Nothing More to Take (Give & Take Duet, #1). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nothing More to Take by Demetra Georgiou

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can love survive amidst lies, schemes and subterfuge?
Zac, a man accustomed to getting what he wants, seeks retribution on behalf of the only father figure he’s known, even though no one asked him to.
“I still can’t believe how an ethereal being like Diane can be a plotting bitch. Why the old man held her in such a high regard, is beyond me. She is ungrateful and someone needs to teach her a thing or two. And I have the only right to do so.”
Evidence and reports condemn the woman he purposefully set to ‘teach a lesson’, but the truth has a way of creeping out of the most unlikely corners.
“She looked at me in the eyes and told me, but I didn’t believe her… She lay there with trust in her eyes and let me do that to her and more.”
One mistake after the other and one fight too many bring them closer to the end.
All it takes is three little words to take down his whole house of cards.
Now Zac has to trust the only woman who had the tenacity to see beyond his scowls and cold behaviour and not because she was innocent all along.
“Her name is Diane. The woman who has made my heart beating.”
BLURB: Nothing More to Take

A Little Ditty, ‘bout Zac and Diane.

This is a terrific book about a guy named Zac and a girl named Diane. The setting is in Greece, not the heartland, but it is nice, for a change of pace. Though it is a bit odd that the two main characters have such American names even though they have both lived in Greece their entire lives. Diane is a happy 20 something who at the beginning of the book is about to get a promotion at work only to find out that her company has been bought out and she is getting demoted instead.

Zac does not turn out to be her new boss which I thought might happen, so this isn’t a boss – coworker love story. Though it is quite the steamy romance. I give this one all five flames for how hot it gets! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Diane is feisty and not afraid to stand up for herself, she is an extremely likable character. The writing is good though I did feel that it was a bit stilted at the beginning and I didn’t feel that way later on. When I say stilted I mean that the dialogue felt a bit like people reading a crispy rather then speaking naturally. That only happened a few times though at the start.

A lot of background is given about Diane. She loves her parents dearly as well as a favorite uncle, Stevie who comes into town for bypass surgery. Diane is adopted due to the fact that her parents died when she was a toddler. Diane loves books and used to spend a lot of time in Stevie’s bookstore in Nafplio, a seaside town while she lives in Athens and works at a publishing house. When Stevie passes away, he leaves his bookstore and some money to Diane.

Zac is a character that is full of contractions. Zac and Diane cross paths at first in the hospital parking lot and then after Stevie passes away, when she moves to take over the bookstore, it turns out he is her neighbor. He seems think that Diane schemed her way into her inheritance from Stevie. Though it is unclear where he first go that impression. Zac stalks Diane at first and it is clear that despite what he thinks of her character, he wants her in his bed. The story in told in dual POV and though we don’t always get the entire story about Zac, we do get insight into how much he is lusting after Diane.

Zac is whack! Just kidding 😉, though he is a bit schizophrenic in that one minute he thinks she is a manipulative schemer, the next he wants her in his bed more than anything, then he wants to ruin her for something something she supposedly did, then when someone else hurts her, he comes to her defense. Zac gets possessive of Diane very quick and displays jealousy more than once. Though Diane won’t stand for it. I liked the dynamic and the situations though I don’t really know why.

“Why?” I ask, more curious than anything else.
“Why what?”
I take a sip from my cappuccino. “Why did you behave like an ass?”
“Because apparently, I am one,” he answers sincerely.

Zac is a tall, muscular, successful businessman and I really enjoyed the hot chemistry between these two. They fight a lot but Zac takes control in the bedroom, and those scenes were downright sizzling. It is unclear throughout the book if Zac is still out for revenge or if he really likes Diane, though the reader can see that she is a truly good person.

The book ends up in a cliffhanger while Zac is looking further into Diane’s background. I am starting the follow up book right away tonight and I can’t wait to see what happens. Zac and Diane both have secrets and there are other people in the book that seem to have an agenda, so I have to find out what is going on with everyone.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.