite Lines:

“I wanted you to fight for me. I wanted to know I was worth fighting for.”  ~  Ella

She cried out a second time and he was indestructible. And then he answered with her name on his lips and he was destroyed.  ~  Devin

Excerpt:

          He didn't know what Ella wanted from him, but he could guess. The cinnamon Tic Tac he’d popped in his mouth seemed to sour. If there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that she wouldn’t get it easily. And she definitely wouldn’t get it tonight. 

          “Three fifty,”came a call. From his wife. His blood surged. Forty-eight hours with Ella was a whole different thing. In forty-eight hours…There wouldn’t be the laughs he’d have with Katie. But in forty-eight hours he could do a bang-up job in showing Ella what she’d discarded. The idea held a certain amount of appeal. It would be no less than she’d done to him. 

          “Hoooeeee!”Scooter was getting into it now. “This is what I’m talkin’about. Three fifty for Betty Tucker. Don’t shy away now, ladies. Rumor has it Dev here’s mighty good with his hands. Who’ll give me four hundred?”

          “Take off your shirt!”came an anonymous call from the crowd, and laughter followed. 

          He looked over at Ella. She looked like she was being put through the seven tortures of hell. Maybe she did need a reminder. A flash of memory raced through his brain—of being teenagers and the feel of her fingers touching his chest for the first time. His gaze held her eyes as he fought back embarrassment—as a rule he was not into running around shirtless. She had been the one to walk away, and she’d been the one to ask for a divorce without ever showing her face in Backwards Gulch again. Why? That summer they’d been inseparable, newlywed and unable to get enough of each other. 

          A flicker of the pain he’d felt at her leaving slashed through him. He knew it was small, he knew it was petty, but he wanted her to get an eyeful of what she’d let get away. Tonight her discomfort was a fringe benefit. Slowly he grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and lifted it over his head while the bar went strangely silent, like a collective group of voyeurs waiting expectantly for what would happen next. Once the shirt was off, he dropped it from one hand to the dusty floor at his feet and saw Ella swallow while the rest of her body was still as a post. 

          “Four hundred…”said Scooter expectantly. 

          The nudge broke the spell. The bids came faster from others in the crowd while Dev felt increasingly exposed. “I have five…I have five fifty. Who’ll give me six? I have six. Six fifty for Dev here. I have six fifty.”

          Katie’s finger lifted as she smirked. “Seven, Scooter.”

          God love her. Dev sent a look of thanks in her direction. The girl was good to her friends. And Dev was thankful to be one of them at this moment. 

          “I have seven hundred…seven hundred going once…twice…”

          “Two thousand dollars.”

          The bar fell silent, except for the big screen in the corner that emitted the hushed sounds of a baseball game. Each head turned towards Ella and Devin saw her flush. 

          “Two thousand dollars. To Ella Turner.”

Review: 

Ella has made a life for herself. A good career in place and the possibility of a promotion in another state, she decides it has been long enough and time to get some closure. She’s back in town to get the scoop on a story she has been assigned as well as finally close that door left cracked open so she can finally move on. Kill two birds with one stone as it were. She hasn’t really dated over the years and certainly never gotten intimate, feeling as if she would be betraying her marriage vows regardless of the circumstances. Devin ignores her divorce papers every time she sends them, so she’s coming to personally complete the job this time. One way or another, she will go back home a free woman. A woman ready to live her life with the past left firmly where it belongs – in the past. What harm can spending a mere 48 hours with Devin cause?

Devin was just bought for $2K – by his wife. He doesn’t know what she’s up to, but he can be certain she’s got divorce papers tucked away somewhere that she’ll be hand delivering herself. Since he’s disregarded them at every previous attempt, he figures she’s here to complete the task herself. Exactly what he wanted. She owes him at least that much after running out on him despite the plans and promises they made to each other. Now he’s got 48 hours to convince her how good they were together. The last thing he wants is to end their marriage. Even if it does end, he is resolved to ensuring a final goodbye. The sparks are just as intense as they were all those years ago, and he’s not above seducing her into capitulating. Their goodbye changes everything. However, they each have secrets to reveal and until the truth is revealed, a future hovers just slightly out of grasp for them both and will continue to do so.

An entertaining read for sure, Devin and Ella were a joy getting to know. They each have their own idea of what needs to happen before they even have a chance of getting back together and despite the overwhelming attraction, they remain firm in their convictions. Ms. Alward, I have noticed, has a gift in preserving the essence of what makes each character who they are, even in the face of circumstances that could tear those traits apart. Ella is a reporter and could have found out everything she needed to about Devin and the secrets he is guarding, but she never researched him in the years they were apart, deciding it would only hurt worse to know. Devin remains unconvinced that she doesn’t know everything about him, but before too long he realizes she isn’t playing a game and truly is unaware of his current circumstances. Surprised, he comes clean about a portion of his life, but not all. Living with assumptions as her guide, neither attains what they are after within that 48 hours.

Although I was annoyed with each finding it impossible to just rip the bandage and purge their souls of all the misunderstandings that ruined their marriage initially, I did appreciate the story being carried beyond the initial 48 hours. More time was essential to crack those walls carefully erected to protect their fragile hearts from further agony. After so many years of being separated and not really knowing the truth as each one deciphered it, they each need something particular to occur. I loved that despite their crazy passionate connection, they didn’t toss caution to the wind and abandon their own necessary requirements. A few secondary characters helped beef this novella up a bit, but that’s all they were. No deep connection with them, just a bit of fluff to enhance this love story. This novella focuses firmly on Devin and Ella and while I tend to like more to a book, it worked well in this case. Probably the worst part of this book is all the wasted time Ella and Devin spent apart. Alas, it allows them time to grow into the people they needed to become so that they could move forward without any “what if” potentially rearing its ugly head later. A perfect story of love lost and regained; these 174 pages will fly by in no time. Take an afternoon and enjoy a few hours with Ella and Devin. Another great read from Ms. Alward!

Kindle version purchased for my own personal library.