Linz Loves Romance

Dirty Rowdy Thing is the second book in the Wild Seasons series by Christina Lauren. Harlow and Finn, friends of the couple in the first book, get their own HEA. I liked but didn't love this book, though I'm not totally sure why it didn't work as well for me.

Harlow just might have the most loving, least angsty family in NA. Her father is a famous and successful cinematographer and her mother is a former actress. She's a character who seemed to use her "powers" (money, connections, free time) for good. Post-college, she's working 12 hrs/week as, basically, an NBC gofer. This is not a problem for Harlow until Finn points out that she could be doing more. I really, really liked Harlow. She's funny, would do anything for a friend, and loves her family. (Yes, she eventually figures out her career.)

At the start of the book, Harlow's mother is diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. This subplot doesn't have major drama, but is used more to show how segmented Harlow keeps her life. For her, Finn is a fling. Their big conflict is how they don't talk to each other about the things that are going badly in their lives. Finn is the same way--a lot of his conflict is how he doesn't talk to his friends or Harlow (until maybe 2/3 of the way through) about his problems.

Harlow and Finn wed in Vegas, briefly, in the first book, but annulled that marriage. Their meet cute in this book happens when Finn visits his friends in San Diego and runs into Harlow at a Starbucks. This scene is pretty great. Finn is a Canadian fisherman, who runs the family business with his father and two younger brothers. Finn is the epitome of a stoic hero. A nearly silent alpha. Who's also into bondage and ten years older than Harlow.

The smexy scenes between Harlow and Finn were hot and kinda crazy. They showed the progression of their relationship from fling/f-buddies to love. There was one scene (maybe two?) where Finn bit Harlow repeatedly pretty hard. Meh. That fell a bit outside my comfort zone, but she loved it. (And, yes, how I can even dither about biting when I love paranormal where people bite each other all the time is ridiculous.)

I think Finn was my least favorite part. He was just okay for me. He took Harlow for granted and got really mad at her without even giving her the benefit of the doubt. So for me, their big moment of conflict didn't quite justify his actions. He later apologizes, but it was not enough grovel for me. He's like that guy where you try to analyze what he's thinking and feeling, but underneath, there isn't much going on to merit a deep analysis. He just read as kind of a dude to me, who somehow, was a sex god. Gah.

I am looking forward to the next book, which comes out in September. This one just didn't work as well for me.