An emotionally charged series.
PULL ME CLOSE
The Panic #1
Sidney Halston
Releasing Oct 25th, 2016
Loveswept
Welcome
to Panic, a sultry Miami nightclub where bodies and hearts move to a beat that
doesn’t stop at sunrise—the setting for an emotionally charged series from the
bestselling author of the Worth the Fight novels.
When
Katherine Wilson passes out in the arms of the hottest man she’s ever seen,
it’s not because of the lights, the pulsating music, or the crowded dance
floor. It’s because she can’t enjoy a night out like a normal person, not with
her debilitating anxieties. These panic attacks are going to destroy her life
unless she takes control—or gets a helping hand. So after the club’s bad-boy
owner personally escorts her home, Katherine feels something urgent and primal
awaken inside of her.
Nick Moreno
doesn’t need a headache like Katherine. A drug bust has put his father behind
bars and forced Nick to take over the daily business of his family’s South
Beach nightclub. His head tells him to walk away—but his body has other ideas.
Katherine’s vulnerability, her grace and courage, compel him to reach out. And
when they kiss, Nick is overcome by desire: to pull her close, and promise that
his embrace will always be the safest place on earth.
My heart melts at the scene around me. Four months ago I couldn’t have dreamed this, and now I’m living it. I love these people. Really love them. My heart is so full right now it feels as if it’s going to burst.
I’m alone in the booth with Nico, who is sitting with a cigar in one hand and a tumbler of amber liquid in the other, looking so damn sexy and dangerous.
“You drunk, baby?” he asks, indicating the flute with a nod of his chin.
I put the flute on the table and slide closer to him. He puts his cigar and drink down and wraps an arm around my waist.
“Drunk enough to want to say something to you, but not drunk enough that it won’t count.”
“What do you want to say to me, corazón?” He tucks some stray hair behind my ear and his thumb strokes my cheek.
“I’ve decided I’m going to let myself fall in love with you,” I say.
His smile fades. He brings his other hand to my cheek, those emeralds eyes looking intently at me.
“Then you need to catch up, baby."
“What? Are you drunk?”
“Drunk enough that I want to make love to you on this table right now, but not enough to actually try it.”
I laugh and throw myself on him.
One hand holds me tightly against him, while the other one grabs his phone. “One second,” he says as he ferociously types something into his phone. Jeez, so not the right time to be texting.
“Come on,” he says at last, and helps me up. He pushes the table back a little so that we have more space. I’m not exactly sure what is going on, but I don’t question it. Suddenly the fast-paced dance music stops mid-song and the DJ comes on the speakers.
“A special request,” the DJ says. The strobe lights stop and the overall lighting dims, and then a familiar song that does not at all belong in a modern dance club starts playing. People look confused for a moment, as do I until I recognize the song: “Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam.
“Just breathe,” he tells me, because I’ve stopped breathing.
BUY NOW
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
Good lord this book is good. The synopsis intrigued me and I absolutely loved Sidney's MMA series so of course I was going to read it. And let me tell you, when I started reading this book, I could not put it down. The storyline and the characters grab you, get in your face and say "Don't stop reading me until you are done!"
Now I will be honest in saying that I wasn't a Nick fan in the beginning. They do meet under less than ideal circumstances, but he was very harsh with Katherine. I know he had his reasons, but at the same time he didn't have to be such an ass. He does eventually come around and realizes that Katherine is nothing like he thought.
Both Katherine and Nick find themselves attracted to each other, but her panic attacks make it hard for her to live a normal life. When Nick discovers just how bad things are for her, he decides he is going to help her. And sweet baby Jesus that man made me want to crawl into this book and steal him for myself! Sidney's character Cain from her Worth the Fight series will always be my main man, but Nick is a VERY close second. OH. MY. GOD. That man is everything. He sets aside so much of his own baggage to help Katherine and there were times that he could have walked away, but he didn't. He knew that she could overcome her fears and he wanted that for her. It was just so darn sweet.
And Katherine. For a big part of the book my heart broke for her because of everything she had to deal with. But once Nick entered her life, she saw that she wasn't living her best life. She could do better. Her solo efforts to help herself only worked some of the times and she needed someone outside of her tiny circle of people to give her that push towards healing. Luckily for her, it was Nick. The start of their relationship was anything but conventional and it worked for them. But things couldn't stay the way they were and it took so much courage for Katherine to not only realize that, but to also start on the path to recovery. It's not easy and there are a lot of tears (theirs and mine) along the way, but the pay off is so worth it. These two will definitely go down as one of my favorite couples I've ever read.
This is a very personal story for the author and she actually mentions her own struggle with panic attacks (you can read more here) in the acknowledgments. I love when the author writes a piece of themselves (and lets the readers know) into their characters. It just makes the story more powerful than it already it. Sidney even uses some very important events in recent history (the last fifteen years or so) as VERY important plot points throughout the story and I thought Sidney handled them extremely well. Anyone reading this book can relate to what happens on some level and again, that just makes the story more powerful. Thank you Sidney for not only sharing Katherine's journey with us, but yours as well.
My heart melts at the scene around me. Four months ago I couldn’t have dreamed this, and now I’m living it. I love these people. Really love them. My heart is so full right now it feels as if it’s going to burst.
I’m alone in the booth with Nico, who is sitting with a cigar in one hand and a tumbler of amber liquid in the other, looking so damn sexy and dangerous.
“You drunk, baby?” he asks, indicating the flute with a nod of his chin.
I put the flute on the table and slide closer to him. He puts his cigar and drink down and wraps an arm around my waist.
“Drunk enough to want to say something to you, but not drunk enough that it won’t count.”
“What do you want to say to me, corazón?” He tucks some stray hair behind my ear and his thumb strokes my cheek.
“I’ve decided I’m going to let myself fall in love with you,” I say.
His smile fades. He brings his other hand to my cheek, those emeralds eyes looking intently at me.
“Then you need to catch up, baby."
“What? Are you drunk?”
“Drunk enough that I want to make love to you on this table right now, but not enough to actually try it.”
I laugh and throw myself on him.
One hand holds me tightly against him, while the other one grabs his phone. “One second,” he says as he ferociously types something into his phone. Jeez, so not the right time to be texting.
“Come on,” he says at last, and helps me up. He pushes the table back a little so that we have more space. I’m not exactly sure what is going on, but I don’t question it. Suddenly the fast-paced dance music stops mid-song and the DJ comes on the speakers.
“A special request,” the DJ says. The strobe lights stop and the overall lighting dims, and then a familiar song that does not at all belong in a modern dance club starts playing. People look confused for a moment, as do I until I recognize the song: “Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam.
“Just breathe,” he tells me, because I’ve stopped breathing.
USA Today bestselling author, Sidney Halston lives
her life with one simple rule: "Just Do It"--Nike. And that's exactly
what she did.
After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.
After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for taking the time to review PULL ME CLOSE today!
ReplyDeleteCrystal, Tasty Book Tours