Review: ‘Reticent Hawke’ by Gwyn McNamee
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Reticent Hawke
by Gwyn McNameePublished by Self-Published on July 27, 2023
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 420
Source: Kobo Plus
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Sometimes, I wish I weren't a Hawke...especially because I'm in love with one.Years of living on the streets taught me one hard lesson…Don’t trust anyone.People are inherently bad and will do bad things any chance they get.So, when the Hawkes took me under their wings…I put up walls so high that no one could ever climb over them.Most stopped trying.It was the way I liked it.Locked away in my own little world.Protected from anything that could hurt me.But the very person I try so hard to keep out is the only one I want to let in.I dream about her touch.Crave her in a way I have no right to.She’s my best friend’s older sister.No matter what…I have to keep my hands off Angelina...Because she's a Hawke.
Reticent Hawke is the second book in The Hawke Family Second Generation Series from USA Today Bestselling Author Gwyn McNamee. Grab this angsty forbidden, billionaire, reverse age gap, best friend’s older sister, contemporary romance about a broken man, an older woman, a danger neither of them sees coming, and desire neither of them can deny.
Reticent Hawke is the second installment in Gwyn McNamee’s Billionaires of New Orleans: The Hawke Family Second Generation series. This emotional story follows Jude, the adopted son of Lucas and Bryon, who hasn’t attended any Hawke family events or left his house for two years because his past keeps haunting him. He struggles with severe anxiety that makes it impossible for him to venture outside without experiencing a panic attack. Instead, he stays home, attempting to write while secretly watching the one person he has had a crush on for years.
Angelina is unsure of what’s happening with Jude; all she knows is that she feels his gaze on her while she works at the coffee shop each day. She realizes he is closed off to everyone in the family except for her younger sister. When her sister doesn’t come home one day and refuses to tell her the truth about where she is, Angelina reaches out to Jude for help. This is when she begins to uncover the truth about Jude and learns that it’s up to her to assist him. Meanwhile, the family is also dealing with their own challenges from Falco Enterprises, which could jeopardize Angelina’s coffee shop.
Both characters in this story are broken in different ways. You’ll find out why Jude suffers from panic attacks and can’t leave his house, and it all stems down to what he was put through with his biological father. Then, there’s Angelina, who misses her father every day after what happened to him. (You’ll need to read the previous series in order to get a better understanding, but Gwyn McNamee touches on it in this book with what happened.) She also is dealing with the possible competition of another coffee shop in her area due to Falco Enterprises. She’s stressed, and she needs someone there for her once, and I’m glad she finds it with Jude.
This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster as you experience the ups and downs of both characters and the drama surrounding the Hawke family. In the end, the happy ending for Jude and Angelina is well worth it. Be sure to have some tissues handy because Gwyn McNamee knows how to evoke deep emotions for both of these characters. I thoroughly enjoyed their love story, even though it was sometimes hard to read the struggles Jude faced and the challenges Angelina had to confront. These two characters were clearly meant to be together.
Overall, another great installment in the second-generation series, and I give it four stars. I look forward to continuing my binge-read through this series so I can catch up before the last book is released.
Single/Dual POV: Dual POV.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy reading billionaire romances with a forbidden storyline, check out Reticent Hawke. Be sure to read the books in order as the storyline continues in each one.
What to Expect:
✔️Forbidden Romance
✔️Billionaire Romance
✔️Reverse Age Gap
✔️Best Friend’s Older Sister
✔️Broken Hero
About Gwyn McNamee
USA Today Best Selling author Gwyn McNamee is an attorney, wife, and mother. Originally from the Midwest, Gwyn relocated to her husband’s home town of Las Vegas in 2015 and is enjoying her respite from the cold and snow. Gwyn has been writing down her crazy stories and ideas for years and finally decided to share them with the world. She loves to write stories with a bit of suspense and action mingled with romance and heat.
When she isn’t either writing or voraciously devouring any books she can get her hands on, Gwyn is busy adding to her tattoo collection, golfing, and stirring up trouble with her perfect mix of sweetness and sarcasm (usually while wearing heels).
Gwyn’s debut novel, Savage Collision, the first book in The Hawke Family Series, was a 2017 Romance Writers of America Passionate Plumes Contest Finalist for excellence in contemporary steamy romance.
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