Kinda Don't Care (The Simple Man Series Book 1)

Another brilliant book by Lani Lynn Vale. No one can tell a story that completely captivates you and sucks you in. I have Loved Every single one of her books.She is one of my Favorite authors and never disappoints

HOT DAMN! Well played, Ms. Vale. Well played indeed!!!

With this intense and angsty looking blurb, and knowing Janie and Rafe’s background from the previous books, even after the author’s assurance of no-cheating, I have to confess I was a still a bit scared to dive into these two’s story. Well, after finishing this, and anticipating a major book hungover, I give all kudos to Lani Lynn Vale! I will not give about any spoilers, because the elements of shock and surprise are the best of it. Like the author says in the notes, TRUST her! In the end it all makes sense, and the plot twist?! Wow, I did no see that coming!

I seriously had to read this in one sitting with how gripping the events and emotional charged the scenes were from the very first paragraph! I’ll not prolong myself too much, because half the emotional impact is going in blind – just know that there is no cheating, don’t forget – and living every single moment of Rafe and Janie’s feelings, emotions and reactions as they surface! I felt my heart being ripped to shreds and sown back together, and it was all worth it! And as all that these two have been through!

Kinda Don’t Care was beyond everything I imagined and was praying for. Truly an unforgettable, emotional mega rollercoaster ride! Oh boy, I may need a few days to recover from it. My heart is still palpitating! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

OMG look at this gorgeous cover !! It's breathtaking!!
Kinda Don't Care by the outstanding and incredibly talented author Lani Lynn Vale is the first book in her brand new series, Simple Man.
And what a simple man that is. Raphael - Rafe - Luis is an ex-military, ex-spec ops man. He's in his early fourties and is now a contract agent, hired by multiple organzations. His life was a rough one since early childhood. And he's smitten with a much younger woman. He met Janie Allen when she was a teen only and jail bait. But he can't get her out of his head and now she's all grown up. She's in her early twenties and Janie wan'ts him too. Janie is a strong heroine, she grew up among ex soldiers and bikers at Free Compound with her loving and tough family.
I started reading and was hooked. I love all of the Dixie Warden's books and I had high expectattions before digging into this one. And I wasn't disappointed. The story is unique, the characters are great - I could totally and easily connect with them. I loved meeting old friends from previous books.
And don't let me start with the sidekicks - they're great too. I really, really didn't want to like one of them, not a little bit. But the twists and unexpected turns left me no choice.
The story is great, a 5 stars read and I wish I could give more stars for the cover only.

From the minute that Rafe Luis was introduced in the Dixie Warden Rejects series I wanted to know more about the brooding alpha male.

From the minute the story starts we learn about Rafe and his love for Janie. Janie who is way younger than him. But Rafe is also a badass damaged alpha male. And he didn't think he had anything to offer her. But Janie was also in love with Rafe. From the minute she met when she was still a child she was infatuated with him.

Now Janie is a genius tech who works for her father's security company helping people especially women. And Rafe is doing Rafe. Now he is at the point where he can't stay away from her anymore and its time to make her his. But Rafe is in the middle of a case flushing out a really bad guy and to do that he has to get close to his enemy's daughter to get the intel. So how will this affect his relationship with Janie and will there be a relationship with her. And will he be in time to let her know his feelings or will it be too late for them?

From the start to the end i enjoyed this book, I was hooked and wanted to see how Rafe finally got his happily ever after. This author just keeps surprising me and I can't help but devour every single one her books.

I was soooo very excited about this book & couldn’t wait to read it. I am not sure if it was bc I was wishing for it for so long or what, but I felt cheated. This storyline was chaotic & I felt lost. I would have to double check myself by re-reading a couple times throughout this book. Even with all this said I enjoyed Rafe & Janie’s story. The intense blurb intrigued me like crazy. Just be prepared for an extremely angst read & pay attention bc u will need it when following this story from start to finish. Rafe & Janie’s chemistry & steaminess is very well written & intertwined so well u feel their passion. Good read, but wished for more with this character (Rafe).

Told in dual POV

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of the book.

Perhaps it's because I was SO highly anticipating this book (ever since I first encountered Rafe some where in the Hail Raisers series), but Kinda Don't Care didn't quite live up to my expectations. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it - in the end, I did. But first during Rafe and Janie's first sexual encounter and again halfway through, I seriously contemplated DNF'ing the book. I just did not understand some of the character's decisions, to the point that I wished I was reading a physical copy of the book so that I could toss it up against the wall, but since I was reading on my kindle, that simply was not an option. I tarried on and as a result got a satisfying ending, but with all the twists and turns (that I have come to learn to expect and enjoy from Lani Lynn Vale) the journey to HEA was a bit more exhausting than enjoyable. I do however dig the way that so many of the author's series overlap and reading this made me want to also read her Dixie Warden series as well as her Freebird series, in order to get to know more of her colorful characters. I'll also continue on with the Simple Man series - I've become quite fond of her method of storytelling. 3 out of 5 wine glasses.

First impression: Sold for the cover!

What can I say? LLV has THE BEST male models for her covers and they are the reason why I was always tempted to request her books.

With that said, I'm no stranger to LLV books and with all her stories, it was always fast-paced and filled with a good dose of drama and angst. While that sounds like the perfect concoction, I always struggled with keeping up with the characters and all the events that seemed to be going on concurrently...it was always a case of TOO MUCH TOO FAST and sadly, I was once again caught in the storm of it all that left me kinda don't care.

**I know it's cheesy. **

Don't get me wrong, LLV has written some pretty amazing plot, I particularly loved the forbidden theme Janie & Rafe had going on here and was drawn to their unconventional relationship almost immediately, but at the same time, their moments were always so fleeting and I can't fully grasp the weight of the story resulting in me having whiplash throughout the book.

Regardless, it was still enjoyable and fun to read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book.

At risk of repeating myself from earlier reviews, I love the books and stories that Lani Lynn Vale writes and pretty much devour them in one sitting....  Kinda Don't Care is the first book in The Simple Man series, and a spin off from a couple of LLV's other sets, and what a start it was. 

I've been intrigued by Rafe for an age and it was fab to find out more about him and see him finally get a chance with Janie - and then it all went hellishly wrong.... Yeah, there was some angst and a WTFH is she doing moment - but along with an interesting, action packed storyline (with a great twist that I did not see coming), a stubbornly determined leading lady and a hawt AF leading badass this was a really well done start to The Simple Man reads and I cannot wait to meet more guys and gals as this series progresses.

It might kinda help if you've read Lani's previous series - if only to keep track of some of the supporting characters as you read KDC - but in all honesty, even if you haven't, this could easily be a standalone starting point to her books. 

A solid 5* read for me.

Rafe has been the mysterious guy in the background for so many books I love that he finally got his own! The fact that his love interest is Janie makes it all the more perfect. Janie is all grown up and knows what she wants in life. She wants to work with the Freebirds doing more than just paperwork and she wants to marry Rafe. She plans to go after that man too.

Rafe is ready for a less complicated life and he finally admits, if only to himself, that he sees Janie as much more than the little girl who once told him she was sorry he only had one...well you will find out. Just when it seems they are going to come together things get even more complicated.

The entire story was so good. We get to see so many past characters and see how a child raised by the alpha men of Free turned out much more well rounded than she probably should be.

Lani Lynn Vale always creates some great characters and this spinoff of her Freebirds series is no different. We get the daughter of the final couple in her Freebirds series, but you don’t need to know those stories to enjoy this one. If you have read them, it’s great seeing all the old couples. Rafe fights his attraction to Janie for years, thinking he’s never going to be good enough for her and that she’s too young for him. Janie fights for him and turns his ideas of them never being together on his head, but then this couple is put through the wringer. Janie and Rafe are perfect together, though, and you will enjoy their wild ride filled with suspense, hot sex, and some obstacles along the way.

Another awesome book from this author. I just loved Rafe and Janie. Rafe was great, he was rough around the edges but with enough softness to make you love him. Janie was sweet, but could hold her own against anyone. Their relationship was kind of complicated from the beginning, I thought they were perfect together. But when tragedy hits will they stay the same or will they be apart? I loved the action and the little twist at the end. I can't wait for more.

I received this for an honest review... I have to say I just LOVED Rafe and Janie were really great and wonderful. such a great read that I could barely put down!!!

As always I fell in love with this story because this author brings a wonderful sense of real to her stories

I loved this story and this new series is just great and I can not wait for more!!!

This story never stopped moving forward. It had a storyline with just the rights amount of intrigue to make you want to continue to turn the pages.
Rafe and Janie were so far apart in age that one would think it could never work but they had each other in their hearts for years before they actually acted on their love.

Lani Lynn Vale did it again! Rafe has always intrigued me, he popped in every now and then in the other books and was such a mystery. Couldn’t wait to read his story and boy, was it a great one. Rafe and Janie were simply beautiful together. It may have taken time to get there but they were made for one another. This book was suspenseful, funny, and romantic. I would recommend this book and any other book Ms Vale has written then are just to good to pass up.

Janie and Rafe story... Another great read by Lani. Janie is a strong woman because of the men in her life. Rafe is closed up do to his life he leads. Janie has love Rafe for years. Rafe has fought his feelings for Janie. What will happen when they give in? Will they get a HEA?

Absolutely loved this book. This book like all the others by this author simply wonderful. Other characters from previous books make an appearance which is always great. Rafe and Janie definitely get there happily ever after! Definitely recommend this book.

Another great book from Lanie. I will never get enough of her characters or her little world she created for them. I loved finally getting Rafe’s story after so many books of him being in the shadows.

OK, I fully admit to being completely sucked in by the cover of this book. Look at all of that hot, brooding intensity! Then there is that blurb which absolutely captured my attention, and I couldn’t wait to dive in. It's an action/suspense romance with a damaged, broody ex-military hero and a bright and fun, younger heroine who has loved him from afar for years.

Raphael ‘Rafe’ Luis is a mystery. Broken, solitary but completely bada**, he has survived hell and has dragged himself out of heartache and a difficult military career to become a lone operator, determined to take down the people who screwed him over so badly.

Janie is a tech genius who works for her father (and his friends’) security company. Rafe occasionally works with the crew, and since she met him when she was 12, and he was 30, she has been smitten. They’ve only seen each other occasionally through the years, but every time they do, she becomes more and more drawn to the closed-off man, until they meet again when she is 23 and he is 41, and everything changes for them.

Of course Rafe has noticed Janie, but she’s always been too young for him. Now she’s old enough, but he’s sort of working for/with her father, which brings a nice sense of the forbidden to things, as Rafe finally decides that it’s time to act on his longstanding attraction.

It’s hot and it’s intense, but Rafe’s investigation makes his life a complicated mess and he’s not in a position where he can get involved. And when an injury threatens his life and leaves him without his memory, everything changes again, forcing both of them into a hellish situation (hence that intriguing synopsis).

It’s a bit of a messed-up ride, and I admit that some of it got confusing, but I couldn’t put my kindle down as it all played out. The love story is fast-paced and passionate, and I was happy to get swept away in the intensity of it all. And the suspense/action plays out well, bringing excitement to the story as Rafe continues his quest for vengeance, with a few twists and turns along the way.

I enjoyed the characters. Janie is smart, strong and funny, and I love that she doesn’t take any crap. She wants Rafe, and she doesn’t hide that fact, and I found her to be fantastically forthcoming. And I loved Rafe - dark and complex, he’s a wonderful hero. It’s always awesome to see the big, broody ones fall, and he did it spectacularly.

This is my first read by this author, and it may be the first in the Simple Man series, but be aware that it spins off from this author’s other work. I’m not sure entirely which ones (though definitely at least The Freebirds - this book seems to be the next generation) but there are a WHOLE lot of characters in this book that have clearly already introduced and had their stories told and it was sometimes hard to keep up with who everybody was and how they all fit together. That, and the military/suspense storyline also seems to be carrying over from a previous book. That’s not to say that you won’t be able to follow the story, because you can, but I did get the feeling that I was coming in to an already established world and storyline, and I’m an OCD reader who likes to read things in order. So with no indication of the tie-in, I felt a bit disappointed that I didn’t have all of that background (or at least know that it was there beforehand) because I’m sure it would have been a different experience if I did.

But though I went in without knowing any of the existing dynamics, I enjoyed the camaraderie between the boys, and I particularly enjoyed Janie’s Dad, James, and his relationship with both his baby girl and her man.

And on a side note – those chapter headers are hilarious and add to the moments of humour and fun.

I enjoyed this one. It started out really strong, and though things got a bit weird there in the middle, and it felt like the flow was a little bit off, it finished well. As I said before, probably more enjoyable if you know all of the backstory going in – it feels like Rafe and Janie may have had some build up in earlier books which would make this one more exciting because I feel like I needed something a little bit more for them – but I thought this was an entertaining read.

We've been waiting for it, looking forward to it. This is the beginning of the stories of the Free Kids. We finally get to see where their lives lead them! But no pressure!

Rafe is an outcast. He lives in the shadows, moving in and out of peoples lives, without a trace. He trusts no one, even those he should be holding closest. But Janie, even from a young age, left an impression. That impression changed over time, as she grew up.

Janie was introduced to us in the first Free book, Boomtown. She was a force to be reckoned with, even at that age. She certainly made an impression on me! As we watched her grow up throughout the Free books, we saw her strong personality develop. She would have had to become a strong woman to be able to hold her own with the Free guys!

This book took characters we were already familiar with, and loved, and put them together. Then you sit back, and wait for the explosion! Because you know there will be one! Rafe is quite a bit older than Janie, and tries to keep his distance because of that. But Janie is strong willed enough that she will bide her time, and do what she has to do to get what she wants.

As much as I loved seeing the kids all grown up, I also loved seeing the much loved characters from previous books at a different stage of their life. I loved seeing James get all "he-man", Daddy go crazy trying to protect Janie! I can just imagine how the rest of the guys will be!

I loved this book for so many reasons. The familiar characters, the crazy bad guys, the strong alpha males, the strong willed females, and the plot twists that come out of left field all combine to create a book that will definitely earn its place on my re-read list!

I recieved a complimentary copy of Kinda Don't Care for an honest review through the Crazy Cajun Book Addicts.

Wow I absolutely loved this book it's just a hard and fast book that you can't put down until every last page has been read it's hot with a lot of angst and action in it, I love a good book that makes you feel like your so involved in it.

For me Rafe and Janie both gave each other a run for their money with Rafe being the much older guy and Janie literally being a teenager, Rafe's feelings don't sit well with him and he knows he needs to push Janie away but there's a constant pull to her and she's to feisty to take no for an answer, until the day Rafe's life is in danger and his injury forces amnesia upon him and he forgets everything in the previous months even his one night with Janey and his life takes on a pretty dramatic twist!

The storyline is amazing and given the fact that Rafe has a life long grudge that needs settling can he hold his own and keep Janey safe! He might not care much for his own life but he sure does hold Janey precious in his heart.

Absolutely fantastic book from Lani-Lynn Vale I love the personal touches to all her books she an amazing author who deserves so much recognition for all her books. I honestly can't wait for the next book in the series :)