What About Us

What About Us is kind of a second chance romance for Alex and Helen. They really didn't get much of a chance twelve years ago before things went sideways in both their lives. When they do find each other again, things get pretty angsty with a lot of misunderstandings and things left unsaid. In fact, so much of the angst relies on what isn't said that it became a bit frustrating, especially with Helen being so completely oblivious to what's right in front of her. I completely get that we want to believe the best of our parents, but I found it a little too far-fetched to think that this woman is that gullible after so many years have passed. The story is interesting enough, but I kept waiting, or maybe hoping, for something unexpected, something to set this one apart, but it just didn't happen. In the end, it's an okay romance and worth the read, but lacks that wow factor that would pull me back to it later.

WHAT ABOUT US is the fourth instalment in Sidney Halston’s contemporary, adult PANIC erotic, romance series focusing on the men and women who work and own the high-end night club Panic, and its’ subsidiary Club Duality. This is thirty-five year old, billionaire business investor Alex Archer, and thirty-year old, cocktail waitress Helen Blackwood’s story line. WHAT ABOUT US 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 perspectives (Alex and Helen) WHAT ABOUT US focuses on the second chance relationship between thirty-five year old, billionaire business investor Alex Archer, and thirty-year old, cocktail waitress Helen Blackwood. Twelve years earlier on the day of her eighteenth birthday Helen Blackwood’s life imploded –with her father in jail, and our heroine homeless and alone, our heroine made her way to Florida in the hopes of starting over where no one knew about her past. Fast forward to present day wherein Helen, now a cocktail waitress for a high-end night club comes face to face with her past, a past that blames everything on our story line heroine. Enter billionaire Alex Archer, and the man that Helen has never stopped loving. What ensues is the rebuilding but acrimonious relationship between Helen and Alex, and the potential fall-out as Alex struggles to let go of the past. Helen Blackwood once lived a life of privilege but everything came crashing down the day her father was arrested and charged with fraud. Struggling to survive, Helen would find herself hungry and homeless on more than one occasion. Having never forgotten about the boy who got away, life would come full-circle when said boy, now a man, makes it his mission to destroy everything Helen has struggled to achieve. Alex Archer couldn’t believe that Helen Blackwood had fallen so far. The only friend and girl to give the young socially awkward Alex a second look, Helen’s circumstances had definitely changed, a change Alex didn’t believe no matter how hard he tried. The relationship between Alex and Helen is one of second chances; a rekindling relationship damaged by the ‘sins of the father’, sins Alex struggles to accept and forgive. Alex’s attitude towards Helen is vindictive and cruel as our heroine struggles not only with her attraction to a man who despises her existence, but battles a personal h*ll back home. The $ex scenes are erotic, passionate and intense. The colorful secondary and supporting characters include Helen’s best friend Gina, and her father Edward Blackwood; Alex’s best friend and CFO of Archer Technologies Bradley, and his PA Monique Adler , as well as Alex’s mother Doris Archer. We are re-introduced to nightclub owners Nick (Pull Me Close #1) and Matt Moreno (Make Me Stay #2), as well as a number of security and construction crews. WHAT ABOUT US is a story of family, friendship, betrayal and lies. The premise is emotional, heart breaking and encouraging; the characters are charismatic, but embittered survivors; the romance is a second chance for two people to move on from the past. WHAT ABOUT US is a sexy, energetic and captivating story where the sins of the father destroy everything in its path.

With each book from this series I’ve thought, “That was my favorite.” But truly, What About Us is definitely one to beat the others and the reasons are Helen and Alex. They are both so unique and completely developed that I felt like I had known them my whole life. Helen is sassy and quirky but man can she tell you like it is. She doesn’t take any bull from Alex and let me tell you, he tosses a lot of it her way. With a tough outer shell, inside she’s really all marshmallowy soft despite the past years that have made her walk through fire. I loved her complete dedication to remaining the woman her trials had made her even when Alex is able to give her back the life she once had. She wasn’t going to take the easy way out by relying on him financially. That’s kind of my catnip. Alex doesn’t like loud groups of people and he struggles to communicate his feelings...all the time. When he does speak he pretty much tells it like it is and in the process projects a real a holery vibe to the one he’s talking to, mainly Helen. But man, when he finally finds it within himself to open up he doesn’t go second rate. I loved watching him react to Helen and then fall in love with her. She was all he needed and sometimes his needs meant taking care of her in ways she didn’t want to accept. I loved every moment of it. This is a fast paced enemies to lovers romance that knocked my socks off with its heat and intensity between these characters. They argued, they sexed it up and they developed a relationship with so much feeling it permeated every page, every word. Despite being part of a series, this can definitely be read as a standalone and it gives a wonderful epilogue that was absolute perfection. I hated to see this couple’s story come to an official close. I highly recommend this to any and everyone! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Loveswept. All thoughts and opinions are my own.