Ava is in love with Vito, her wealthy playboy neighbor. He is attracted to her, but fights it, because she is only 18. Ava goes to prison for driving while under the influence and killing Olly, Vito's young brother and her best friend.

Three years ago, Ava was imprisoned, when a drunk driving incident followed by amnesia left her best friend Olly dead, and soon the world around her collapsed. Her family abandoned her, and the man she had loved forever, Vito Barbieri and Olly's older brother resented her. She then suffered. Where the last few Lynne Graham books have suffered from heroes that take the Alpha-Male idea a step too far, this book has a much gentler, more accepting hero whom is still as Alpha as you need and this certainly benefits the story.I know some readers might be annoyed by the fact that the plot is slightly recycled. I wasn't. I think that in a long writing career, that's bound to happen to a prolific writer. I know that in my own writing I work out issues I see in life and that affect me on a deep level. So I'm not dismayed to see this in writers I follow. He finagles a way for her to work at his home to put in the annual Christmas party he's neglected since Ollie's death. Saucy banter and lost virginity make for an uneasy relationship. The h knows her shelf life is short for a variety of reasons: the H's relationship mileage, and, oh yeah, the fact she's responsible for the brother's death.

It is an incredible coincidence that I read two Lynne Graham books within days of each other, and each has a hero named Vito and a heroine who is a redhead and who has a strangely similar family history (with a few differences). Honest to goodness, I didn't do that deliberately. It was just one of those serendipity things. I really like Ava, she was still a thoughtful and caring person after a hurtful past. She still manages to be a good person.......and she has suffered so much! I liked her determination. I kept rooting for her happiness.....she so deserved a happy ending and some hunky man to worship her. Hero is still angry with her, but is just as attracted to her as he was the night of the crash when she was just 18. They cross swords at the office a few times and the hero creates jobs for her, until he decides that both he and the heroine need to get over his brother's death. To do this he will hold his annual Christmas party at his house and the heroine will plan it just as she and his brother had done in the past.The heroine was bent but not broken- she goes through a lot heartbreak at 18, from being punished to being an outcast; and takes on not just the blame, but also works on making amends. I loved her tattoo, her love for Harvey the dog, her passionate spirit and her strength. The h and H's chemistry has simmered since they first met when she was Ollie's, his younger half-brother, best friend. Spending time in jail for drunk driving and what I assume was some kind of manslaughter charge put a wrench in that. They meet up again when she gets a first job at a company he's just taken on.

Heroine thinks this is a bad idea because it will put her in the vicinity of her family who has disowned her and will cause people to talk. Her alcoholic mother died while she was in prison and she is also estranged from her sisters and father. Hero doesn't care about the gossip and thinks she should reconcile with her family. Then a party guest from the night of the crash recognizes the heroine in the tabloid photo. He witnessed her mother driving the car and not the heroine. Both the h and the H's brother were trying to stop her, but to no avail. The party guest never realized there was a crash or a trial because he was out of the country. Now the lawyers will work to clear her name.The heroine, Ava, was constantly grieved over the loss of her best friend, Olly, whom she met at boarding school. It was difficult for her to reconcile that she was the cause of his death since she had no memory. She would sometimes travel home with him for holiday visits and she was just WOW over his older brother, Vito who was ten years their senior. Vito was oftentimes cruel to her. He had the hots for her (but certainly didn't want to.) He'd maybe steal a kiss, then treat her like she was a leper or whore blaming her when he kissed her. She was a sexy young woman and he always assumed she was trying to tempt him with her great body. She was not...yes, she tempted him, but she was not really a seductress. She was too young and innocent to know how but that didn't stop him from treating her poorly, breaking her young heart. She fell for him when she was only sixteen but the man wouldn't have anything to do with her. Sadly, he didn't take the time to get to know her and was way too far into his man-whore lifestyle. He had no clue whatsoever that she was virginal. She knew for sure that she would never have a chance with Vito since she was the one who caused his brother's death. She was going into a work program who hired ex-cons for three months to help prep them for entering the workforce. She had no clue she was going to work for him and his new company. Her sisters eventually visit her after they see her name linked with the hero's in the tabloids. Hero invites them to his party so heroine can get to know them better. Heroine thinks their affair will only lasts to the Christmas party, but hero has other ideas. Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then. The hero wasn't bad too- yes he blamed the heroine occasionally, but also believed that she had paid her due and hence stood like a wall for her whenever possible. He is enamored by her, and pursues her relentlessly. He also helps her find the truth in the end. For this initiative, The Bicester Collection has partnered with Ashoka Arab World. Founded in 2003, the platform has pioneered social entrepreneurship, contributing to the flourishing sector across the Arab region, and is also the Academic Partner of the world-renowned New York University Abu Dhabi.

I liked how self-sufficient Ava was. Her trauma could have created a much more crippled individual (not just that of the past three years, but her whole life in that awful family). I also liked Vito, he wasn't an asshat. It took him some time to realize some things but he was always worthy in my opinion. And I loved her tattoo of his name on her hip that she tries to hide. Now released from jail, she finds work in one of the prisoner rehabilitation centers, only to soon meet Vito again, as her new boss. Never expecting any sort of exoneration for her crimes, she does not expect to keep her job. But despite his feelings, Vito not only gives her a second chance, but also makes her forgive herself. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. Reading the blurb made me feel excited about reading this one, and I needed that excitement to actually make me want to read this latest offering from Lynne Graham.

Vito comes off as one of those "arrogant I am always right" men and kind of cold in his determination to seduce her in his revenge plot. He really believes she is guilty and does little to see the otherside or question the irregularities. In the end he does redeem himself a little in his new found love for Ava but I never felt like he was truely sorry for what she suffered or fully believed in her. She truely deserved to be treasured, his personality being what it was ("arrogant"), didn't allow for that. Firstly, I would have loved to know Olly. Such a fabulous human being- precious and loving to everyone around him, especially our h and H- all his references made me tear up. Within a week or two she was living with him...so she could prepare the company and neighborhood Christmas party...but he also joined her in bed most nights. The man made sure every female within shouting distance knew he never wanted to marry or have a family. He told her many times and she acted as though she didn't want it either. But fell hard he did!