Down London Road (On Dublin Street #2)

I loved On Dublin Street, but this one was even better! Although I’ve never had problems like Jo, I felt deep empathy for her issues, which were big and many. The storyline brought tears to my eyes several times. This was one lady who really deserved her HEA. Yes, she was often indecisive, but get over it, people! Not everyone is super-strong and determined, so why should all book heroines be that way? Yes, Cam was sometimes crass (especially at the beginning of their acquaintance), but I felt he redeemed himself with the love and support he exhibited later. He was unreasonable in thinking it was okay to be friendly with his ex to the extent that he was, especially knowing Jo’s insecurities, but, unfortunately, he isn’t the only man in the world who is clueless about some things. Again, due to Jo’s insecurities, it wasn’t unbelievable that she was immediately jealous of the ex; I think I would have been apprehensive, too. Plus there’s the fact that she turned out to be RIGHT to have misgivings about the give-and-take between Cam and the ex (again, because he was so clueless). But you have to admit that Jo was also clueless and out of line for staying in touch with Malcolm. I loved the chemistry between Cam and Jo. It was explosive. Because of all these things, their HEA was very satisfying. As I said about On Dublin Street, I like and appreciate that their romance came to a heartwarming conclusion in one book, instead of dragging on unnecessarily into sequels. It was also nice to have more glimpses at earlier couples (Joss & Braden, Ellie & Adam). I really loved this book, will definitely reread it at some point, and will be moving on to others in the series.

P.S. It was touching the way that the various men in Jo’s life (Braden, Uncle Mick, Cam) were instantly ready to (and did) leap to her defense in the situation with her father, and the way that they plus Joss and Olivia really supported her emotionally.

Jo has taken on the parental responsibilities of both her little brother and her unpredictable alcoholic mother. Joss has been making ends meet since the moment she was old enough to start working. She came to the realization that she cant support her family on her own and has taken to accepting the advances and dating older, more established gentlemen. She doesnt ask for money, but they like to spoil her with clothes and jewelry which she accepts. She knows that they will eventually get bored of her and move on, which is when she sells all the riches they bestowed upon her. Which helps pay the bills and puts money away for her little brothers education. However, she finds herself reevaluating her life when she meets her new neighbor/co-worker, Cameron.

Jo was an interesting character. Shes not a gold digger like previously thought. She doesnt ask for hand outs and shes independent from the men she dates. No one knows about her life at home. No one knows about her mother or the fact that she is the sole provider for her little brother. So when Cam comes in the picture, inserting himself into her home life, her world is thrown off kilter.

Cam was one of those characters that you had to warm up to. Hes immediately judgmental towards Jo. He views her as nothing short of a paid whore and isnt afraid to let his disgust show. However, he himself is dating an older woman. Hes actually dating Jos boyfriends ex. However, that fact is never really brought to the table. Even though he was extremely supportive of Jo, he did some questionable things. So it was nice that the characters werent flawless. They definitely had their duh moments.

This was a good story. I read On Dublin Street over a year ago and dont really remember much from the story, let alone remember Jo. So this is definitely a story you can read as a stand alone. I enjoyed watching the layers of Jo peel page as the story progressed. She wasnt necessarily complex but she was definitely someone who had a lot going on in her life. Her little brother was a character that popped up a lot in the book. He was kind of the silent brooding voice of reason that knew when to give Jo a push when she needed it. This story just came together really nicely and Im really looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

What a wonderful continuation to the On Dublin Street series. I so very much loved On Dublin Street and Until Fountain Bridge. You end up caring and loving each and every secondary character from On Dublin Street. So obviously, it is completely awesome that Samantha has been able to expand the series so that we can get to know them all a bit more.

“Braden, Ellie, and Adam came in and took their usual table directly across from us so that Braden and Joss could screw each other with their eyes.”

But of course, before I get into the main characters for Down London Road, I have mention all of our old favorites. It was lovely that we got to see so much of Joss and Braden. Of course they have had their happily ever after, and we were all glad for that… but that isn’t to say that we didn’t want more of them.

So, I was very pleased with how much they were actually a part of Johanna’s story. Her and Joss have turned into the best of friends, and their relationship was a wonderful thing to see. No jealousy, no backstabbing, just two woman who truly love and care for each other. oooOOOooohhh and did you see where I said we get more Braden? Each and every time he entered a scene, my breath caught. The man could just be standing there doing nothing, and you could feel his presence. Like I said, it was nice to see more of him.

“I’d never felt so intensely attracted to someone before. Usually, it took me a while to get to know a guy before I felt that kind of deep tingling in all of my good-for-nothing places.”

So, let us now discuss our two main characters, Johanna and Cameron. We all know Johanna but we did not learn a lot about her to be honest. Now we finally get to see why she has struggled her whole life. The hardships she has faced while trying to raise her little brother. Johanna is a very strong character, and does whatever she can for her those that she loves, without a second thought for what it would do to her. She lets people think whatever they want about her, but if it means she can keep Cole safe there is no doubt she will continue to do it.

“My body was panting, “He’s hot. Can we have him?” While my mind was screaming, “Oh, dear God, what the hell are you thinking?”

Then there is Cameron. *swoon* Cameron is amazing, but trust me when I say it takes him a bit to earn that title. He is nothing short of a jerk at the start. He is one of those that immediately makes his mind up about Jo and how he thinks she is. Although, when he finally gets his act together… he is outstanding.

“When his blue eyes met mine, I inhaled sharply at the raw need in them. “You’re stunning,” he whispered hoarsely. “No man can possibly deserve you.”

Now, as much as I absolutely loved Cameron and Johanna together I have to admit my favorite relationship in this book was Joanna and her little brother, Cole. I lost track at the amount of times that their love for each other made me tear up. I loved how they stuck up for each other, the kind words for each other, and the banter.

So in others words, I guess what I am trying to say is, I love Cole. I honestly just loved him. And although he is not old enough to have his own book just yet, I will be keeping my fingers crossed that sometime in his future he will be blessed with his own story. I have no doubt that he will be doing just fine but would love to see him grown up, and falling in love with somebody. He was just such a wonderful character.

“Now go. Hang out with your friends and be immature. Responsible,” I added hurriedly, “but immature.”
He made a face. “Do those two go hand in hand?”
“If your immaturity can lead to consequences, then it’s irresponsible.”
Cole grunted. “You should write that s*** stuff down.”
“I heard the “s***” in there, baby boy, and I’m stealing the last PopTart as punishment.”
“Harsh, Jo.” He shook his head, backing off with a smile. “Harsh.”

Please do not hesitate at all to read this series if you haven’t already done so. You will love everybody, and even come to think of them as one big extended family. There is a fourth book in the series scheduled for publication in 2014. However, at the time of this review Samantha hasn’t released details about who the book will be centered around. I have my suspicions about who I think it will be about, but there are just so many perfect characters to pick from. Regardless of who it is, I know I will be right there to read it as soon as I can.

“Some people are born with family, and others have to make family.”

Christine
Rainy Day Reads

Awww, I really enjoyed this one.

4.5 Stars!

I loved ‘On Dublin Street’, so I bought ‘Down London Road’ as soon as it was released but it’s one of those that has been sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read.

I’m always a little dubious when I’ve absolutely adored a couple in a book and then the author releases a second book in the same series, but writes about a different couple. I felt that Joss and Braden were such strong characters, that I didn’t know if I’d be able to read a book that they featured in in snippets, but that wasn’t about them. I was wrong. Samantha Young did a fabulous job of giving us just enough Braden and Joss to feed my appetite, but making me fall equally as in love with these new characters, Jo and Cam.

If you’ve read ‘On Dublin Street’, this is Joss’s friend, Jo’s story. Johanna Walker has a bed ridden, alcoholic mother and a teenager brother who she has taken on full responsibility for. Working two jobs to pay their way, Johanna has decided attaching herself to wealthy men is the way forward. She doesn’t men that she doesn’t care for, but she also doesn’t date men who can’t guarantee her and her brother a financially secure future.

Her latest catch is lottery winning suit Malcolm Hendry. She likes Malcolm, and he really does care about her, but he doesn’t set her on fire. Nobody does. But that doesn’t matter, right? She needs security and stability.
Until Cameron MacCabe.

Cam is the tattoed, a little bit bad looking, but totally hot boyfriend of Malcolm’s ex girlfriend, Becca. I know, right? It’s instalust between Cam and Jo. And the fire only burns brighter when Jo gets Cam a job at the bar she works at and then also finds out that he’s moved into the flat below hers. Oh, I do love a coincidence.

However, Cam thinks he’s got Jo’s card marked. He thinks he knows her. He pegs her as a fake, money grabbing, materialistic, slutty bimbo. And he isn’t afraid to let her know.
But as Jo and Cam’s lives entwine, secrets are spilled, truths are shared and Cam gets to know the real Jo. The real Jo that nobody else has ever been allowed to get close to. Especially not the likes of Malcolm and other wealthy ex-suitors.
So now Jo needs to decide… does she want a life of financial security for herself and her baby brother, which would also mean a life of living a facade, keeping other people happy… or does she want a life where the person she wants accepts her for the person she is, knows her deepest, darkest secrets and wants her regardless…

I liked Jo. When we first meet her in On Dublin Street she is painted as a total gold digger. But I was totally sold on her in this book.

She was a walking contradiction. In one way she was strong, protective and determined. She is the sole provider in her family and she will do anything to get what she needs for her brother. She is dead set on giving him a better upbringing than the one she had, at the hands of her abusive father and useless mother.
Yet, she’s vulnerable too. She hides behind a wall. She’s afraid of dropping the ball, afraid of anybody finding out the truth about the life she leads behind the door of her apartment. And she’s terrified of her feelings for sexy Cameron McCabe, who knows exactly what he wants.

Cam is uber yummy! He does the whole protective alpha thing weeeellll! He’s swoops in and saves the day a number of times. He comforts Jo, he takes Jo’s brother, Cole, under his wing and he breathes life and self esteem back into Jo. I loved him for that. He’s the first man to ever see Jo for who she really is… and not only does he love her despite her faults, he loves her even more because of them.

Mmmmmm mmmmm!!! This book has a delicious dose of the sweetest sexual tension. I loved the build up between Cam and Jo, whilst they tried to avoid their growing attraction to one another whilst they were still with their prospective other halves. The scene in the kitchen with the spider… the first sex scene… the scene in the shop changing rooms… Y.U.M!

There’s also great banter. Between Jo’s younger brother and Cam, between Cam and his friends, between Cam’s friends and Jo, between Joss and Jo, Joss and Braden, and of course, between Jo and Cam. I love it when a book can deliver good, real banter, that I can believe. It just makes me fall in love with characters a little bit more.

I thought the big crescendo was done brilliantly. The conflict between Cam and Jo, mixed with the other things Jo had to deal with, Cam’s past getting in the way and of course, little bits of Joss and the gorgeous Braden, who gets all protective-alpha-male on us, to boot. I couldn’t put it down.

I enjoy the big extended family of surrounding characters in Samantha’s books. There’s a real feeling of love from this strange, pick-and-mix, make-shift family unit. A whole host of characters who don’t have traditional, conventional families have come together and created their own. There’s something incredibly wholesome and heart warming about that.

There are some very dark issues dealt with in this book. Alcoholism, child abuse, domestic violence. And I think Samantha Young deals with all of these issues well. I did feel like the sub story of Jo’s mother was left a little un-resolved, but that’s my only complaint, really.

I know this has got quite a few low rating reviews, and I really don’t get why. I’ve read that some people didn’t connect to the characters or found the plot dull… I totally do not understand how that could be. I really felt the tension between these characters and I loved the build up. The only thing I can think is that sometimes, a string of bad reviews can be self perpetuating… people read a bad review and go into the book expecting to be disappointed, which, in turn, prevents them from investing themselves fully to the story. Perhaps. I don’t know. It’s the only thing I can think.

So, I would definitely recommend this. I love Samantha Young’s writing. I think she does character development well and she writes fantastic loveable, rough-around-the-edges men.

Down London Road Statistics
Steam Rating (out of 5):
Ending: HEA
Series:
Reading Order:
Book #1 – On Dublin Street (On Dublin Street, #1)
Book #1.5 – An On Dublin Street Christmas (On Dublin Street, #1.5)
Book #1.6 – Until Fountain Bridge (On Dublin Street, #1.6)
Book #2 – Down London Road (On Dublin Street, #2)
Book #3 – Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street, #3) – Not yet released
Can this be read as a standalone? Yes
Themes:
Alcoholism
Domestic Abuse
Love triangle
Warning. This book includes…
Sexual content. Domestic abuse. Alcoholism. Violence.
Writing: Good

Review by Smitten’s Book Blog

4 stars!

I may be in the minority with this one but I didn’t really enjoy this half as much as On Dublin Street. The first 30% of the book was mainly setting the characters and I found this really hard to get into and I had trouble keeping interested. First of all I couldn’t even remember who Johanna Walker was…I was racking my brains and then eventually realised that she was the barmaid who worked with Joss…I would have thought that this book would have been about a more prominent character from On Dublin Street. Once I got past the initial 30%, the book really got going and after that I loved it…it was Samantha Young at her best.

Jo has the reputation of being a gold digger and sleeping with men that are financially well off (if you remember she badly wanted Braden), however her motivations for this were entirely selfless. Her back story is harrowing at times and I just cried, I felt for her so badly and just wanted to give her a big hug. Her father is in prison, but not before he totally demonised Jo and made her feel worthless and absolutely useless, the mother is no better, she is a raging alcoholic that rarely ventures out of her bedroom…thus leaving Jo as the sole provider for the household and the sole carer for her little brother Cole who is only 14 years old. She works two jobs just to make ends meet and is running herself into the ground. Her current partner is lottery winner Malcolm, he is loaded and Jo makes sure that she is the perfect girlfriend, she takes whatever gifts he gives her with the sole intention of eventually ebaying them to provide money for Cole.

Cam is Malcom’s exes boyfriend, he is a designer who is currently unemployed and Malcolm asks Jo to get him a job at the bar as a stop gap, as he has bar experience. There is some instant chemistry between the two but neither act on it and in fact Cam does not make a good impression especially when he basically calls her a gold digging whore. Jo does really care for Malcolm, but he is her safe..there is no real chemistry between them, but he is who she feels she needs to secure her and Cole’s future.

Once Cam starts work at the bar, the attraction that they have really begins to manifest itself and this is only compounded when Cam moves in to the flat below her. Cam has been an ass towards her to cover up his real feelings, he knows he fancies her but he is in a relationship, she is in a relationship so where can they go????

I will say, I love the way Cam builds his relationship with Cole, it was truly beautiful. I loved Cam eventually once the hard ass persona had gone. The thing I loved about their relationship is that it was a friendship that blossomed to love, there is no cheating in this book either for those that are worried.

There is some angst and drama, but then no romance novel would be complete without it. We do see glimpses of our favourites from On Dublin Street.

I can’t wait for book 3!!

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