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~**~ ARC Review: Too Hard To Forget (Romancing the Clarksons #3) by Tessa Bailey ~**~



***4 ‘Your Inner Masochist’ Stars***


The dysfunctional functionality of the Clarkson family is what makes these books difficult to put down and boy do Peggy and Elliott (who thought a non family member could rival the Clarkson siblings?) put me through the ringer. Talk about bringing out all the FEELS, the good, the bad and the ugly in this emotional rollercoaster, but it was all worth it as things get heated, both in the heart, head and bed, only to end in the way it was always meant to.


Peggy and Elliott truly took me on a hell of a ride. Peggy is an enigma. She can be whomever someone needs her to be, as long as it isn’t herself because if she allowed that to happen all of her vulnerabilities would be exposed. But pieces of her trueself find their way out of the kevlar armour she’s constructed around herself and those pieces show a genuinely vibrant and compassionate soul. I had my ups and downs with Peggy. I loved her fearlessness, but the games she played had me wanting to Gibbs smack her even though I understood why she felt the need to play them.


Elliott has only ever had one love, football. He lives and breathes the game to the detriment of everything and everyone else around him and uses it as a way to keep people away so he can drown in his own guilt. I honestly did not like Elliott for much of the book. I understood why he believed what he did and in part empathized with him because of it, but it took a while for me to start to like the man. Thankfully he had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment that finally had him opening up and showing that while a part of him was broken, he was a strong man with a good heart.


As I’m sure you can probably guess, Peggy and Elliott’s second chance journey drove just a tinsy bit batshit crazy, okay...a lot. At one point I was so done with both of them and all the mind games and push/pull going on that I almost, almost, gave up on them, but at the same time I was fascinated by how their minds worked that I had to see it through and I’m very happy I did. They both got a handle on their issues, confronted them and found ways to show the other what they meant to each other and make it work because the chemistry and connection, both sexual, emotional and intellectual were all there, they just had to believe that it could be more.

It’s easy to get sucked into the crazy that is Clarkson family because despite the chaos that comes with them, there is something absolutely intriguing about them all as they sort through the muck that is their emotional baggage. While you can read this one as a standalone, to truly get a handle on the dysfunctionally functional Clarkson family I highly suggest you start at the beginning, especially because you’ll end up loving the little doses of Miriam that are sprinkled into the mix. Now to patiently (or not) wait for Belmont and Sage’s story!


~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley ~





This time, she's calling the shots.


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's been missing. Even after three years, seeing him again is like a punch in the gut, but Peggy's determined to stick to her plan. Maybe then, once she has the upper hand, she'll finally be able to move on.


In the years since Peggy left Cincinnati, Elliott has kept his focus on football. No distractions and no complications. But when Peggy walks back onto his practice field and into his life, he knows she could unravel everything in his carefully controlled world. Because the girl who was hard to forget is now a woman impossible to resist.








Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.


She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.


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