Full review to be published online in mid to late October.

HARDHEADED is a nice beginning to “Deep in the Heart”, a new series by Kim Law. This is a compelling read about a group of women overcoming their pasts to make it in the construction industry; in an all female company to boot. Cal and Jill have a history that brought a lot of depth to the plotline. Cal even comes complete with his own ghost. With the added stress of being rival competitors on a popular reality construction show, their romance takes on an even more difficult route. Their vulnerabilities and the heartaches of their pasts provide the meat of the story. All this makes it even more difficult for them to work on having a future together.

Nice story, cute and romantic. The book leaves the reader eager to see what is next for the other women in the construction firm.

I love when Cal talks to his cat, “I know that, too.” He scratched the back of the cat’s neck. “I’ve done nothing right with her, either.” He looked his cat in the eye. “I’m a effup, Lily. Time to face facts. But then, we already knew that, didn’t we?” She agreed with another yowl..." Cal sometimes has bad timing, "she shot him an incredulous look. “Really? We’re lying here naked and sweaty, and you want to talk about me and another man?” I liked this book, I loved Cal.

The perfect start to a new series with the backdrop of three women overcoming their collective pasts to excel in the construction industry in an all female company. With heart, smart dialogue and plenty of banter that hits the right note of entertainment hilarity, the premise of the story promises to provide plenty of opportunity for Heather and Trenton to now have their own story.

Cal and Jill's history brought the heart to the story. Going from heartbreak to promise was touching with plenty of root for their HEA moments. With a benevolent ghost giving Cal a gentle shove towards forgiveness, the story took on an unexpected depth. With all their vulnerabilities and heartaches of the past, having Cal and Jill finally willing to work towards a hard won future provided the most heart to the story. The ending was well executed with Cal's surprising and excellent method of breaking through Jill's anger toward him, giving promise of their future together.

I look forward to seeing what Ms Law has in store for the series moving forward.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Cal and Jill both have personalities suited to the title, "Hard Headed." They have also been in love since they were teenagers, but they were too young and immature at the time for their one-day marriage to last. Now we get to watch them explore their feelings for each other and see if things can work out a second time around.