My expectations for Bad Boys Do were pretty high after I finished Good Girls Don’t, book 1 in Dahl’s new Donovan Brothers Brewery series. Jamie already caught my attention in the first instalment but oh my did I judge him wrong. I expected a fun and flirty guy with tons of experience and even though I knew he wanted to be seen as more I didn’t expect such a deep and emotional plot wrapped around him as a character.

Jamie was always the black sheep of the Donovan family. He loved to party a lot in his youth and since then he doesn’t seem to be able to get rid of his reputation. Well, working as the flirty and fun bartender in a brewery doesn’t help his need to be seen as more- as a responsible and mature owner of said brewery. Yes, Jamie is fun and really knows how to keep people at ease but still he is a person who wants to be acknowledged for his worth. He’s smart, clever and full of ideas but with the incidents of the past few months hanging over his head he has a hard time being taken serious. He wants to  make the bar into something more and he works hard to develop a reasonable and realistic plan but is scared of being taken down by his brother again before he even gets the chance to say more than a sentence. I loved Jamie and not only for his open and fun behavior. There is so much hidden depth beneath this- so much emotion, doubt and uncertainty. Most of the time I just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything will work out. My heart broke for him and the unfairness he has to live through.

Olivia is exactly what Jamie needs. Not only is she definitely serious and proper- she’s also fun when you get the chance to see under her armor. Her life taught her that she needs to do more for herself. Her ex husband always demanded to be the center of her existence and now after the divorce she wants to be the focus of her own life- to do what she wants and reach her own goals.She wants to learn how to be more fun and finally enjoy life. But how do you learn that on your own? Well, let’s say she really got lucky in meeting Jamie because he knows how fun is done. *wink*  Oliva is conflicted: on one hand she knows what she tries to achieve is okay but on the other she easily gets sidetracked by what other people think of her. She is confident on the outside but she often doubts herself when no one else can see. Watching her rediscovering her confidence wasn’t only fun it also showed that even when something screwed your life over you can still turn yourself and your life around and make it what you want it to be. A great message to deliver in such an entertaining package.

I loved this book so much- it’s hard to put in words why but after I read the last word I felt like hugging everyone around me. Not because Bad Boys Do made me sad. No, I wanted to show the people I love how much I love them. I wanted to wallow in warmth, friendship and love and not waste any time to do it. Well okay that sounds totally sappy but it’s what this book did to me. It is an unbelievably fun read and still delivers an emotional intensity I didn’t expect. I loved the main characters, the side cast and how everyone interacted. It’s a group of people who feels real. Okay I admit I’m still unsure how Dahl will make me like Eric but we will see.

Bad Boys Do touched my heart on so many levels. I laughed a lot, I cried a bit and in the end I nearly burst with happiness. I loved every second of reading this book and it makes me beg for more. Bad Boys Do isn’t only entertaining it also delivers a message worth more than I could ever say- you can get back up and do what you want for yourself, no matter what happened before. No wonder that this book is my absolute favorite in this series so far. For me this is a must read you shouldn’t miss. Bad Boys Do gets an all thumbs up from me and I would add even more if I could.

I give Bad Boys Do 5 out of 5 stars.

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