Close Enough to Touch: A Romance Novel (Jackson Hole Book 1)

Dahl's Donovan family series is my all-time favorite romance series, so I was really looking forward to Close Enough to Touch (and I devoured it the day I got it!). I admit, it took me a little while to get into this book. Grace is kind of a tough character to like at first. She's incredibly defensive, wounded, and often downright mean. She is probably one of the more screwed up romance leads I've seen in a long while, and it makes her kind of off-putting at times. By the end of the book, though, I could clearly see why she was the way she was, and I really wanted her to be able to break free from her past. When it seemed like her past had come back to ruin things near the end, I was actually tearing a up a little because I wanted it to work for her! Cole is a little hard to like at first too, I think. He's also pretty screwed up, and while he may be a little more at ease with casual human connections he is no better than Grace with real intimacy. Grace can be mean, but he's not always much better to her. He says some nasty things to her, is awfully quick to blow things out of proportion, and blames Grace for not opening up when he barely does himself. It was pretty clear that the patterns they fell into right away were NOT what either of them needed, especially Grace, but Cole didn't seem to get that until the very end. (The way they both used sex as a tool for power was also a little disconcerting, though I suppose two people with massive trust issues would struggle with that.) He certainly wasn't the typical gallant "hero", though he had plenty of sweet moments to leave you feeling like he was a good guy, and eventually he seemed to see the light and understand his behavior was impacting the relationship too. Cole didn't quite tug at my heartstrings like some of my favorite romantic leads, but I did appreciate that he was a little unique. By the end I was enjoying his complexity. The secondary characters are fun and interesting without being too distracting. I especially liked Rayleen. I wish we had gotten to hear a little more from her, as you just know there's an interesting story there! Hopefully we'll hear more from her in later books. The book is pretty steamy too. Dahl has a knack for writing sexy scenes that are hot AND appropriate to the story, and there was more tenderness there than it appeared at first glance.I did think a little more normal conversation between the main characters would have helped me buy into their transformation by the end. They mostly just have (hot!) sex, but because Grace is so afraid, she is barely capable of having a meaningful conversation outside the bedroom. I get that sharing is one of her hot button issues, but I did have just a tiny bit of trouble believing that they could really have a genuine relationship by the end. Still, these are minor quibbles. This is an enjoyable story with complicated, richly drawn characters. A solid start to the series, and I'll be eagerly looking forward to the other books!

I adore Victoria Dahl's books because she always seem to write these great romances in small towns with interesting characters. I thought this book was good, but for me, it wasn't as light-hearted as her previous novels. Grace is a character that has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with when she first arrives at Jackson Hole. She has no money, no job and no direction but is trying to find her place in life without depending on a man like her mother. She acted very tough by not letting anyone get close to her and found it easier to lash out at people instead of letting her guards down because she was afraid of being hurt. I liked her but I wanted her to open up more to people than just pretending to be this tough city chick.Cole was dealing with emotional issues as well during the course of this novel. He was slowly recovering from an injury that shattered his pelvis and he was scared that he wouldn't be able to ride a horse again. If he couldn't ride a horse then he would be unable to run the ranch that he was hoping to buy from his boss when he retired. To him, that was everything and he was guilty of lashing out at others as well. Grace and Cole were so much alike even though from the outside they looked like exact opposites. The chemistry and sexual tension was extremely hot but that isn't all there is to a relationship and it took some time for these characters to get past their own issues to try to build that relationship.I liked this novel but I want others to be aware that this isn't a light-hearted romance. These characters have some real emotional issues from mistakes of their past and the romance between the two doesn't start off easy. I'm looking forward to reading Victoria's next novel in the series "Too Hot to Handle" which stars Grace's best friend, Merry. Hopefully, her love story will go smoother than Grace's did.

I love Victoria Dahl and was so excited that she had a new series coming out. I wanted to like this one more than I did. It moved quickly and kept my attention, but the characters were so damaged that it was sad to read. Maybe I'm shallow, but I prefer a romance story that pairs up likable people who make choices with which I can identify. I hate reading about people who continue to hurt themselves or live lives that are full of bad choices. It's just a painful experience when I'm reading for enjoyment. I did like the fact that the heroine and hero both realize that their individual behavior is affecting the outcomes in their lives. But, when everyone has so much sorrow and baggage, it just makes me want to give them a hug and get them into counseling rather than have them fall in love.

This was a good read it's probably more like a 3.5 star. I enjoyed the story but I wish there had been a bit more of a climax before the ending... It was an easy enjoyable read. Definitely good if you need something light with a good story and a bit of angst. I loved the character development here that was excellent. The romance was good but not typical which I liked. There was a good amount of steam and when there was it was hot! I think the POV could have been better in first person but it was ok in third and I liked that we got both Cole & Grace's POV. I will definitely continue with the series and read book 2.

I just reached the end, blinking tears and smiling. Grace is incredibly compelling, Cole is incredibly compelling, omg the unsaid things!!! And the said things. Jeez! What I mean to say is, this one's a win so don't delay!

I agree that this book is alot different than previous books by Victoria Dahl. But I really liked it. It's two really damaged people (both physically and mentally) trying to find their way. I guess alot of it really resonated with me and it was very intense and emotional. I thought it was a well written and interesting story.

I absolutely love Ms. Dahl's contemporary writing. She's witty, creative - and she definitely knows how to turn the temperature up. ;-) What I love best is the way she avoids clichés like larger-than-life heroes and needy (almost-virginal) damsels in distress. Both Cole Rawlings and Grace Barret got lots of baggage from the past and their relationship starts out rather bumpy. But at no point does Cole give you the mighty Macho nor Grace the clinging Maid. If I wanted those I'd read historical romance (which I often do)... I loved every page!