Their pasts dictate the men they are, but their present shapes their future.
What happens when these men meet the one person they are destined to be with? Can they fight their feelings and walk away? Or will they each succumb and learn the sweet agony of love?

Aiden

Haunted by memories of his past, Aiden plays the part of the happy-go-lucky friend. Always ready with a teasing smile or a joke, he is good at hiding his pain.
Using his impressive physique as a shield, he keeps his past buried beneath his rugged exterior.
Except, one woman sees through his façade.
Her green eyes see too much, even as her body tempts him.
Even as his heart yearns for her.
Cami is determined to make him realize that he is worthy of being loved.
He pushes her away at every turn, yet finds himself unable to keep her at arm’s length.
Who will win this battle of love?

Now that this is out of the way – here are my thoughts on Aiden – the second book in the Vested Interest series by Melanie Moreland

I already read several books by this author so I already had some idea how the writing style might be and I was not disappointed. In fact I received the review information early enough so that I was able to read the first book in that series (Bentley) before receiving this on.

Which was a good decision – because while they CAN standalone – they simply should not as the connection between the characters is so strong that the reader would miss important interactions to better understand what is going on.

Aiden is Bentleys right hand – always there when needed – going above and beyond for others. Yet allowing himself nothing.  While reading Bentley … I saw Aiden as a kind of Bad Boy in that trio that was hiding issues below a façade of smiling Bodyguard aloofness. When the time came for his own book he was still hiding and smiling but less aloof. He felt more tortured to me – yet it took a while until the author disclosed details – and I admit it bugged me a little because while a tiny detail was disclosed early his pain felt that much bigger so I was left wondering if that was all there was to it.

Cami … yeah well … when she first appeared in Bentley’s book as the best friend … she did not really get a final character picture in my head but I felt she was clever. Her development in Aiden was a little surprise for me. I understood her thoughts and reasons and her decision to keep quiet for such a long time when I look at her family history. But on the other hand her decision how to “handle” the “FRIEND” “ISSUE” (being vague because of spoilers)  – well that bordered on being dense (sorry but I really pegged her as cleverer ….

That being said Aiden and Cami are a great pair.  I already guessed that much when reading Bentley and I was confirmed (same way I am guessing that the next book will be a great pairing too). All three male leading characters are different yet very interesting and unusual especially in their relation to each other. As they should not work on paper but in fact they work out great.  

While I liked both (Bentley and Aiden) because the fit the description of my ever beloved torutured male lead – Aiden in his plot only missed the 5^th star narrowly … and by narrow I mean – I can not explain why. It was like in one of these casting shows when the judge’s hand hoovers over the red button and you think he is going to press because you see it on his face yet the moment passes and he never does.

So enjoy the ride and push the 5 star button J