Book Review: TOO HARD TO FORGET, by Tessa Bailey

Tessa Bailey
TOO HARD TO FORGET
Forever, 2017
336 Pages
Romance

“Peggy Clarkson is returning to her Alma Mater with one goal in mind; confront Elliott Brooks, the man who ruined her for all others and remind him of what he has been missing.”

Too Hard to Forget is the third book in Tessa Bailey’s Romancing the Clarkson series and for me was the one with the most mystery surrounding it. The few glimpses of Peggy Clarkson in the previous two books let us know she had a score to settle but that was it. The mystery made this story full of surprises and for me and by far my favorite of the series.

Peggy is the youngest of the Clarkson siblings and a former college cheerleader who wears 4 engagement rings around her neck from her failed engagements. On their way to New York City to fulfill her mother’s last wish she stops in Cincinnati to see Elliott Brooks, famed college football coach nicknamed the “Kingmaker”. Not much is talked about in the previous books about their relationship but there are plenty of flashbacks throughout the book that show exactly what kind of relationship there was between Peggy who was a student at the time (teacher/student taboo.. yes!!!!) and Elliott. Flashbacks are very hard to do right but in this book they were perfect and added a depth to both the story and the characters which really helped me to understand exactly why they were both so pained even after 3 years.

Throughout the book as we see Peggy and Elliott dance around each other (and crash into each other!) Tessa gives us glimpses into Elliott’s internal struggle with his past and his strong faith. What started as the embodiment of the sin lust turned into something more which neither one expected and were unsure how to deal with. Add in Elliott’s daughter and his high profile coaching job and this story had more layers than an onion. What I loved most though was how as the book went on we started to see the layers peel one by one. Not too fast, not too slow. The flow and the character development was perfect from beginning to end. Often in series the later books can seem forced or rushed. There was absolutely none of this. Of course as expected there were plenty of the steamy scenes that Tessa Bailey is known for however what pleasantly surprised me was the sweetness of this story as I viewed the synopsis as a “women with a score to settle” type book.

Overall I could not have loved this book more. It had something for everyone. Sweet second chance love story? Check. Teacher/Student taboo? Check. Super-hot sex scenes with an uber dominate and powerful hero? Double check. Too Hard to Forget left me wanting more and definitely lived up to its title as I will not be forgetting it any time soon!

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Eliza Wise is a Travel Planner, and mother of 4 school age kids who started reading as an escape from reality and is now an active member of the Indie Romance Community. Eliza is most interested in ebooks. Her Kindle is her best friend. Genres she is prefers reviewing: Contemporary Romance, Most Erotica (Some BDSM, but stays away from violence)