I have to admit, I am not enamored of beards. Stubble, yes—yum—but beards, not so much. I also am not overly fond of redheads. So Reid had to manage to convince a skeptic that Duane Winston was attractive.

I’m happy to report that she pulled it off. Dark and a little broody with clear hidden depths, Duane still comes across as very appealing, so I was right there with Jessica James, the poor high school math teacher who has quite a bit of a challenge before her when she tries to fight off her desire for Duane.

The setup is fun—Duane has a twin brother Beau who is way more charming than he is, being friendly, not broody, and maybe a teeny bit shallow. And Jessica has spent her whole life crushing after Beau, so when she ends up making out with him at a party only to find out that it isn’t Beau after all, she’s horrified. She actively dislikes Duane because he was mean to her when they were young—which, it turns out, was because he’d always liked her. His latest escapade isn’t particularly nice, either—he was fully aware that she thought he was his twin.

Unlike his brother, it’s clear from the outset that Duane’s personality runs quite deep. He’s complicated. He’s also got a past he’s trying to recover from and he has some risky hobbies. Drag racing. Antagonizing the local motorcycle club. Still, he’s determined to convince Jessica to date him—actually, he’s already convinced he wants to marry her, but he gets that he shouldn’t exactly bring that up yet. It’s quite the uphill battle for him, as Jessica is rightly perturbed at him for tricking her. Also, her brother and father are local cops and they do not approve of Duane. Even more important is the fact that Jessica has no intention of sticking around their small Tennessee town. Nope, she’s going to see the world, once she gets herself financially sorted.

Duane and Jessica are both great characters, deeply drawn and likable. Their chemistry is great. The surrounding cast of characters is also highly entertaining. Duane has a whole gaggle of hot and easily distinguishable brothers, making the backup cast quite fun. Even if some of the books weren’t already out, you’d know it would have to be a series. There’s plenty of typical Reid humor (i.e., smart and a wee bit nerdy) sprinkled throughout, though the book has many steamy moments, as well. I wouldn’t have minded more of the steam, though, but that’s my only near-complaint. If you like reading about intelligent characters making life choices, you’ll like this one.