Fabulous read. I enjoyed this book. I was provided a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

3.5 stars. This is the story of Cara, who has been a little over the moon for older, more settled Dante for some time. Cara is pretty down-trodden, lacks self-confidence, think she is overweight (ummm, since when is needing to lose 20 pounds considered disgustingly overweight???), and has pretty much gotten a totally crappy deal in life. Dante invites her out to dinner one night because she is spending her birthday alone, and a relationship (friends with benefits only) ensues. Dante is coming off of a breakup with a woman he was about to propose to, who decides she'd rather follow her dreams to be an actress. They both understand the friends with benefits rules, and Cara is more than happy to take whatever Dante will give her, but she develops feelings. Oh, but fate is not kind to Cara, and Dante's former love comes back into his life. He, of course, decides to give his former love a chance, he hurts our dear Cara, and....well, the rest you just have to read to find out. Cara frustrated me because she was so down on herself, and was willing to take whatever Dante was willing to give her - she wouldn't stand up for herself and demand to be treated better. And Dante, thinking he knew what was good for Cara better than Cara herself, made some dumb decisions. The storyline we've seen a zillion times before, but it was pretty well done. The sex scenes, which were supposed to be pretty racy, felt a little clinical to me at times. There were great side characters and the story was told from several points of view. And, I do have to say, I would love to be a part of Dante's big crazy Italian family.

I have read none of the Inevitable series. After reading this one I think that I just may want to go back and read some. This was more than just an older man with a failed relationship and a young woman that felt like she only made poor decisions when it came to men. I found this read easy to jump right being part of a series.

There something about a man with a broken heart and a denial of falling again. That makes his true fall that much sweeter. Dante finds so much more than a quick distraction with sweet Cara. While Cara was part of the story this was more like a Men’s Fiction with some romance thrown in. I very much enjoyed learning much about Dante. What made him the man? . . . the lover? . . . the hero for Cara?

Even with this being my first read in this series, it is not my first read from Janet. She still brings the drama, passion, resolution, and romance that I am used to in her reads. For me this was all Dante’s show and it was a good one.

This was an enjoyable read but I must admit there were times that I wanted to give Dante a good smack up the side of his head. Seriously why he was still hung up on a shallow egotistical woman? I couldn't for the life of me figure this one out, he was down to earth with a deep love of family and friends and Katie was the total opposite.

I loved Dante and Cara together, and I must admit that the fact that they had to keep their relationship a secret added more layers to their relationship. Dante was Nicks client and Cara worked for Angela and Nick, which meant she was violating the fraternization policy...oh well! This is a May/December relationship and Dante was occasionally hung up on their age differences but Cara was much more mature than her age so I didn't feel as if there was a great difference in their age at all, and it is only 11 years so it's not terribly drastic.

One thing I love about this series is that each book can be read as a standalone even though previous couples may pop into the story, Nick and Angela's story is one that I haven't read yet but I plan on going back and reading all of the stories I have missed at a later date. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story that has many layers to it. This is not a quick read but it will pull you in and you will not want to put it down until the very end, unfortunately that meant I fell asleep for the night while reading...but once I was up I was back at it!

So I loved Dante at the beginning. He was sweet kind and just handsome. When he was with Cara I started to get angry at him. When he treated Cara how he did although I do applaud him for why I growled. So glad at the end his mom helped him come to his senses and see how awesome Cara is and that love is worth the risk.

The book is fun and lighthearted at times. We see a man who loves and is hurt by the one he thought he loved. So he retreats but when he retreats he gets stubborn. Dante is a great guy overall but he let that stupid Katie control his heart more than he should. So when the wonderful, sweet, generous, hardworking and stubborn Cara came along he was broken. They had attractiony and she was so so good for him. He found a girl that didn’t want him for his money but for him. She loved going to places out of the way and just appreciated the time he spent with her. She was awesome. but over time that did weigh on her and fuel her doubts. He had his reasons but didn’t really convey them to her and this had her going down a different path.

I was so glad she was strong when he was weak. He deserved that time with the leech if you ask me. It got Dante to really see the leech for who she was and explore his feelings. It also got Dante to appreciate and see more how amazing Cara is. She is so hardworking and just happy to spend time with someone and be appreciated that money isn’t something that is needed nor are gifts. I am also glad she made him work for her and that his mom smacked him upside the head. Cara went through so much to get where she was and deserved respect and love not to feel second best and a secret so Dante learning how to truly special and amazing Cara is and how to appreciate her and treasure her was worth the angst he put us through.

The story is one of family and love. The characters well except for the whiny spoiled Katie were so lovable. The supporting characters were awesome especially Gia and Mirai those two are a hoot. The journey to love and healing was a arduous one for Dante but so worth the read. Cara deserved the better version of Dante and in the end he showed her love, respect and support. A wonderful love story.

This is the sixth book in this series by this author. This book can be read as a stand alone read but other characters from the pervious books are in this one. This book has strong characters, you just fall in love with as you read. This book has an amazing story line, I just couldn't put this book down till I'd finished it. I can't wait for more in this series and by this author in the future.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

** spoiler alert ** I think it's safe to say that I hate this book and that's a first for me. I almost stopped reading it bc I couldn't believe the way the story was going. The only feels this book gave me were bad ones. I've never felt so angry and uncomfortable reading a book.

Dante never appealed to me and the only thing good about him was his loyalty to family. That's it. He came off as a self centered jerk while he was dating Cara. I felt like he flaunted his money and wasn't at all humble. I know he was upfront with Cara about what he wanted and didn't want but it was obvious he'd developed feelings for her. I found it disgusting that after everything Katie did to him that he so easily dropped Cara like a hot plate. Then, he basically assaults Cara at the wedding. This is the first book I've ever read where I was hoping that the heroine wouldn't take the hero back. Dante doesn't even deserve the title of hero. I could not believe how easily Cara took him back. It was like everything Dante had done never happened. She made such good progress after they broke up and she deserved so much better after all the bad crap that happened to her. I was really hoping she'd say screw you and that her HEA would be that she realized how special she was. And that she wouldn't waste her love and feelings on such a selfish man. Unfortunately, Cara turns into a doormat and Dante basically got to have his cake and eat it too. The more I write this review, the more this book infuriates me so I'll end it now. I feel like I need a shower now to wash off the bad feelings this book left me with.

I’m sad to see this series come to an end. I haven’t read every book in the series yet, but I’ve been fortunate enough to read Ian/Tessa and Matt/Sasha’s story and have loved these characters. You can read these as standalones but you also get couples from each book popping up in the others enough that I feel like I know them all already.

I’m going to admit here that Stronger wasn’t my favorite out of the series. That is 100% due to personal preference than having anything to do with the writing. I’m all about the Hero and love a good Cinderella type story but I personally struggle when the Hero is in love with another woman while he’s with the heroine.

Dante has been dating Katie for a year now and he’s at the point where he is ready to propose. Unfortunately, Katie has had a break in her acting career and has been offered a roll on a sitcom. Looking forward to her upcoming celebrity status, she dumps Dante to move to LA and enjoy the spotlight.

Dante is heartbroken. He can’t believe Katie was so callous and dropped him without looking back when he was willing to do anything to keep them together. A couple months after she leaves he starts seeing pictures of her and a different guy in each photo, living it up in LA. He realizes he needs to move on.

This is where Cara comes in. Cara works for his best friend, Nick who also handles his investments. When Dante stops in to see him, he notices it’s Cara’s birthday. Cara admits she isn’t doing anything to celebrate and Dante isn’t having it and offers to take her out to dinner.

Dante just wants to do something nice for Cara and has no plans to start anything with her. She’s too young for him and doesn’t see her as a women...until she shows up for the date and she’s stunning. Seeing Cara all dressed up has really transformed her appearance. Dante is immediately attracted, but still has no plans of leading her on. When she kisses him at the end of there date he doesn’t see why he can’t enjoy a friends with benefits relationship with Cara.

What I thought would follow was a Cinderella type romance. Extremely rich man meets very poor, but sweet woman. He showers her with love, affection and beautiful gifts. (Insert record scratch) This is what really happens... Dante tells Cara that he would like to continue seeing her but he doesn’t want a relationship. It would be purely for benefits and they would see each other only once or twice a week. No commitment and oh yeah, let’s keep this on the down-low cause Nick won’t approve of us.

I’ll give Dante this much, he would have showered Cara with gifts, but Cara has enough self worth to not take gifts from a man who only wants to see her for the “benefits”. He hides their relationship, only sees her twice a week but completely on his terms. She never meets his friends or family and doesn’t even get to know where he lives and then pretty much dumps her when his ex comes crawling back.

Man, I really struggled with that. What’s kind of worse is Dante isn’t really a jerk. He sounds like one and the evidence sure is overwhelming but really his only fault is being in love with a manipulative woman and not being able to see past her to what he could have with Cara. Obviously, he comes to his senses eventually, but man, by that point I really wanted better for Cara.

Cara is the only reason I even enjoyed this book. She has had so many tragic things happen to her and so many people who treated her badly that I wanted her to get Prince Charming so badly! Why would Cara accept this from Dante? She’s had a huge crush on hm since she first met him and has decided she will accept his terms just so she can spend time with him. She likes him so much she was willing to accept his crumbs.

The ending soothes the ache I have for Cara and she finally gets her Prince Charming but he doesn’t really deserve her. Dante finally steps up and treats her like the princess she deserves to be treated and he knows he has a lot to make up for and he’s all in.

This is a warped version of a Cinderella story but I know there are a lot readers who like the real life version and will enjoy this book. ARC provided by NetGalley.

Stronger is the story of a wealthy businessman with a broken heart and young, penniless, lonely assistant. While I found Cara and Dante to be a bit cliche, the story still sounded interesting.

Dante is heartbroken after his girlfriend dumps him unexpectedly. After moping and being a general sad sack, he asks out his friend's assistant on a whim. He thinks its a terrible idea, but he wants to get laid. His thoughts about Cara are crass and rude. Cara is alone in the world, having been all but abandoned by her father after he stole her college money, and her mother passed away. She is working for Angela and Nick while attending UC Berkley's extension campus in the evenings to get her finance degree. She is a bit of a naive prat that I found a bit immature at times. She has a ridiculous crush on Dante; he knew it too, and it kind of feels like the big bad wolf leading the lamb to slaughter.

The story is character driven and focuses on the relationship between Dante and Cara. Character driven stories are hit or miss for me. If I love the characters, then it totally works! But, I had a hard time warming up to Dante and Cara so the book felt very slow to me early on. And then Dante dumps her for his ex...yeah, that happens. By this point, I was just ticked.

I walked away from the book. Maybe I will pick it up in the future. I have a real issue with wishy-washy heroes and when an ex comes back in the picture and he goes back to her...nope, nope, nope.

I think Nissenson is a good author; this book just didn't work for me.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Stronger is the final book in the Inevitable series and we have met the main characters briefly in previous books. Cara is the young but conscientious assistant working for Angela and Dante is the older, successful businessman who drops into their office on a monthly basis. Cara 'takes his eye' and he offers to take her out for a birthday meal, when he realises she has no family or friends to go out and celebrate with.

After an explosive end to the night, they begin a casual relationship where the boundaries are set by Dante and Cara goes along with the arrangement.

There is a strong physical attraction between the two and the sparks certainly fly when they get between the sheets. Cara is a sweet young woman who has to work hard to make ends meet and with no family contact, she craves some human affection.

Aside from Dante's obvious physical charms, he oozes confidence as he is successful, has a great family network and no money worries. He is, however, keen to keep their contact secret from others and extremely 'low key'.

Cara is so grateful for some male attention that she accepts whatever Dante is prepared to share with her.

Janet Nissenson again successfully creates flawed characters we can identify with (even if we don't necessarily like them )!

I felt sorry for Cara for a large part of the book, as their 'friends with benefits' arrangement worked perfectly for Dante, but she seemed to be taken advantage of. When Dante's ex came back into his life and Cara finally realised that she had been used then we could see how she was affected as she tried to carry on living while trying to hide her heartbreak.

I love a troubled romance where things don't always go to plan and I realise Dante had his reasons for treating Cara the way he did before he finally 'woke up and smelled the coffee'. However, I just found it hard to forgive Dante for his behaviour, despite his redeeming himself!

I great rollercoaster of a story nonetheless and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

'Stronger' by Janet Nissenson is book 6 in The "Inevitable" series. This is the story of Dante Sabattini and Cara Bregante. Dante and Cara had met earlier in this series but this can be read as a standalone book.
Dante thought he was in love with Katie and was about to ask her to marry him, but she up and broke things off with him. This has left Dante feeling sour toward love. Cara has had a big crush on Dante since first meeting him but he was in a relationship and never thought she would be with him. Then Cara too has some bad relationship and swore to keep to working toward her college degree. Dante has been in the dumps since the break up but when he sees Katie seems to have moved on with her life vows to ask the next women on a date. Which turns out to be Cara.
I really enjoyed their story building up to what it became. It was a hot read and hard to put down. I ended up reading this book twice.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2HX0B5ELOPP5Z?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1831318-sissy-s-romance-book-review-for-you
https://twitter.com/soapsrus68
https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookReview
http://sissymaereads.blogspot.com/
http://booklikes.com/blog
https://romancebookreviewforyou.wordpress.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebookreviewforyoublog

Loved this book and this entire series. Janet takes you on such a ride with her books and characters, that I can see it all playing out in my mind. Dante and Cara's story wasn't an easy one and was on emotional roller coaster that made me laugh and cry at times but it's always worth it in the end.

Cara is an inspiring heroine for me. She maintains her positive attitude even as life keeps throwing her challenging curve balls. She has a deadbeat father that promised her mother on her death bed to pay for her college education and then he just stopped. She didn’t give up, she works full-time and goes to night school living in a closet of an apartment to get by. She stays focused and is willing to help her friends and co-workers whenever needed.

Now Dante, well, he pissed me off more than once. Dante is a very sexy client at the financial firm where Cara works. He takes pity on Cara when he realizes she has no one to celebrate her birthday with so he impulsively asks her out to dinner. He is surprised by how grown up she looks when they meet for dinner and one thing leads to another with off-the-charts sex following. Dante had been dumped by shallow Katie and was still nursing a broken heart so he offers a no-strings relationship to Cara. She has loved Dante from afar so she jumps at the chance.

Cara and Dante have a wonderful connection, there is a naturalness to their conversations and dates which is a joy to experience. But, when Katie suddenly returns to San Francisco, Dante drops Cara and goes back to the shallow, gold-digger Katie. As much as Dante was a gentleman and loved giving and taking care of those that are important in his life. His view of Cara for most of the book bothered me. Yes, she was almost 10 years younger than him, petite and not caught up in all the high-class trappings which had him keep her in a kid or friend zone. This made it easy for him to give up Cara and go back to Katie.

Cara further impressed me with how she handled this break up. The real question is can these two find happiness together. Will Dante grow up and see the error of his ways? Will Cara be willing to forgive him? I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

We meet the main characters in other books in this series, it’s not necessary to have read the previous books but I think you should definitely read the other books in the series.Dante thought he had found the one, the woman to settle down and make a life with but she had different ideas and leaves him.Cara is sweet and adorable.The book is amazing. When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Keep up the good work.I received this book from Netgalley for honest review.

it was different, i did like it, it shows that you can have second chances

this one is a first for me,and I`m will be reading others in this serie.
It was a fun and for me an fast read.
The romance between Cara and Dante was fun.
but the coming together was not really the main topic.
It is about second chance`s,empowering yourself,the value
off family and having good friends.
it was fun,even despite the throwing around endless descriptions.
about gifts,clothes,4/5 star retaurants.because that is plain
tedius.it is a nice read.