The Winner Takes It All by Jennifer Dawson

The Winner Takes It All
by Jennifer Dawson
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Published by: Kensington Books - December 2, 2014
Rating: 4 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

For two stubborn people…

Corporate mogul Shane Donovan sees the ultra-cool, collected Cecilia Riley as an ice queen--even if he can't deny that, on the surface, she's a work of perfection his body can't ignore. Forced to spend two weeks in the same house for his sister's upcoming wedding, Shane senses that deep down Cecilia mirrors his need. And he's determined to draw her into a sexy game that will melt away her reserve. . .

Losing is not an option…

Career-driven Cecilia Riley has just enough free time in her schedule to head out of town for her brother's wedding. But her agenda is thrown for a loop by the presence of Shane. Though his over-confident attitude leaves a lot to be desired, his insanely hot body has kept Cecilia up nights. Unsure what game Shane is playing, Cecilia takes the bait, bent on resisting him at all costs.

But as Shane and Cecilia discover, temptation follows no rules…

I'm not ashamed that I was first drawn to this book by it's title, a song from the musical Mamma Mia! It might also be an ABBA song. It looks like her first novel went by the same theme as well. I'll have to read that one too. :)

Much like the blurb, we have Shane, hero to everyone and Cecilia, ice cold and personality-less, or so we think. In this case, opposites attract and boy do they. They not only attract, but explode by the end of the this book. Throughout the story, Cecilia's personal arc is deftly created and demonstrated. While she starts out as a shell of a person, she truly finds herself and what she wants out of life by the end, mostly due to Shane's love. It was pretty apparent which obstacles the author was going to throw in their way, trying to thwart their love, but that didn't take away from each of their personal growth and the heat that brewed between them. It was ultimately a satisfying read and, like I said, I want to read Jennifer Dawson's debut novel as well.

The secondary characters were also well-drawn and enjoyable. I'm hazarding a guess that the next book might be about Gracie and James, although I'm not sure. The author hinted at something between them, and I'd love to read about them too.