Kiss Me Back: The Panic

Lola has been striving for the last seven years to make her dreams come true. In is just a few months’ time those plans will be coming to fruition. Working a second job at Panic is a step in helping to achieve her goals but getting involved with the very attractive bouncer is not. Fox has worked hard to find the success he now has in his life. He has a great home, expensive car, and the best suits money can buy. For the last six months he’s been trying to get a date with Lola but she always politely declines. Then, on the worse day of the year for him, she accepts. Each with their own unique problems this couple come together for a sex only relationship that has an expiration date. Fox is in a quandary as to how to open Lola’s eyes up to the possibility of more even as he holds tight to those things he thinks are important to him. The way Fox and Lola worked together to overcome their individual issues was not only enduring but inspiring. I loved the way they used humor to smooth the way over some of their speed bumps. Fox was such a wonderful hero both sweet and sexy and dedicated to Lola. Lola’s background left her afraid of being rejected so her inclination was to do things on her own. When he offers her the greatest gift she could ever imagine I wanted to bawl my eyes out. His love for her was selfless and unending and it literally ripped my heart out of my chest to witness it. I have truly enjoyed every book in this series but Kiss Me Back is by far my favorite thus far. I absolutely loved every single moment in this book! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Loveswept. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

KISS ME BACK is the third instalment in Sidney Halston’s contemporary, adult PANIC erotic, romance series focusing on the men and women who work for the high-end Miami night club Panic. This is security specialist William Fox, and bartender and graduate student Lola Daye’s story line. KISS ME BACK can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Told from dual first person points of view (Fox and Lola) KISS ME BACK follows the building relationship between security specialist aka bouncer William Fox, and bartender Lola Daye-a relationship with an end date that will come all too soon. Lola knows that her time at Panic is drawing to a close; only weeks away from completing her Masters degree, she intends to head to Ecuador to work with the under-privileged but her attraction to bouncer William Fox is met with an equal attraction that has been ongoing for close to six months. What ensues is the building relationship between Fox and Lola, and the potential fall-out as their time together draws to a close. Lola Daye has a secret she believes will set her apart from the people she has grown to love. It is this secret that has shaped the woman our heroine has become, a woman who refuses to accept help or aid at times when she needs it the most. William Fox is a man determined to be successful as a security specialist but success is represented by the persona he wants everyone to see. Fox, too, keeps secret a hidden past, a past mired in loss, abuse and rejection by the man he no longer acknowledges. Fox’s acceptance of Lola’s secret is heart warming and all encompassing to the degree that any help offered is met with resistance and fire. The relationship between Lola and Fox is one of immediate attraction but Lola knows her time at Panic is limited as she intends to finish her degree working with the children in the villages of Ecuador. Throughout their growing relationship there are many misunderstandings between Lola and Fox, due in part to Lola’s hyper-sensitive take on Fox’s need to protect and worry. The mutual vulnerabilities are hidden behind fake facades that mask the truth about who they really are. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Nick and Katherine (Pull Me Close), Matt and April (Make Me Stay), and bartenders and servers Helen and Jane. Helen’s story line is next. KISS ME BACK is a story of friendship and love; struggles and anxiety; moving forward and letting go. The premise is engaging and inviting; the romance is seductive and passionate; the characters are sassy but broken. Lola’s commitment to be independent is counter intuitive to Fox’s need to protect and defend, and in this our heroine’s feisty attitude leaves something to be desired.

I think my favorite thing about the Panic series is that it forces you to look beyond what you can see to truly get to know someone. Every single book has touched on delicate subjects that could easily be written in a completely stereotypical way, yet Sidney Halston has the ability to treat these issues with the respect and dignity they deserve. Lola is working toward her goals of finishing school and dating a man like Fox isn't on her to-do list. Fox has been intrigued by Lola since her very first day at Panic. The relationship that builds between these two unique individuals is beautiful to watch and I was rooting for them from the very first page. I am so in love with this series and never want it to end. I hope that every character introduced at Panic gets a story!! *This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*