In complete contrast to last week’s review, the third installment in the One Night in South Beach series was a complete delight. But come on, y’all should know me by now – I LOVE a good grumpy hero! And Jonah… well, let’s just get into it.
In Break of Day, Carla Hernandez fled Miami after her boring fiance dumped her, showing up on her great-aunt’s doorstep in Havana, Cuba. She’s there to help Lola update the place so she can take on more boarders… and to heal from the humiliation of being dumped by an accountant. What she doesn’t expect is Jonah Kane to open the door of Lola’s house in his underwear. All Carla wanted was an escape in the tropics. But she wasn’t entirely prepared for being completely and utterly surrounded by all that is Jonah… and she definitely didn’t expect to like it.
Jonah Kane is a world-renowned photographer with a past that doesn’t allow him to get close to people. He hurts everyone he loves, and he’s not going to let it happen again. Ever. But then Carla Hernandez comes traipsing into his life, and he about loses his mind. She’s small and curvy and bubbly and grieving the loss of a fiance who didn’t know what he had to lose. And that kills Jonah. He wants to devour Carla every time she’s near him.
What starts as a one-night stand turns into something neither Carla nor Jonah can deny… there’s a baby on the way, and Carla is determined to do this one on her own. She doesn’t need Jonah. But she wants him. Oh, she definitely wants him. But does he feel the same way about her? And will he leave her in the dust when he finds out about the baby?
3 Things I Loved
- Jonah. I LOVE GRUMPY HEROES. Can I say that enough times? Jonah is the epitome of grumpy. He uses his past as a shield, and even though he hates everyone, he’s very passionate once he and Carla start getting in onnnnn and that’s the part I love.
- Carla. She was never my favorite character, but she was always honest and quirky and it was endearing after two full books of her as a side character. I was really happy she both ditched the boring fiance (okay, technically he ditched her, but she got the better end of the deal) and got her own story with a hot, grumpy hero as a foil to her utter sunshine.
- Lola. Talk about a great character introduction! Lola is sassy and active and excellent. And she knows immediately that Carla and Jonah should be spending time together, and she makes it happen. I kind of love that. She’s a great character.
Dislikes/Problematic Content
I actually thought this was a pretty accurate representation of Cuba, based on other research I’ve done and things I’ve read. Christopher is very aware of diversity and inclusion in her works, and that shows. I don’t have anything to complain about here.
Rating
A reminder of the rating scale:
- Red = DNF, I hated everything
- Orange = Ugh, no thank you
- Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
- Green = This was good!
- Blue = Oh my gosh, I loved this book!
- Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart and EVERYONE should be reading it!
What a recovery from the previous book in the series! I loved this a lot. I’m giving Break of Day a BLUE rating. Proof that you sometimes have to keep reading a series even if there’s a weak book in the ranks!
Happy reading!
Snark & Squee 